Market Day in Tamási Hungary

Yesterday was Thursday, so it was market day in Tamási. We had visited tabletop and car boot sales here in Hungary before, although we found they operated differently compared to England. If you are interested, I wrote a blog about car-booting Hungarian style which you can read all about here.

This market however, was open-air with plenty of stalls selling a huge variety of new goods, clothes, plants and nic nacs.

Our good friends in the next village recommended we make a visit on market day to the butchers located in the market hall. We were told he sold a wide variety of excellent quality meats.

I was not so interested in marvelling at meats so left Eric in the butchers whilst I wandered around the many stalls.

The market (if you are ever in rural Hungary) was behind the Spar supermarket, held on a Thursday morning and had plenty of free parking. We arrived around 11.00 am and were pleasantly surprised that it was not very crowded….I later discovered the action started at 6.30 am. The Hungarians are early birds!

As I perused the stalls, I had already decided I would be back to visit again, there was so much to see. The stallholders were all very friendly shouting “hello” to me as I looked at their wares. I became a little confused when they continued talking to me in Hungarian, I did not understand what they were saying so just smiled pleasantly and moved on!

I looked rather conspicuous with my camera and felt eyes on me several times. I wish I was more confident with street photography, I have a fear of people turning on me and yelling at me to stop! I would be no good as the Paparazzi!

Despite the Covid19 virus, there was a definite absence of face masks…I only saw a couple of people donning them including me! It would appear precautions are now more relaxed than in previous weeks.

I did notice there was an abundance of shoe stalls, both adults and children. Crocs are VERY popular here for both adults and children. Though not so good for the feet I have heard. Although I have to say I do own a pair, they are my “old faithfuls” in the garden!

Loads of hardware stalls were selling absolutely everything you could need for a home or garden. You could furnish and kit out your home completely from this market. I was impressed.

I was attracted to this huge pile of chiffon materials, all colours and sizes. I shall be returning with measurements of our windows (we have no curtains, just blinds) to see what I can pick up.

I was still waiting for Eric to finish in the butchers when I spotted this young man who looked decidedly bored. He did not seem to mind me taking his photograph. I was getting braver with my street photography!

I was still waiting patiently for Eric to reappear from the butchers….so I took the opportunity to..

…snap the signs in the window and the board outside and FINALLY a photo of an ecstatic Eric with his bag full of meaty goodies!

The market hall seemed to have a variety of clientele. Next door to the butchers was a busy takeaway with a queue of eager customers. Then a bar/pub/coffee shop with tables outside serving thirsty and hungry customers.

This was my favourite take of the day. The men were engrossed in deep conversations, chilling and drinking whilst I presumed the women shopped the market. This depicts a typical Hungarian scene. Alcohol and banter play a large part in the lives of most Hungarians.

Another thing enjoyed by Hungarians is honey and there was no shortage of it here at the market. The Hungarian honey is divine, and very easy to eat a lot of! I was tempted to buy but we have lots of honey at home. Maybe next time we visit the market it will be on my shopping list.

So for the duration of my visit to the market I had been getting braver and braver with my photographs….until I met this bunch!! They were a group of youngsters dressed somewhat strangely…note the gas mask on the left??? I had no idea what was going on…I just started snapping. Little did I know what I would find when I downloaded today’s photos…a teenager flashing his stomach at me HaHa!! I laughed…maybe my street photography is getting better after all.

Do you enjoy markets in your town? Have you spotted any incredible bargains? I would love to hear about them in the comments.