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In the border towns, many are very angry about the large number of shopping tourists. With a lot of drama, according to the correspondent.
Many Poles are sure of one thing: the country has always been bypassed, overrun by the Swedes, the Germans, the Russians – and now by the Czechs. Should a country have something like an attitude towards life, in Poland it would be the feeling of being neglected.
Who needs that much?
At the moment this feeling is flourishing in the southwest, in the town of Bogatynia: where Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany come together, the locals say there is no parking space for them at six in the morning. No getting through in the supermarket, and no fruit or vegetables on the shelves by three in the afternoon at the latest.
Diapers can only be found in the shopping baskets of Czech families. The Czechs attacked Bogatynia’s shops like locusts, say the Poles. They bought 50 packs of cream, who needs that much?
«Poland: shopping tips and recommendations»
A local politician has handed out leaflets, translated into Czech, asking those from the neighboring country who are willing to buy should please behave in a civilized manner. Polish children lacked vitamins! And then there’s the pre-Christmas period, when you have to be able to shop, a Polish Christmas meal has twelve courses
Journalists come, citizens demand on TV and in the newspaper that the Czechs can only buy a certain amount of food.
It is said here in Eastern Europe that Czechs are pragmatic. This is confirmed by those who visit the Czech group called “Poland: Shopping Tips and Recommendations” on Facebook – almost 140,000 members, photos and enthusiasm for “creamy” yoghurt, “juicy” sausages, half as expensive as in the Czech Republic and – “Women , I can hardly believe it », writes a group member – also tampons for half the price.
High inflation
The whole monthly purchase costs half in Poland. A Czech drives 200 kilometers for this; a Czech woman asks who wants to come along, it starts at five in the morning, she has to be back by nine, then her husband goes to work. Some are ashamed of their compatriots, “we grab the toilet paper before the Polish store employees have distributed it on the shelves,” they write.
In Eastern Europe, however, the fear of rapidly rising prices is stronger than the shame. In Poland you can see pensioners returning pasta at the supermarket checkout: a month ago it was still affordable, now it’s too expensive. It’s even worse in the Czech Republic, where inflation has reached almost 20 percent – in a newspaper commentary, a woman writes that she shops in Poland so that her family can eat properly.
A certain penchant for drama?
In Bogatynia, Poland, people will definitely not miss out: new shops are opening, the demand is there. And, say the pragmatic Czechs, don’t forget, dear Poles, how happy you are to come to us to buy our depots empty with cheaper Czech coal.
What they don’t say, but perhaps think: In their violent reaction to the Czech shopping tourists, the Poles may have let themselves be carried away by a certain penchant for drama.