A weekend trip

The sun was shining in Dublin at that weekend and therefore the trains to Howth, a town at the seaside, were full of local and international tourists. Getting out of the small train station took quite a while, crowds, crowds, crowds.

I wanted to see the fish market which an Ireland travel guide mentioned, in vain, it did not exist anymore. But the associated Howth market still existed, so I went through an entrance which lead to a court yard with a dozen or so stalls. Still, before seeing anything it was inevitable to find a way through the crowds and the smoke of the food carts.

The market offered a good place to eat and people took advantage to enjoy burgers, cup cakes, Lángos, sandwiches, rice noodles, pastry and the like.

Opportunity for small businesses

As a fan of produce markets I was at first sight disappointed of this market place which was so much tourist oriented. But it seemed to be a great option for small food business owners to present their products and make decent sales. The products were definitely of good quality and the choice quite large for these businesses which found their spot on this privately owned market place.

Some food souvenirs

I appreciated that the market made an effort to present products from other parts of Europe: as mentioned earlier the Lángos from Hungary, Italian oils and other specialties, breads in continental style, dried beef strips reminding of Biltong and Spanish delicacies. Certainly the offering was not for the daily consumption but great for bringing back home a non Irish food souvenir.

At the end of my little tour I went into a sandwich shop where there was no real queue. And by coincidence I got to know the owner who is a German. Easy target for a chat. He has this shop since a few years and is very happy with his life and success. In addition Ireland is less stressful than Germany in a good economic environment, at least in Dublin.

All in all: Get a bite and bring back a food souvenir when you spend a sunny day at the sea in Howth.

A little link list:

• The official Howth market website
• Nice blog post from French Foodie in Dublin

The post For tourists – Howth Market, Howth / Ireland appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

When traveling I check my own database of markets around the world, check out blogs and read travel guides. For Dublin, the market in Moore Street, not far from the busy O’Connell Street, was recommended. I am not sure why, maybe because of lack of market alternatives in Dublin downtown. As you may see already, I was rather disappointed – but let’s try to be fair.

It was shortly after St. Patrick’s Day festivities, when only a few of the market stalls were present all lined up along Moore Street. And why should vendors not relax as well? The few vendors who were present all had an open standard stall of a few square meters on wheels covered by a white & blue marquee. Mostly fruits and vegetables were on sale, all clearly coming from the wholesale market, still in their (export) boxes. The produce were usually sold in larger quantities, e.g. 8 bananas for 1€. Customers were frequent and enjoyed buying these fairly cheap produce or flowers, seemingly enjoyed doing so on this hassle free market.

More interesting were some shops along Moore Street. A couple butchers had beautiful displays and I am still amazed that they were working with shirt and real ties. It kind of shows respect towards the dead animals, doesn’t it? Coming from Germany, where I see less and less independent butchers, it is great to see this craft in such beauty: colorful shops, appetizing meat cuts and sausages and more. One butcher even had mosaics of a sheep and a bull on the pavement in front of his shop.

Another shop brought back memories of my visit to the market in The Hague: to see the exotic produce like yams, cassava, plantain, okra and much more was just beautiful. Looking at the people around I was wondering who was cooking them at home.

It was a short visit of the market without too many rewards and no clear insights in Irish food or cuisine. I was left puzzled even after having been in a nice coffee shop to get warm again on this cold day.

All in all: Good for cheap daily purchases of standard produce. Look out for the shops along this street.

A little link list:

• A list of food markets in Dublin
• A listing of markets in Dublin
• My post on the Irish food icon

The post Puzzled – Moore Street Market, Dublin / Ireland appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

I love lists, all sorts of lists, no idea why. And I like good blog posts on food & farmers’ markets. An ideal combination to publish a list of the European capitals and their markets. Why European capitals? Well, I live on this continent and this way I get to know it a bit better.

This list will grow and get better over time. I am happy about any suggestion or hint – contact me on Twitter: @askans

Enjoy!

The European countries, their capitals & markets

Albania – Tirana

• I did not find a lot, therefore I have to promote my own post: the new Bazaar in Tirana – I was impressed that they were selling open tobacco just like any veggie

Andorra – Andorra la Vella

• Not yet

Austria – Vienna

• The Naschmarkt on this site during daytime & nighttime – during the day for shopping at night for entertainment and dining – a cool combination
• The Naschmarkt by epicures with lots of pictures- a little bit of history and a wide choice of produce and artisan products – from exotic to local
• The official English website
• The Rochus Market which has a great wine pub at night

Belarus – Minsk

• The Komarovski – market hall seems to be the place of attraction. The post from food.artkopilka.ru is in Cyrillic but has many good pictures. Like in many Eastern European countries there is clear structure and order in this market hall.

Belgium – Brussels

• Why waste annual leave, the blog with an overview on the Brussels weekend markets
• ottsworld.com gives a portrait of the Midi market, which has lots of Arabic influences – incl. a video

Bosnia & Herzegovina – Sarajevo

• From adventures in Bosnia an overview on food & markets in Sarajevo
• And here a short post on the Markale market & market hall from greengopost.com

Bulgaria – Sofia

• A panaroma picture from 360cities.net
• The Women’s market (Jenski Pazar) by Sofia Travel Guide

Croatia – Zagreb

• The markets of Zagreb are very well organized and have almost a “branded” appearance as they all use standardized umbrellas etc. The Dolac market is the most known one and has also a great fish market.
• Dolac market, the Dolac fish market, Kvatric market and the Trešnjevka one on this site
• Dutched Pinay travels a lot and takes nice pictures from markets – in this case Dolac market
• tatjanapasalic.com is a well known personality in Croatia: model, TV presenter & more – here she blogged on Kvatric market

Cyprus – Nicosia

• An overview with nice pictures on farmers’ markets in Cyprus incl. Nicosia by Afrodites kitchen

Czech Republic – Prague

• In the the touristic city of Prague farmers’ markets are supposed to be on the rise.
• An overview of the markets from prague.tv
• Past, present & future of the big Holešovice market from expats.cz
• My own post

Denmark – Copenhagen

• From eatyourcity.ca an introduction & pictures on the Torvehallerne & Israels Plads markets
• An introduction for tourists to the Torvehallerne food market by a food awakening
• The official site of the Tervehallerne market

Estonia – Talinn

• A list of the markets in the city from @VisitTallinn

Finland – Helsinki

• Pearlspotting describes the Market Square by the sea and the old Market Hall
• Dutched Pinay is always a good source – Kauppatori Market Square – Hietalahti Market Square – Hakaniemi Market Square

France – Paris

• There is one favourite source for me: Marjorie R. Williams, who wrote a book on the Paris markets and blogs about them
• A nice post on the famous wholesale market Rungis International Market by Cody C. Delistraty

Germany – Berlin

• The past, current status and future of the Berlin Market Halls by @slowberlin. They also posted on the very popular Markthalle IX
• A listing of the Berlin markets by angloinfo.com

Greece – Athens

• As an introduction my post on the Central Market – A must see for meat & fish lovers
• Matt Barrett has written several picture intense posts – The Central Market – an overview on some markets

Hungary – Budapest

• My post on the Central Market Hall, which has a splendid architecture
• A post on the Central Market Hall with many pictures from alwaystravelicious.com

Iceland – Reykjavík

• Not yet

Ireland – Dublin

• The Dublin Diary has a post on the Honest 2 Goodness Farmers Market
• And here my post on the Moore Street Market

Italy – Rome

• A blog specialized on the markets of Rome alone: marketsofrome.com
• The post yourguidetoitaly.com gives an overview in pictures of the markets in Rome
• Forbestravelguide.com is more decriptive

Kosovo – Pristina

• Not yet

Latvia – Riga

•  From Paris Paysanne a nice little post on the Riga Central Market
• And here a big fan of the Riga central market on Pinterest

Lichtenstein – Vaduz

• Not yet

Lithuania – Vilnius

• A little post with pictures on the Kalvarijų turgus market from Ravinder Sehgal

Luxembourg – Luxembourg

• My post
• A list of farmers’ markets

Macedonia – Skopje

• From Macedonia in 91 days a post with tons of pictures and a video giving great insights on the Bit Pazar

Malta – Valletta

•  The Ta’ Qali farmer’s market by Kristin Winet

Moldova – Chișinău

• Moldovan Life describes the Piata Centrala – the main market
• Foodperestroika, a great blog with focus on Central and Eastern European food & cuisine is highly recommended – also the post on Moldovan food

Monaco – Monaco

• Not yet

Montenegro – Podgorica

• A tiny friendly post on Podgorica’s Green Market from Wandering Educators

Netherlands – The Hague

• My own post on the Haagse Markt
• It is supposed to be the largest outdoor market in Europe with 500 stalls: the Haagse Markt as per Theleidener.com
• Local Heart, Global Soul finds the Haagse Markt impressive as well

Norway – Oslo

• From Nordic Nibbler a friendly introduction into the Bondens Marked
• And Oslo has also a market hall – Mathallen – the post from soldrom.com

Poland – Warsaw

• Warsaw’s Saturday Market in Zoliborz by My Travelling Joys
• A short overview on the Hale Mirowskie – the central market hall – from polandculinaryvacations.com

Portugal – Lisbon

• travel.sketch.write posts about the Mercado da Ribeira, which seems to be the most famous market in Lisbon
• The Mercado de Campo de Ourique is described by Portugal confidential as hip and urban

Romania – Bucharest

• My post on the Piata Domenii market
• Beautiful pictures from Oana Hogrefe on a unknown market

Russia – Moscow

• A nice introduction into the Moscow markets by The Moscovore
• A photo essay in Russian on Preobrazhensky Rynok farmers market by DaryaDarya – courtesy of where.cheap-moscow.com

San Marino – San Marino

• Not yet

Serbia – Belgrade

• A small post with nice pictures on a farmer’s market from Stellar Perspectives
• The Belgrade Green Market by Serbian Culture Shock
• Nataša von Wunderland made an extensive photo tour of the markets in Belgrade

Slovakia – Bratislava

• I had the chance to visit 2 markets: the Trhovisko Miletičova central market & the Nová Tržnica market hall
• Basic information about the markets in Bratislava from bratislava.info
• A post from daytripper.sk which characterizes the market hall very well
• A post with many pictures from 52 weeks in Slovakia
• Different: a fashion shooting at the market from Donna Iveh Fashion Blog

Slovenia – Ljubljana

• The Farmers Market on the Vodnik Square by photojoseph.com
• Meet the Ljubljana market enthusiast on Twitter: @JanaSvenska

Spain – Madrid

• Mercamadrid is the second largest fish market in the world and the largest and the biggest perishable foods market in Europe according to spanishsabores.com She writes also on the Cámera Agraria farmer’s market
• From Citylife Madrid a quick overview on the markets in Madrid
• Wanderwings has some nice pictures on the known Mercado de San Miguel

Sweden – Stockholm

• An overview on the market halls in Stockholm by Real Scandinavia
• A small post on a farmer’s market by Bunny in Stockholm

Switzerland – Bern

• The markets and their opening times by the City of Bern
• From Swiss Mirabelle an overview and some pictures

UK – London

• Of course: Borough market is leading the pack and there is a fairly large number of posts on this market. My current favourite is kind of a love letter to the market from Eat Out of the Box
• A good overview on the London farmers’ markets from the organization called London farmers’ markets
• An overview on the markets in general by the Londonist
• From WhatAWonderfulWorld a nice one on a small market: Maltby Street Market
• Westminster News Online promotes the Food Market at Southbank

Ukraine – Kiev

• From Life in Kiev a nice post on the Besarabsky Market Hall
• From akihart an extensive photo post on Besarabsky market hall
• An extensive overview on the markets by BestOfUkraine

That should be it Europe!?

The post Food & farmers’ markets of the European capitals appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.