A Clown In Berlin: Outdoor Turkish Market and FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! (Celia, this one is for you!)


Typical German Breakfast-Bread, Cheese, Meat, Butter, Boiled Eggs. (Not Pictured here are the wide variety of Frischkässe spreads also often present at such events as the lazy, Sunday morning Früstuck)

This post is for my friend Celia, who lives in Oakland, California. Why for Celia, you might wonder? Well, this post is about food, and food is Celia's passion in life. So there you have it.

Though many ingredients found in California can also be found in Berlin, there are a few things that make the cuisine very different. For one, mexican food, though available, is not so common. You can't find black beans or refried beans at the common Supermarkts. They may be available somewhere, but I haven't seen any yet. Instead of the late night taqueria, here we have döner kebap, a Turkish meat sandwich made with meat carved off of a spit and

server on bread with cabbage, sometimes tomato, and sauce. Döner is widely available and if you know where to go you can get some real quality food for 1,50€. Some döner shops also have very reasonably priced falafel. In general, Neukölln is a little cheaper than Kreuzerg, but there are exceptions to this rule. Pizza is also pretty inexpensive if you know where to go. There is a place in Neukölln on Wildenbruchstraße that has a huge variety of personal-sized pizzas for 2€ each. My favorite is the shrimp, squid and cheese with tomato sauce and chili oil.

But let's talk more about Früstuck (breakfast), shall we? This is by far my favorite meal of the day, when I have time, that is. While I am a fan of hot ceral, oatmeal only makes it's appearance at my breakfast table occasionally. Generally, whether I'm eating alone or with friends, breakfast includes bread (either sliced or little rolls called Schrippe) cheese, honey, sometimes cold meat, and any variety of spreadable Frischkäse. My favorite is currently horse radish, though I also like the Herb and Garlic very much. Frischkäse can be very expensive, but it's also possible to find it in the Lidl or PennyMarkt for under ,70€. Boiling eggs seems to be the most common way to prepare them in my sphere of

influence, although they are of course cooked every which way here just like in the rest of the world.

Robert and I went to the Turkish Market on Maybachufer along the canal on Friday. A gorgeous mishmash of colors, the outdoor Turkish Market takes place on Tuesdays and Fridays until 6. The closer to the end you go, the better the bargains. I got a bunch of bananas for ,50€ and Robert got three avocados for 1€! I also found some very inexpensive and high quality cotton tights. Today I'm wearing them under my pants because it is SNOWING outside! (I look out the window and see the little flakes falling. Opening the window, I stick my hand out, catch a flake on my fingertip, taste it. I hear a tinkling sound as the flakes touch the ground. So beautiful.)

We also bought some turkey eggs, which are much bigger than chicken eggs. They tasted pretty much the same as chicken eggs, though.

Below are some photos from the Turkish market. I tried to focus on colors and textures. I hope you like them.