Not Just Another Roadside Attraction

When do you know if another person is a good match? When Uwe and I first got together, the answer for us was travel. I was in Europe for a few months (a time period that has now lasted 34 years….). I visited an old friend in Germany (Uwe) and we decided it would be fun to travel together in the former Eastern Europe (Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary).

Back then, the Soviet patina hadn’t been scrubbed away yet. Things were still pretty dusty and rusty. I’ll be posting shortly about those experiences. But today I want to share a roadside Madonna with you.

I grew up in upstate New York, where bathtub Madonnas are a common sight in the North Country.

your basic bathtub Madonna

 

Near the border crossing into Czechoslovakia we saw this one. I made Uwe stop the car so I could get out and take a photo.

High Tatras region Poland

Now this, my friends, is a roadside Madonna!

NOTES: Bathtub Madonna image courtesy of Atlas Obscura © 2026 Jadi Campbell. I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. My recent awards are Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story  Contest.

Click here for my author page to learn more about me and purchase my books.