Exploring the Polish Market

On a little foray back into Poland again (the route made more sense that way) we drove through a little town on an average Thursday, and found that things were not so average at all. To start with, it seemed like a public holiday (though there were kids in school), as the town square was all set up with army cadet marches in the sunshine, each group outfitted in their different uniforms with hats and capes and boots. Then there was this huge sprawling market, the kind that you would normally see set up on a weekend anywhere else. There were loads of people wandering around (does nobody work in this place?) and this was like the hypermarket of markets. They sold EVERYTHING.

There were a lot of little stalls selling this local kind of sheep cheese, which seemed to be homemade. One old fellow just had a tiny tray with his small assortment of maybe 10 cheeses, calling out his wares as we walked past. To start with, we thought they were some sort of bread, with the varying shades of golden brown, but it turns out they are smoked. We bought one of the Oscypek from this stall, which is the log-shaped cheese made in a mold to have a pretty pattern on the outside. It is hard and squeaky like halloumi, super smoky, and can be sliced up and fried so it is crispy on the outside and gooey smokey goodness on the inside.

I mention that this place sells EVERYTHING. Here is a small sample of images below, but basically they had food stalls, clothing, shoes, anything you would find in a hardware store, lots of wicker products, tractor tyres (!), trucks full of potatoes, furniture, trucks with model kitchens you could walk through and buy, trucks full of PIGS.... this place was a serious market.

I kind of wonder if they just don't have regular stores, and this is where you buy everything if you live here....

Trolley Service

The garden section

Back of the truck sales

Outdoor hardware stores

Pigs for sale!

Pizza thing