Poland Road Trip 2013

Some of you may recall in March I was helping my friend plan the annual trip to Poland for Polish Pottery, the day we were to depart a rare snowstorm came through and stopped our plans. Thankfully the Lord kept us from harm that weekend.

Photo from the Calgary Hearld

Thankfully, some of us were able to reschedule for April. So in less than 48 hours we drove to Poland and back, spending around 10 of those hours shopping. This year was special because my student teacher got to experience the craziness, and is is my last 'road trip' while living in Europe.

Taking 'road trips' are special when I live somewhere that train and plane are easier modes of transportation for trips; since I don't own a car here. The big difference is that when traveling by car and living in Europe each country wants your money to use their motorways and so you must purchase a sticker to put on your windshield. 

Speaking of windshield, women washing their windshield at a gas station is not a common behavior in Europe. This memory provided a great example for my students in class the other day.

The joy I have found in traveling is that when I leave Hungary I am always reminded that I live in Europe, a continent made up of different individual countries. When driving you cross the borders, although all countries I have visited have been within the EU, most still have landmarks that remind you of the past. Listening to stories from parents of students in my class talk about traveling through non EU countries makes me thankful to be living in a country that is apart of the EU.

Previous checkpoint stations at the Czech border

Also, in America fast food restaurants just off a highway are common, but fast food in general is not as common. Well it really doesn't exist, and the choices of gas stations doesn't exist either. This year though, I noticed free standing McDonalds along the way. Do you not have at least 1 road trip memory from your life that included McDonalds?