The Foreigner's Guide to Living in Slovakia

If you spend an extended amount of time or live in Bratislava, part of your shopping experience may be visiting one of the city’s open markets. An open market includes stalls and vendors selling everything from locally bottled honey and fresh bread, to cheap Chinese-made clothing.

The biggest of these markets is on Miletičová street. I often enjoyed going to this market. In my estimation, it has the biggest selection of fresh fruits and vegetables and I was always able to find a good selection of preserved-bottled goods. I also always bought sweet breads and, at some point, had to have langoš – fried dough topped with cheese and ketchup.

Additionally to the market on Miletičová, there are open markets in the old town (Stará tržnica) located at the corner of Špitálska and Larinská, and another market at Trnanvé myto (Mestská tržnica). The building is painted a bright red. You can’t miss it once you get off at the tram stop.

A lot of similar products can be found at these markets. Here’s a small list of foods I found interesting:

Tekvicové zrnká – pumpkin seeds – Sellers usually have a variety: salted, unsalted, and some flavored with different spices.

Pikant – salsa (more or less) – this is something like a combination of ketchup and salsa. It has a smooth consistency like ketchup, no chunks, but is spicy from pepperoncinis and paprika. It can be very salty though.

Med – honey – There are often many vendors to choose from who are selling honey and some honey-based products like candles or medovina – honey wine.

Vlašský orechy – walnuts – Walnuts are grown locally and so are usually plentiful. That’s probably one of the reasons why walnuts can be found in many Slovak deserts. Walnuts are sold by weight.

Kyslá kapusta – sauerkraut – Sauerkraut is usually held in large barrels and sold by weight

Uhorky – pickles – It’s also the same setup with pickles.

How to get there – Take tram 9 or 14 to stop Záhradnícka and walk to Miletičová from there, or take trolleybus 201 or 209, or bus 50 or 68 to stop Trhovisko.

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