As promised here is the Prisma or "Finnish Wal-Mart" post. The Prisma is the largest grocery store that we have seen so far in Finland. There two levels in the Prisma; level one is food and some plants and storage containers and detergents. There is also pet food and supplies on the bottom level. On the top level there are electronics which include washers and dryers, and refrigerators. There is also a clothing section, sporting goods section, toiletries section and DVDs, CDs and other media. There is a home goods section that include fine china and glassware as well as kitchen gadgets, utensils, bath towels, shower curtains and bathroom decor.
There is an abundance of fresh produce and herbs on the bottom level. There is also a nice breads and fresh made desserts section, doughnuts and danishes are very popular desserts. There are several aisles of meat and cheeses with lots of variety on each isle. There is also a large selection of sauces and condiments (they even have French's brand mustard and Heinz ketchup!). They have a lot of juices and have a good selection of soft drinks. The juices are cheap but the soft drinks are still quite expensive. There is however, a place to sell back your glass and plastic jars and bottles so the cost for drinks may include the refund for the bottle. We will find out when I have enough to take back. One thing that struck me as odd for this store was the fact that they have refrigerated dog and cat food. This food comes in a roll similar to cookie dough and is kept in a cooled section just like cookie dough. However, it has Pedigree and Whiskas on the wrapper. Who knows what kind of food they feed their pets around here.
I will continue to learn this store and will try more and more Finnish food items as the weeks go by. I am just happy I found a store that is similar to Wal-Mart within walking distance of our apartment, it will make my life so much easier. The only item that we cannot find here at all is our Euro Shopper brand frosted flakes. Randall will stop at one of the K-markets and get those on his way home when we run out. We can also get laundry detergent cheaper near our old apartment so we may make a few more trips during our stay to purchase that, but it is such a large container we will not have to do that often. Pretty much everything we need is just a five minute walk from our apartment, aside from legal or important passes or documents and the bank, but there is an ATM in front of the Prisma.
