Culture, Leisure, Travel, Expats' corner, Feature articles, Through the lens, posted June 22nd, 2008

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“ Een gezonde tas voor 5 euro! Vol met vitaminen!”

I join the people standing on line to get a healthy bag full of tasty-looking fruits because I want to take a photograph of the salesman:

- May I take a picture of you?
- Yes, of course, but with you!
- I prefer not… but in exchange I´ll also buy one of these bags!

The friendly man quickly grabs two yellow melons and smiles at the camera.

I come back home with two melons, five nectarines, a bag of tiny bananasand a box of Spanish strawberries. All for 5 euros!

That same day I speak to my mother in Gran Canaria on the phone. She wants to know if I’m eating enough fruit so I tell her about my week’s worth of vitamins.

“Well,” she sighs, “only the Spanish strawberries cost 4 euros here. And the potatoes and tomatoes from the island are getting more and more expensive.”

I remember the same kind of conversation between my mother and my grandmother who was living in Madrid. “How can fish be more expensive on this island than in Madrid?” my mother would complain.

Market days in Maastricht
When I’m off on Fridays or have a long break I never miss a chance to go to the market in Maastricht. I often purposely leave part of my grocery shopping (fruit, vegetable and fish) for the market. There I can find more choice, better prices and it is more entertaining to go from one stall to the other.

My day at the market usually begins at the fish stall. I never buy fish at the supermarket because the offer is disappointing. Instead I wait until the Friday market where I can find tastier and cheaper fish, and plenty of choice.

 

 

 

 

Dutch people in general seem to like eating meat more than fish. However, to my surprise there isn’t such a specialized market in meat as there is in fish. I’ve seen two or three stalls at the market selling chicken and turkey meat products but no other type of meat.

I always ask for a white fish, with no strong taste but easy to prepare at home. I never remember the names but always follow the advice of the salesman.

Then I continue my shopping at the vegetable and fruit stalls. It takes me quite some time to decide what to buy. Not only because I need to think of the ingredients for a week-long menu, but also because I first like smelling the fruit and some of the vegetables before buying.

I always say: “If it doesn´t smell it won´t taste.” Some people stare at me even though I try to do it discreetly. In Spain I never do that because there I’ve never had the problem of buying a very nice looking tomato which turned out to have no taste at all.

 

 

 

 

Colours everywhere
What I like most about the market in Maastricht are its colours. They make my day. On a sunny day everywhere you look you can find lots of colours: from the exotic spices to the wide variety of fruit and vegetables, from the red and white fish stall canopies to all the shiny fabrics on display.

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoy walking among the plants and flowers. They make the markets in the Netherlands special to me. It would be wonderful to see such a huge variety of flowers in Gran Canaria too. Here one can find flowers (and bulbs) in all sizes, shapes and colours and at a reasonable price. The Dutch don’t need a special occasion to buy flowers and I like seeing people at the market getting lots of flowers. So if I still have a free hand I’ll buy a beautiful bunch too!

 

 

 

 

Dutch specialties
Herring (“haring” in Dutch) is another characteristic of a typical Dutch market. Dutch people eat it raw with lots of chopped onions. I have to admit that I haven´t tasted herring since I live in the Netherlands, but even though I love fish I just don´t dare it. I always say “Next time I will try it” but this next time never comes.

There is one thing though that I miss at the market here in the south of the country: a stall selling my favourite Dutch “delicatessen”: fresh made giant stroopwafels (syrupwaffles)!

 

 

 

 

Mix of cultures
On market days Maastricht wakes up not only to a variety of stalls, but also to many different languages. On my way to the fish stall on Fridays I hear mainly French, German and Dutch but even a little bit of Spanish if the salesman remembers my face from previous visits: “Hola señorita!”

 

 

This mix of cultures is something that makes the market in Maastricht special to me. I have also seen this characteristic on the markets in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, perhaps with different languages in the background.

On the markets of Gran Canaria, the inhabitants of the island mix with the tourists too (mainly German, British and Dutch) and foreign visitors can take home a little souvenir of the local culture. Perhaps in the form of a typical handmade work of art at the Vegueta market or a piece of Canarian cheese at Santa Brígida or San Mateo.

 

 

 

Besides flowers, herring and cheese, which can be found in all Dutch markets, the market in Maastricht in my opinion doesn’t sell any product really typical of South Limburg. But the way the stalls are distributed on the square make it a welcoming place, where people like to go and socialise. Unlike other markets where one needs to go through every row to find a specific stall, here in Maastricht, going to the market feels just like going out for a walk!

By Diana Berdun

 

By comparison: Markets in Gran Canaria

Mercado de Santa Brígida
It has been around four years since I last visited a market in Gran Canaria. When I used to live there, I would go and get some fruit at the Santa Brígida market almost every Sunday. I liked it there because even if it was small, it had everything I needed: fruit, vegetables, a piece of nice bread and some pastries for the afternoon. Around Christmas time I would go and buy myself a beautiful red Christmas plant. The Santa Brígida market is covered but still gives visitors the feeling of being outside. The stalls are already built and fixed. Although I prefer open door markets although sometimes I wish the market in Maastricht would be covered too, especially during rainy days..

It was close to the mountains surrounding Santa Brígida that the Castilian army in 1599 defeated the troops of the Dutch Van den Doors. The shield of this municipality of about 19.000 inhabitants says: “Por España y por la fe vencimos al holandés” (translation: “for Spain and faith we defeated the Dutch”).

More pictures of Santa Brígida

 

Mercado de Vegueta:
This market is located in the oldest part of the city (15th century) of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) and specialises in handcraft (artesanía). To entertain local inhabitants and tourists, the city hall band plays not only Canarian music but other popular Spanish songs like pasodoble.

 

 

 

 

 

More pictures of Vegueta

 

Mercado de San Mateo:
Vega de San Mateo is another municipality of Gran Canaria, located in the centre of the island, with almost 8000 inhabitants in 2007. Its market is the largest of the island. There are two halls, selling all kinds of food products, such as vegetables and fruit, pastries and cheese, and works of art and Dutch flowers (violets). The market in San Mateo is in a huge covered hall. In the winter in this part of the island it can get very cold. Yes, cold! With temperatures reaching 5ºC and 75 percent of humidity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Diana Berdun

Diana Berdun is a Spanish expat in Maastricht. After completing her translation and interpreting studies in Spain, she came to Maastricht where she graduated in European Studies. Diana teaches Spanish at the Language Centre in Maastricht and at the Instituto Cervantes in Utrecht. “This is my fifth year here, but time flies and I have the feeling this is my place, for now”, she says.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, June 22nd, 2008 at 9:03 pm and is filed under Culture, Leisure, Travel, Expats' corner, Feature articles, Through the lens. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.