Germany is old…really old. And it only stands to reason that old furniture lurks in every little village, simply waiting to be uncovered, brushed off and brought into a new home.

When it’s written in Euros it just seems to be a better deal[/caption]I’ve enjoyed the antique hunt while living overseas. During our first fall in Hohenfels, a neighbor invited me to go with her to Roth, a city about an hour from home. The great thing about Roth is that it has 3 antique shops that, when done together, make a nice shopping loop, delivering us back home before the school bus arrives. Our first stop was Doellingers a well-known shopping stop for Americans. I mention this because being able to speak English when you’re trying to determine prices of items is valuable. Doellingers is run by a man and his son; my impression is that the father doesn’t haggle, but the son will. It’s tricky to get them far enough apart from each other so that you get the best deal. My first visit there, I ended up buying an old ladder to hang quilts from and a walking stick so we could begin collecting badges from our upcoming German hikes. After Doellingers, we made our way to a shop that has lots of glass jars and old linens. In recent years, many shopkeepers have capitalized on the American demand for old glass and flour sacks and this shop now proudly displays boxes ready to ship to their EBay buyers. Also, I found it ironic that the shop has pages from Pottery Barn catalogue torn out to show us, the live shoppers, how to display our newly purchased old glass and sacks. Brilliant use of marketing…although I didn’t buy anything because I thought I could get a better deal somewhere else. Our final stop was at a cute 2 story antique shop with a handwritten sign on the door letting us know they were closed for 2 days. No reason given. This practice is something else I’ve become accustomed to while antiquing in Europe—store owners pretty much determine when and where they want to be and the loss of a sale doesn’t cause them to change their ways. While frustrating to American shoppers, I applaud their determination to do as they please, and I’ll continue to stop at random shops and not worry if I buy something or not.

Recently, another friend introduced me to the city of Weiden which is chock full of little antique shops and trodel markets (junk shops). One that we ended up finding a lot of little treasures is located on the main street of downtown Weiden at 21 UntererMarkt. Marcus, the owner, has impeccable English and allowed us to browse to our heart’s content. He indulged us and let us play with the antique jewelry pieces and even pulled out a magic Top Hat that pops open with a tap. For more info about his shop, and the huge store his mom owns, check out their website Antik Weiden