The grocery store

Uvidime
The grocery store is another place where things are almost "normal", but not quite. To start with, you need to have a grocery cart, even if you are only planning to purchace one item. I have been told that if you don't have a cart they assume you are shoplifting.

Now here is where the Slovak system is ingenious! The carts are locked together in front of the store. To use a cart, you must insert a five or ten krown coin into the appropriate slot and the chain between the carts releases and off you go. When you are done shopping, you bring your cart back, reinsert the chain and it pushes out your coin. No carts surrounding the parking lot, rolling into and denting cars, blocking parking spaces, or being dragged around town for various reasons. No one in the store is required to go out and collect the carts in the rain or snow. They are always where they belong.

The other big difference is the need to bring your own bag. Most stores don't supply them, and if they do, you need to pay for them. Everyone shows up with their own plastic bags and reuse them time and time again. In my flat there is not that large collection of plastic bags that builds up and you never know what to do with them. I only have three.

There are no paper bags. Anywhere.

According to my students, there were no large grocery stores during communist times. Instead there were small shops that sold different items; some sold just bread, some just meat, etc. These shops are still around town, but are not so common anymore. These new large chain grocery stores, like Tesco, Lidl and Kaufland come from England and Germany. There is a huge selection, plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and all the sauerkraut you could ever imagine.