Poland was interesting. I visited twice during our time living in Germany. Both were short trips with other friends to shop for Polish pottery in the town of Boleslawiec, Poland.
The Polish countryside looks very similar to Germany but the towns and farms there look more like East Germany which still appears more economically depressed than over in the western half of the country. Thus, the farther north and east we drove in Germany from Stuttgart and the closer to the Polish border, the more drab the buildings and farms became. Everything faded into an industrial, dirty gray and pretty much stayed that way on into the country of Poland. The exceptions in Boleslawiec were the pottery shops themselves most of which were clean and brightly painted. Other than that, most of the apartment buildings, businesses, and houses were dull, dirty and run-down. People would hang out of windows staring lifelessly from between walls of peeling paint.
It is always exciting to visit and explore new places and Poland was no exception to that. It was a fun, different, and sad place all rolled into one. The people were friendly and helpful and spoke some English and/or understood some German. We stayed in a bed and breakfast where a multigenerational family rented out rooms upstairs in their home as well as a separate cottage behind the house near the huge garden plot. They had a high, secure, and heavy iron gate that they locked across the driveway at night as car theft was rampant in the area. Everywhere we went, we either parked in a guarded or gated lot or in a parking lot directly in front of the large shop windows in order to keep an eye on the autos.
One evening as we sat at a table inside a restaurant and had just finished ordering when my friend, Vivian, sprang to her feet and was out the door yelling in a flash! She had seen a young man near her car in the parking lot. It turns out, he simply wanted to wash the windows in exchange for some spare change but my friend shooed him away because she wasn’t taking any chances.
Another lady, who accompanied us to Poland and back the first time, had been visiting that particular town in Poland periodically for the last 20 years. She and her husband had been stationed overseas much of that time and she would make sporadic trips into Poland via train or eventually by car. So, it was encouraging that even though it still seemed like many improvements were needed, she reassured us that much progress had already been made such as new roads and highways.
On my second trip to Poland, I drove, so I found myself watching my own car in the parking lot more closely than on the first trip. And these window-washing boys seemed to appear out of thin air everywhere we went; restaurants, pottery shops, and even at busy intersections. The first trip had been in February and the second trip in May so that may explain the increase in solicitors the second time around. A couple of times during that second excursion, I noticed people congregating in the parking lot near my van. And both times when I stepped out of the shop door, the people drifted and/or drove away. If it had only occurred once I would have chalked it up to coincidence but since it happened more than once and both times in unsecured parking lots, I think it was more than just a coincidence; and especially since every time I simply stepped out the door, the people left the area.
During one trip we drove to the town square and visited a toy shop, a crystal shop, and a material shop. While standing outside the bank, we were approached by a couple of young boys who asked us in halting English if we had any Zloty (Polish money). We honestly shook our heads, “No,” because all of the stores accepted Euros as well as Dollars. Then the boys asked for Euros and being at the end of our shopping excursion, we again said No. Then they switched to asking for dollars. When the answer was again, “No,” they quickly asked for chocolate! Once again, we laughingly shook our heads, “No,” with our empty hands in the air as the universal sign for empty-handed. After refusing them four times in a row, my friend pulled out an unopened pack of chewing gum and handed that to them as a consolation gift.
Interestingly, the boys gladly grabbed it but appeared to not know what it was. As we were driving away in our car, we saw the boys huddled in a group, ripping open the package. And then, to our astonishment, they shoved several sticks of gum into their mouths, wrapper and all!! Well, of course, they spit it back out and we felt bad that our gift was spoiled and not enjoyed. It just never occurred to us that those boys wouldn’t even be familiar with chewing gum. This was one aspect of the sad side of the country of Poland.
Poland was interesting. I visited twice during our time living in Germany. Both were short trips with other friends to shop for Polish pottery in the town of Boleslawiec, Poland. 
The Polish countryside looks very similar to Germany but the towns and farms there look more like East Germany which still appears more economically depressed than over in the western half of the country. Thus, the farther north and east we drove in Germany from Stuttgart and the closer to the Polish border, the more drab the buildings and farms became. Everything faded into an industrial, dirty gray and pretty much stayed that way on into the country of Poland. The exceptions in Boleslawiec were the pottery shops themselves most of which were clean and brightly painted. Other than that, most of the apartment buildings, businesses, and houses were dull, dirty and run-down. People would hang out of windows staring lifelessly from between walls of peeling paint. 
It is always exciting to visit and explore new places and Poland was no exception to that. It was a fun, different, and sad place all rolled into one. The people were friendly and helpful and spoke some English and/or understood some German. We stayed in a bed and breakfast where a multigenerational family rented out rooms upstairs in their home as well as a separate cottage behind the house near the huge garden plot. They had a high, secure, and heavy iron gate that they locked across the driveway at night as car theft was rampant in the area. Everywhere we went, we either parked in a guarded or gated lot or in a parking lot directly in front of the large shop windows in order to keep an eye on the autos.
One evening as we sat at a table inside a restaurant and had just finished ordering when my friend, Vivian, sprang to her feet and was out the door yelling in a flash! She had seen a young man near her car in the parking lot. It turns out, he simply wanted to wash the windows in exchange for some spare change but my friend shooed him away because she wasn’t taking any chances.
Another lady, who accompanied us to Poland and back the first time, had been visiting that particular town in Poland periodically for the last 20 years. She and her husband had been stationed overseas much of that time and she would make sporadic trips into Poland via train or eventually by car. So, it was encouraging that even though it still seemed like many improvements were needed, she reassured us that much progress had already been made such as new roads and highways.
On my second trip to Poland, I drove, so I found myself watching my own car in the parking lot more closely than on the first trip. And these window-washing boys seemed to appear out of thin air everywhere we went; restaurants, pottery shops, and even at busy intersections. The first trip had been in February and the second trip in May so that may explain the increase in solicitors the second time around. A couple of times during that second excursion, I noticed people congregating in the parking lot near my van. And both times when I stepped out of the shop door, the people drifted and/or drove away. If it had only occurred once I would have chalked it up to coincidence but since it happened more than once and both times in unsecured parking lots, I think it was more than just a coincidence; and especially since every time I simply stepped out the door, the people left the area. 
During one trip we drove to the town square and visited a toy shop, a crystal shop, and a material shop. While standing outside the bank, we were approached by a couple of young boys who asked us in halting English if we had any Zloty (Polish money). We honestly shook our heads, “No,” because all of the stores accepted Euros as well as Dollars. Then the boys asked for Euros and being at the end of our shopping excursion, we again said No. Then they switched to asking for dollars. When the answer was again, “No,” they quickly asked for chocolate! Once again, we laughingly shook our heads, “No,” with our empty hands in the air as the universal sign for empty-handed. After refusing them four times in a row, my friend pulled out an unopened pack of chewing gum and handed that to them as a consolation gift.
Interestingly, the boys gladly grabbed it but appeared to not know what it was. As we were driving away in our car, we saw the boys huddled in a group, ripping open the package. And then, to our astonishment, they shoved several sticks of gum into their mouths, wrapper and all!! Well, of course, they spit it back out and we felt bad that our gift was spoiled and not enjoyed. It just never occurred to us that those boys wouldn’t even be familiar with chewing gum. This was one aspect of the sad side of the country of Poland.
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