Things to See and Do Near Boleslaweic, Poland

My husband and I just celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary by taking a trip through eastern Europe. We are lucky enough to live in Germany right now, so we were able to take our trip by car, which is a very revealing way to travel. Sandwiched between two nights in Dresden and two nights in Prague was a five night stay near Boleslaweic, Poland, a place that is famous for its pottery. But we found that there's a lot more to Boleslaweic and the surrounding area than hunting for blue and white ceramic.

Boleslaweic, Poland? Never heard of it...

I am an Army wife, which means that I often shop at AAFES. AAFES stands for the Army Air Force Exchange Service; it's kind of a discount store for people in the American military and their family members. Over the past few years, AAFES has been selling a lot of Polish pottery. I thought it was pretty and even bought a piece before I moved to Germany when I needed a soap dish. I won another piece playing bunco. Aside from that, I didn't give Polish pottery much thought. I certainly never thought I'd end up traveling to the place where my ceramic pieces were made.

Unlike a lot of people who go to Boleslaweic, I was actually lured there by a hotel called The Blue Beetroot. My husband and I like to stay in small intimate hotels and The Blue Beetroot had gotten excellent reviews on travel sites. Moreover, neither my husband nor I had ever been to Poland. We booked a stay, not knowing that a lot of U.S. military wives stay at The Blue Beetroot for a night or two while they hunt for the same Polish pottery we had both so often seen in AAFES.

First impressions

We immediately noticed the economic differences between Germany and Poland as soon as we crossed the border at Gorlitz. Suddenly, the signs changed and the road got noticeably rougher. We weren't in Poland for twenty minutes before we ran into our first construction crew, working on improving Poland's roads. The next thing we noticed while driving toward Boleslaweic were communist era buildings, some of which appeared to be in disrepair. And then we saw that there was a lot of livestock grazing in fields, yet there were no fences. Cows and horses were tethered in grassy meadows where they munched steadily, apparently without a care in the world. We also saw large herds of deer grazing in fields at all hours of the day. Apparently, there aren't many predators to keep them in the woods until nightfall. Crosses were a very common site in Boleslaweic. Obviously, Poland is very much a Christian country.

The inn

The Blue Beetroot is owned by Barbara and John, a British couple. Barbara is of Polish descent and wanted to go back to her ancestral homeland and open an inn. She fell in love with the building that is now The Blue Beetroot, a building located just outside of Boleslaweic that started out as a barn. Over the years, the barn had become very dilapidated. Nevertheless, she bought it and the couple restored it into a uniquely beautiful inn. Barbara told me that she had initially hoped to attract British people to Poland. What she didn't realize is that there is a large presence of Americans in Germany, stationed there with the military. While I'm sure Barbara and John have gotten a share of British visitors, when my husband and I were visiting, their clientele consisted almost entirely of Americans... particularly American women.

We arrived at The Blue Beetroot in the early afternoon and were greeted by a young Polish man named Jarek, who serves as the hotel's manager. He showed us our room, then sat us down on the couch in the hotel's restaurant, where he handed us a guide to all of the pottery shops in town. The guide was very helpful, mainly because it explained where each place was, payment policies, parking availability, and even whether or not the places had public restrooms! But then it must have occurred to Jarek that my husband and I wouldn't want to shop for pottery for five days straight. He brought out a more comprehensive guide, which offered tips on things to do besides shopping for pottery. It was a good thing, too, since my husband and I happened to get to Boleslaweic just in time for Poland's independence day and a lot of local places were closed.

Our first full day in Poland

Because of the holiday, my husband and I decided to drive to Karpacz, a mountain resort area about an hour's drive from the inn. The town features ski areas, though there was no snow when we were visiting. Apparently, a lot of Polish locales also decided to go to Karpacz, because the place was teeming with people. However, as far as I could tell, my husband and I were the only Americans around. Besides skiing, Karpacz offers good shopping, places to eat, and even an all season tobbaggan ride. While we were there, we got to hear a roving band play local music. Had we wanted to, we could have gone horsebackriding as well. The scenery around Karpacz is very beautiful; it offers a different landscape from the Boleslaweic area. It's also very close to the Czech Republic. I came home with several wood carvings from the region, all reasonably priced.

Day two

We decided to spend our second day shopping for Polish pottery. The guide was very helpful as we went from place to place, checking out the different designs of the ceramics. I'm not as wild about Polish pottery as some of my military wife contemporaries are, but I still managed to find some things I liked, including a little step stool with a ceramic design on it. After we were finished shopping, we ended up taking a wrong turn. We drove through several quiet Polish hamlets and eventually found ourselves crossing back over the German border! Though we were supposed to be enjoying Poland, we decided Germany was a good place to have lunch. We had lunch at a cute little restaurant, then crossed back over the border into an area that looked a little like a mini version of Tijuana. There were people crossing the open border on either side, shopping at the market right at the edge of Poland.

After we passed through the market, we had a surreal experience. The festive market atmosphere became a wooded area. Suddenly, we noticed young women standing on the side of the road. At first, I wasn't quite sure what they were doing, until I noticed one dancing and giving us an unmistakably sexy look. It was very weird, actually, to see young prostitutes standing in this rural area as if they wanted to be hunted. Prostitution is legal in many European countries, but I still didn't expect to see it on a major highway.

Day three

We decided to visit Mr. Stanislav Borowski's glass blowing factory, where unique art pieces are made and sold. Borowski's art is displayed all over The Blue Beetroot. It is sold in other countries at much higher prices than it is in the actual factory. A pretty young woman took us for a tour of the facility. We watched as young artisans molded glass pieces. Everyone there was wearing shorts and short sleeved shirts because the equipment was very hot. We also saw two women painting finished pieces. After the tour, our guide left us in the shop to decide on what to purchase. The glass art pieces are as functional as they are beautiful and we ended up spending close to $1000 on three works of art. That's a lot of money for us; however, we still got a great deal. Had we bought those pieces somewhere else, we would have easily paid twice as much. We also walked away with a couple of beautiful glass ornaments for our Christmas tree.

After we visited Borowski's factory, we headed out to see more art. Within a half hour's drive from The Blue Beetroot lives an artist named Dariusz Milinski, who specializes in painting, drawing, and sculpting. We knew we were in the right place because there was an orange castle just across the street, apparently also run by Mr. Milinski. We walked into the studio and Milinski greeted us with cups of coffee and music. I instantly fell in love with several of his oil paintings, which I'm told were of people he knew from his village. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of cash on us and Mr. Milinski doesn't take credit cards. We ended up buying a couple of pencil drawings. I think he was disappointed. So were we.

Day four

On our fourth full day in Poland, we visited Wroclaw, which is a very cosmopolitan city east of where we were staying. Wroclaw is a university town and has a lot to offer, everything from fine restaurants, to upscale shopping, to a first class zoo. My husband and I immediately noticed that parking is a problem in Wroclaw. We saw a lot of cars parked on sidewalks or double parked. Nobody seemed to care. Nevertheless, we were able to park and take a stroll around the centrum, which had some interesting architecture. We also picked up excellent Polish and Ukranian vodkas.

That night, I enjoyed an hour long massage with oils for about $45, including tip. The Blue Beetroot works with local professionals to offer manicures, pedicures, hairdressing, and spa treatments. I've heard that some people even come to Poland for dental work, which is supposedly very competently and inexpensively done.

On the fifth day...

We realized that we still hadn't even come close to doing everything there is to do in the Boleslaweic area. We hadn't gone on any hikes, been fishing or hunting, taken a helicopter ride, or explored any castles. Believe it or not, all of these things could have been easily arranged. Jarek, the hotel manager, could even be hired as a guide.

Cost

Perhaps one of the best parts about our trip to Poland was how little it cost. The Blue Beetroot has a full service restaurant that offers good food. We ended up eating all of our breakfasts and dinners there, as well as one lunch. Five nights of lodging, nine meals for two people, and three bottles of wine cost a grand total of about $618. For that, we got comfortable accommodations complete with wireless Internet, free parking, and a huge private bathroom. We both thought it was a great deal.

Now that we know about Boleslaweic...

I hope we can go back. I'd like to go back just so I can buy one of Dariusz Milinski's amazing oil paintings, but I'd also like to see some of the local castles and perhaps take a ride through the mountains on horseback. Poland may be making progress toward being more developed but personally, I thought its grittiness was a big part of its charm. The people are warm and friendly, even if English is not as widely spoken. I definitely think it's worth seeing.