Czech surprises in the supermarket!!!

My supermarket (which will be referred to from hereonout as just as Supermarket. Yes like a person) is a Billa and is located just 5 minutes walking from my flat. This blog will chronicle the adventures of Amanda and Supermarket.

Things that are strangely expensive here in Czechville:
- deodorant
- extra virgin olive oil (EVOO as good ole Rachy Ray would say)
- Coca-Cola
- spaghetti sauce
- Nutella
- any sort of hair care products
- toothpaste

What's even stranger is that brands like Garnier Fructis and Pantene Pro-V (shampoo and conditioner and such) are actually the cheapest brands you can buy. Garnier Fructis is everywhere. It's actually the cheapest in Portugal and France as well. Very strange, considering how expensive it is in America.

And when I say expensive in Czechville, I mean more than 30-40kc. Which means more than $2-3. lol What can I say? I'm down and out in Prague. Just flat broke. If it's more than 50kc, I won't buy it!


Mayonaise. That's another interesting concept in Prague. It took me 30 minutes to find mayo in the Billa supermarket. Obviously, I'm searching next to the mustards and ketchups and salad dressings. It was there in the US, Portugal and France. Could not find it. Because it is in the refrigerated section. Next to the yogurt, of course. Next to the yogurt is my first European experience with refrigerated milk. Milk is normally purchased in boxes, non-refrigerated. After you open it, then you refrigerate it. So it was to much delight that I found plastic bottles of refrigerated milk.

So my first trip to Supermarket.... I left with sandwich bread, sliced ham, mayonnaise, cereal, refrigerated milk, pasta, spaghetti sauce, white chocolate, and a bottle of water.

I return to my apartment to find that the milk I bought is sour. No, not past its expiration date -- they SELL it that way. I guess it is common for baking. Of course I couldn't read the label cause it was in Czech. It was white, it was liquid, it was by a bunch of different colored-topped bottles (similar to the US).... it even had a picture of a coffee mug on the front!
Needless to say, it was not what I wanted.

I also find that the bottle of water I bought has gas. Not flatulence, mind you, but bubbles- carbonated, if you will. In Europe, it's either "with gas" or "without gas."

So my first trip to Supermarket by myself was interesting. Couldn't read a damn thing. I stared at the mustards forever thinking that maybe they were a funky colored mayonnaise, because well, I can't read Czech. And there is no English translation. Some things, such as my spaghetti sauce, is conveniently translated into 8 different languages. No English. But French yes, so I at least knew my spaghetti sauce was safe.

Most everything else is in Czech and Slovak. Obviously, I do not speak either, so for most things in the supermarket, I am S.O.L. and have to go with my instinct.


Also, Supermarket has stopped selling cans of Coca-Cola. When I first arrived, I purchased a 6-pack of Coca-Cola cans. When I returned to Supermarket today, it was as if it were all a dream. Not an aluminum can in sight. Of any soda. (OK POP!!!!! fine!!!! Soda POP!) Just half-liters, liters and 2-liters. Now I don't know about you, but I'm extremely partial to soda in a can. It just tastes so much better to me for some reason. So I was very disappointed in the lack of support to the aluminum-can community.

What else about Supermarket? Oh yeah, they don't have peanut butter (which is nothing new for europe but...). You also have to buy grocery bags. (This again is nothing new for Europe, but a mystical concept for Americans.... like a unicorn.)



Another mystical thing that never ceases to amaze me every time I see it.....
Just the simple brilliance of it, and just how damn simple it is, but yet how cost effective and energy saving it is.....
Motion-censored escalators. Escalators that do not move until they sense someone approaching. Then they move and carry you down/up like any other normal escalator.
The first time I saw this was in the Athens airport last year, and it's something I keep noticing more and more around Europe. Because it's just smart. Why leave the damn thing running all the time when there's no one to step ont it?

So now I'm rambling. I've been reading way to too much David Sedaris and it's rubbing off.
By the way, just finished "Naked" by the aforementioned author, and would recommend it to anyone with a dry sense of humor or an appreciation for one.

Daddy -- Happy Birthday! Thank you for all your support!!!
Mama -- I'm bringin home a recipe for fruit dumplings!!!! Be ready!!!
Condolences to Uncle Robert and Aunt Charlie on their recent family loss.
Thinking of You -- to Gaylord, Rhonda, Aubrey, Jared and most of all Chanta.
Much love to Grandma -- I wish you could have visited Czech Republic!
A little late, but Congratulations to Jen and Jacob Silvey on the birth of their beautiful lil Isabella Marie!!!!!!! Baby Bella, I'm comin home soon to squeeze you!!!!!
To Commerce Bank -- I curse thee!!!
And much love to all my family and friends who read this! One more month until I'm home!!!

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As a side note, I would like to know who actually reads this blog besides my parents and family. So if you are reading this, please leave a comment to let me know!!!!! Thanks!!!!