Poland 1991 #3of5

(Except Gdansk, Kraków, Oswiecim, Poznan, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wieliczka, Wroclaw.)

We see large fields of tobacco, and special barns for drying. The Polish hay bailers produce hay bales that are quite small, not as large as the ones created by the hay bailer I operated, years ago. Farmers use small tractors, and there are a lot of bicycles on the road. To eliminate the need for fences, we see many cows, each tied to a stake by a chain or rope, so they can eat grass in a large circle. Again we have seen stork’s nests perched high on top of a concrete tripod, and a couple on top of other buildings, and we’ve seen a few thatched-roof homes.

A bus we were following suddenly swerved, and we saw a car stopped in the middle of the road, right in front of us. We were able to get around it OK, but that was close, and no fun at all. The several men standing around had done nothing to get the car out of the way, or to direct traffic around it.

As we neared Wloclawek, we stopped for Diesel fuel. We usually park and walk through any town we find, but here, after re-fueling we missed the turn, and could see the town behind us. We stopped at a fruit stand, and while the man never weighed anything and we paid more than if he had used scales, we received plenty for our dollar. At two places we saw old buses that had been converted into road-side restaurants.

As we drove alongside the wide Wisla River, there were sail boats enjoying smooth sailing. Crossed the River to Plock, an interesting town, then visited the church and the park, and saw a wedding party in one church. At one point there was a sign that said, among other things, “Semper Fidelis.” Couldn’t read any other words on the sign, but perhaps there is a US Marine Corps base in Poland. (That’s a joke, but maybe not a good one.)

After a few days in Warsaw, we headed toward Kraków, with nothing but sightseeing expected on the way. This is the farming area we remember from 1985. The main difference? In 1985 roadside fruit and vegetable stands often were only a small box with a dozen pieces of poor quality fruit. In 1991, large wagons and roadside stands were loaded with boxes of nice looking fruits and vegetables.

The Berlin Wall has been down less than two years, and we were told farmers are now producing plenty of food, and the granaries are full.