37 hours ti Rzeszow

I committed to leave England when I gave up on my three-year relationship. I didn’t want to return to the United States, instead I arranged a trip to Poland with Blah Blah Car. I booked a month long stay in the Hilton Garden Inn Rzeszow (pronounced Jeh-shuff). On the departure day I suffered through a very emotion goodbye then set off to the Eastbourne train station which connected me to the Folkestone train station where I planned to meet the Blah Blah Car drivers.

Due to heavy road congestion and a traffic violation they were very late. I took Onawa and all our things into a nearby pub to warm up and wait for them. The wait was an emotional two hours. Christmas music blasted from the speakers while the pub patrons and owners came to speak to me, curious about all my luggage. They were very kind which made the thought of leaving England even harder, I love the English people.

The drivers finally showed up in a Volvo sedan hooked up to a six-person sleeper camper, or as the British call it a caravan. The cautious ever paranoid voice in my head began warning me immediately. I thought about the weight of the camper versus the weight of the car and all the potential dangers, all worst-case scenarios flashed before my eyes. Despite the danger, I had to go, so I quickly got into the car and we drove off to the Euro Tunnel. The two men couldn’t be more different, one a thirty something handsome, chatty Polish man who’s been in England for fifteen years and the other a stern younger Polish man who spoke very little English even though he’s lived in England for three years.

We drove through France and Belgium without stopping. Once in the Netherlands we finally stopped at a rest area where they rushed to the camper to grab their hose and giant gas can. It was the biggest gas can I’ve ever seen someone carry along with them. evidently, the gas was cheaper in England. They told me I could walk the dog while they proceeded to fill the Volvo with gas. At this point they switched drivers from the chatting English speaker to the quiet guy.

Once back in the car I stretched out in the backseat and prepared to sleep, until jolting from behind the car woke me up. I looked at the speedometer to read we were charging over eighty miles an hour up and down hills. The camper pulled us back while we went up and pushed us forward while we went down. I was terrified! Despite being afraid I was more concerned to correct his driving and cause offence by complaining. I didn’t get any sleep, I prayed and prayed while cruising at seventy-five to eighty miles per hour through the Netherlands then Germany. We finally stopped again around three in the morning. The guys once again filled the Volvo with gas while I had a quick walk with Onawa.

The drivers at this point switched again which made me more comfortable to sleep a for few hours. Around ten in the morning we stopped in a truck stop in western Poland. We had some of the most amazing BBQ meat I’ve had in a long time. Maybe it was my hunger after missing lunch and dinner the day before. What they did with cabbage, amazing! The zest of the dressing over the cabbage and carrot shred made a perfect combination to fill my belly with. I would say it was the best possible first meal for this impulsive trip to Poland. I’m a pleasure seeker and I needed the comfort.

The guys dropped me off in Warclaw (pronounced Vrots-waff) around noon, I took the two thirty train to Rzeszow. I didn’t get a blink of sleep on the train. When I arrived in Rzeszow around nine at night I struggled with providing the taxi driver the address. He spoke no English and did not understand my ill attempt to give him the address on my Hilton Honors app. Finally, he was able to figure out where I needed to go and we were off to what would be my home for two months.