When Elizabeth Ruane and her family spent a semester in Lüneburg, Germany, her life revolved around Marktplatz, one of the main squares in the southern German town.
“In Marktplatz, there was this massive community market and anything you could want was there. It was a place everyone went to. You’d say, ‘Let’s meet at the market.’ There were so many ‘coming together moments’ that you don’t see very often in the United States.”
It’s a long way from “Insta-carting your groceries for the week,” added Ruane, a mother of two who lives in Olympia, Washington.
Jessica Ketcham fell in love with Place Bellecour in Lyon, France.
“You could look…
