The all-in-one market

This past weekend we needed to do some shopping to get some household supplies that we had not found in any shops. So, we went to the outdoor (and indoor, as it turns out) market in downtown Tver. This is the same market that Jaroslav and I previously went to last weekend (where I found our hangers), but this time we had more time to explore it all. I realized, upon returning, that what I had previously seen was but a fraction of the whole market. I had only really explored the section that consists of clothing and household supplies. It turns out that this bazaar is an old fashioned, Russian style Walmart. In fact, I know that this place had lots of stuff that Walmart doesn’t. The experience was a blast to all of the senses as the scene covered the whole gambit of what a person could possibly want: shoes, pirated DVD’s, linoleum flooring, lingerie, live chickens (see the above picture to see one chicken that was about to be dinner), kitchen sinks, old Soviet gas masks, furniture, miscellaneous parts from outdated radios and televisions, smoked cheese (which my Dad would have loved), and on and on my list could go. There were tons of people there (the last picture gives you and idea of but a fraction of the people who were there) many of whom were once came here as part of the old Soviet Union, but are not ethnic minorities in Russia (Kazakh, Azerbaijani, and other such peoples were evident). The above picture you can see my trying on the traditional fur hats of Russia. Even though it was far too small (as you can tell by the picture), the man was very insistent that I buy it (which I didn’t). Besides the enjoyment that comes from such an assault on the senses, the market is also so enjoyable because are able—all in one place—to find most all of our needs. Most shops in Tver are still specialty shops (anti-Walmarts, so to speak) which is good when you know where one is, but bad when you don’t. Thus, the market is perfect for us because it has everything, and often there are several stalls peddling the same items, which provides a chance to find exactly what we want.