Where to start....where to start.......hmmmmm.......
I guess I can post pictures since that'll pretty much illustrate the trip... screw it.. I'll add my commentary... it'll probably cause me to get strung up by my thumbs...
You know how grayhounds chase a "rabbit"? Well, "Team Honda" was the rabbit and "Team Van" (the group I was with) managed to trail behind them.... in fact, we trailed so much that we eventually got seperated from them while in Germany. Keep in mind, we managed to keep a steady pace of 80-85 mph, in Germany...where it was cold & rainy WITH windy roads and construction zones. Luckily, Barb (the driver for Team Van) had "Thomas", her TOM TOM, and he managed to guide us to Poland. Well, once we hit the Poland border, he kinda went MIA, but he managed to check himself and get back on track to take us to our hotel. I must say, Thomas was entertaining since he had a nice British accent and when you managed to go over the speed limit (which we managed to do alot when we were trying to keep up with the rabbit).. it'd sound like Big Ben was going off... ya know, the whole "DONG" sound. lol. The best part...whenever we were talking and there was a "point" being made, he happened to "DONG" at the right time, so it seemed like he was putting his two cents in, hahahaa...
We think the Police was keepin' an eye on Team Honda's leadfoot driver :)
On our way to Poland, we happened to come across two castles...they were literally across the highway from one another! I wish I could've gotten better pictures, but hey...atleast I got something, right?
After porking out on cookies, waters, chips and all kinds of snacks, we managed to cross the Poland border ..which is when Thomas decided to take a small vacation. I think when Thomas went MIA, that must've been a "sign" or something for things to come...
When we finally managed to find our way to the right exit ..here's how the scenery was looking... looks promising, hunh?
By the way... this isn't fog. This is smoke from the industrial smoke staks that're all over the town we were in.
After 8ish hours on the road, we finally made it to our hotel...
This is the restraunt that's attatched to the hotel..
The parking lot... kinda doesnt make you feel all that safe, to be honest...
The lovely view adjacent to the hotel...it's a "yard" for the horse that's in there..
When the horse realized there were people around, he rushed over for some much needed attention...
Once we got a little settled in and assessted the situation at hand, we decided to head on down for some food since I think we were all getting to the point of canibalism, atleast Team Van was...
Here's a map to show how many people have come and stayed at the Hotel Protea:
Relaxing in the hotels restraunt
Once we were done gorging on food and drinks, we all tottled off to bed.. at the hour of 7pm. But ya know.. traveling 8ish hours really takes it's toll on the body.
If I could have done it, I would've strapped him to the roof of the van and taken him home. Poor thing had a very crappy living situation :( He loved gettin a ton of attention from us! I was starting to believe he was inlove with me..
Once Team Honda showed up....yes, we beat them there despite the leadfoot driving on their part... the phrase "Slow & steady wins the race". Anyway, once they showed up and we got our room keys, Melissa, who was my room mate... made our ways to our room to get settled in. Here's some pics of our spaceious living arrangement... by the time we were ready to go home, Melissa and I came to the agreement that we think our room service maid smoked while cleaning the room. It had a very noticeable smell of dirty cigg's.
Keep in mind, my back was pressed firmly against the door..
Melissa and I could've spooned and not even known it....
Our breath-taking oceanside view..
Our football field sized bathroom..
Once we got a little settled in and assessted the situation at hand, we decided to head on down for some food since I think we were all getting to the point of canibalism, atleast Team Van was...
Here's a map to show how many people have come and stayed at the Hotel Protea:
When you walk down a little further, there's this display case of Russian nesting dolls, wood dolls and other trinkets. I gotta say, they were absolutely breath taking cause of the craftmanship and detail to the dresses. I ended up getting a little doll for myself (just a little one).
Relaxing in the hotels restraunt
Much NEEDED booze!
Once we were done gorging on food and drinks, we all tottled off to bed.. at the hour of 7pm. But ya know.. traveling 8ish hours really takes it's toll on the body.
The next day started bright and early to hit the pottery shops with vicious tenacity..
In all honesty...I can't recall how many pottery shops we actually went to. They all started to become a blur since alot of it looked the same. Given, I found some cool pieces here and there, but it all started to mimic one another.
We managed to fit some lunch in between all the shopping.. I had perogies it was awesome. It's green onions, cheese and potatoes in a "pot sticker" style ravioli.
Here's some Polish money....
20 Zlotych is worth 4.87 Euro, or $7.30
100 Zlotych is worth 24.39 Euro, or $36.53
Ok...more shopping...
I'm surprised this didn't get strapped to the roof of a car to take home...
Oh.. by the way.... we were expecting to see Kliczkow Castle. I mean, I know that was HUGE reason why I wanted to come on this trip. Sure, we have castles and such around Belgium and Germany, but it was gonna be really cool to see a different style of castle.
This is what we were expecting to see:
What we actually saw:
Stunning, hunh? I thought so, too.
Funny thing, the castle offers daytime tours and it's very educational, great experience for tourists...so I've heard..over and over again.... but.. oh ...atleast I got a picture of my amazing Apple Strudel.... it was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.... I wanted to lick the plate.
Here's Melissa's Terimisu
On our way back from our 4.....or 5 hour dinner... I dunno how long it was considering I started to black out towards the end:
The restraunt in the hotel:
Wood carved animal heads:
Can you tell me what's wrong with this moose?
I could really go on ...and on...and on....and on about the trip and all the things that I saw , heard, smelled....yeah...
But...HEY! Here's all the pottery I managed to find :)
Little wood stein...it was way too cute to pass up. I managed to score one for John and another for Eric.
I was ELATED to find this cookie jar! I know it sounds extremely retarded to be that happy about a jar...but after ALL the shops we went to, we finally found it at store # 12...or #13...or maybe it was #20...either way, it was a sight for sore eyes!
Go figure... an Air Force plate... in Poland....really? lol
I went to Kliczkow Castle and all I got was this mug..............................................
This is actually a humidifier... you fill it up with water and hang it on your heater. When the heater kicks on, the water steams up and it helps add humidity to your place & helps prevent your skin from drying out.
The Russian wood doll that I purchased:
All in all, I ended up with some funky pottery, got to spend some time with Team Van and got to see Polish coulture first hand. Sure, it didn't turn out like we were hoping it would, but... hey... atleast I can say I've been to Poland.
.......Right?
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