Poland Tour Postlude

Our tour of Poland may be over, but the memories, impressions, and feelings will long live on. We had an early breakfast yesterday and then for one last time, boarded our tour bus, this time headed for the Wrocław airport. As airports go, the Wrocław airport is very small. I think maybe they have 8 gates. But there is also a lot of construction in the area. A new road to the airport is being built, and there are plans to expand the airport itself. Yes, Poland is a growing country, and growing quite quickly, now that it’s thrown off the shackles of nearly 50 years of socialism.

We had some farewells at the Wrocław airport as our tour guide, Marek, and our drive, Andrzej, were driving back to Warszawa. The took very good care of us on our tour and I believe we all rewarded them handsomely for their expert care. They were truly wonderful.

After our short, 50 minute flight to Warszawa, we bid farewell to three of our group. Chris Kulinski, organizer of tour, as well as Jeanne and John, were staying on for a few more days. Well, Chris for a lot longer. But he was going to help Jeanne and John with some continued ancestry research.

Finally, the remainder of our group boarded our LOT airlines plane for the long ride home. It was over a 9 hour trip. For me, it was a long trip. I had maybe two 45-minute naps, but that was about it, even with the help of some Żubrówka on the plane ($2 or 5 PLN each, quite a bargain!). But I did have one amazing experience–I saw Greenland from the air, and it was fascinating. First I saw it in the distance, looking like mountains. But then as we got close i saw the bare rocks covered with snow, the glaciers, and the icebergs that had broken off. It was an amazing sight, something I’ve never seen before. It alone was worth the 9 hour plane ride.

Eventually we landed about on time in Chicago. Polish people applaud when the plane lands, bu the way. I’m not sure, they just do! Anyway, we got to Chicago, then had to go through immigration (passport check) and then customs. It was a painless experience, the just asked a few questions and that was it.

After that, it was on to our respective destinations. For Sonja and Pat, Sonja’s daughters Debbie and Sue were there to pick them up. It was nice to see them and we had lots of good hugs and goodbyes (and maybe if you’re a friend you saw the pic of us three Poland-travelers on facebook). For me then, it was on to my flight to Orlando. But first I managed to find the rest of our group and was happy to see that they all arrived safely at their gates.

Finally, about 22 hours after the day began for me, my flight to Orlando touched down and my friend Crieghton picked me up and took me home. What a long day. My sense of time is still messed up a bit, but that’s OK. I can honestly say it was well worth it.

I thoroughly and immensely enjoyed every second of my time in Poland. I hated to leave. It is a wonderful country with a rich history and culture, and filled with the most wonderful people on earth. From my fledgling studieds of Polish history, I understand why my Polish ancestors left this wonderful country and came to the USA to make a better life, and they succeeded. But now I think life in Poland is improving greatly and quickly while in the USA, things are stagnant and even going downhill. So Poland is a very attractive place right now, full of hope and promise, maybe what the USA was 100 years ago for my ancestors. I have nothing but the highest respect for the people of Poland, they have preservered through all kinds of toil and pain and have come out on top once again. It’s a wonderful place to visit, and I cannot wait to go back again. And so the title of this, my blog, Moja miłość do Polski–My Love of Poland–makes perfect sense to me.

But this is not the end, this is only the beginning…..