Boleslawic, Poland

This past spring I hopped on a bus for a quick trip to Boleslawic, Poland and Prague, Czech Republic arranged by Lucas of www.cookingwithlucas.com. I've taken several of his cooking classes and he's never steered me wrong, so I took advantage of his organizational skills and group discount to venture to two countries I'd never visited before. For this particular adventure, my friend Helena was my travel buddy and partner in crie. We left on a Friday evening and arrived in the town of Boleslawic Saturday morning. Lucas provided sandwiches and wine, and of course Helena and I also brought our own wine, so I slept decently on the bus. Well, decently for me, anyway. It was such a long ride I was happy that most of it was overnight. I'm not sure I'd do it again, but I'm glad I did it once, and I highly recommend keeping an eye mask and ear plugs in your travel bags! The primary purpose of the Poland half of our visit was to buy Polish pottery, whereas we had nothing specific planned for Prague.

We went straight to Andy Pottery (www.andypolishpottery.com) on the outskirts of Boleslawic, and quickly overran the place. Frankly, I thought their customer service was terrible. They neatly wrapped and packed our goods for us, but were unhelpful and unfriendly. There were nearly 40 of us crammed in there, but I'd venture to say that 90% of us found something to purchase so it was disappointing to be confronted with basic indifference by the shop owner and attendants. I was almost overwhelmed by all the options; there are so many different pieces and patterns to choose from.

My only goals were to buy a teapot for my mother-in-law, some mismatched plates for myself, and find something for Tony's grandpa. Check, check, and check! I got Tony's mom a cute little set where the teapot sits on top of its matching mug, and though I debated on some birds and piggy banks for Grandpa, I ultimately settled on a ceramic cross for him. I found my dinner plates and also treated myself to two mugs, a mortar and pestle, and a lasagna pan. I do not regret those extra purchases in the slightest! The pan may be my favorite purchase, since it is versatile and incredibly easy to clean, but it also makes me super happy to look at and use my mugs. I was one of the first ones to check out, because I didn't want to get stuck standing in line. Good call, past-Elaine! After purchasing my ceramics, I poked around the back of the shop to see where all the wares are hand-painted, and then I went outside to take some pictures of the tulips. They were everywhere in Poland, and I particularly loved the ruffled double tulips! You know me: I never met a flower I didn't like.

After Andy's, we went into the city proper to visit another pottery shop, with even MORE options! I forget the name of that place, and it's actually where I picked up the cross for Grandpa and my mortar and pestle. I was sorely tempted to purchase a mixing and/or salad bowl, but couldn't quite justify it. Now I rather wish I had...we made some new friends on this trip and walked to downtown Boleslawic for lunch after visiting the second ceramic shop. We found a little place on the corner of the main square and ordered four different kinds of pierogies. If I remember correctly, mine had meat and mushrooms, one had spinach, and one had cheese. I forget the other, but I got to try them all and they were delicious! We had a little extra time, so we did a quick tour of the town, which was quite small, and then went into a grocery store to compare goods. I was really tempted by some leather shoes made in Poland, but talked myself out of them. I also bought a bunch of chocolate for my friend Krista, which I really ate myself over the course of the last few months. Whoops! I was intrigued by all the different vodka varieties, but ultimately passed them up as I'm not a huge vodka fan. I always like poking around in stores when I visit other places, and Poland did not disappoint. Everything was relatively cheap, the manufactured goods seemed well-made, and the chocolate was of course delicious.

Kids hanging outside the church in Boleslawic's main square

After our outing in Boleslawic, we hopped on the bus to Prague...to be continued...