Shopping

The most commonly frequented shops are food stores. That’s where we go to buy what is most important for us – food and drinks. In a small shop or stand the shopkeeper himself assists us. In a supermarket we take a cart or basket and we pick our food ourselves. Most food stores have not one but several departments. If we do not have the time to run from one shop to another, we can go to a department store. There we pay at the cash desk and have the goods we have chosen delivered to our home by a delivery service. We can pay in cash, by cheque or with a credit card.

In supermarket – we select baked goods – meaning bread, rolls, buns, and cakes – from wicker baskets or glass shelves.

The fruit and vegetable counter is a separate department too. There a shop assistant weighs the client’s fruits and vegetables. There is usually a wide selection of fruits and vegetables – ranging from products that can be grown in our climate to exotic tropical fruits. The most frequently offered and sold products are different varieties of apples, oranges, lemons, tangerines, grapefruits, pineapple, bananas, kiwi, dates, figs, grapes, mango, strawberries, nuts (hazelnuts, walnuts, coconut), peanuts and almonds. In summertime our choice is even wider due to the presence of pears, plums, cherries, currant, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, bilberries and water-melons. We need vegetables as a daily part of our diet. We can improve vitamin-poor meals with lettuce, spinach, pepper or tomatoes. Other vegetables often used for cooking are potatoes, carrot, parsley, celery root, onion, garlic, leek, chive, cauliflower, cabbage, savoy cabbage, cucumbers, patison, zucchini, green peas, lentils, beans, soybeans, radishes and kohlrabies.

We buy in supermarket flour, sugar and salt too, but less frequently. This food is usually packed in one-kilo bags.

Spices sold by weight are also offered in small packages – cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, marjoram, ginger, bay leaf or thyme. Nowadays clients are offered a large selection of pre-cooked foods, which make the task of cooking easier – for instance, dry soups in bags, sauces and pastes.

As for soft drinks, we can find here lemonade, orange juice or apple juice and mineral water; adults can also choose beer, wine, champagne, cognac, plum brandy etc.

When we go travelling, it is convenient to take along some non-perishable food, apart of bread and rolls. In our backpack we can include canned food or even a piece of dry salami that will not spoil even during high summer temperatures.

If we want to buy salami or meat for lunch, we must go to a butcher’s shop. In a well-stocked store we can buy, besides salami and sausage, also pasties, mayonnaise salads and meat broth. We can buy pork, beef, mutton, lamb or poultry. Sometimes we purchase fish and venison. The customers often ask for a piece of liver, kidneys, heart and other kind of tripe.

If we are not satisfied with the local supermarket’s selection of baked goods, we have to go to a bakery. Such a store can be found very easily because the air outside is full of the warm scent of fresh bread, crispy rolls, buns and baguettes. We often buy sweet pastries – Christmas cake, doughnuts, gingerbread, filled buns or pies filled with poppy seeds, cottage cheese, plum jam, apples or nuts.

We can go to the sweetshop too. There we can buy candies, ice cream and pastries filled with fruits, whipped cream, or chocolate as well as. Milk and butter are available at the dairy. There we can also choose from a wide variety of yoghurts, cottage-cheese creams and puddings. We often buy whipped cream, cheese (processed, naturally fermented and smoked), cream for coffee and cottage cheese too.

At the drugstore we select soap, shampoo, skin cream, toothbrush and toothpaste. For men, there are shaving accessories – electric shavers, after-shave lotions and various deodorants. Women can choose from an almost unlimited choice of beauty aids. These are in particular face powders, lipsticks, eyelash enhancers, eyebrow pencils, eye-shadows and nail polish. At the chemist’s we can also purchase detergents for the washing of dishes, windows, floors, carpets and laundry.

Very often we have to visit a pharmacy. There are employees in the pharmacy who help us and offer us advice as to which ointments, pills or drops will help us, in case we do not have a medical prescription. We can also buy vitamin-enriched candy, herbal cosmetics, bandages, adhesive plasters and cotton-wool. If we suffer from insomnia we can get our sleeping pills here.

When we go shopping, we never forget to visit the local bookstore to find out if any new books have been published. There is a wide selection and we can choose the one that we like the best. Our choice may be a book for instruction or for pleasure – for our leisure time. Shoppers can choose from many different magazines, newspapers and maps too. Nowadays the bookstore usually includes a music section. There we can buy a tape (empty or recorded) or a compact disc.

In a home accessories store we can select what we need for our household – dishes and cutlery for our kitchen e.g. spoons and forks, knives, ladles, wooden spoons, plates, saucers, mugs, cups, pans, trays and pots. There we can buy a vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, oven, cook-stove, food mixer, freezer, sewing-machine, washing machine and hair-dryer too. Furthermore, we can choose there a chandelier, lamp for our room or only bulbs and batteries. Other home accessories (mirrors, coat hangers) are also available here.

Shelves, cupboards and wardrobes are for sale in a furniture store. Together with them we can find here sets of sofas and armchairs, chairs, tables, desks, beds, armchairs, sofas, but also carpets and framed pictures.

If we need curtains, we go to a haberdashery. That’s where cloth is sold, usually by the meter (cotton, wool, silk, canvas) as well as thread, needles, crochet and knitting needles, buttons, zippers, scissors, head scarves, wool yarn, dishcloths, towels, tablecloths and handkerchiefs.

We select ready-made garments in textile stores. There are departments for women, men and children.

In a stationery we usually buy accessories for the school and office. Besides individual sheets of paper we can get exercise books, writing pads, pencils, pens, correspondence paper, envelopes, stamps, water-colours, brushes, postcards, photo albums and calendars.

In sporting goods shops shop assistants help us choose both cross-country and downhill skis. There we can buy skates, choose a new bicycle, buy a ball for volleyball, football or basketball. There we can also buy tennis rackets with all accessories, hockey sticks, sport garments, sleeping bags, tents, backpacks, sports shoes and even body-building equipment.

We go shopping at the goldsmith’s only on special occasions. Items are not only made of gold but also of silver or other precious metals and we can buy there chains, rings, bracelets or earrings.

If we buy flowers, we have them neatly wrapped at the florist’s. It is enough to choose from our favourite flowers (roses, gerberras, carnations, lilies, orchids, fresias, tulips, daffodils) and the shop assistant shall arrange them in accordance with our wishes.