Stung by high prices, Dutch shop in Germany

Marleen Naipal scoops up another pot of face cream, glances at the price tag and tips it into her bulging basket of cosmetic products.

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But this is no ordinary shopping splurge: Naipal has taken a 400km round-trip in a coach to Germany from the Netherlands, where the high cost of living is poised to be a major factor in October 29 elections.

“We came all the way from Rotterdam to Bocholt [in Germany] for a day of shopping because it is just so much cheaper than in the Netherlands,” the 53-year-old hair stylist said.

“I think some products are half the price, then the day trip is definitely worth it,” she said, with tickets for the “shopbus” costing around €40 (about R800).

She is not alone. When AFP joined the trip, Dutch bargain-hunters boarded in Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Utrecht to cross the border into Germany.