A Tisket, A Tasket

Munich has a wonderful Farmer's Market on Saturday, near Marienplatz. It's large, and packed with people (who are either shopping or drinking beer at 10am, gotta love Germany). Somehow, it seems much more relaxed than French markets. In France, it seems that everyone is in some kind of race to get the best, freshest and last piece of cheese in the universe. Here, people browse, stop, taste, look, buy, move on. Even the vendors seem less uptight. Maybe it's all of that great beer.

One of the Bavarian specialty foods that surprised me were the radishes. In this photo, you can see them clearly displayed in front. They are enormous, served sliced in thin strips, which you eat sprinkled with salt. They are crunchy and light and tasty - a nice compliment to the rich meats and spreads on the plate.

There are restaurants among the food stalls at the market, so that you can really make a whole day of it. It's a very nice way to spend a Saturday, with family, friends, or on your own.

Candy Chameleon

Ich liebe marzipan! It's been one of my favorite candies since I was a young girl. Not only is it delicious, it can be made to look like anything. I fell in love with these adorable marzipan pigs at a store in Munich. I want to nuzzle them, and then bite off their little ears. Is that wrong?

My Cross to Bear

There is nothing, absolutely nothing better than a European pharmacy. Visiting one is like going to the doctor, without the long wait, old magazines, and high price tag. Every time I spot that wonderful neon-green cross, I feel like a wayward soul who has just found salvation. I swear, angels sing in those wonderful stores.


There are some major differences between American drugstores and European pharmacies. I will use Walgreens as an example.

• In Europe, pharmacies sell two things. Drugs and beauty products. Not cosmetics, beauty products like lotions and sunscreen and cellulite reducing creams. Walgreens sells so many things they have labeled aisles like at the grocery stores, so that you can find "seasonal items", "cold remedies", and "school supplies" with ease. They sell so much crap, it is easy to forget what you went in there for, and if you leave with Barbie Pop Tarts and a talking fish, it's not really a surprise.
• Over-the-counter medicines in America are on shelves just like everything else. So you spend hours trying to figure out which of the 15 kinds of cough syrup to take. In Europe, you immediately go to the counter where the pharmacist is waiting to talk to you, tell them what is wrong, and they immediately pull out the appropriate products (no prescription needed) to fix your problem. They would never assume that you have the capability to self-medicate.
  
• European pharmacies are clean and beautiful. Like a mini high-end department store. I have yet to see a Walgreens without crap falling off of the shelves, and so many things on the front counter that you barely have room to put down your actual purchases. And because it's one-stop shopping (hey, slippers! 20-packs of batteries! An inflatable pool!), the lines are always excruciatingly long. Waiting for a prescription is the worst. I am surprised more people haven't died waiting in line for their pills.
• Pharmacists in Europe all seem to be good-looking. Like Elizabeth Shue in "The Saint". Maybe they are another species, I don't know. They also seem to care what happens to you and take pride in their recommendations. My local pharmacist in San Francisco has a hair growing out of his chin that is longer than the hair on my head. It scares me.

I have been to many churches in Europe, and they are all beautiful. But my idea of heaven resides on almost every street corner, in the simple form of the pharmacy.