Polish Hot Rod Power Tour

Road, speed, 3 Americans, 400 miles, 1 gas stop (at Orlean), and a race against the sun to fit all the attractions in equals the ultimate experience in Road Tripping (not to be confused with other kinds of tripping (which of course I know nothing about on a first hand experience)). Our main destination was the FSO auto klub's annual meet to show off Mike's 1986 Polonaise, with a few touristy sightseeing stops along the way.

We left Saturday after church. Mike, Hunter, and Yours Truly:





First stop was Kazimierz Dolny, where the light is beautiful. It is a small town founded by a Polish King in the 14th century about 120 kilometers south of Warsaw along the Vistula.





From Kazimierz, we raced to make it to Krzyztopor before sunset. If I could live in another time and place, I would take Barbara Ossolinski's place as Queen of Kryztopor. Krzyz meaning cross, was the counter reformation symbol of faith and Topor or Ax was the Ossolinski coat of arms, hence the name. Built in 1631, the castle is in the shape of a pentagon with as many windows as there are days in the year, rooms as weeks, and halls as months, with the ceiling in one of the halls having been a giant aquarium. It's only a ruin now thanks to a Swedish invasion which used canons as it's primary attack strategy- technology Krzyztopor was not prepared to stand up against.





From Krzyztopor, we spent the night in Walhock with some friends of Mike soaking up the good ol' Polish hospitality. After a late breakfast the next morning, we hopped over a town to our final destination, the FSO auto klub annual national meet. They were 'oh'ing and 'ach'ing all over Mike's car to say the least.



So Hunter and I just chilled out- walkin' around, drinkin' ice tea, and making a few new friends.



The meet ended with a processional throughout the neighboring towns- honkin', hootin', and hollerin' at any and all pedestrians along the way. I'm not sure how many cars there were in total- 60? Enough that we took turns blocking off traffic to keep the line together.



And then at last, we made for home. I did my best to make use of time, chillin in the back seat trying to memorize my exam music. Twas good to be in a car again- I really enjoyed myself. But on the same token, it's good to be home.