Detroit: First impressions and Eastern Market

A fresh, new start in Detroit. But just for a while. 

When we were moving to Detroit for a while, everyone said, “well, you’re lucky you won’t have to go through Michigan’s winter.” A week before we were leaving which was early April, I checked the weather around the area where we would be staying and it read minus 27 degrees. Yowza. It was pretty cold when we arrived but it’s been better the past few days.

When we first arrived and started driving around the city, I had to wonder why the roads were so bad. It was because the roads would explode during the very cold months. Water would get in the cracks and they would, well, crack. Overall, the roads are pretty bad and bumpy, but to know that some of them are caused by the weather is something else.

디트로이트에 자리잡은지 한달이 되어간다. 올해 가을까지만 있는거라 긴 여행 같은 느낌. 처음 디트로이트에 머물거라고 결정이 난 후 날씨를 찾아보니 4월초에 아직 영하 27도. 맙소사. 겨울을 극도로 싫어하는 G의 친구들은 모두 그나마 겨울을 피해가는거라 다행이라고 위로 아닌 위로를 해준 정도. 처음 도착했을때 너무 추웠는데 그나마 지금은 조금 따뜻해진 상황. 자동차의 도시답게 자동차들도 크고 길들도 넓은 편인데 길들이 너무 엉망이고 울퉁불퉁. 알고보니 겨울이 너무 끔찍하게 추워서 시멘트가 얼고 터지면서 도로들이 점점 망가진 것이라고. 맙소사 2.

I’ve looked around the city a bit for the past three weeks, and I’m interested what I will think when the time comes to leave. It really depends on the area but there’s an interesting gap between the more populated and yuppy areas and the more declined, lesser populated areas. The “declined” areas are quite empty, left alone and some places even a bit spooky, at least for G and I. Meanwhile, areas like Ann Arbour and Birmingham are very yuppy, very Seoul’s Garosu-gil with snazzy bookstores, cafes and bars. And the area where we are staying which is the West Bloomfield township is a classic, American town, with low, spread out plazas, shopping malls, a million Starbucks and quite the amount of roadkill.

지난 3주동안 조금씩 도시에 대해 알아가고 구경하고 다녔는데 디트로이트 시내 근처와 근교의 분위기가 엄청 다르다. 유령도시라는 별명답게 버려진 건물들이 많고 당연히 관리를 받지 못한 건물들이라 창문도 깨져있고 주변은 쓰레기 등으로 둘러싸여 있는 등 약간 무서울 정도로 버려져 있다. 하지만 시내를 벗어나 조금 나와보면 깨끗한 아파트나 집들, 빌라들이 줄서 있고 단지내에는 작은 공원이나 호수 등도 찾아볼 수 있다. 대학도시인 앤아버와 버밍앰은 서울의 가로수길 같은 느낌인 반면 디트로이트 시내는 텅텅 빈 영화관 세트 느낌.

One of the first stops we made in Detroit was the Eastern Market. It’s the largest historic public market district in the U.S. at 17 ha, with more than 150 foods and specialty business scattered around. It first opened in 1841 and grew over the years, even surviving the WW2. In the 70s, the stalls were decorated with paintings and graffiti and you can still see them today. It’s an interesting mix of produce, flowers, meat, spice, bread and food trucks. The district was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and four years later listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Impressive.

Farmer’s markets are one of the best places to visit when you’re traveling and Europe have their fair share, including Stuttgart. The prices are not necessarily cheap (6 dollars for a small jar of pesto, 10 dollars for a loaf of very, very nice bread) but very fun, lively and great for photography practice. G especially loves the samples!

가장 먼저 방문한 나름 디트로이트의 관광지는 미국에서도 제일 크다는 이스턴 마켓. 1841년에 처음 문을 연 파머스 마켓인데 채소와 과일, 꽃들이 대부분. 작은 다리를 건너면 생선과 고기를 파는 실내 시장도 있다. 디트로이트에서는 나름 중요한 관광지이자 역사의 현장으로 알려져 있다. 사실 시장처럼 재밌는 곳은 없는데 파머스 마켓은 특히 재밌고 활기찬 느낌. 흠이 있다면 싸지 않다는 것. 작은 페스토 한병에 $6, 맛있어보였던 식빵하나가 $10. 그래도 사진 연습하기에는 완벽한 장소!

For the meatier side, you need to walk across the pedestrian bridge over the I-75 and walk into the Gratiot Central Market. Welcome to meat heaven. There’s so much meat, it’s even a bit overwhelming. I’m very used to buying small portions of anything, when I was in Seoul and also when I was in Stuttgart. Everything was not so Costco sized, more or less usable for two to three days, but I realized (again) everything in the U.S. are huge. And big. And bigger.

It’s open six days a week and I believe you may find any type of meat you are possibly looking for. And fried chicken!

Grocery shopping in the U.S. is a completely different experience, both for G and myself. For me, it’s more of discovering old favorites (hello, Sara Lee) and discovering more upgraded versions of everything (So many varieties of Pringles, it’s a bit crazy) and for G, it’s discovering pretty much everything (“why are their so many cereal? And bread?”). Up to now, he’s not into Walmart, but loves Target. Good man.

Some realizations I had while I was searching for some things.

• I’m not sure what’s so different, but why is it so hard and even a bit sandy? Which one is the smooth, silky Greek yogurt?
• The brand breads. Coming from Germany, I realized some brands can be really bad.
• The sweets are so sweet! The cupcakes. The cookies. The Overly sweet to the point you start to worry about your health.
• The candies. All the candies. All the glorious candies.

미국에서의 장보기란. G는 식빵과 시리얼의 종류에 놀라워했고 난 일반 브랜드 식빵이 이렇게나 맛이 없을 수 있구나에 충격을 받았다. 요거트의 종류가 너무 많아서 일단 가장 안전하게 Greek Yogurt을 사왔는데 물컹물컹한 느낌. 부드러워야하는데 건들면 그대로 모양이 잡혀져서 혼란스러웠다.

간식 종류가 너무 많아서 장볼때마다 고문. 독일에서는 이런 간식들을 찾기 힘들거나 너무 말도 안되게 비싸서 직접 만들어 먹거나 아예 안먹었는데 그래서 그런지, 오랜만에 정크푸드 간식들을 먹고 났더니 배탈도 났다. 확실히 몸에는 안 좋은게 확실.

According to the Eastern Market website, there are various types of cuisine visitors can stop by to. As of right now, April 2015, there are a lot of construction work going on, which makes it a bit difficult to look and walk around. We tried the one right across the Eastern Market, where they were grilling hot dogs, ribs and sausages. G and I are not the biggest fans of the very salty bbq sauce you can find around here, but they had the greatest coleslaw. So all in all, it was a great lunch spot.

바베큐가 유명한 디트로이트인데 굉장히 짜다는 단점이 있다. 이스턴 마켓 주변에도 다양한 음식점과 바베큐 레스토랑들이 있었는데 너무 짜서 다 못 먹고 나왔을 정도. 대신 콜슬로우가 너무 맛있어서 둘다 쓱쓱 먹어치웠다는.

• Eastern Market: The busiest day is Saturday but the market is also open on Tuesday. It’s a bit smaller and perhaps a bit more relaxed than the Saturday version, but nonetheless open.

All photos by rachelsanghee. April, 2015.