Driving from Krakow to Bialystok, watch out in front of you, but don't forget what's behind

Today, we said goodbye to Krakow, what an incredible place that is.  I rented the car at the aiport and made my way back to the hotel, we packed up  and set off for our Homelands.
 The GPS, Google, and others said it would be an 8 hour trip. That wasn't quite computing for us with the mileage being about 500 kilometers, or 300 miles. Well it is true, it takes 8 hours to drive that route. Even though there are more and more limited access highways, only about 1/3 of the way to Warsaw is limited access and about half of the road from Warsaw to Bialystok is limited access. The rest is two, three and four lane highway. Mostly two lane.
We could have cut off an hour if we would have bypassed Warsaw, but we missed the road, due to my packing a map from 2000, and road numbers changing. Oh well, we have three other maps that are all current. The old map is now in the trash.
Warsaw was everything  you would expect, Detroit without the glitter, and no freeways. The traffic was congested, and it took us one hour to go about 5 km. We finally made it out of Warsaw, passing the new football stadiums that were built for UEFA Euro 2012.
The Polish driving system is a little strange, but it works for them I guess. They do have the highest accident rate in Europe. It is a little hard to explain, but the system involves using the shoulder to create an imaginary passing lane in the middle of the road. You need to be aware of what is going on behind you as well as in front of you. Even though it is weird, it is still not as nerve wracking as Italy.
An added interest on the road, were young ladies, who I  believe come from other Eastern countries, such as Romania. They would be standing  by a dirt road smiling beckoningly.  They wore their nice clothes. Occasionally cars would stop and men would talk to them. They seemed to be very friendly.  They also need to be aware of what is gong on in front of them as well as behind them. Though I am making light of it, it really is not very funny.
We also saw the beloved storks on the road.  This is the area of Poland where they nest.  They are sort of treasures of this area, as their number had dwindled and now they are making a comeback.  They are beautiful!  We saw some nests, which are HUGE, generally on telephone poles.  Also saw a few couples in their nests, as well as a few pecking for mice or maybe straw in fields by the road.
We arrived without incident at the Hotel Braniski.  It is quite nice, and near the centrum of Bialystok. Dinner was Hungarian, Goulash, and potato pancakes. Reasonably priced, with large portions. Our room was equipped with Krynki drinking water. That is significant, in that Krynki is where we are going tomorrow for a tour with Tomek, to explore Pat's background. It is the homeland of her family

The night ended with a serenade from a group of soccer  fans that is here for the UEFA Euro 2012.
Dan

addendum from Pat---actually, unfortunately, the night never ended for the soccer fans--or us.   There was partying going on all night long!   We are not happy with this hotel.