Pottery As Well As Pig's Knuckles...Repositioning From Berlin To Prague

The Ford Mondeo carriage is a prissy car. It's got sat/nav, AC (a rare process inwards this country), a prissy stereo alongside iPod dock, as well as cruise control. This volition live on a prissy interruption inwards world transit for a twosome of days equally nosotros journeying eastward for a detour to the Czechia for a few days.

I simply wishing I'd checked alongside the Hertz agent at the counter on how to set it into reverse...

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I'm inwards a narrow lane, alongside a tight turn, trying to larn out the garage inwards a station carriage that's simply a tad likewise long to larn inwards in 1 pass. The manual shifter says contrary is agency to the left as well as up. Every fourth dimension I endeavour that, I halt upward inwards commencement gear as well as border a fleck closer to the wall.

Pretty soon, at that topographic point volition live on no to a greater extent than room to edge.

I figure at that topographic point must live on a push clit or something to press but I can't notice it. I can't notice a manual, either, inwards this black auto inwards a darker garage. Finally, I run into a minor telephone at the bottom of the shifter...lift that...and I'm inwards reverse.

Whew! that was a closed one.  Now, I simply receive got to create this for v to a greater extent than floors inwards this cramped, petty parking garage until I receive got to brand a blind larn out onto a busy, Berlin street.

I larn by somehow as well as notice my agency dorsum to Lindemann's Hotel on Postdamerstrasse...our habitation inwards Berlin...where the managing director kindly permit me commons out dorsum to pack our bags, wheelchair, as well as Tim into the car.

Before nosotros leave, nosotros notice that it would exclusively live on nigh 50 miles out of our agency as well as exclusively add together nigh 45 minutes to our receive to receive got a detour through a corner of Poland. We hadn't planned on going at that topographic point but nosotros tin add together a checkmark to our listing (we add together a novel identify to our listing if nosotros create something pregnant at that topographic point such equally eating a meal...changing planes at an aerodrome doesn't count).

Once out of Berlin, I run into my favorite High German route sign...a circle alongside v diagonal lines through it...that says at that topographic point is no longer whatever speed limit. Yes, we're on 1 of the country's famous autobahns alongside petty traffic.

The cruise command is fix to 160kph (100mph) and, inwards no time, we've crossed the Polish border on a rattling smooth, good paved, high speed highway (Note: live on certain to spotter the video, above, to experience this).

Then nosotros crossed the Polish border...

Suddenly, the shine pavement turned into a cracked as well as potholed disaster. Speed bound was dropped to the equivalent of 45mph, as well as fifty-fifty that may receive got been likewise high. It felt similar the tires on our auto all of a precipitous became square.

After nigh twoscore miles of this stuff, my married adult woman flora a side route that would Pb due south nigh 20 miles to the highway we'd take away to receive got dorsum towards Dresden, where we'd plough off towards Prague.


This road's much nicer. Just a two-lane reason road, it winds through some rattling prissy scenery.  My married adult woman tells me the map shows a hamlet upward ahead.  The hamlet turns out to live on Dabrowa Boleslawiecka.

The hamlet has an interesting history. Before World War II, it was business office of Germany. After the war, it became business office of Poland as well as the High German population was expelled then that Poles could motion in. Despite the ugliness of the war, it's a moving painting perfect European hamlet inwards the rolling, green, tree covered hills.

It's fourth dimension for lunch. There's a eating seat inwards the pump of town but parking at that topographic point looks iffy equally does the wheelchair access. We saw a petty 24 hour, truck halt diner at the border of town then nosotros plough dorsum to larn receive got a quick seize alongside teeth there. There's plenty of parking as well as wheelchair access at the Zajasd Lesny.

We speedily realize we're non on the tourist trail anymore when the server does non utter to a greater extent than than ii words of English linguistic communication as well as nosotros utter fifty-fifty less Polish. Somehow, nosotros larn by to larn our yell for across and, luckily, the eating seat has had the foresight to impress 1 bill of fare inwards English. Pointing volition assistance at this point.

Tim orders a plate of cheese as well as spud pirogies, I larn a plate of the meat variety. The innovation is for each of us to consume one-half of the other's repast then nosotros tin receive got both. Letty goes alongside the hog knuckle as well as some blood-red beet tea.

The guys larn their pirogies as well as they're heavenly. Steamy petty puffs of dough alongside such tasty fillings.

The star of the show, though, is Letty's hog knuckle.  It's a softball sized mound of pork that is tender plenty to piece alongside a fork.

Happily, she agrees to percentage some alongside us. The savory broth that covers this dish upward adds to the joy our stomachs are feeling later this meal. This volition plough out to live on 1 of the most memorable meals from this trip...here, at a petty roadside 24 threescore minutes diner, far off the principal highway inwards a corner of Poland.

Before nosotros firm back into Deutschland, Letty wants to view 1 to a greater extent than town appearing on the Polish map, this fourth dimension Boleslawiec.  Expecting simply some other pretty Polish village, this is clearly a bigger town alongside quondam Communist factories as well as smokestacks dotting the landscape.

Some of those factories specialize inwards ceramics, a tradition inwards this town going dorsum several hundred years, making this a hotbed for the product. My married adult woman at nowadays wants out.

Tim as well as I overstep the fourth dimension inwards the parking lot spell she shops for some plates to receive got home, picking upward a prissy petty haul for exclusively closed to 20 bucks.

Done alongside our side trip, nosotros larn dorsum on a much smoother highway for the trip dorsum across the border as well as on to tonight's destination, Prague inwards the Czech Republic.

Stay tuned for that adventure.

Darryl Musick
Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved


Photos yesteryear Letty Musick
Copyright 2016 - All Rights Reserved