There are unusually empty shelves in Polish stores and they are not visible in the Lithuanian parking lot.

It is better to exchange money at Los Muros.

At the Lazdijai-Ogrodnik border checkpoint on Tuesday it was quiet, as during the strictest quarantine. The road is almost empty, the minibus carrying just one more merchandise crosses the border between Lithuania and Poland, and the number of cars returning from Seinai stores with full luggage racks is incomparably less than in early August, in recent days before the self-isolation requirement.

On the Polish side, near the money changer, where I’ve always seen at least a few stationary passenger cars, a dull seam slides off and stops in the unknown or still driving in the 20th century. VW Passat with Belarusian numbers. It is true, and the exchange rate here is not very favorable for exchanging money: for 1 euro it only gives 4.38 zlotys. I exchanged money for a better relationship in Seinai, at an exchange office near the Biedronka shopping center – 4.40 zlotys per euro.

The mall has empty shelves

There are many free spaces in the Biedronka car park. You can count cars with Lithuanian numbers on your fingers. Almost at the end of the summer sun, the Poles are selling blueberries, asking for 15 zlotys (3.41 euros) per liter jar.

During the previous month there were no Lithuanians in Biedronka, the prices of goods did not change. However, the Polish merchants were clearly unprepared for our return. Seinai residents shop differently: If you need kefir, put a bottle or two in a cart. And the Lithuanian, having seen a good price and knowing that tomorrow he will not return there, buys the entire block.

Therefore, even the small number of Lithuanians in Biedronka have already managed to sweep the shelves of the most attractive products. For example, a liter of kefir on Tuesday cost 1.99 zlotys, but all that was left was a price tag and an empty space. The cheapest types of liqueurs, liqueurs and chicken sets were bought at 3.75 zlotys (0.85 euros) per kilo.

Lithuanians rushed to buy pork necks at 7.99 zlotys (1.82 euros) and ham at 9.99 zlotys (2.27 euros) a kilo. You could buy a kilo of raspberry tomatoes at Biedronka for 3.99 zlotys (0.91 euros), peppers – 4.99 zlotys (1.13 euros).

Fried chicken does not smell worse than Lithuanian

Buyers talked amongst themselves that it is not worth buying sugar in Poland, even at PLN 2.49 (€ 0.57) per kg in a campaign in Biedronka, when it can be found in Lithuanian supermarkets for € 0.49 each. one.

Solid aged men, dressed like the 20th century. The price and taste of “Biedronka” chicken were discussed in Dzūkija: 11.90 zlotys (2.70 euros) per kilogram is good, and it smells no worse than Lithuanian. Kaizer buns for 0.29 zlotys (0.07 euros) will suit my chicken and then inevitably I will need Queen bialy toilet paper for 3.99 zlotys (0.91 euros) for a pack of 8 rolls.

Polish yogurt of various flavors for 1.99 zlotys (0.45 euros) for 400 g. The Lithuanians loaded the jar onto carts from the store with full pallets. Lithuanian families raising children are probably familiar with “Dada” diapers, which are priced in Polish at 29.99 zlotys (6.82 euros) for 82 pieces. packaging – seemed attractive to many. And here I did not buy Puffi dog food for 9.99 zlotys (2.27 euros) a 5kg bag this time, because my Seira turns her nose away and allows empty chickens and stray cats to empty the bowl.

Neither buyers nor meat

On Tuesday, the Vynoteka chain of stores located on the border between Lithuania and Poland was no more lively than Biedronka.

In the “Krekenava” meat products department, I saw not only buyers: they did not bring fresh meat, but the same high-quality boiled sausage with bacon, which I bought a month ago at 6.99 zlotys (1.59 euros) per kilogram, now it costs 7.99 zlotys (1.82 EUR).

In the border vineyard there are even more empty shelves than in Seinai’s Biedronka, although before the introduction of the self-isolation requirement, the business boom that ended in August, the queues of buyers continued, but the most popular products did not end there.

Raimondas de Alytus, who was greeted in the store’s parking lot, said that he had traveled to Poland on business, that he had made purchases there both during the quarantine and in early September. From what I noticed, there were so few buyers from Lithuania during September.

“People still don’t know that self-isolation is no longer necessary. Even my neighbors, who used to come here at least twice a month, now still fear that they will be asked to self-quarantine when they return. When those requirements changed, a one day I could drive and the next I wasn’t, I was completely lost, ”said one Alytus resident.