Editor’s Note: Tom & Sue Melillo have just spent 7 days in Spain and now will travel through Poland for over three weeks before ending their 2017 “personal Pilgrimage on June 22. We hope you will follow along and enjoy.
Dzien dobry:
Our new venture starts today and we have no idea what to expect. We got up at 3:45 AM and just made it down stairs for the 5 AM shuttle for our 7 AM flight. We did manage to have a cup of espresso with the machine in the room. This was a very nice hotel.
At the airport our check-in counter was around a corner and when we got around it there had to be 300 people in line to check-in. Have no fear, I booked us business class and we had a separate check-in line with only one person in front of us. Even flying business class here is cheaper than flying at home. With all the perks our 2 tickets for the 3 ½ hour flight was only $240.
Things were going well until we realized we were at the wrong gate, since no plane or people were there. They had changed it right after we checked in. I guess all the people in line knew where to go. The plane was big and full but we had the front 3 seats with plenty of leg room. The seat was another story since I had trouble getting my butt in it. I was so squeezed in I had trouble getting my seat belt across and buckled but managed. Thank God for the seat because I could stand up at will and stretch my legs and my butt.
The flight wasn’t bad and we did sleep for awhile. Getting off the plane was tough down a narrow flight of stairs and then we had to walk at least a ¼ mile to get in the terminal. This is a small airport but that made it nice instead of all the hustle and bustle of a big one.
The car rental counter was right outside the luggage pick up which came fast since we were the only plane there. I messed up when I booked the car, I had pick-up for 1 PM and it was only 11. They don’t keep a lot of Mercedes around so they had to go to Warsaw to get our car and we had to wait. The agent said it would be there in 90 mins. or less. We were not upset or in a hurry and we were hungry so we went to a restaurant across from the terminal and had a bite to eat. I had another rental with another company for a VW Passat , which would have been comfortable for us, as a backup. I went to check with the agent and she said he was on his way. I asked what kind of car and she said no Mercedes it was aJaguar. I had trouble controlling my excitement!
The car came back a little late and he had to wash it and when he finished it I finally signed the contract and we got our car. For 4 weeks they charged me $760. The Passat was $900. Did I ever tell you how much I love Poland? They gave us a brand new Jaguar XE 2 F with only 40 miles on the speed odometer. It wasn’t easy, but we figured we could live with it.
Neither of our 2 GPS’s were working, as Susan tried to fix them at lunch, since Poland maps were never loaded and we couldn’t do so. But this car had its own and Susan quickly loaded our destination and I changed the language to English US and we were off but the GPS didn’t give us voice directions. We got going anyway and once we got on a stretch of road with more than 5 miles Susan would try to fix it. She even called Budget rental and when she got thru and she told the woman the problem she hung up on her. Next she searched the web for fix it info and that didn’t work. So finally I said don’t worry we just buy one since I was having trouble navigating this so called highway with miles and miles of construction. The 2 lane road was a constant zig-zag and trucks were plentiful.
It was long and treacherous for most of the way so we prayed the Rosary for some peace and calm. During the 4th decade we were at a stop and I had a revelation……like where was the car made, stupid, and I began to laugh. We continued to pray as Susan watched me play with the GPS, and when I went to language, she began to laugh as I changed it to English UK. I think Our Blessed Mother was also laughing when all of a sudden this heavenly voice said in 300 meters keep left. She should have added stupid. The construction of the new 4 lane highway ended and the traffic cleared as we turned off the main road to Dobre Miastro. It was winding roads and the Jag handled very nicely. I was beginning to develop a relationship with this car. We will see where it goes.
35 minutes later we pulled into our hotel ( Hotel Kopezynski). It looked pretty nice and it was first class. The girl at the desk spoke English and gave us our room key. They had a restaurant and were open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast came with the room and dinner we weren’t sure until we thought of all we had to catch up on reorganizing ourselves for the next 25 days.
We went to the small market across the street and got some picnic food and fresh bread for later and then headed out for the reason we stopped here, the Eucharistic Miracle that took place in Glotowo, 5 kilometers away. We made it to this small nondescript church 5 minutes before the 6 PM mass, which we planned to attend. When we walked in we almost fell down. The church was beautiful (see Photos) done in a Baroque style.
I had time to take a few pics and we went to our pew. The Pastor came by and we said hello and he remembered he had e-mailed Susan when she wrote to him. He said mass and after they had benediction. It was beautiful. There were only a few people there including 2 sisters so when mass was over they shut the lights and got ready to close. We hadn’t seen the miracle and were a little disappointed but still energized.
We were outside looking around at the map for the Stations of the Cross path they have, the photos of them are magnificent. Each Station has a separate building and is very detailed. It got cold and we knew we couldn’t do them. As we were talking the pastor came out and we talked for awhile before I asked him where the Miracle was. That’s all it took, he opened up the church and took us to the altar we sat next to that was the exact spot where it happened.
(Click here for the story of the Eucharistic Miracle of Glotowo)
He then got a laser pointer and took us thru the whole church explaining the stained glass and all the frescoes. It was great, we saw it all.
We thanked him for his kindness and we bid farewell to him and left for our hotel. Now we were truly elated what a wonderful experience and Susan decided that every day would be Day 1 in Poland.
When we got back I bought a bottle of wine at the bar for our room and got a couple plates and utensils from one of the girls ( this is a true family run business with at least 6 kids and mom and dad, and they all get along ).
We dined in the room and I finished Sunday’s Madrid report and sent it out while Susan again organized us. I’m glad I lost that job. Good night it’s bedtime.
God Bless all of you
Love
Susan & Tom
May the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints plead for us with the Lord, that we may deserve to be helped and delivered by Him, who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.
