Sunday, August 10, 2008

King of Prussia Mall

One of the most popular things to do in the US in your free time, is going to a shopping mall. The King of Prussia mall, the largest shopping center on the East Coast, is only a 20 minute drive from Philadelphia's center city. Last Saturday I took a trip down there to see why everyone is so impressed by this mall!

You park your car on a huge parking lot, where you get a cold feeling - all you see is a lot of asphalt and an enourmous ugly brick building. However, take a step into this building, and you'll notice a big difference!

With more than 400 stores, 13.000 parking spots, a theater with 16 cinema´s (including IMAX), two Starbucks, and a tennisstadium, this complex is huge - even for America! When you enter the building, the first thing you get is a map of the complex, and there is a guy in a suit telling you where you can spend your money. Big stores from Macy's, Bloomingdale's and JC Penny's are there, as well as smaller stores like Armani and Hugo Boss. Non-clothing stores are also available: FYE, Sunglass Hut, Radioshack, Borders, Bodyshop... Anything you need. After you've been walking around there for a while you understand why many people in the US max out their credit cards.

After a few hours of shopping, you'll get hungry. It would not be America if someone didn't think of that: three big foud courts host dozens of restaurants, many of which are fast food chains. This was my opportunity to check out the Cheesecake factory: a nice meal combined with a superior cheesecake dessert! The Dutchies should be jealous of this concept!!

Before I knew it, I was shopping for many hours... Time to drive home (with a Starbucks Frappucinno)!