Kolbuszowa Travel Guide

 Pawtuxet Says:  There were many people along my way on all these trips to Poland who I could write about... it's hard to know when to stop. The sisters who travelled with me enjoyed meeting a costumed local woman at the heritage festival. Vladek and his sister were so welcoming...both a... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  Kolbuszowa was known as a center for fine furniture making a century or so ago. Their furniture was often inlaid or veneer and the quality was such that some of it is part of the collection at the palace in Warsaw as well as a museum in London. I've searched for it on... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  You can search out the Manor Houses hidden amongst the forests around Kolbuszowa. This is where the property owners lived and managed their estates...with peasants working as serfs in the fields. This Manor House is currently used by the local university for offices and... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  Notice the stencil paintings on the walls. Some of these old framed religious pictures hanging on the wall remind me of my grandparents' house, or other immigrant homes in the United States. These religious framed prints were very popular here at the turn of the century... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  The Skansen village is a recreation of an old Polish village...accomplished by moving buildings to this site from all over the region. They are arranged as if there were people living here in typical village life style. Farm implements and household goods are included in... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  One of the things I loved about the Polish gardens is what they call MALLOW ... we call them old fashioned HOLLYHOCKS. I picked up some of the seeds while I was at Skansen village and tried to grow them without success, but my daughter in law took some home and look at... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  The trip in 2001 was designed to finally locate the town from which my family stems. The family name is Rzasa (pronounced Shunsa) and is found only in Kolbuszowa and Rzeszow. Michael was the taxi driver we engaged for a half day out of Rzeszow. It was a short drive to... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  Going in and out of local shops is a lesson in local culture. I found a wonderful little book store with an anniversary edition of the town of Kolbuszowa. It's a very well written history by a local college professor and it's chock full of fabulous photography. Other shops... 

 poreby Says:  Krokodyl restaurant is just at the squer market. For a long time it was the only restaurant at town. They do nice pierogi, and potato pan cackes. 

 Pawtuxet Says:  This was the only restaurant in Kolbuszowa on my first visit, but now there are a couple of more. We decided to return to this one again and again, however. Their food is quite good and very reasonable. All four of us women were happy with our dinners, which is an amazing... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  I think this is one of the purest versions of folk art in Poland. These shrines are placed in locations where the country people can stop to pray if they can't get to the local church. Sometimes the shrine commemorates a person's death from a car accident. However, the ... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  Touring the historic village gave us a sense of what sort of life our grandfathers had in this rural area of southeast Poland. We were very lucky to have Wladek and Gosia to help us with the language, the culture, and the actual family research as we interacted with the... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  We photographed the interior of this old church through a window. Here I imagined my grandparents getting married...my grandfather being baptised. Notice the anchor painted on the wall....the anchor is the symbol of Rhode Island. (our home) I can't imagine why the anchor... 

 Pawtuxet Says:  I found the cemetary to be fascinating. Of course I was excited to finally find my family's name on many of the stones, but aside from that...the cemetary was very different from what I've known at home. Every inch of space has been used. Sometimes you can barely walk...