We spent a cold and rainy weekend in Munich recently celebrating Philip’s college friend’s son’s Bar Mitzvah. While traveling, visiting markets is always a priority for me, but since our mornings were consumed with the service and then a disastrous trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, I figured a market wouldn’t be possible.
To my pleasant surprise, the Viktualienmarkt, located not far from the touristy area of Marionplatz (home of the famous church clock), is open all day. While it wasn’t a far walk from our hotel, it was a blustery day with cold air, but I was able to take a few photos.
I’ve written about kale in Germany before. Grünkohl as it is called, is nothing new in Germany and unsurprisingly is a winter vegetable, only harvested after the first frost. Even with a relatively warm winter, we hit this market at the right time and the grunkohl was everywhere.
I noticed two unique things about the stands at Viktualienmarkt. The first is the Italian influence. There were more Italian greens (tuscan kale, dandelion greens, broccoli rabe, Italian cheeses and cured meats).
The second, and this one I really loved (well, it’s hard to love something more than the dandelion greens), was how every stand also acted as a juice bar. Walking up and down the rows of produce stalls, the buzz of juicers whirled through the air, with the fresh scents of parsley, celery and citrus.
I wasn’t surprised that kale was everywhere at the market but wasn’t sure what to expect when I looked around a large organic shop. It seems the kale trend really has infiltrated everywhere. The fresh availability left a lot to be desired but it was also present in pre-prepared juices, powders and kale chips.
Sausage and green juice anyone?
Look at all those beautiful greens! I love going to the farmers market!