heading for Poland.

Got up, had breakfast, headed out the door by 9:30am. We decided not to follow the GPS recommended route, as it took us through Prague, congested freeways, road repairs, etc .... so instead we took back roads that were congested, many road repairs and detours, un-interesting scenes and got lost a few times.

But then we approached the Krokonos Mountains and small sweet villages, where we stopped for lunch at a Motorist (roadside cafe) where no -one spoke English but where we managed to order drinks and fruit knedlicky which was exactly what we both wanted and couldn't find the whole time we were in Czech Republic. Families were out for a weekend getaway, kids were behaving themselves, it was nice.

                               Saw a train station along the way.....

And here is a very old abandoned castle in badly need of repair.

J-Me and I apologized to each other for being stressed out for the last hour of road rage, and began to really enjoy the trip.

We crossed over into Poland. We have noticed the forested trees going straight up, being trimmed at the bottoms. We think they are especially planted and cut for lumber, as every once in awhile we see a truck with forks coming to pick them up. What we do not know is if they are farmed by the state.

And do you see what is also in Poland? We saw McDonalds, KFC, Subway and even a Burger King. and No, we did not go into any of them. I mean, really, there is all this wonderful food in Europe....

We finally made it to our destination of Boleswiec, home of the famous blue and white ceramic pottery.

Found a small hotel near old town, and started exploring the shops and factory outlets. Being Sunday, nothing but restaurants were open, so we window shopped and found a restaurant for dinner. The old town square was fantastic, as most old town centers in Europe are, and ate good food and people watched.

J-Me loves doorways and windows in Europe. Here are some of them she took photos of.

Our dinner for this evening. Schnitzel for Guy and stuffed chicken for J-Me. Yummy!

Found a old fountain which Guy had to get a drink from.

Next morning, up and early and on to Gdansk, driving through beautiful countryside, mostly farming.

Had a picnic lunch at a roadside stop, then into Gdansk. Our GPS got us to our hotel, but only by me (Guy)  driving like a madman and breaking several vehicle and pedestrian laws to get there. I think I drove on a pedestrian sidewalk to get to the hotel. It was absolutely impossible to get there legally. But we got there, unloaded our suitcases, and I found parking behind the hotel that I was not going to give up until we drove away on Wednesday.

Talk about narrow twisted streets!

Guy is unlacing our bags, while J-me is in our room looking out the window.

Anyway, Mariacka St. was 20 feet away, filled with vendors/ shops selling amber. Fantastic. The buildings were amazing. The people were nice and friendly. Our receptionist, Anna was friendly, funny and full of energy. She gave us tips on money exchange, best places to shop, best restaurants, best secret beach to find amber, etc.

 Found lots of amber, but it turns out only retail, with none at wholesale nor to negotiate, at least in the small time we are here. Many visits will be needed, and with more time to follow leads and find the right contacts. But the amber we did see was truly amazing.

We roamed around, bought some stuff, ate some food, met 3 Irish sisters who had just got off a boat cruise and recommended it, said the beer was great. We hope to go do that tomorrow.

Walking back to our hotel, we stumbled on a new restaurant, Machina, really close to our hotel, which combined Italian, Algerian and Polish food by the owners who are Polish and lived in Algeria for 18 years. You got to pick out what you wanted on your ravioli by checking them off on the menu paper. The chocolate tiramisu was like nothing we have ever had. It was all amazing. They played nice jazz music here. We met the owner, Radoslaw and spoke with him for a while. He is a really friendly man who rides motor cross bikes and would love to come to California one day. We exchanged business cards. Who knows? maybe one day we will see him back home.

Finally, after a really long day, bed was calling to us, and we sucumbed.