Parthemores in Poland

Only three weeks after Christmas break ended, the university hit the three-week exam period.  However, neither of us had exams to take/give, so we had some vacation time.  Which means more traveling, and therefore more blogging.  Since I have a whole free week before work resumes, I’m going to try to knock out all our adventures.  Consider yourself warned!

We needed to take care of some admin stuff at the Army base, so the first trip was based around Grafenwöhr.  But since we didn’t need to be there until the end of the week, we had a few days to visit other cities in that part of the world.

First stop – Dresden.  I didn’t really know what to expect, since all I know about it was that it was destroyed in WWII.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find not only impressive looking churches, but the Disneyworld-ish, recently reconstructed, freshly-painted buildings around the main square. 

We ate dinner in a cool, 17^th century (best guess) theme restaurant that featured spears on the walls as well as suckling pig on the menu.  In addition to the crazy décor, they also had entertainers roaming the room.  We spotted one lady in period dress as she was sitting at another table and talking the patrons.  As she approached our table, we agreed that we would start speaking in Polish instead of English so she wouldn’t be tempted to sit with us. 

She stopped to talk to the table next to ours (in German) and suddenly turns to us, mid-sentence, and says “Polski?!?”  Turns out she is originally from Gdańsk and moved to Dresden many years ago.  During our lovely conversation, she also revealed that she doesn’t speak English.  Great. 

The next stop on our trip was a couple of nights in Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic.  This is where the “Montenegro” scenes from Casino Royale were filmed, as well as the Queen Latifah version of Last Holiday. 

Karlovy Vary is a spa town which boasts “healing” thermal springs.  You can walk around and get water from the various fountains, which is especially “healing” after you have consulted with a “doctor” and developed a “regimen” that can last over a week or more.  There was a vibe that this was the place where rich people go to escape for a while.  I would not have been surprised to see Tiger Woods walking down the street. 

One of the most surprising things for us was the prolific use of Russian.  Throughout our travels in former Soviet Bloc countries, we have not seen a lot of Russian – it is always a third or forth choice behind English and German.  But apparently, there is plenty of “legitimate” business financing coming from Russia, as well as a lot of tourists.  There were some signs only in Russian. 

A neat Orthodox church

The tour of the Moser Glassworks was definitely one of our favorite parts.  The museum has many beautiful pieces, as well as videos that illustrate the history of the company. 

We then toured the actual factory, where the 10 teams of glass blowers create all kinds of beautiful crystal glasses, vases, bowls, and candlesticks.  On a cold day, the factory was pleasantly warm.  However, the guide told us that in the summer it can reach 140°F! 

Here you can kind of see how they have 3 man teams plus their helper.

When you buy your tickets for the tour, they give you a coupon for their factory store.  I forget how much it was, but it was analogous to getting a $1-off coupon for Tiffany’s.  The pictures of royalty and movie stars on the walls should have been a hint that this was out of our price range. 

We wanted to visit the Becherovka Museum, but the schedule didn’t work out.  So I had to settle for a photo with one of the giant replica bottles.  For the uninitiated, Becherovka is a liquor traditional to the Czech Republic and Slovakia.  Like everything else in Karlovy Vary, it’s supposed to be healthy.  That’s why I drink it, anyway. 

So what does it taste like?  We heard one aficionado describe it “like cinnamon-flavored kerosene, only worse.”   Really, it’s pretty good.  And healthy.

After Karlovy Vary, we headed to Graf for a few days.  Of course, we stocked up on peanut butter and Levi’s, as well as getting things for other people back in Poland – I bought 12 lbs of brown sugar.

The worst part of the trip was the very end.  The Autobahn sure makes driving easy, unless you’re stuck behind the snowplows.  Because they’re driving only 30 mph.  Not fun at all.