One part of German food culture that I absolutely adored was the fresh food markets. In the US, fresh produce tends to be more expensive, but it was affordable in Radolfzell. There would be a market every Wednesday and every other Saturday in the main square. I would pop by to get a snack on Wednesday and then buy groceries after school. Fortunately, I knew most of the fruits and vegetables, but I wanted to buy fresh cheese. However, I did not know about the different types of cheese, and I was so nervous about speaking with the elderly gentleman. I finally plucked up my courage and spent thirty minutes sampling cheeses and answering his questions about Seattle. It was exciting to use so many German skills and sample the different cheeses. I made it my mission to try a different cheese every week, and on my last week in Radolfzell, the elderly gentleman gave me free cheese “to improve German-American relations.” I noticed Radolfzell residents bought food more frequently because the food was fresher. Also, when I visited other homes, the refrigerators were so much smaller than the standard size in the US. Overall, it was fun chatting with different people every week at the market.
Here is a photo of me buying a loaf of bread as breakfast at the Wednesday market. Unfortunately, I did not have the sense to take a photo of myself holding my weekly cheese haul.