Name of Shop: Flea Market behind the Church of Spilled Blood
There are many stalls at this flea market; beware of pickpocketers.
Know your prices before you buy; bargain well, if you buy more than an item, ask for lower prices. Say if one is for 150 rubles, 2 can be priced at 250 rubles and three at 320 rubles etc. I managed to bargain and ask for small gifts after buying several dolls.
Pay either in dollars or rubles, work out the exchange rate that strikes the bargain deal. They are very comfortable with bargaining.
What To Buy: I shopped at this Slovenia girls shop. She sold to us at least 15 dolls, and we got very very good prices and also we managed to ask for small gifts.
Look at the dolls details; eyes, shape and expression, twinkle in the eyes, an also detailing in the scraves or patterns etc.
dolls can cost as low as 10 USD for 4 numbers - plain dolls, and as much as 50 USD for more detailing dolls. But for a reasonable good quality ones, with good detailing on the paintwork, around 100 -150 dollars or more for the super huge ones.
Besides the matryoshka dolls, there are other similar painted dolls. bought some small single dolls which can hold a small bottle of Vodka, and I also bought some Nevatryoshka which is a single doll which rocks and sounds like a baby toy. The small ones cost between 400-500 rubles to a large one around 1300 rubles (1 dollar = 29 rubles).
Painted fridge magnets cost around 120 rubles, but we managed to bargain for 100 rubles each.
Buy beautiful Xmas tree decoration; painted eggs, dolls with porcelain faces decked in Russian outfits...all priced around 100-150 rubles.
What To Pay: My friend bought from another stall a painted egg, about 5 inches tall, with the Kazan Cathedral Madonna icon on it; the lass wanted 60 dollars, and she managed to pay 50 dollars for it.
Amber....there are many colours. My fren said they looked like plastic!!. There is cherry amber - dark coloured, to the golden coloured ones, to the milky ones which are more precious as it is found deep in the ocean floor. The heavier and larger pieces cost more. I bought an amber gem tree to match my other gem tree I have at home. It is quite fun to look at each stall slowly!!!
There is a small river running behind the flea market, and on a spring day, I saw a guy jumping inside for a coool dip....geez...and one Russian lady who runs a stall joked with me...she said he has no profit n took his life!!! and I was to be blamed - becos I asked for too much discount!!!!
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