Art
S
hopping is a favorite pastime
for many travelers but what
to buand where to buy with
confidence can be problematic.
From major cities to small
villages, it helps when a local shares
shopping tips.
“If people want to buy amber in Cesky
Krumlov, I tell them to forget it unless
they know what they’re doing,” said
tour guide Oldřiška Baloušková. She
and I were strolling the 13th century
town located in Czech Republic’s
Southern Bohemia region and
designated a UNESCO World Heritage
Site. In centuries past the region was
on the amber trade route, which
explains its tourist presence today.
Many shops displayed the gleaming
yellow-to-copper-colored fossilized
resin fashioned into beautiful jewelry
to tempt buyers. “Usually amber sold
here is by people from other countries.
Some of it is good and some not so
good,” Oldřiška continued.
the shop gives non-EU-country
customers a Tax Free Shopping form
for a tax refund when leaving the EU.
Handbags Extraordinaire
Bambas is a family-owned business
that experimented with a new art form
in 1990 that involved