A couple of weeks ago, someone in the local Facebook group posted about the Naturparkmarkt, a market that has been going to different towns in the Black Forest region. A couple of weeks ago, it was in a town about 20 kilometers from Jettingen. I was tempted to go, but it was raining that day. Then I noticed that on June 19th, the market would be coming to Nagold, a cute little town about four kilometers from Jettingen. Bill and I made plans to go and just got home from the small but mighty market. Despite some clouds, we spent some euros and brought home quite a haul of fresh food and cosmetics made from honey.
The lovely thing about Nagold on Sundays is that parking is free.
I love going to markets. They’re always very festive and the food is so fresh and colorful. Today’s market was pretty small and there weren’t very many people there, which kind of made it better. Many of the vendors were allowing people to taste their products before purchasing. Bill and I ended up with mustards, jams, bread, sausages, wine, strawberries, cherries, and cheeses. Feast your eyes!
Our first stop was at a little stand where a dirndl clad lady was selling cheeses, sausages, and many interesting mustards. We ended up buying five exotic flavored mustards featuring everything from dill to whiskey. Here’s an obligatory shot of Bill helping himself.
It wasn’t very crowded…
Another stand featured some delicious jams, jellies, and marmalades.
A tour is going on at 3:00pm.
We ended up going to the river, where a band from a music school was playing. It sounded like they were playing “Superstar” from Jesus Christ Superstar. Just as we approached, they broke for lunch. Too bad.
Nagold is such a cute town. There are flowers everywhere, as well as many entertaining water fowl.
The band.
Cute little kiosks selling lunch.
After we strolled back across the bridge to the market, we stopped at a stand where a very friendly guy was selling products made from honey. He didn’t realize we were English speakers and was rattling off all sorts of information about the lotions, salves, and creams he was selling. When Bill explained that we only speak a little German, he called his wife over. But then she and another guy at the next stand said we didn’t need translation! They were really interested in knowing what we were doing in Nagold. I still don’t speak a lot of German, but I am finding that I understand a lot more than I used to. Bill is fairly conversant.
The honey guy.
I got a kick out of the Queen Elizabeth and Albert Einstein waving dolls. They reminded of me of my Margaret Thatcher nutcracker. 😉
This stand selling sausages was extremely popular. I didn’t have to pressure Bill too hard to pick up some deer and wild pork sausages.
One very kind lady was selling wines. We stopped to talk to her and tried three of the several wines she offered. She told us if we liked her wines, we could just send her an email and she’d bring us orders when she visits her mother in Nagold. I love that about living here. You can strike up a conversation with local farmers or vendors and they can hook you up with some great locally made products.
Just last week I got an email from a small vintner in France. Last time we lived in Germany, we happened to purchase some wine from them at a market in Tuebingen. We got on their mailing list and used to buy wine from them at the Ludwigsburg market. For the next five years, while we were back in the States, I’d get emails from them telling us where they were selling their wines. I’d sigh wistfully and miss being in Germany. The emails eventually ceased until I got one out of the blue last week. We’re picking up an order in Ludwigsburg during the first weekend in July.
It’s a pleasure to live near so many cute towns. If you like farm fresh products, I recommend looking out for the Naturparkmarkt. The one in Nagold ends at 5:00 today, but there will be other markets in towns around the Black Forest all summer.