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We had those in Bulgaria for a number of years before the fall of communism. They were restricted to use only by foreigners buying with foreign currency and loc
by dzink 13y ago
We had those in Bulgaria for a number of years before the fall of communism. They were restricted to use only by foreigners buying with foreign currency and locals could only gawk, but never buy. As a child I remember seeing Kinder Surprise eggs and Ritter Sport chocolates, and watching ads for Hot Wheels toys and paint-by number sets I could never play with. It scars you for life.
Years later I saw paint by number sets at a store as an adult and then bought two and spend a weekend doing just that, because I had been dreaming of doing it for years. Ritter Sport is everywhere in the US now, but when I see it, I'm just reminded of the misery of a childhood behind the iron curtain. It's gonna be a loooong transition for the victims of the Kim regime.
- herdrick 13y agoActually, this is something else. Those foreigner-only, hard-currency-only ones are sad enough, but this is much worse. There is no store. It's just playacting.
- dzink 13y agoIt's a museum of the present that could have been.
- kteofanidis 13y agoIt wasn't even that. Locals were also allowed to buy as long as they had foreign currency. While it was hard to get it was by no means impossible (black market at 3-4 times the official rate). Of course if you bought anything expensive or too often, questions would be asked.