Potraviny, a store selling foodstuff

A new word we learned is Potraviny, which means grocery store. Most are small family owned with limited inventory. Not all potravinys sell the same things, some carry produce, bread, corn chips, etc. but others do not. The fresh items sell out quickly including bread and meat. You cannot buy toothpaste or laundry soap at these Potravinys. There is another store for those kinds of things called Kozmetika.

Slovaks shop often, and usually every day. They buy groceries for their meals today and maybe tomorrow. They don't practice food storage, this is foreign to them. However, there are few bigger grocery stores like Kaufland or Tesco. But we never see big bulk items inside as most everything comes in small packages.

Food is fresher here, at least from my understanding. No GMOs, hormones, or preservatives to increase shelf life. Most produce is grown and picked in Slovakia. Produce is picked ripe and shipped locally, so take it if you plan to use it or eat it right away as it will begin to decay. I once bought carrots, thinking I could use them in the future, only to find them beginning to whither and decompose in a couple days.

Bread supplies are plentiful in the morning but nothing like Wonder bread. Loaves of bread are baked and put out in a large shelves and bins without being sliced or in a bag.

All the loaves are different sizes so you select a loaf and put in the slicer machine if you want it sliced. Then once it is sliced you grab a small plastic bag and put it inside. Just like a self serve bakery. One small item missing: bread twisties are not found anywhere so you have to leave the bag open or tie a knot. 

The deli department has pre-sliced meat and cheeses stacked up. No meat slicers, all customers buy the same thickness. 

There is always a line at the deli for sliced items and we find items we want on display. We haven't found smoked turkey yet. Most of the meat items are reported not filled with hormones. The cheeses are white without orange coloring.

The cereal aisle looks nothing like the Smith's in Las Vegas. I cannot find most of the cereals we are used to like Raisin Bran or Golden Grahams. There are not many big sugar sweetened cereals like Fruit Loops or Captain Crunch, but rather something they call Musli which is like granola. All the cereals come in bags and not boxes so there is no big box with little bag inside. Some stores put cereal on top shelf.

Candy and snacks have an ever increasing presence in grocery stores, especially chocolate bars.

My favorite Slovak chocolate bar is layered crisp wafers, creme peanut filling, and coated in dark chocolate. The missionaries bought my first bar. Now, I can't walk past these without buying one.

We see mostly all the Slovak brands but there are good 'ole Snickers and Twix. The price is surprisingly very cheap for American candy like 0,35 euro for Snickers.

Not all stores carry the same foods. To find everything you are looking for you need to shop a variety of stores and locations. I have gotten very good at finding the items I want at the specific store, and of course, I shop the Friday and Saturday morning outdoor farmer's market.

Most stores close around 6 pm each day and few are open on Sunday. If you haven't bought your groceries by 5 pm most stores begin closing down and only a few are open a little later. Their closing times seem to be their option of exactly when and sometimes it is earlier then posted. Few are open on Sunday which is fine with us as we usually plan ahead.

We usually can't speak to anyone in the store because of the language. However, once in a while we run into someone who speaks enough English to say a few words. We know a couple phrases like, Dobrý Dén (good day), Prosím (You're welcome) and Dovidenia (good-bye).

Everyone brings their own bag to carry groceries. Most Slovaks we notice only bring in one bag. Most people carry their one bag of groceries home. We often shop at a store that has shopping carts because most do not. After we checkout, we roll our cart to our vehicle and fill up our trunk. Be sure to have a coin ready as carts require this to release a chain attached to another cart. If you absolutely need a bag because you left it back home, no worries, you can buy one for 0,09 euro but few people do this. There are also no baggers to help bag groceries, you bag your own and like I said, in your own bags.

Nearly everyone pays with cash (except this American woman). Credit cards slow down the line. No point of sale keypads at every checkout, no PIN, and no swiping the magnetic strip. The cashier is inexperienced using the "chip" which requires a signature on the printed receipt, I learned to be prepared with an pen because the cashier can't find one, as you can hear audible sighs and grunts coming from impatient Europeans waiting beside you. Slovak grocery clerks likes small bills and coins, they ask if you have anything smaller (in Slovak, of course) when trying to pay with large bills. Giving change also slows down the line. I never see coupons, and few reward cards, those are for British owned stores.

Some grocery stores have international weeks, this week is Mexican, next week Scandinavian, and some weeks American. That's when you can find marshmallows and BBQ sauce.