Time flies when you are having fun

Whew, what a whirlwind the last week has been!

In the space of the last seven days, we have been to three different cities - Kazimierz Dolny, Sandomierz and Krakow. Each has imprinted its memories.

Kazimierz Dolny is a bit like coming home. It is a lovely little city situated on the banks of the Vistula River. It has some castle ruins, a town square with a famous well, and is the place where my parents got married. It's like coming home because it is the place to take family that is visiting from out of town, or in this case out of country. We laugh everytime we get taken there, because it is the standard tourist stop.

Nonetheless, it was dear to see it again, and this time, we toured a 16th century convent, where my mother bought herbs for everything from hemorrhoids to hypertension. We also met this monk who was desperately lonely and a lovely old man. I wanted to buy a rosary for E and L there and he would not take any money for it, and he blessed both of them. It was heartwarming. He told us a bit of the story of the convent, and we got the impression that if we stayed longer, he would have gladly spent more time with us.

The day we went to Kazimierz Dolny, it was a national holiday. Apparently, it's the place to be to show off your vehicle and your family. To walk the town square and to have a beer. Everybody and their uncle was there. I did not mind so much, as it was a sunny day. The throngs of people were not really interested in the same spots that we were going to, so that made things all right.


Onto the next city. On the 12th, we set out for Krakow, by way of Sandomierz. The highlight of Sandomierz was a 13th century church. But first we got stalked by a guide who popped out of her car when she spotted us and offered to take us through another church. This one was from the 16th century. A young'un. She had crazy hair and spoke with the speed of a machine gun. Lovely lady. Don't remember a word she said. She steered us toward the 13th century church, where, as it happened, my camera battery decided to bid adieu. Hence, so few pictures of St. Jakub's church were captured. We did find a statue of St. Czeslaw there - my father's namesake.

We arrived in Krakow in the late afternoon and set out for the city centre. This is a square again, with a famous basilica and stores in the middle of the square, called sukiennice. In medieval times, cloth was traded there, hence the name. The buildings were beautifully lit up at night, and I'm glad that I started snapping. Some of the shots worked out nicely.

Let me tell you, I wish I was in Krakow with my sister. It has such a spirit, so much life. It's a city for young people. So many hostels, so many clubs, so many things to do and see. I have a photo of a bar advertising 'dancing on tables' on Thursdays. You had to be there. I think they were dead serious.

We toured the castle and churches that would make you cry. We were bone tired at the end of the next day, full of walking and touring. At one point my eyes hurt from looking at things. So much history, so much tradition and such richness of spirit. It was wonderful. I am very grateful that I got to experience this at this point in my life, when I can appreciate it.

At the end of the day of touring, we wandered into the old Jewish quarter of town. We were hungry and hurting. None of the restaurants seemed to fit. How can you eat Italian or Portuguese food in the old Jewish quarter? I didn't think so either. We finally wandered into a little bar called 'alchemia' or 'alchemy.' This is funny because I was older than the crowd in the bar by about ten years. It was dark and smoky and oozing with coolness. You can imagine how well my mother, aunt and uncle fit in. The best part was that the bar did not serve food! Yes, liquor and beer only. And I thought you had to serve food to prevent people from getting sloshed! We had a beer on an empty stomach, and then stumbled out to find food. We found a little place that did not serve kosher food, but the food was yummy. Borsch with uszka, or mushroom pierogies.

So, the week was jam-packed with memories and feasts for the eyes. A good week indeed.

One big happy family

Today, we are crammed into my aunt's country home...a two bedroom home that is currently housing eight adults and one very precocious child. I love family; however, it is very close here and on top of that, the septic tank is full.

Yesterday, we attended the baptism for my first cousin's four-month-old child, conducted in a small church near her home. I realized that I no longer remember the Lord's prayer in Polish or the Hail Mary for the matter. Sad.

The photos from the day sucked, though. I was not having good luck. Everything came back blurry and stilted. Oh well, you can't win them all.

I'm impressed with the people of my parents' generation. Two people in particular were drinking shots of vodka last night. A whole bottle's worth. I'm thinking that if I were to partake, I'd be dying today. As it is, there is a persisting buzz in my head, perhaps from mixing white wine and screwdrivers. But they were chopping wood today, as if all was right with the world!

That is stamina.

I have decided that children, apart from my own, are good in small quantities. My cousin's child is an only child and is quite precocious, as I mentioned above. Maybe it's due to too much time with adults? All I know that when she was bouncing off the walls last night at midnight, I was ready to run. So much for routine and structure. Seeing all those children made me miss my own kids more than ever. Wish they were here to share this with me.

Crossroads

This is a country of contrasts.

Today, we toured the Zamoyski palace in Kozlowka. To get there we drove through a number of villages. The contrasts are the new builds, with jaunty colours and unique designs, versus the screeching poverty of the old buildings with peeling paint and cracked windows. It's like the country is really trying to resurrect itself, but cannot quite get there yet.

It's like that with roads too. They are so plugged with cars, because cars have all of a sudden become affordable. So people are getting cars and going everywhere, but the infrastructure is not there. The roads are so narrow and traffic is atrocious.

I thoroughly enjoyed touring the palace. They showed us about six different rooms. The most amazing things were the heating fireplaces. Made out of porcelain tiles. This family was so exclusive and rich that they had things made to order, such as the designs of these fireplaces, and then they had the blueprints destroyed, so that they could not be repeated. They had a 500-year-old rosary on display. It was made out of agate and silver. Likewise, the dinner service was made about 300 years ago, but now they have no idea who made it, because the family did not want the mark of the craftsman on the dishes, so they just had their family crest on the bottom.

The Canadian connection with this place is that they emigrated to Canada after WWII and settled in the Montreal area. Neat.

Let me tell you about a little treat called 'nalewka'

We are in the midst of very foggy and rainy weather here, it seems.

Today, our adventure was to head out to the outdoor market. This I recall from my childhood, except not that particular one, of course. The day was not particularly favourable, with a slight drizzle; however, the vendors set out their wares. You could buy everything from felt-lined rubber boots to rat poison and everything in between. There was a stand with kitchen cabinets, but I did not see one with the sink. We meandered, bought a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and ended up going home. We were done by 10 a.m.

I am having a hard time doing nothing. I realize this will be a complaint falling on deaf ears, but the morning hours after we got back stretched out a bit. Again, the meal times are a bit awry, so I can't rely on those to guide my day. Thank God for the laptop. I am keeping myself amused with it.

So, to get to the meat of the matter, my family makes this heavenly potion called 'nalewka.' Since I am of age, I can partake. It's between a spirit and a liqueur. We've had a plum-based nalewka and today we had a raspberry-based one. This is one of those things that you have to be careful with as it goes down quite nicely. But when you try to get up to the bathroom, all of a sudden the room does a little spin.

Cheers.

Day 2 and 3

What an unimaginative title, but hey, I'm not feeling very inspired. What I am feeling is homesick. For my kids and my husband and down to the small things in life, like my toilet.

It turns out that when you are older, you have a hard time adjusting to things as well as you did when you were little. I'm talking about wrecking havoc with meal times and such.

Yesterday, we went to pay respects at two cemeteries. One of the cemeteries was fertile ground for my obsession with photography and wrought iron. It heartily fed both. Except that I wore the wrong shoes and of course it killed to take every step. Then we went to a supermarket, and those have changed. I miss the old communist-era supermarkets that were tiny and offered no choices. Now, they are just like our stores, and it stinks. Even most of the signage is in English.

By the time we got home, my feet ached, I was starving and very tired.

On a happy note, I was able to get ahold of a friend from the First Grade. I have not seen her in eleven years, but I will see her next week. I will also hopefully see my Grade 1 teacher. Fond memories of those moments in childhood. My old school is now a high school, which is kind of sad. Apparently, my home town has changed a lot, but I haven't been able to go there yet.

Today, we set out to Lublin. We walked all along the old part of town, and I fed my passion for photography. Bitter disappointment after coming back. Most of my shots blow. I'm not sure what to do differently to make them better either. Urgh.

We did have a run-in with the old system in a restaurant/pub we went to. The food was atrocious and the service was just confused. It was not pretty, but I ended up with a full belly, so that was OK. We were approached by lots of people on the way around as we walked by. Some wanted money, some started talking to my mother in English. It was a bit surreal. I don't think I would do well there by myself. The two churches we went into were gorgeous, though. Baroque inside, no fanciness spared.

Lublin is in a renaissance. Most dilapitated buildings are being restored. The castle is restored. Everything looks fresh and almost new. I was impressed.