Na początku nadmienię, iż z racji tego, że mojego bloga (próbują czytać;) czytają osoby nie tylko polskojęzyczne, postanowiłam pisać posty zarówno w języku ojczystym, jak i po angielsku. Zajmie to może trochę więcej czasu niż dotychczas, ale (chyba?) warto.
For English version - scroll down ;)
For English version - scroll down ;)
O czym dzisiaj... Ano o supermarketach ;) pierwszy post z dwóch planowanych, następny dotyczył będzie zmian wprowadzonych w życie od stycznia tego roku, mianowicie - otwartych sklepów w niedzielę (w Enschede). Ale najpierw ulubiona czynność większości pań - zakupy ;)
Jak wiadomo, życie w Holandii do najtańszych nie należy, zwłaszcza jak się nie ma stałego zatrudnienia, dlatego też trzeba sobie radzić jak się tylko da. My znajdujemy się w tej komfortowej pozycji, że otoczeni jesteśmy 4 blisko położonymi supermarketami (konkurującymi ze sobą), mamy zatem z czego wybierać. Dostęp do internetowych folderów jeszcze bardziej ułatwia nam sprawę, plus nie musimy odkładać zbędnej makulatury. Na początku każdego tygodnia otwiera się bowiem te gazetki, robi listę rzeczy, które są w przystępnej (obniżonej;) cenie i następnie wyrusza na "podbój" sklepów. Tym samym można zaoszczędzić na jedzeniu niekoniecznie z niego rezygnując lub przerzucając się na tanie, domowe marki ;) Prawdziwym "zbawieniem" jest zjawisko zwane "Hamsterweken", czyli dosłownie tygodnie chomikowania, występujące w tylko jednym sklepie, którego nazwa sponsorowana jest przez literki "A" i "H". W tygodniach takich 50 wybranych artykułów dostępnych jest w następującej promocji: kupujesz rzecz 1, drugą dostajesz w prezencie, czyli tzw. "2e gratis!". Co dziwne, w momencie pojawienia się tego zjawiska, nagle inne markety naokoło również chwalą się takimi promocjami, ale tylko Hamsterweken mają prawdziwą, jedyną w swoim rodzaju reklamę*:
Co można kupić w takim tygodniu? Ano często takie artykuły, których zazwyczaj by się nie tknęło, bo za drogie. W tygodniu chomikowania stają się one o połowę tańsze i zamiast płacić 40 euro za zakupy, płaci się jedynie 20 (przykład z zakupów dzisiejszych ;)
Ale, ale... żeby nie było zbyt łatwo, klient musi posiadać przy sobie kartę bonusową z magicznymi literkami "A" i "H", którą musi się wylegitymować aby uzyskać wyżej wymienioną zniżkę. Bez karty nie ma zlituj się i trzeba zapłacić całą wartość. Byliśmy raz świadkiem takiego zdarzenia, kiedy członkowie pewnej organizacji studenckiej robili ogromne zakupy (w tygodniu chomikowania). Gdy pani kasjerka uprzejmie zapytała o kartę bonusową, panowie odpowiedzieli, że niestety nie mają. Wtedy pani kasjerka uprzejmie poinformowała ich, że niestety będą w takim wypadku musieli zapłacić całą wartość... Palce im drżały przy wstukiwaniu PINu, twarz jakaś taka blada była ;)
No ale do rzeczy... Holandia jest takim krajem, w którym da się żyć "luksusowo" za w miarę przyzwoitą cenę ;) Trzeba tylko cierpliwie czekać na pojawienie się chomików w telewizji i zrobić nieco miejsca w spiżarkach/piwnicach/schowkach/etc. ;)
At the beginning I would like to thank you for reading my blog, even though the g00gle translator is quite sh*tty and the outcome of it's translation often does not make bigger sense. That is why I've decided to write my blog also in English (I was writing it in Polish mostly because of my friends and family members, who are not so good in this language and prefer to read it in their mother tongue).
What is today's topic? Supermarkets, of course. First post of two planned - the next one will be a short comment on changes that came into force on 1st January this year, and that is opened supermarkets on Sundays (in Enschede). But first, a favourite activity of majority of the women - shopping ;)
It is commonly known, that life in the Netherlands is not cheap. Especially when you don't have a fixed job it can be difficult sometimes, that is why you have to find a way to cope with it. Luckily we are in this comfortable position, that we are surrounded by four (competing) supermarkets within walking distance. Therefore we have choice. What helps us even more, is an access to the online folders, which also prevents us from unnecessary paper waste. What you have to do, is to open the folders at the beginning of each week, write down things you need and that are in affordable price and then go "conquer" the shops ;) Thus, you can save on food without having to buy less or switching to cheaper home-brands. The biggest "salvation" is a phenomenon called "Hamsterweken" - weeks of hoarding, that occur only in one shop, whose name is sponsored by the letters "A" and "H". In these weeks 50 selected articles are available in the following promotion: buy one thing, the second you will get as a present, so so called "2e gratis!". Strangely enough, at the time of emergence of this phenomenon, other markets (suddenly) also boast about the same kind of promotions, but only "Hamsterweken" have a real, unique advertisement*, which you can see above.
What can you buy in this week? Well, often those articles which normally you would not touch, because they are way too expensive. During the hoarding week they become 50% cheaper, therefore instead of paying e.g. €40 for your shoppings, you pay "only" €20. Makes a difference ;)
But... not to make it too easy, the customer must have with him a Bonus Card with magical letters "A" and "H", which he has to use to obtain the above mentioned discount. Without that card there is no mercy and you have to pay the full amount. We once witnessed such a situation, when members of a students' organization (Aldentis) did do a huge (beer) shopping (in the hoarding week of course). When the cashier did ask politely for a Bonus Card, the guys responded, that unfortunately they do not have it. Then the cashier politely informed them that, unfortunately, in this case they will have to pay the whole amount. Their fingers trembled when they were entering their PIN and their faces were kind of pale... ;)
But to the point... The Netherlands is a country, where you can live "luxurious" for a quite decent price ;) The only thing you have to do is to wait patiently for the appearance of hamsters on TV and prepare a bit of space in your storage/basement/lockers/etc. ;)
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*Tylko ten sklep jest na tyle bogaty i ma obfitą sieć sklepów, by sobie na taką "narodową" reklamę pozwolić.
*Only this shop is so rich and has so many shops, that is able to afford such a nation-wide campaign.
-----------------------------------------
At the beginning I would like to thank you for reading my blog, even though the g00gle translator is quite sh*tty and the outcome of it's translation often does not make bigger sense. That is why I've decided to write my blog also in English (I was writing it in Polish mostly because of my friends and family members, who are not so good in this language and prefer to read it in their mother tongue).
What is today's topic? Supermarkets, of course. First post of two planned - the next one will be a short comment on changes that came into force on 1st January this year, and that is opened supermarkets on Sundays (in Enschede). But first, a favourite activity of majority of the women - shopping ;)
It is commonly known, that life in the Netherlands is not cheap. Especially when you don't have a fixed job it can be difficult sometimes, that is why you have to find a way to cope with it. Luckily we are in this comfortable position, that we are surrounded by four (competing) supermarkets within walking distance. Therefore we have choice. What helps us even more, is an access to the online folders, which also prevents us from unnecessary paper waste. What you have to do, is to open the folders at the beginning of each week, write down things you need and that are in affordable price and then go "conquer" the shops ;) Thus, you can save on food without having to buy less or switching to cheaper home-brands. The biggest "salvation" is a phenomenon called "Hamsterweken" - weeks of hoarding, that occur only in one shop, whose name is sponsored by the letters "A" and "H". In these weeks 50 selected articles are available in the following promotion: buy one thing, the second you will get as a present, so so called "2e gratis!". Strangely enough, at the time of emergence of this phenomenon, other markets (suddenly) also boast about the same kind of promotions, but only "Hamsterweken" have a real, unique advertisement*, which you can see above.
What can you buy in this week? Well, often those articles which normally you would not touch, because they are way too expensive. During the hoarding week they become 50% cheaper, therefore instead of paying e.g. €40 for your shoppings, you pay "only" €20. Makes a difference ;)
But... not to make it too easy, the customer must have with him a Bonus Card with magical letters "A" and "H", which he has to use to obtain the above mentioned discount. Without that card there is no mercy and you have to pay the full amount. We once witnessed such a situation, when members of a students' organization (Aldentis) did do a huge (beer) shopping (in the hoarding week of course). When the cashier did ask politely for a Bonus Card, the guys responded, that unfortunately they do not have it. Then the cashier politely informed them that, unfortunately, in this case they will have to pay the whole amount. Their fingers trembled when they were entering their PIN and their faces were kind of pale... ;)
But to the point... The Netherlands is a country, where you can live "luxurious" for a quite decent price ;) The only thing you have to do is to wait patiently for the appearance of hamsters on TV and prepare a bit of space in your storage/basement/lockers/etc. ;)
-------------------------
*Tylko ten sklep jest na tyle bogaty i ma obfitą sieć sklepów, by sobie na taką "narodową" reklamę pozwolić.
*Only this shop is so rich and has so many shops, that is able to afford such a nation-wide campaign.
A ogorki kiszone sa? :P
OdpowiedzUsuńkonserwowe tylko... :/
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