At the Isemarkt at half past eight in the morning

Last Friday I was shopping for the first time (!) on the Isemarkt. Unbelievable that I have not made it in all these years in Hamburg yet. That it finally worked, I owe Maike. At a dinner she made the crazy suggestion to just stroll around the market BEFORE working. Great idea - that's the way we do it.

To cut a long story short - it was so great! I got up at 6:45 am and first talked through the curtain: a bright blue sky and a gentle breeze. While the man and the child were still sleeping in peace, I calmly made myself ready, sipped my coffee, enjoyed the silence again and then slipped out of the door. That means "quality time for the working mother" these days.

Arrived a little too early at the agreed meeting point, I then had directly to have a coffee - from McDonald's because right under the nose. The franchisee was unbelievably tidy and chatted wildly about God and the world. We then quickly filled up the empty canned milk rack before he released me to the sunny morning with many homage and best wishes.

Sipping coffee outdoors in the sun at unusual times and passing people by Watching is great too. High Alert!

Then Maike came and we started walking. The market runs in a long line under the railway line of the U3 through the Isestrasse with magnificent old buildings (exactly those, in which one always wants to live). In fact, there was not much going on so we had time to take a close look. The various cars and stalls offer vegetables, flowers, meat, fish, bread, bread and cakes. Occasionally there are also exotics with jewelery, clothes, chocolates or Italian specialties. The hungry market visitor can indulge in Portuguese tartlets, scrambled egg variations and hearty Mettbrötchen at small breakfast stands.

I was particularly impressed by a car with a huge pile of fresh Büsumer crabs for self-winding. In addition, I found 5 different kinds of radish (I always wanted to try the pretty two-color, photo here), edible flowers, round carrots, tons of fresh herbs - including red sorrel, dark green and fantastically aromatic tufts of basil (harvested the same morning ). And all the stuff you often find in magazines and cookbooks, but never knew where (the hell) you want to buy something like that.

I had to discipline myself a lot not to buy wild things that got under my nose , The spinach, from which I have at least brought a bulging bag home, was also great.

So be prepared for at least one recipe with spinach! And Maike: When will we head for our next market adventure?

More info about the Isemarkt here.