Charming Cottages in Poland
Old log house painted
blue, a favorite color in Poland
Before my first trip to Poland in October
1998, I had read about the old log houses and wooden churches,
and I particularly wanted to see them. Thinking that log houses
would be rather rare, I told my tour guide to alert me if we
passed a log house, as we drove west from Krakow to Auschwitz
along Road 780, because I didn't want to miss seeing it. Jokingly,
he said "Don't worry. If we don't see a log house, we'll
build one for you." That should give you an idea of how
friendly and accommodating the Polish people are.
I needn't have worried about missing
the log houses on the road, as there are hundreds of them, especially
just outside of Krakow, a beautiful old city which dates back
to the 10th century. There are no real highways in Poland, no
freeways as in America. All the roads go through the little villages
and the houses are set very near the road. As you leave the town
limits of each little village, there is a sign with the name
of the village and a slash mark drawn through the name.
Log house with ends
of logs and caulking painted blue
The log houses are painted or stained
to preserve the wood, since some of them were built in the 18th
century, and maybe even in the 17th century. The caulking between
the logs is frequently painted blue. Some of the houses have
had extra rooms, made of brick or stucco, added onto an original
log house. I was told that many of the cottages that are white
stucco are really log houses that have been covered over.
Old Log house with
a room addition
Most of the houses have fences around
them, as they are only a few feet from the road. Between the
fence and house, there are usually some flowers planted. These
front yard gardens are planted in an informal cottage garden
style.
Outside the villages, there is beautiful
farmland planted with different crops in wide strips, but there
are no fences or hedges between crops or even between farms.
Even the cows are not fenced in, but rather tethered on a long
chain in the pasture.
Log house with brick
and stucco additions, built close to road
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