European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 01, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Id scout Tho Dong germans Hunt for bargains in Border markets by Leon mangasarian United press International German Consumers Are flocking to Sluice Poland. The Region s hottest Cross Border discount shopping open air markets in Poland that sell everything from v puppies to pickles i come Here several times a month. This is my favorite. Market in All Central Europe Stefan Larid Shoff a2fa" ? Berlin businessman said As he parked his Green Mercedes next to a fruit stand consisting of baskets atop a battered automobile Landshoff waved away a group of ragged boys who began washing the windows of his car. Money or we smash the window said one of the boys doubtfully unbroken  -.-. Co ahead Landshoff told the boy then added to a bystander they always say that but the car windows Are never  a nested beneath Leafy Chestnut Trees the bustling _ open air Market at Sluice is Only minutes from the Busy Border crossing at the Eastern German City of Frankfurt an Der Oder where both germans and poles now enjoy Post Gold War visa free travel. In 1980, former East Germany largely closed its Borders with Poland hoping this would Stop the spread of Solidarity s dangerously democratic ideas. Now up to 40,000 people Cross the Border from Germany to Sluice on a Busy weekend retailers Farmers and More dubious hawkers offer a staggering array of goods atthe Sluice Market nicknamed the Manhattan Bazaar including garlic sour pickles furs textiles and pirated compact discs. Puppies and other pets Are sold on the Market s fringes where Leggy peroxide Blond prostitutes also ply their Trade. "  ,. A. Elbowing through the jammed Market customers Haggle with vendors Over the Price of blueberries and -. Debate the Quality of different types of wild mushrooms picked in nearby forests v Many of the Sellers Are As new to the retail traders is the Sluice Market itself. The Manhattan Bazaar did not come into existence until after the collapse of former communist East Germany and its incorporation into 1 United Germany which extended the hard German Mark. And the wealthy european Union right up to the polish _ Border. ,.-._. ,.   i was a technical director for a construction company but with the Post communist economic upheaval i los my Job said Myroslawa Adamczak 42, who has been running a cheese stand at the Market for " just Over two years. _ there is lots of Competition but we now have regular customers and my husband and i Are doing Well Adamczak said As she held but samples of Low fat polish cheese to crowds jostling past her stand. At a nearby stand germans wereeager1y buying -. I polish tomatoes for 1.20 German Marks per kilo 37 cents per Pound about one third the Price in German _  Are quoted in both polish zlotys and German Marks and because the zloty is now freely convertible in Poland vendors do not care which currency is used to . _ Landshoff said he makes the 60-mile trip from Berlin to the of Bice Market several times a month. I fill up the car with polish gasoline which is cheaper than in Germany buy lots of fruits and vegetables and round off the trip Witry a Carton of duty free cigarettes and a bottle of polish a polish Farmer Waits with a pile of potatoes for bargain Hunting buyers. Schnapps he said. It a bargain and great  the Sluice Market and other Sumila open air emporiums in the polish Border cities of to Stryzen Winou Iscie and Gorze dec Are evidence of Poland s broader economic upswing. " ". The thousands of germans Laden with polish goods from the Sluice Market ar6 daily waved across the Friendship Bridge Border crossing by weary German customs officials. The shoppers Are proof of the foreign capital pouring into Poland As a result of the country s Radical policies to develop a free Market Small traders such As Adamczak Are the Vanguard of what the father of Poland s economic Shock therapy former finance minister Les , Calls the dynamic Gray Market Economy which often goes unrecorded in the country s economic indicators is  Biskupic Toru Poznan 1 wap8aw t " Oisiu Bice Sochaczek is is Kan George polish gnomes Nany of them imitations of the German originals Are big Sellers at Eft trucks and trailers serve As a movable Market. Is Peter Jaeger december 1, 1994 stripes Magazine