The communist bloc was hardly celebrated for its shopping possibilities; however, Hungary had the greatest variety of goods among the satellite countries of the USSR.
Queues were rare, though temporary shortages of some basic products were frequent. Shopping was an adventure: you never knew what you might find! A good part of every day was spent 'foraging' for treasures...
There were no western chains in 80s' Hungary and the prices of goods in the state's shops were fixed. But there were always stalls and small booths selling imported (often smuggled) items from abroad. Small shops sold a miscellany of things - I once found washing powder in the tobacconist's and Jane Austen books in English at the greengrocer's!
Below are shops we all frequented every day....
Queues were rare, though temporary shortages of some basic products were frequent. Shopping was an adventure: you never knew what you might find! A good part of every day was spent 'foraging' for treasures...
There were no western chains in 80s' Hungary and the prices of goods in the state's shops were fixed. But there were always stalls and small booths selling imported (often smuggled) items from abroad. Small shops sold a miscellany of things - I once found washing powder in the tobacconist's and Jane Austen books in English at the greengrocer's!
Below are shops we all frequented every day....
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A Trafik could be found on every street corner. Here they sold all sorts of small miscellaneous items: stationery, stamps, confectionery, cigarettes, plastic toys, public transport tickets - all sorts of odds and ends.
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The Dohány bolt (shop) sold mainly tobacco goods. The tobacco shops sold Hungarian cigarettes and those made under licence. This is the prototype for the Tobacco shops you see today.
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Keravill was a state-owned chain of shops selling home appliances. Many of these came from the Soviet Union or East Germany.
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Many streets in Budapest had booths like these selling every imaginable thing from pets to illegal copies of videos, and from fake Louis Vuitton bags to confectionery.
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