Parthemores in Poland

To avoid the pesky problem of accidentally driving in the pedestrian areas, we parked our car under our hotel in Bratislava and didn’t move it until it was time to leave.  While this sounds like a good plan, parking in Bratislava will henceforth be known as “The Biggest Rip-off Ever.”  Evidently, Bratislava is mostly run by the mafia, and the parking is no exception.  When your payment options are cash, credit, or your first-born child, one starts to worry…

After leaving Bratislava, we headed for Cieszyn, which is in southern Poland, just over the border with the Czech Republic.  Historically, Polish Cieszyn and Czech Cieszyn were one city.  However, following World War I, when Poland regained its independence, the border became the Olza River separating the two sides of the town.  This was a point of contention for both countries and strained their diplomatic relations throughout the 20’s and 30’s.  A little known side note to Hitler’s Czech annexation was that Poland annexed Czech Cieszyn at the same time.  Following WWII, the river boundary was re-established.  The pedestrian bridge currently over the river is called “The Friendship Bridge.”  Awww…

Another cute fact is that the name comes from cieszę się, which means “I’m enjoying.”  Awww…

As per SOP, our first stop was the castle.  Not much left, except for one of the towers.  After paying the admission fee and climbing up the not-OSHA-approved staircase, we had a spectacular view of both Cieszyns. 

The main square was quite large and featured the obligatory town hall.

Besides the town square, the other highlight of the town is the area called Wenecja.  Like Venice.  This consisted of a small aqueduct that branched off the river, ran through a water wheel, and flowed past several houses and bars.  

After returning to the hotel, we were a bit surprised when CNN announced that all of Poland was blanketed in snow.  Except where we were, evidently.  Returning to Poznań, however, we discovered several inches of snow, which has remained on the ground for the past three weeks. 

Well, now that I’ve finished blogging about our last adventure, I feel justified in leaving on another.