One of my Czech friends is currently staying with us in England. It is fascinating to see my homeland through her eyes. Amongst other things it highlights the differences between our two countries.
On Wednesday we went to our local Morrison's supermarket, she wanted to buy some English foodstuffs to take home. She was awestruck by the variety on display there. "You have five different types of pear!" she exclaimed. The sheer variety and quality of fruit and vegetable were cause for comment. My experience of buying vegetables in Krumlov Tesco's is that you need to look hard at what you are buying - at least one potato in the pack will be going off.
Then we came to the fresh fish counter, this was a revelation for her. Of course the Czechs do not have access to fresh sea fish, being so far from any sea, and so most of the fish on the counter were new to her. We bought a bag of live mussels, which she had never tried before.
Then there was the aisle dedicated to tea and coffee - of course being British there were loads and the sheer size of many of the packs of tea (i.e. 240 teabags) caused comment. She added two packs to the trolley to pack in her suitcase - having realised that English tea is unlike (stronger and better) that sold in the Czech Republic, even those teas pretending to be 'English' tea. And so it went on... aisle after aisle packed with a much wider variety of goods than in the Czech supermarkets.
She came to the conclusion (as indeed had I) that English food is often cheaper than in the Czech Republic, especially food essentials, with the exception of alcohol and cigarettes. I then explained that in Britain food is not taxed, nor are books, children's clothes and medicines, but that the duty on alcohol and cigarettes is very high indeed and constantly rising. This was considered by my Czech friend to be very just and sensible. I am sure all those avid Czech beer drinkers would not agree with her, but I think I do. In fact I feel strongly that the British system of not taxing foodstuffs and discounting basic foods is very fair and I feel for all those Czechs struggling on much lower wages and facing above British prices.
6 comments:
Your friend's liking for English tea made me smile. I too have a Czech friend who when returning home to Prague always crams her suitcase full of PG Tips triangular shaped tea bags for her and her friends! She swears the shape makes the tea taste better!
PS. Have subscribed to your blog for quite a while and always look forward to your postings. Keep up the good work.
How long would you suppose the political career would be of the politician who proposed increasing the taxes on Czech beer?
According to the Good Soldier Svejk the answer is the government would fall within a year. The Communists doubled it in 1984 (from 1.7 to 2.5 crowns per half litre) and it took 5 years.
Hello !
I am glad I discovered your blog, as I live in Czech Republic for three years now.
"She was awestruck by the variety on display there" - here, in Czech Republic, the word "variety" doesn't exist. I come from a supposed poorer country (Romania) and the supermarkets there offer variety, all right... :D
I find the variety overwhelming now when I go back... How on earth do I choose a sandwich from 50 odd varieties from the snack aisle, and fit the entire inventory into one baggage-restricted suitcase??
http://knedlikyetc.blogspot.com/
the last time i was in czechland i was always comparing it to hungary where everything ran smoothly unlike the czech republic where there seemed to be a problem everywhere. especially places to eat.beer was good though if you like pils. great blog
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