German-Poland Border

Germany is on the right side of the river and the Polish border is soon after crossing the river. Today, we drove from Berlin to Warsaw, 369 miles or 590 km, with a stop in Poznan.

German-Poland Border

At the Polish Border

You usually do not have to show your passport when traveling from one European Union country to another and we didn’t. A kantor is a money exchange––Poland doesn’t use the euro. Polish money is the zloty, worth about 36 cents U.S. Zsofia recommended that we change some money into zloties as we would be in Poland for four days. We did this at our comfort stop.

At the Polish Border

The Polish Countryside

A good part of the road from the border to Warsaw is only a two–lane country road––hard to believe that a road to the capital of a country would be only such a road. Trucks and cars were lined up for at least 10 miles going toward the German border. However, new highways are being built as Poland (along with the Ukranie) will host the European Cup in 2012 but, perhaps, the drive to the capital won’t be as nice then as ours was through the Polish countryside.  The Polish countryside is not as neat as the German countryside, but it has much charm. It would make a very nice slow drive in a car, stopping off at the small villages along the way.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Many Polish houses tend to be on the big side.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

The fields were green and sometimes yellow with canola and with many trees.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

The houses in the villages along the road were smaller.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

A Polish house.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

A nightclub in the country.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Driving through  village.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

These were really ugly apartment houses––built by the Soviets?

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

More country homes.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Two–toned houses.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Las Vegas in Poland? The palm tree is a fake. I saw this Las Vegas sign some other times. I think it could be the name of a power company.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

A farm building.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

An interesting building along the road. I don’t think the steeple belongs to it.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

A country church.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Some very old buildings.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Very lush and very pretty.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

The statue on the hill at the back of the photo caught our eye. Zsofia said she had not seen it before. It just went up in the town of Swiebodzin, in honor of the beautification of Pope John II on May 1, 2011. It has the distinction of being the tallest Jesus statue in the entire world, taller than the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. It is 33 meters (108 feet) tall, one meter for every year that Jesus lived. Swiebodzin is about 55 miles from the German border.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

I borrowed this photo of Swiebodzin’s Jesus statue from the Internet.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

We saw many churches in the Polish countryside.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

More of the countryside.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

An interesting house.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

And some unattractive  houses––built by the Soviets?

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

We are now on a four–lane road with a traffic jam on the left side. We were wondering if we should get out and tell them that the jam is only going to get worse.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

For sale at our comfort stop. 20,90 zloties equals $7.57 U.S. Things were not inexpensive in Poland.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

This was one of other similar homes in a development. I was surprised to see them.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Apartment houses.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

A farm house amid apple orchards.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Another beautiful church.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

A front view of the church.

The Polish Countryside

The Polish Countryside

Another church.

The Polish Countryside

Poznan (See Slide Show)

We have arrived at our lunch stop––the 1,000–year–old city of Poznan. We walked to its market square––so beautiful. One thing I liked about our Cosmo tour was that we had our lunches often in these market squares rather than on the highway as you do with many tours. I have put my photos of the square on a slide show: Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Europe–1,  Market Square Poznan.

Poznan (See Slide Show)

Poznan

We had reached the market square along this street. But when I walked back to the bus, I mistook another street having very similar signs on the buildings for it. I became lost. But I had Zsofia’s cell phone number and my global phone, so I was able to call her and she directed me to where she was waiting. I thought about how many times I have inconvenienced a bus load of people by either getting lost or not showing up on time: with this one, four (no five. I just remembered another instance). Not too bad, but still embarrassing.

Poznan

Warsaw

We have reached Warsaw, the day’s final destination.

Warsaw

Warsaw

The flower seller in the last photo.

Warsaw

Warsaw

We are close to our hotel.

Warsaw

Warsaw

Our hotel. We had dinner included at the hotel tonight. I don’t remember caring for it very much.

Warsaw

Warsaw

Every hotel that we stayed at had a different computer and wifi policy––some computers were free to use, some you had to pay for and the same for wifi. Our hotel in Warsaw had free computer use, which meant many people lined up to use it. They were charging way too much for wifi, but I discovered that this cafe next door to our hotel offered free wifi if you bought a coffee or such. I sat outside and e–mailed home, drinking a cappuccino and watching the world walk by––a fun thing to do. Tomorrow we would have a city tour of Warsaw.

Warsaw