FLOHMARKT

Oh, autumn! The most wonderful thing about autumn is the harvest - as it is getting closer to Thanksgiving, my American upbringing is kicking in and I am getting excited about stuffing and pumpkin pie! Here in Austria, the focus is not exactly on turkey and stuffing yourself until you explode, but quite a few seasonal delicacies have sprung up at the Naschmarkt, including mushrooms (it's mushroom season and a favorite Austrian pasttime is picking your own...) and Kürbis (translated as both "squash" and "pumpkin"). I've been experimenting with both ingredients, and since I decided to make a chantrelle (Eierschawmmerl) goulash for dinner, I thought I would flavor it with another favored Austrian autumn classic, a new wine! I made a little trip to Wein & Co. and then decided, while I was in the neighborhood, to visit the Naschmarkt and Flohmarkt.

Woman with Balloon-dog

I would count the Naschmarkt/Flohmarkt as one of the most wonderful things about living in Vienna. Yes, with all the tourist influx, the prices are a bit inflated and the stalls are a tad crowded on Saturdays, but still! I can't think of a bad thing to say about flea markets! To me, they are wondrous. And it is even more wondrous to me to look around the Flohmarkt in Vienna to see things that would never be sold in the United States!

For example (bad example, but a cultural example), the last time I was there (on my wine/Kürbis/mushroom trip) I saw a plaque for sale which said " Was würde der Führer sagen?" (What would the Führer say?) as well as a working 1900's gramophone, faux Oscar Kokoschkas and Franz Marcs, lace tablecloths and brass buttons (I did buy the buttons - and got a deal, too!). It seems to me, though this may be just some nostalgia kick and a "let's be down on America" thing - I try really hard to curb those, but sometimes they're really tempting, especially when you're abroad! - but seeing how many antiques are actually salvageable, and how interested Austrians are in preserving antiques, culture, and other signals of pre-now, pre-21st century. Yes, there was life before 2000! And the technology boom! And plastics! And people did reuse things at one point in history! America is a throwaway culture. There's no denying it. but there should be some steps taken to appreciate the past, and along with that, appreciate the present and the future - and the natural world!

I think because Austria has such a tangible and accessible history, it's easier to put things in perspective here. People still live in 400-year-old houses and have adapted their lives to fit with the lives lived by their ancestors. Instead of destroying and building anew, they build around. This, I think, is one of the more fascinating aspects of Europe, one Americans just don't get to experience typically, which awes them. 

Instead of thinking "Wow, Europe is so cool and old - " I think Americans should start thinking, "What can we share and preserve that is of cultural significance?" There's got to be something besides the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.