This was capitalism at its most basic and practical. Later, venturing to the Hotel Rzeszow restaurant for dinner, I was relieved to learn that there was an English language menu. With only a weak command of Polish, I became acquainted with some of the other patrons. They were Speedway drivers. Contrary to common belief, soccer is not the most popular sport in Poland, or at least not in Rzeszow.
Teams compete all over Europe to compile points for their international standing.
Perhaps the drivers were biased, but the popularity of their sport was confirmed later. When I tried to notify Mayor Mieczyslaw Janowski of my arrival, I was told that he was at Speedway. Rzeszow has been Buffalo's sister city for more than a decade, but for years no efforts were made to build on that connection. Now, making up for lost time, I found myself alone six time zones from home. I had met Deputy Mayor Jozef Gorny at a municipal cooperation conference in Prague the week before.