Zoetermeer – Poland – 1989

Remark on the internet edition of this report.

I wrote the following text at the end of August 1989, only some months before the collapse of the communistic regimes in Eastern Europe. We, that's to say, my wife Lineke and I with our daughters Afke and Mirjam had visited pen friends in Krakow, the Smarzynska and Mazur families. I originally prepared this report for them. After so many years this text has got some historic interest because it expresses the first hesitating new feelings about the future of Eastern Europe that came up in these months, and that have changed rapidly before the end of that remarkable year. Looking back it is easy to explain history, but in that month neither we nor our Polish friends had the faintest idea of what was going to happen. I remember, that I said to my family on our way home through the DDR ´Some day, democracy will come to this country, but not within the first 10 or 20 years!´.

Apart from some language corrections I have not changed the original text, so that it is a true document about our feelings just before that legendary autumn of 1989 when the Berlin wall came down. For those who do not remember the company names from the communistic times: Orbis was the only chain of hotels – state driven of course – where staying could be reserved by western tourists.

On Monday, 31 July at 7.10 a.m. we left Zoetermeer. Before 8.45 a.m. we were in Western Germany. The first stop was in West-Berlin, where we arrived at 17.30. The trip through the DDR was tiresome and we did not like the severe control system at the DDR border.

We visited Berlin for two days: one and a half day in West Berlin and one afternoon in East Berlin. We were very impressed by the wall, this ruthless symbol of the division of Europe.

On Thursday, 3 August, we left Berlin. The last radio programme that we could understand was the news service of the DDR radio: a lot of non-information and propaganda. We had to wait at the border for almost one and a half hour before we entered into Poland. We had to exchange 788 DM to 340,000 Zlotys. The first place we visited was Swiebodzin, a small town with a picturesque market place. We passed the night at a motel near Pniewy. Next day we made a short visit to Poznan. There we were introduced to a typical Eastern European phenomenon: exchanging money in the street. For 20 DM we got 50,000 Zlotys, 6 times more than at the border, the price of 250 breads. We passed the night at a motel near Lowicz.

On Saturday, 5 August, we arrived at noon in Warsaw. We tried some hotels, but they were all full and so we decided to stay at the camping near the stadion. In the evening we visited the market place and saw the old town.

Next day we visited the 30^th floor of the Palac Kultury i Nauki and we enjoyed the splendid sight. The statue of Copernicus, one of Poland’s great scientists, was the last object we visited at Warsaw. It had been a too short stay. We promised ourselves to return in some years, maybe in better political and economic conditions.

There is a very good road from Warsaw to Catowice. We drove to Czestochowa at a Western European speed in less than three hours. The toilets in the Orbis Motel where we stayed for the night were in a perfect condition (for the first time during our stay in Poland). It was here, that we finally understood the complicated Polish exchange rules. In the motel there was the possibility to exchange foreign money legally at market prices. But some services, like staying in hotels and campings could not be paid with zlotys bought at market prices. That is the reason why we had always to show our exchange bill when we paid in a hotel. In the evening we visited the cloister in Czestochowa.

On Monday, 7 August, we first went to Oswiecim where we visited the war museum. Then we drove to Krakow, where we arrived at 3.30 p.m. We could not buy a detailed map of Krakow. A typical problem in Poland? Later on, in Zakopane we could find no detailed maps either. We followed some signs to find a camping. Using the camping owner’s map we found the way to the home of the Smarzynska family. We enjoyed a very nice evening with a traditional Polish meal; unfortunately Mirjam did not feel very well.

Next day, Tuesday 8 August, we were guided through the old town of Krakow by Kasia Smarzynska and her cousin Monika Mazur. We visited the Wawel Cathedral and the Dragon’s cave and we joined a guided tour through the Royal Castle. Kasia and Monika knew how to get tickets for all these places of interest. In one of the rooms at the second floor of the Castle Afke suddenly collapsed and lay on the floor unconsciously for half a minute. Her chin was wounded and she had to go to a hospital, where the wound was treated. She was inspected thoroughly. The medical treatment and the time we had to wait for the doctors took the rest of afternoon. Afke was accompanied by Kasia and Frans. In the meantime Lineke, Mirjam and Kerry visited the market place and some beautiful churches. They saw the trumpeter in the tower of Saint Mary’s church. The communication between the two groups took place by telephone with Kasia’s mother as an intermediate.

In the evening we were all together again at Monika’s home. We enjoyed again a Polish meal, moved the car to the camping and then enjoyed the wodka and other drinks. We had animated discussions on the political and economic situation. How beautiful to be together with people from so different countries and to speak freely about so many subjects! By 10.00 p.m. we returned to the camping by taxi.

On Wednesday Frans was unable to do anything: after the wodka of the night before his stomach was on strike for one day. The others met Kasia, Monika and Kerry again and visited the Market Square and the Cloth Halls. In the evening the Mazur and Smarzynska families came to the camping for a simple farewell party.

On Thursday, 10 August, we visited in the morning some objects in Krakow: the Cloth Halls (again, because Frans had not yet seen it) and the Tadeusz Kosciusko Hill with its splendid view on Krakow. Unfortunately the weather was nebulous, so that we could not see very much. In the centre of Krakow we saw some very long lines of people waiting for a shop or a fuel station. We admired the patience that the Polish people must have.

In the afternoon we drove to Zakopane, where we had made a reservation for an Orbis hotel. We had nice rooms, the toilets were in a good condition but the cold water taps were out of order. We had to use the shower if we needed cold water. Zakopane is a nice town. We enjoyed the big shopping street, free of cars. We could buy nice souvenirs, vegetables, fruits and cheese in the market.

On Friday, 11 August, we used the rack-railway to the top of Gubalowka, where we enjoyed the sight on Zakopane, visited a small wooden chapel and made a long walk through the forest.

On Saturday, 12 August, we went to Kuznice by car. The first person that we saw after we had parked the car was a young man who told us in bad English that all tickets for the car lift were sold out. But he had tickets for us, at a price of 4 DM each. After this black market transaction we had to wait for some hours before our lift started. We walked, admired the water falls in the river Bystrej and then we went to the car lift. In 20 minutes we were in Kasprowy Wierch, at an altitude of 1988 meters. We climbed the Beskid top at 2012 meters, stayed for an hour, took pictures, passed the Czechoslowakian border by some meters, and then we went down again: Frans walking via Hala Casienicowa (1.5 hours) and the others used the car lift.

On Sunday, 13 August, we went tot the church and attended the whole service. Although we could not understand the words, we felt the Spirit of God, working in so many people. After the service we went to the forest and visited the cave Dziura. Unfortunately we had forgotten to take a lamp with us, so we could not go far into the cave. In the afternoon we drove to Lysa Polana and walked for some hours on the road to Morski Oko, but we had not enough time to get there. On our way back we visited a beautiful chapel.

On Monday, 14 August, we started the long return trip to the Netherlands. In the evening we stayed at a camping in Wroclaw. On Tuesday, 15 August, we stayed at a camping in Zgorzelec. Here the river Neisse is the border between Poland and Eastern Germany; the town at the other side, Görlitz, seems formerly to have been part of the same town as Zgorzelec. Now there is an enormous barrier between the two: one is completely Polish, almost nothing reminding on the German times, and the other is completely German.

The only church in Zgorzelec was a newly built one outside the town. There was a service for Maria Ascension Day. We put our remaining zlotys on the collection-plate. There was a long line of cars in the town, waiting for the border. At 6.00 p.m. we counted 200 cars, at 9.00 p.m. there were still 180. Therefore we decided to leave very soon on the next day.

On Wednesday, 16 August, we were at the border at 6.10 a.m. There were only 4 cars before us. At 6.30 a.m. we left the country of Solidarnosc and the zlotys. The custom officer did not look at our luggage. We had to declare the foreign money, but he did not inspect our purses.

After a tiresome trip over bad roads in the DDR we arrived at the Western German border at 1.30 p.m. The custom officers were unkind.

We stayed at Rotenburg in a youth hostel. On Thursday, 17 August, we went home. Our car sometimes drove 160 km/h and many other cars were much faster: normal German practice. We arrived at Zoetermeer at 3.30 p.m. From the newspapers of the last weeks we learned that Poland daily had served the western press with new hot items. Solidarnosc is coming on power. For the first time in history the communists seem to give up power peacefully. A hopeful sign, but there is still a long way to go for Eastern Europe. May it be successful!

Annex 1 – Facts and figures

We drove 3702 km in 17 days, 10 hours and 20 minutes.

We stayed overnight 17 times: 10 times in a hotel, 6 times at a camping and once in a youth hotel.

We had breakfast: 11 times in a hotel or youth hostel, 6 times prepared by ourselves.

We had lunch: 2 times in a restaurant, 2 times in the street, 11 times prepared by ourselves.

We had dinner: 11 times in a restaurant, 2 times with our Krakow friends, 3 times prepared by ourselves.

We visited 13 towns and villages.

We climbed 3 mountains and one hill.

We waited 4 hours and 30 minutes at 8 borders.

We took 146 pictures with 3 cameras.

We were sick during 3.5 days. All of us contributed to this figure.

We spoke 4 western languages and 3 words of Polish.

We met 9 Dutch speaking people and we met 2 Polish families.

We exchanged 890,798 zlotys for 878 DM and 100 Dutch guilders. The average rate of exchange was 788 zlotys for 1 guilder (that is: 4 polish breads for half a Dutch bread).

Annex 2 – Interesting documents

The voucher, showing our legal purchase of Polish currency and the spending on stays in hotels.

The fuel coupon that we needed for refilling our fuel tank. We had to buy it at the border on entering the country and there was of course no refund for unused coupons.

Annex 3 Map of the trip