 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
| No wonder Piotr Szyhalski is to talented; look at the heritage of design mastery he has to draw from in cemetaries alone! | Another roadside bus stop, with bonus of funny roadsign. | Each little wide-place-in-the-road likes to customize their bus stops, hardly any two were the same. | Stumbled upon signs pointing the way towards Chmielnik; couldn't resist the trip. |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
| Vanity. | Here we are at the outskirts, nice stenciled sign. | The Great Angry Buzzard of Chmielnik Crossroads. Note that their telephone poles are all cement. | Another cozy bus stop. |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Sun, May 18, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
| As you entered towns, you were presented with the town's name, and in many cases, a pictograph silhouette of a town "skyline." The kicker is that on the other side of town they had the same signs with red slashes through them, to indicate the end of town. | Freaky apartment complexes, Rzesow (I think). There were dozens of these and all had different colors and designs. | A fairly common sight, selling roof tiles. Usually though, the "A" in the middle of the word was made to stand out via a drop-shadow, different color, etc. Maybe to signify "house?" | Dee-Luxe bus stop with awning. Very few were utilized for advertising purposes. |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
| Close up of bus stop signage. Some of these were stencils. | Garish beer-company umbrella under which we sat for a meal on the road near Tarnow. These umbrellas were everywhere. | Bus stop with special meaning: the town where my great grandmother was born, Latoszyn. | Roadside stop featuring ice cream, fried stuff, etc. Fairly American in its execution. |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
| Detail shot of roadside stand. The people on the right were screaming angrily at me, suspicious of my photographic activities. I was afraid they'd trail us in a car and kill me... | Hotel room near Tarnow. | Another shot, from balcony, of our hotel room. | Fire escape plan with funny English in our hotel room. |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
 Mon, May 12, 2003 |
| AH, the old Flamingo nightclub. I left grandma at the motel and took the car into Tarnow to investigate the Flamingo, which we'd seen numerous signs for driving in... | It was foolish of me to go, especially alone, but the curiosity got the best of me and after driving for an hour (amazing how big their cities are) without finding any clues to its whereabouts, I paid a cabbie to lead me there... | I took a deep breath and walked in, and to the bar. The barmaid laughed when I orded a soda. I was swiftly descended on by two girls who weren't ugly, but weren't exactly beauties. They spoke English and explained that it was customary to buy 'em drinks. | I did, and we talked. They ran down the price list, and after some thinking, I opted for the "private dance in separate room." Long story short: Boobs in face, bad perfume, no sex: good, clean waste of money and curiosity satisfied. |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
| The hotel that I somehow managed to find my way back to in the night (grandma said a lot of rosaries for that, I'm sure), east of Tarnow. | Shot of another part of our motor-hotel lodge facilities, adjacent building. Nice. | Another tasty bus stop morsel. | "Watch for handless men strutting and incredibly ugly little girls weilding large (suckers? bubble gum on sticks?)." |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
| Bus stop # 247. | More roadside goodness, a "Driver Bar" that appears to have seen better days. Many things in Poland rode a fine line between abandonment, desolation, and skimpy patronage. They don't go out to eat much, apparently. | Everything there was built "like brick shithouses." None of that flimsy "2x4 + drywall shitbox, covered with dimestore vinyl siding" bullshit that we're so fond of over here. I'm talking masonry, blocks, sturdiness. | Ominous highway warning, we saw several of these. Wrecked cars elevated by the roadside to serve as reminders of the bloody demise of careless drivers' past. |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
| Bus terminal area at Wieliczka Salt Mine. I took this while grandma was "paying to pee" at one of Poland's many manned toilets. | Beautiful signage near Wieliczka Salt Mine. | Descending the initial 75 or so flights of steps, Wieliczka Salt Mine. | The salt mine was host to more grafitti and signatures than any other place I've ever been. Miles and miles of people "representing." These signs illustrated which direction to "drag ass" to to see the next display, and drag ass we did, for hours. |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
| More salt mine signage. | Creepy figure from diorama, Wieliczka Salt Mine. | Again with the salt mine signage. | The old hammers, these on light fixures. Nice! I thought of Simonson... |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
| This old witch was dragging her two grandkids around the mine, swearing and doling-out discipline the whole time. I snuck this shot of her in the Gift Shop afterwards. | Drab smokestack and factory works near Wieliczka Salt Mine. | Delicious little potatoes with dill, a much-needed refueling after putting a good 50 (subterranean) miles on our moccasins at the Wieliczka Salt Mine. | Part of our cutie waitress in a clandestine photograph. |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
| The restaurant we ate at. Something really communist about a lot of the lettering there. (See also "Krak Motel" signage). | "No tractors, bicycles, or teams of livestock on the highway." | Grandma in a convenience store/gas station. Strange layout, really long and narrow. | Woodsy-type bus stop. |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
 Tue, May 13, 2003 |
| "Watch your ass, there's a funny car headed straight for it! | Grandma ascending the stairs at some gigantic church near the Pope's hometown. | Courtyard area at same church. | Interior of aforementioned big-ass church. |