Travelling and shopping

@Torunn (8607)
Norway
March 18, 2019 2:16pm CST
Some people travel to shop, some people don't shop to be able to travel and some people come back from a weekend away with a suit-case filled with bread. If I go somewhere with good bread, I always buy some. I bought heaps of bread in Helsinki this weekend, which I know have to sort out and put in the freezer. Norwegian bread is too light and fluffy, so when I'm in Germany, Austria or Finnland I always buy bread. I also got really good bread from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. When I visit my friends in the UK I stock up on English breakfast tea and cheese. I some times buy clothes or books, but I've stopped buying souvenirs, except fridge magnets. What do you buy when you travel? Do you have special things from other places/countries that you buy when you're there?
11 people like this
11 responses
@JudyEv (341752)
• Rockingham, Australia
19 Mar 19
I'd love to bring back suitcases full of French baguettes but they won't allow foodstuffs into Australia.
2 people like this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
19 Mar 19
I remember that from my one time going there. I brought some canned fish for a friend and liquere for another friend, that was OK. My Australian friend was stopped by sniffer dogs when she travelled back home from Germany, not because she had brought anything illegal but because she had used her canvas bag to buy fruit and vegetables from the market in Germany.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
20 Mar 19
@JudyEv My friend was really confused first, as was the officer with the dog. She only had a sweater and a book in the bag then, so at first they couldn't figure out why the dog reacted
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (341752)
• Rockingham, Australia
20 Mar 19
@Torunn Not much gets past the sniffer dogs which is good really as Australia is free of a lot of pests and diseases that beset other countries.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
18 Mar 19
When I was living in Scotland I had a coworker from Finland. She introduced us to Finnish bread. She told us that it was better than the local bread from Scotland, and I tend to agree with her. The bread was really good. When I travel I mostly buy music and books. I used to collect pop/rock cds from around the world. Now I usually listen to music online instead of buying cds.
2 people like this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
18 Mar 19
Finns not living in Finnland tend to stock up on Finnish bread when they're home, as nothing else really compares to it. You can get it in Sweden but not as many types.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Mar 19
@Torunn My coworker did that whenever she went back to Finland for a visit and she shared the bread with the rest of us. I don't really know much about the local food from Finland (aside from the bread) but maybe I will get the chance to try some of it if I visit Finland again.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
19 Mar 19
@Porcospino The food isn't as weird as in other countries (like Swedish surströmming, our lutefisk and the horrible rotten shark from Iceland) but it's often a bit bland. But the bread is lovely :-) Just stay away from the liquorice with tar. Horrible stuff. And the squeaky cheese, I don't remember it's name, but it makes a squeaky sound when you eat it.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
19 Mar 19
books, postcards and souvenirs
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
20 Mar 19
I used to buy LOT of books. Haven't finished reading all of them yet, so I'm taking a book-buying-break but I'll probably start again
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
21 Mar 19
@Torunn I get a lot of review copies that saves me from buying so many
@cherigucchi (14876)
• Philippines
20 Mar 19
I love doing both if I have the budget
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
20 Mar 19
When I buy food when I'm travelling I have a smaller food budget at home. As Norway is pretty expensieve, it usually works out in my favour
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@cherigucchi (14876)
• Philippines
21 Mar 19
@Torunn Its good that you can think of things that go out in your favor.
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15727)
• Canada
23 Mar 19
The last time we were in England, the bottom of my suitcase was lined with books!! My husband was not happy with me ;)
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
23 Mar 19
Your husband should be happy that you read a lot :-) Reading is good for the brain.
1 person likes this
@Hate2Iron (15727)
• Canada
23 Mar 19
@Torunn That's exactly what I told him lol!!
1 person likes this
@LowRiderX (22903)
• Serbia
18 Mar 19
I can not imagine a meal without bread. I think I'd be hungry after half an hour
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
18 Mar 19
I think I have 5 kg of bread in my suitcase. At least. Could be 7 kg.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
18 Mar 19
@LowRiderX If I had to cut all carbs but one, rice, pasta, potatos etc would have to go. But never bread.
1 person likes this
@LowRiderX (22903)
• Serbia
18 Mar 19
@Torunn I understand you. You like bread (is not that a bit!?)
@youless (112561)
• Guangzhou, China
19 Mar 19
Usually I won't spend so much time on shopping when we have a travel. But I like to buy some souvenirs for friends and family.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
19 Mar 19
I bought bread for my parents too, so not really souvenirs but definitly gifts from abroad
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@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Mar 19
I have never bought much of anything when traveling. Maybe a tee short.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
18 Mar 19
Makes it easier to pack when you're going back
1 person likes this
@nela13 (58720)
• Portugal
19 Mar 19
Fridge magnets are the souvenirs that I usually buy, I don't buy too many things when I travel.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
19 Mar 19
I like fridge magnets. It's an easy way to have a memory, it's easy to find somewhere to keep it and they're easy to bring home. Not like collecting vases or cups or other breakable things
1 person likes this
@nela13 (58720)
• Portugal
20 Mar 19
@Torunn that is my thought as well
@Spontaneo (14700)
• United States
18 Mar 19
Every time I travel to the area of my hometown here in the United States, I buy delicious Italian bread that I can only find there.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
18 Mar 19
I had some lovely Italian food in Boston, as good as the Italian food I had in Italy, but I think that was because I met internet friends there and they knew their way around.
1 person likes this
@karibe (686)
• Venezuela
22 Mar 19
I think the action of buying bread is very good, I think that at this moment I would also buy bread, and also chocolates. At another time I would have bought records, books and perfumes.
1 person likes this
@Torunn (8607)
• Norway
23 Mar 19
Oh yes, definitly chocolate. I love chocolate. It's quite expensieve here, we have a very high sugar- and luxury-goods-tax, so buying chocolate when abroad is a good way to "save" money I know I would save more money if I stopped eating chocolate, but that would make life just a bit sad
1 person likes this