Vienna's Naschmarkt = one amazing flea market!

Fresh fruit and ladies in Dirndls. What else at the Naschmarkt?

Vienna's Naschmarkt has been around since the 16th Century and is one of  the city's most popular offerings with both tourists and locals alike. Today I found out why. Bustling and buzzy on a beautiful day, we spent hours exploring in the sunshine and taking it all in.

The food market is open everyday, but on Saturdays a huge flea market tags on to the end. I should probably clear up what I mean by "food market", as that name could be slightly misleading if you're imagining a British-style affair. As it's permanent, there are all sorts of ethnic food shops, little supermarkets, cafés and restaurants mixed up throughout, with all sorts on offer - bakeries, fresh fruit and veg, various types of tea, fresh fish... However, the lasting impression made on me after my stroll (well, it was so jam-packed that perhaps "stroll" is not the right verb) around was of dried fruits and falafel. Conveniently, I am a fan of both. As a student, I obviously had my eagle eye out for free tasters and samples, and was not disappointed. Although I kept hoping and hinting that I could try a dried strawberry (not that I've never had one before. I have. And I love them. That's why I wanted to try one for free. Obvs), I kept being offered the pineapple. Ah well, beggars can't be choosers can they? It was nice pineapple. So, erm, moving on...

The flea market section of the Naschmarkt

Then we got to the flea market, which luckily was much more spacious. We suddenly felt like we could breathe again. Always nice. Now, this flea market is probably the best market I have ever been to! They sell pretty much everything - from clocks and cameras to jewellery and jumpers - and mostly in delightfully vintage condition. Naturally, some bartering went down too: my friend manage to score a beautiful old ink pen for five Euros instead of ten. I didn't even think to try when I bought this adorable retro Austrian chocolate tin for just five Euros:

If I didn't have a stupid weight limit on my suitcase I probably would've bought most things I found with German writing on. I just love it. And I seem to have developed something of a penchant for tins. Particularly vintage ones. This may be related to my love of baking, but they're so good for storing other things like jewellery in too, as far as I'm concerned. Stupid plane rules.

There's almost too much in the Naschmarkt really! If you have the time and energy to root through everything on offer I'm sure you could find some real gems amongst the tat, but even if you're not a rummager, I would recommend going just to soak up the atmosphere and because, well, it's interesting.