[Editor’s note: Apologies for being gone for almost a week; I got quite sick, which I’ll talk about in these posts. I’m only now starting to recover. And I’m going to most likely be doing these in reverse order just because it’s easier for me to think that way. Don’t worry; I’ll be covering in all the days in between.]
Today I’m in Zielona Gora - or Green Mountains, Poland, with my friend Domi. We drove here late yesterday afternoon and I’ll be heading out this afternoon. It’s the first stop on my return trip to Poland after being in Germany, and I have to say, I’m pretty happy to be here. I’m here because I’m taking Domi back to her apartment, and I stayed with her in her place on the couch last night. She’s got an adorable and cozy little attic-style apartment in an older building right next to the downtown area. Today we got up and headed out to first do a little shopping. There’s an unmistakable phenomenon on her street; the older buildings she lives in are immediately juxtaposed with one of the most luxurious and upscale malls you’ll ever find. Malls, as a whole, are on the decline in the US, but not here; this mall was huge and very upscale and very busy. We stopped at the food court so I could get some quick service Polish food from a sort of buffet place, and I thought I was in heaven. Then we went to the Apple dealer and I bought a phone charging cable for $35 (!) because the car here only has USB-C slots. Poland feels like a weird mix of super futuristic and really old, put right next to each other.
When we first drove into Zielona Gora last night, I was struck by how much it reminded me of Buffalo, where I grew up. Partly I think it’s the weather, which is Buffalo to a “T”: cold and wet and grey. And the buildings in Buffalo almost look like they were built to remind people of Poland, which for all I know they were; lots of brick and cobble. I like Poland, everyone is very nice and there’s enough English to go around. And the food is so much better than Germany. I still am choosing to not drink, though. Too sick.
Another thing I noticed was the way the border worked. First of all, there really is no border. I mean, there’s no control there; you don’t even stop. Which is awesome. And you would think that, because of that, there would be a lot of blend, between in this case Germany and Poland. But it’s the opposite. We stopped right inside the Polish portion of the border and it was just instantly Polish. We were in a gas station and all the signs, for example, were in Polish and English only - no German. Everyone spoke Polish and looked Polish. It was instantly Poland, 100%. As someone who lived near the Mexico border, I wasn’t expecting that. I asked Domi about it but she just shrugged and hinted that maybe some Polish people…well, didn’t like German. I don’t sense any open hostility, but I also don’t see a lot of German restaurants in Poland, if you know what I mean. I wonder if it’s like this with other borders.
Staying with Domi was really nice; I’ll miss her when I head out. Having a pen pal like that for so many years and then meeting up is often a crapshoot, but Domi is awesome and we had some great conversations. I hope she gets to come visit Oakland some day.
Next I’m on to Poznan to look around for some ancestors, about 120 miles away.
