The bus portion of the trip started at 10pm Friday night. The ride seemed to never end and I was stuck against the window in my seat. Finally, we got to the border of Poland and the border patrol guys took thieir sweet Polish time getting to us while we sat munched up on the bus.
After our passports were checked, we proceeded toward our destination -- Boleslawiec, the proclaimed pottery capital.
There I was - knee deep in Polish pottery, wondering what the heck am I doing buying stuff when I don't even have a home to put it in. I did have a good time "ooh-ing and ah-ing" the pieces and designs. There were even some Americana designs. I was amazed to learn that everything has been made by hand, no mass production of any kind. We even got to tour the warehouse where people were working for their $10 a day crafting, cooking, painting, glazing and finishing everything all by hand.
As all the other women, including my sister, browsed more pottery shops, I found a junk shop. I peeked inside and saw old WWII German and Polish military uniforms. When I walked around inside I found old medicine bottles, medals, postcards of Nazi soldiers and photos of Adolf Hitler. Later, when I walked around some of the neighborhoods while visiting other pottery shops, I saw remnants of WWII like the barbed wire in this photo where I'm standing. Also, evidence of Soviet occupation still exists, like some of the apartment buildings in town where soldiers were housed. The closest Americans have to WWII evidence is Pearl Harbor, which I've never been to, so this trip was a bit breath taking and surreal for me. I learned that Poland is a very poor country, but the people are friendly and proud of what they can offer.
