Pottery shopping, relaxation, and friends = Such a fun weekend!

Last June, I went with some friends to Poland to go pottery shopping. It was such a good time we decided to make another trip to Boleslawiec this past weekend. A whole bunch of Marine wives went this time... 11 of us in all! I was really looking forward to shopping, eating, and hanging out with such a great group of friends for the weekend.

On the morning of Friday April 16th, 7 of us got on the road... the other 4 were leaving later in the afternoon. Thankfully the 6 hour drive went very smoothly... before 4pm, we were driving into Boleslawiec. Before we even went to the hotel, we decide to do some "pre-shopping"... perusing the shops to see what they have before committing. We squeezed in a couple of stores before closing time... and some of us even bought a piece of pottery or two. It is so hard to resist!

Then it was on to our hotel, the Blue Beetroot, where we stayed last time. It is such a cozy little inn. That evening the last 4 ladies were delayed, so the rest of us had dinner at the hotel's restaurant... it was as delicious as I had remembered! Afterwards we just hung out while waiting for our friends to arrive. Once they had, it was time to hit the hay as the next morning we were getting up early to start the shopping....

Since the Polish president and so many of the country's government officials had died in the tragic plane crash the week before, we were told the stores would be closing early on Saturday as the state funerals were occuring later that day. Although we had written the hotel to inquire about this possibility at the beginning of the week, this announcement wasn't made until Friday morning after we were already on the road. While we all felt incredibly sad for the people of Poland as they mourned this massive loss, we also knew that the scheduled closings would require us to do some super speedy shopping on Saturday.

All of us were up, done with breakfast, and out the door before 7:30am Saturday morning. Unfortunately, we got a bit lost while looking for the first shop, Andy. When we finally found it, it was definitely worth it... everyone dove in and found lots of great pottery to purchase! After visiting a few more shops, it was time for lunch... we found this cute little restaurant that looked like a fairytale cottage. With the early start, I think most of us were quite hungry... the food was very yummy, and the prices were really low by European standards, which made it even better. With all the money we were spending on pottery, a cheap lunch was appreciated :)

Following lunch, we headed into downtown Boleslawiec to find this neat glass shop we visited last year. Unfortunately, it was closed by the time we arrived, but it was a beautiful afternoon so we walked around the town's main square for a little while... we also saw a memorial to the Polish president while we were there.

Earlier that morning we had asked at the first shop how long they would be open that day... to our surprise, they said until 6pm. I think that because they are a small, family-run business, they might not fall under the same rules as other stores. Since we all really liked their patterns, we decided to go back that afternoon... and we all bought more! I think it's safe to say it was our favorite shop. Before heading back to the hotel, we took a group shot of all 11 of us... look carefully and you'll see the trunks are filled to the brim with boxes and bags. It was definitely a very successful day of shopping!

Back at the hotel, we actually reorganized all the purchases to make sure they went home with the right people... it was pretty chaotic and amusing at the same time. I couldn't believe how large my pile of boxes and bags was... oh well, I know that I got lots of good stuff to use at home and a bunch of gifts too! The rest of the day was spent relaxing... the hotel offers manicures, pedicures, and massages so most of the ladies got at least one of the spa services. I had spent enough money that day so I decided to forgo the pampering :) We had another great dinner that evening at the hotel restaurant and then a pseudo sleepover in our room that night... we all sat around, talked, and had some wine until almost midnight. It was a relaxing way to end a fun day.

Sunday we were back on the road to Frankfurt. Once again, we were grateful for a safe and smooth trip. Shortly after we got home, I showed all the pottery I purchased to Daniel, and thankfully, he really liked everything! Since I bought even more on my second time to Poland, I don't know if there will be a third trip for me... we will see :) Overall, it was a great girls' weekend, and I am so glad that I had a chance to share it with so many of my friends here.

Well, believe it or not, I still haven't gotten caught up on the posts about all our trips last fall, so please stay tuned for those. I promise to add them to the blog soon... until then, take care!