One man's trash...

is often still another man's trash, too! At least at German flea markets. On Saturday, we caravanned a group of soldiers out to Homburg for what may be Germany's largest flea market. There are acres of stalls set up, and people sell quite literally everything. There are clothes, toys, cardboard coasters, hats, documents, records, music, books, glass and dinnerware, lots of (American) military gear, and many, many things that could be considered just JUNK. There are also food stands and ice cream trucks, which make it all better.

We walked around the place for a few hours, on one of Germany's few truly hot days - I have the sunburn to prove it! We found all kinds of random treasures. Nellie got a katana and a 10-inch, homemade knife. Justin found a WWII Nazi helmet. Angelica and Steven even found replacement needles for their old record player. Jonathan found a Chinese wall hanging, and while I'm not sure what all other people found, there was a very wide assortment.

I did not find anything to purchase, but I did enjoy trying on a very wide variety of hats, including the Nazi helmet, a gestapo officer's cap, a PC, and a silk top hat. I also got to try on an IBA (US Army issued body armor), and man...it brought me a whole new level of respect for our troops in Iraq. Not only is it heavy, and very hot, it's just dang uncomfortable. The one I tried on didn't even have the side plates in it, nor did it have any of the gear, or a weapon. Reason #574 why I am never enlisting in the Army!!