Malls in Poland

I've been meaning to comment on this for a while. I speculate that the fact that they went from communism to capitalism must have made them a bit nuts when it came to building the behemoth malls that spring up around here every couple of month. Since we arrived I think about 3 malls have opened up just here in Warsaw. From what I hear, this is going on all over the country. They seem to have the need to outdo the most recently built mall with an even bigger one.
You can buy just about everything at your local "Centrum Handlowe" which in essence means "shopping center." Each comes equipped (standard) with a supermarket (smaller than those hypermarkets - pseudoTarget/Wal-Mart stores like Real, Auchan or Carrefour), Kino (movie theater), and IMAX (even the movies need to be shown on larger screens). Multiple restaurants are scattered about as well as coffee shops (Starbucks will soon join the fray at long last!). Each mall has a playcenter with some funky name where (get this!) you can drop off your children while you shop. The kiddies get to play in bounce houses, obstacle courses, ball pits, etc. They get to tire themselves out while you enjoy your shopping experience. I haven’t tried that yet because I hate leaving Thing 1 by himself, but by the time Thing 2 is 3 and he is 6, I may let them go together.
Each mall is attached to a covered parking garage. Each parking slot has a a light above it signaling occupied (red) or available (green). Each row of parking spaces has it's own electronic display letting you know how many spaces are available in each row. And, if you wish to have your car washed while you shop, you can drop it off in the garage and it will be ready when you leave. The most convenient thing about this covered parking is the fact that if it’s time to go grocery shopping and it’s pouring rain outside, it matters not. Just head to your local Centrum Handlowe and shop there without getting yourself or your purchases wet.
Apparently, this mall building is a nationwide epidemic because they are now popping up in lesser known cities in Poland. Now what they have to do is pay for newly paved roads to take people to some of these malls!

10 Items or LESS!

Thing 2 and I took a trip to our local store to purchase a few things I couldn't find at the other store we went to yesterday. I had 5 items so I got into the 10 artikuly czy mniejszy (10 items or less) lane. There are 3 people ahead of me when a older couple in the line begin to put much more than 10 items on the belt. What the f***? I thought to myself in English ,wishing that I knew how to say that in Polish (need to ask the Polish teacher about that one). I'm not even a native and I can read the freakin' sign.

I haven't been in a hurry since I moved here so while it was annoying, I let it go. The people behind me however, did not. This lady went up to the couple and called them on it. This older man began to justify his prescence in the line by trying to infer that groupings of the same type of items (for example, several different beers, different fruits, etc,)all counted as one artykuly. It got ugly. A manager was called. The guy must have said something derogatory because the manager went off to get security. People in other lanes started chiming in their opinions. It was crazy. I paid for my 5 items and got out of there.

I'm sure that this happens in the States all the time (although I have yet to be a witness, probably because I usually have more than 10 items and wouldn't be in that line anyway). But, it was much more humorous to witness in Polish.