poland tour part1

I was invited to the yearly Nama hatta Festival in Wroclaw to give a seminar on Rituals and worship in ancient scriptures of India from 29.4. - 02.05. 2006. So i set and packed my stuff for this journey, as i felt very much happy to see my friends and the country side again. I have seen poland first time when i was 10 years visiting towns like szcecin(stettin) just before the political turmoil and the oppression by the communist goverment. From that time i have developed a very much interest in this country. In my emmigrant time from east germany in the 80's i have visited Poland once to meet with my friends from the east after 6 years of no personal contact. So poland was always a country who struggled for freedom and justice, when others were living in aparthy and surrender to the oppressors. It was also one of the first country in the communist countries where devotees where allowd to preach and practise devotional Service.
When i came in the 80's to poland it was a poor country and people used to drink alcohol like mad. It looks it was the only thing one could get easy.
From that lot of things have changed, and entering poland by car this time only the roads remembered me on poland... Big billboards advertising socalled happiness or stuff no one needs. All looks like big USA country, and even the people are so into fashion, designs and big cars, rarely one sees this as poland. Big shopping miles with ikea, deichmann, cocacola and other foreign companies killing old articles from poland, what to speak the infrastructure of farmers and self made homeboys and girls. Only if one drives over villages, still one can see natural country side mixed with old houses from the germans or buildings made from precasted concrete communist slabs. Like this i have been surprised with the situation and here some pics to see whats going on...