guns. porn. knives, smelly men. and the best antiques EVER.

"the worst flea market in the world."
is what some call the Prague flea (the one out by the airport).

its filthy.
no stalls, just tarps on the muddy ground heaping with picker's offerings.
lots of war collectibles, weapons and (eeeeww) bad 70s Czech porn mags.
the air smells of body odor mixed with uncooked meat, and exhaust fumes.

(it is in a gravel and mud parking lot surrounded by abandoned factory buildings)

upon entering, you have to pass thru rows and rows of shacks hawking socks, broken tvs and dirty plastic toys.

noone speaks english.
nobody will accept dollars, euro or pounds. (god forbid credit card)
just crown.
they barter, but very little.

but you dont need to here...
because everything is quite literally- dirt cheap.

case in point:
1890's antler mount-
hand carved plaque out of black forrest oak.
hand-lettered with the year, hunter and provenance.
FOR TWELVE DOLLARS.

i bought so much stuff i had to buy trunks to ship it home.

this was my third visit in the past 6 years.

some call it a dissapointing venture,
i call it

THE BEST FLEA MARKET IN THE WORLD.

(maybe the open crates of meat contributed to the stench?)

if you're lucky, some vendors sort their goods in boxes to make the digging easier.

but most will just toss it on the ground, so when its time to leave they 'pack up' by rolling the tarp in on itself.

i started to run out of room quickly...

a typical stall. mud field + folding table..... this is a far cry from the Brimfield flea, my friends.

if id had a way to get them home, i could have taken all 5 sets of vintage wooden alpine skis for $40. total.