Four plus three from Poland

Shopping in Poland.  Parking is limited so if you find a parking space, you may want to get it before it disappears.  Some of the stores charge 1 Polish dollar to rent a shopping cart or even use the restroom so I now carry change with me anywhere we go.  The Polish $1 and $5 are coins.

The shopping carts have four wheels that swivel so it take a while to get used to "drifting" your cart.  The four swivel wheels come in handy when you are stuck in traffic on a shopping aisle and need to move your cart sideways. 

Polish people have very little personal space when shopping.  Several times I have been cutoff, bumped, or stepped in front of.  That is just the way they are so please just be prepared that it is different. 

When buying fruit or vegetables, you have to weigh and price the food on that aisle.  They do not weigh and price it at the check-out.

Plan to spend lots of time walking up and down aisle looking for different food items.  I have learned to just slowly walk down each aisle even when I just need a few items.  In the end, it was faster. 

Be careful what you buy.  I was on the pasta aisle and picked up the pasta and then sauce.  When I got home, I realized that it was salsa for chips.  Well, it is a bit spicy but it was actually pretty good on pasta :) 

Peanut butter is expensive here.  If there was one thing I wished I had brought was a big jar of crunchy peanut butter. 

Not all grocery stores take visa or mastercard so be sure to have cash your first time in a new store.  There are plenty of ATMs available but be sure to check their exchange rate (they post it on the screen and you have to accept or void transaction).  Some ATMs charge crazy rates. 

Have a translator app on your phone to figure out what some stuff is. 

Be prepared for lots of people and give yourself plenty of time to enjoy a different shopping experience.