Reflections on Poland

Some reflections since coming home.

Poland

The effects of 50 years of foreign occupation and the commensurate lack of care and maintenance of Poland’s infrastructure are evident the moment you enter the country. The 250km/hr German Autobahn becomes a bumpy motorway on which it is difficult to travel more than 100. Although private gardens and farms are beautiful and well kept, public areas (roadside ditches and uncultivated tracts) are not maintained and are often strewn with garbage.

In western Europe, highway Rest Stops are much like those in Canada and the US: gas stations with convenience stores, food outlets and picnic tables. In Poland our first rest stop was a small pre-fab building in which 2 ladies were selling perogies, packaged potato chips and soft drinks. The two toilets were portables.

On the plus side, the fried perogies were the best we ever had and that included the steamed ones we had for dinner at the hotel in the town of Oswiecim later that night.

( Trivia: When the Germans occupied Poland they changed the town's Polish name “Oswiecim” to the German “Auschwitz”.)

The concentration camp is a small part of the town and was actually a Polish military base years before the war. The numerous multi-story brick buildings were pre-1939 Polish army barracks.

Although Poland has been a member of the European Union since 2004, most rural places still use the Zloty as currency. In fact most small stores around Oswiecim wouldn’t accept Euros and I had to find an ATM to acquire Zlotys to buy souvenirs.

(click on photos for detail)

PS: Many of the photos posted on this Blog were taken by Joel with a Lumix TZ4. If he isn't in a blog photo, he probably took it!