Goodbye Poland

Okay, two weeks away from home and we must say goodbye to Kolobrzeg, goodbye to Poland, and goodbye to Europe. I took my daughter's toy moose with me (I'm sentimental like that) and here he is, watching Kolobrzeg and Poland slip away, mile by mile, in the bus on the way to our transfer bus in Szczecin (pronounced sh-CHEH-cheen). Thank you for joining me on this little trip...I wish I could show you more, but we must get home to the Walla Walla Valley. Bon Voyage!

Poland 13

Downtown Kolobrzeg. I thought the fountain looked like a dandelion flower.

Poland 12

The forests around Kolobrzeg were enchanting. I loved them, even in the rain. Perhaps...moreso in the rain...?

Poland 11

My sister took me out for kawa, or coffee, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that they often offer coffee with ice cream in it. It was delicious! We got kawa twice and I tried it both with and without ice cream and enjoyed them both.

Poland 10

In Kolobrzeg, it was spring at the end of May. The flowers were in full bloom, it rained frequently, and I never did leave the apartment without a jacket. Back home in Walla Walla, it was already in the 80s (F) and folks were wearing shorts, t-shirts and sandals. I was amazed to see such gorgeous flowers in the middle of downtown Kolobrzeg.

Poland 9

And here is the famous Baltic Sea coast of Kolobrzeg, Poland. Beautiful.

Poland 8

These Mute Swans covered the beaches around the Baltic Sea, on the edge of which Kolobrzeg is situated. They were fairly friendly, as in they didn't run from people right away. They had relatively small "personal space bubbles" and allowed us to get quite close before acting nervous and padding in the opposite direction. They are so elegant.

Poland 7

I love European architecture and this was my first experience with non-western style. Here are a few of my favourites.

One of two museums in Kolobrzeg, the History Museum.


A church in a small town outside of Kolobrzeg.


More of Kolobrzeg.

Poland 6

The double rainbow that said "Good evening" the first night I was there. View from the apartment I stayed in.

Poland 5

Checking out the grocery store. It looked very similar to those in America, however the packaging was smaller and all in bags - very few things in boxes. That included breakfast cereal, which was weird to me, since almost all of our cereal comes in boxes in America.

Poland 4

Evening in Kolobrzeg. This was also seen from the apartment I stayed in during my time in Poland.

Poland 3

The view from the apartment where I stayed. All homes in Kolobrzeg are apartments. There are no houses, which was odd to me, since in America, every town has a combination of houses, apartments, condominiums, town houses, and other various types of living places. So these towering apartment buildings dot the town.

Poland 2

We went through several small towns between Berlin and Kolobrzeg, and I was enthralled by the beauty of them all. Here is one charming building with cute flowers in the windows.

Poland

In May I was privileged to travel to Poland for a few days to visit my sister, who was teaching English there. She showed me around the town for four days, then we spent a day in Berlin, Germany, before heading home on the same day. She had been in Poland for eight months by that time. Join me on a tour of Kolobrzeg (pronounced ko-AWB-jeg, with a soft French "j"), Poland, seen through the eyes of a small-town Pacific Northwesterner. Here is my view for the trip from the Berlin Tegel Airport to Kolobrzeg, an approximately 3-hour drive. And off we go!