Shopping for food—some and

Shopping for food in Prague has changed very much. When I first came here in 1993 the small local groceries didn’t carry much fresh fruit or vegetables, at least not in the winter. I remember my first visit to a local potraviny (as they call small groceries here). I was new in Prague and I had little money. I had been given a place to sleep by some Americans I had met on the train. I thought cooking a nice Italian dinner for them would be a nice way to say thanks. So I wanted to buy some fresh tomatoes and maybe a little fresh basil. But when I got to the shop (the only place open after 8 in Barrandov) all they had were some apples, potatoes and onions, a few old carrots and what looked like a big piece of earth. The
earth, I later learned, was actually celery root. I had no choice but to buy some ketchup and spaghetti and a bit of Eidam cheese. I wasn’t happy but my new friends ate it without complaining. Now everything is different, the green grocer’s, which is next door, has everything, including some exotic fruit that I have never tried. And on the corner is a little convenience shop that is open till 11 and does have fresh tomatoes.

Glossary

• groceries – obchod s potravinami
• to carry – mít ve skladu
• basil – bazalka
• piece of earth – kus hlídny (hrouda země)
• celery root – celer
• complaining – stěžování, protestování
• green grocer’s – obchod se zeleninou a ovocem
• convenience shop – večerka
• fresh – čerstvý

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