Polish Pottery Trip

 As I mentioned when I stopped in Dresden, CLO had planned a Polish pottery trip to Bolesławiec, Poland. 

Bolesławiec is in south western Poland and is called the "Miasto Ceramiki (Town of Ceramics). If you own any Polish pottery, it likely came from here. The traffic circles in town have oversized pottery decorating them! It is a little over 6 hours to drive from Frankfurt to Bolesławiec (and to help orient you if continued east another 5 hours you would be in Warsaw). Once we crossed the Germany/Poland border we were nearly there!

Lots of artistic uses of pottery around town! Upon arrival, we drove through town and stayed nearby in Łaziska at the Blue Beetroot Hotel. 

The hotel is an old renovated barn with nice, cozy rooms and a restaurant downstairs. It was very convenient to eat breakfast and dinner there each day.

The hotel also provides guests with a map/guide to all the pottery shops in town (here's the map...you'll have to stay with them to get the names to all the stores that match the numbers...lol). They also provided us with %off coupons to a couple of the shops!!

As you can see, we had a lot of shopping to do. The first morning, we had a tour booked at Manufaktura (#13 on the map). We toured the factory to see the pottery making process, painted our own pottery, and then shopped!

Our first stop was watching the clay be worked and placed in the molds and set aside to dry. The guide requested we not take any photos of employees. We then walked past racks and racks of dried pottery.

The pottery is surprisingly fragile at this point in the process. They had a bin of 'oops' and we were allowed to break them further. Luckily, they will grind the pieces down and reconstitute them into clay and reuse. After the pottery dries, it will be fired. Then it has to cool completely before going on to be painted.

The painting portion was so mesmerizing! The artists train for like 6-9 months solid and learn an insane number of patterns (like 800).

The artists at this shop worked on a commission basis. Each pattern had a rate and each piece had a rate. They have a minimum they have to produce each week.

I can only imagine how they learn to keep their hands steady to to keep the lines so straight and evenly spaced!

Most of the patterns have stamps, so then it is matter of mastering the correct amount of paint and the correct pressure (that's where I messed up on the piece I did!). Pottery is graded from Q1 (perfect pattern and perfect quality (no cracks - so oven and dishwasher safe)) to Q5 (stray brush stroke/imperfect pattern and/or a crack or bubble in the glaze - so decoration only).

Are you wondering why none of the pieces they were painting that day had the iconic cobalt blue color? All the paint colors we used, stayed that basic color once fired....EXCEPT the purple, which turns to the cobalt blue color when fired!

OMG - this fish was so cute, but I didn't find any finished ones. :(

Once painted, the pieces are dipped in the glaze (so the mugs you see are painted and glazed) before being placed in the oven to be fired the second time.

Racks of cooling pottery! During the final firing, it takes 8 hours for it to cool down enough for the racks to be even moved to finish cooling.

Seasonal pottery ready for the shop.

After our tour, it was our turn to try out the stamping/painting of our own pieces. Before/After. Definately not perfect.....maybe Q7??

Basket of stamps to choose from. So many options! Small bowls of paint.

A few weeks later this is what I got (my really bad stamps are on the backside)!

After all that hard work painting and shopping, it was time for lunch!! We headed to this cute little restaurant called Opałkowa Chata. I mean check out the giant sugar bowl in front!

And I got a plate of pierogi z owocami (filled with fruit)!! My ancestors would be proud.

After lunch, we were within walking distance of the traffic circle that is surrounded by pottery shops. So we had several hours to shop and check out all those shops. I got several treasures along the way. Pro Tip - Bring a shopping bag! Most shops wrap things up in paper and then hand it to you. I didn't bring my purse that normally has my shopping bags tucked in a pocket. Luckily, I had brought a decent sized tote bag with my camera and water. So I carried the camera and used that bag. 

After our allotted time in that area, we met back at the bus and headed to Andy's (#1 on the map). This place was huge and had nearly overwhelming variety.....

Each one of those stacks of plates....each plate is a different pattern!! So much variety, so you would have to dig through them to find "the one". I got a nice platter here and while I was going through the stack someone else stood nearby and after I passed one up, she said let me see that one.

Even got ideas for the forever home (pottery sink bowl, not 4 sinks in my bathroom...lol). The next morning, we headed to a tiny mom and pop shop called Millena (#4 on the map). The artists painting station was in the middle of the shop and they fired it to the side. They had some of the most unique items and patterns I saw (I got my vase there). We did one last stop at Manufacture to get some last items, grabbed some lunch, and then headed back to Frankfurt. Here is all the treasures I picked up. I ended up with a box and large bag, so not too over the top. The blades on top of the helicopter actually spin! That was a gift for my helicopter and plane flying brother (and nephew).

The holiday items looked great when lit up with colored LED candles!

It was a great trip and after getting back home and doing some thinking, I have discovered that my everyday dishware needs to be Polish pottery. Richard and the kids have no complaints. So another trip is in the works. We've decided we will get several patterns. That way the kids can take some as they empty the nest and we will have some replacements for when something inevitably breaks.

Dresden, Germany

The weekend following fall break, I took off on a CLO trip to go shopping for Polish pottery (coming soon). On the way, we stopped for a few hours in Dresden, Germany. For those unfamiliar, Dresden is the third biggest city in what used to be East Germany. 

Towards the end of WWII, the Allied forces bombed the rail yards in the city center, which ended destroying much of the city.

During the cold war, a lot of the city remained in ruins. 

As you can see, since the reunification of Germany, Dresden has undergone lots of reconstruction.

Colorful apartment blocks.

The Dresden Frauenkirche, a Lutheran church that completed reconstruction in 2005, right before the church celebrated its 800 year anniversary! It is free (if you wait in line) to go inside and see the church, but for 10€ you can climb up to a platform in the dome that sits at 67 m (220 feet).

Apparently one gets good luck from touching this statue?

Interesting gargoyles.

Dresden has some really ornate storm drain covers! 

So after a bit of time walking around and grabbing some lunch, we got back on the bus bound for Poland!

Monday's Moment: Juvenile American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

 

Fall Break 2021

We made it out of Frankfurt for Fall Break!! Our car was in country, had cleared customs, passed inspection, but was waiting on its plates; so we had to get a rental car for the week (literally on our drive home, Richard got an email that the car's plates were in...so close). Given C-19 numbers were still all over the place and Clarissa still had not been cleared to be vaccinated, we opted to stay in country (for the most part) and visited Richard's favorite part of Germany....the state of Bavaria. 

After about 5 hours, we made it to Garmisch. We opted to stay at the same resort we had stayed at in 2014! This time, though, the Kristallwelten Wattens near Innsbruck was not under renovations....so that was at the top of my to see list!! So the next morning, we hopped in the car and headed across the border into Austria. 

The iconic entrance! Given there was no flash allowed inside, taking good pictures was a bit tricky (plus you can't see the sparkle in the pictures)....we did get a few neat ones and some videos.

Nothing says bounty hunter like a sparkling helmet...(yours for only €7500 ($8,300!)

Remember....shadows matter! Is she a princess or evil.....or an evil princess?

The sparkling globe, I could have stared at it a lot longer than I did.....

After we bought a few sparkly pieces to wear to special events (or at home when in yoga pants - no judging), we headed outside to walk around the gardens. They had clouds filled with crystals and with it being extra breezy it really shimmered and shined!

Since the onsite cafe was closed (we couldn't tell if it was closed due to a private event or C-19), we headed to Innsbruck for some lunch. We arrived on a Sunday around 2 pm.....(restaurants in Europe like to close between lunch and dinner....so typically closed between 2 and 6). We found one place and they were not taking any new customers, but then luckily we found a little street cafe still serving silly tourists....

Afterwards, we wandered around town a bit. 

Then we were on the hunt to find the station for the Hungerburgbahn.....we found it! 

The Hungerburgbahn is a funicular railway that takes you from Innsbruck along the river to Hungerburg a little town at just over 2,800 feet in elevation at the foot of the Nordkette mountains. We didn't realize we need to pre-purchase a second ticket to take Nordkette cable car to the very top of the mountain. Clouds were coming in, so it probably wouldn't have been that great of a view at the very top.

Enjoying the views overlooking Innsbruck, Austria.

Space age looking station to return back to Innsbruck and heading into a tunnel under the city.

So during our last trip we took some family photos while in Garmisch. The photographer actually took us around on the Partenkirchen side. Some of my favorites are in front of this barn door with a heart in it. So I was on a mission.....what turned out to be a very tough mission. I had saved a couple of the shots on my phone to help us identify the building. I asked at the hotel we were staying out, they directed us towards a part of town. We drove around looking with no luck. I saw a library, so I went in and asked. The librarian and a resident both looked and didn't recognize the door. They did say it would likely be on one of a several streets and directed me that way. So we got close, then parked, and started wandering around looking for the green door with a heart.......AND WE FOUND IT!!!!

From this to that.....

So we didn't have a photographer to get all four of us at once....working with what we had...lol.

The height difference is about the same but the door looks so much smaller!

Now you can see what part of the problem in finding the door was....the owner had repainted the door at some point in the last 7 years.....

After completing our first mission of the day, we saw a C-19 testing place (we needed to have another negative test for Clarissa for our adventure the next day). They were only accepted sick people for testing - so no test for us. So we headed to a chocolate shop....yum!! and then drove out to the Alpine Coaster. We thought we were going to the same one we went to last time (actually the summer toboggan run), but this one is out in Oberammergau and much longer (2,600 meters (1.6 miles) vs 850 meters (0.5 miles)). You take a ski lift to the top of the mountain.

Then you hop in and hold on! You can get up to speeds of 40 km/h (25 mph) as you take on 73 curves, 9 jumps, and 7 waves!

If you are really good, you can time the perfect picture!

We did three runs! Other than freezing, we had a blast. We then headed back to Garmisch for lunch and the elusive C19 test. We found a pharmacy accepting appointments, got Clarissa in, and it was the quickest and easiest test we have ever done! Brain tickled within a minute of walking in and results emailed to us 15 minutes later! The next morning we headed to Hohenschwangau. After our last trip, we learned there were two castles! So we booked a tour for the Hohenschwangau Castle in the morning and the Neuschwanstein Castle in the afternoon. When we pulled into Hohenschwangau we could already see the Neuschwanstein Castle up on the hill! 

We then found the carriage ride pick up to the Hohenschwangau Castle. 

It looks huge as you approach the castle and equally huge when you are right next to it.

The lake below the castle where King Ludwig II's body was found....was it suicide or murder?!? It is still a mystery!

While living in Hohenschwangau Castle, King Ludwig II began construction on Neuschwanstein Castle. They were so close he could monitor the workers through a telescope in his room.

After a lovely lunch in town and some souvenir shopping, we headed up to Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle overlooking the gorge. 

Clarissa trying her hand at castle photography and then standing guard in the courtyard while we awaited our entry time.

If you couldn't guess, no photography is allowed inside either castle. We did get this lovely shot on our way out from a balcony. The castles look even closer in this photo!

We ended up doing three carriage rides that day. A ride up to both castles and then we rode down from the second castle due to some lovely rain. Our horse drawn carriage friends from our last ride....

Our last day in town, we just did some sightseeing in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We woke up to snow on the mountain tops (first snow of the season)!

The resort had a cute cell phone holder and then I could use my watch to take a photo.....family shenanigans.

Little people, big mountain.

As I mentioned, we walked around Garmisch-Partenkirchen some. Had lunch at a yummy Greek restaurant. Found a mountain stream. We checked out an old church. We saw the hand sanitizer and didn't think much of it. Then behind it was this.....a Weihwasser-spender or in English "holy water dispenser". So in front of the now empty usual bowl of holy water at the entrance of the church was the Weihwasser-spender for your handful of water....a bit more than a damp finger tip.

We ended the day with a beautiful sunset.....a wonderful end to a fun trip. The next morning, we got up and drove back the 5 hours back home and had a couple days until fall break ended to just relax.