Post #59: Shopping

So. Our stuff is here. Our stuff is actually everywhere. In putting things away, we started to compile a shopping list of kind of regular-type things needed for settling in. You know, nails, a picture frame, hooks, a stepladder, plant trays, a candle lighter. Trivial things that should be easy to find. Should be. Optimistically, we caught an uber (the car is still another story) and headed to the Big Box shopping area not too far away. Carrefour and Leroy Merlin awaited. We trudged through the stores looking up and down aisle after aisle after aisle. We did not find anything we wanted. And many of the small shelves we looked at to support one of our living room speakers cost over $100 for press board-type furniture that we can buy at home for $15. The loudspeakers were blaring with special offers. Families with strollers were crowding the aisles. Nothing was quite as we imagined and yet we kept searching... to only come home with a few items, completely defeated by the exhausting shopping experience. Phew! From now on, it's online shopping for me.

Day 7: Sticker Shock

To celebrate our one-week anniversary, we did what any self-respecting American should. We went shopping. We even managed to properly go shopping at a big box store, the German chain, Metro. It has been interesting to shop around the last week and to take inventory at grocery and convenience stores. We were told before we arrived that goods would be expensive, and, admittedly, they are much pricier than the American equivalents. However, when broken down, the individual sums actually don't seem half bad.

To give you a sense, here are some items from our grocery run today:

• 1.5 kilos (3.3 lbs) laundry detergent = $9.00
• 1 kilo (2.2 lbs) store-brand coffee = $20.00
• 1 bottle of lower-priced red wine (Georgian) = $12.00
• 1 bottle of lower-priced French wine = $22.00
• 1 liter of milk (.25 liters) = $1.20
• 1 kilo(2.2 lbs) ground beef = $9.50 
• .6 kilo (1.3 lbs) of Old Amsterdam Gouda cheese = $14.00

As expected, imported goods are more expensive than local ones, but almost everything is shipped in from somewhere. Fresh vegetables and fruits are slim picking, even in the middle of summer. I'm told we should buy while we can and freeze/can for the winter.

For the moment, we're enjoying setting up our kitchen and discovering what we can make out of what we've found. Nothing to worry about back home - we definitely won't starve!