Favorite Places on my Trip

Posted on 18 October 2010 by lkonieczny

A few have asked me what I liked the best about my trip to Poland. Well, first and foremost, it was meeting some of my relatives. Hand down, that was the best best best part of the whole trip.

But aside from that, I did have a few favorites. Maybe it was because after we’d been there a while, i became more accustomed to being in a foreign country, but my overall favorite cities, in perhaps this order, were:

  1. Kraków
  2. Zakopane
  3. Gdańsk

I guess I liked Kraków best of all for a few reasons. First and foremost is the history of it. To climb Wawel hill, to walk through the churches where Polish kings, royalty, and all sorts of famous people had tread was an extraordinary experience. I cannot really explain it, but i felt the heart and soul of Poland there. To see the tombs of kings was amazing. To climb the tower at St. Mary’s where they saw the Turk invading hundreds of years ago–outstanding. To make purchases in the sukiennice where traders traded thing long ago was awesome. And to just wander the streets and mingle with the people was a fabulous experience. So for all those reasons, I pick Kraków as number one, and as the city I’d most like to go back to spend more time in.

Zakopane was excellent as well but for other reasons. I guess a lot of it had to do with the mountains and my feeling of being close to the Górale, the mountain people, since that was my grandfather’s heritage. We had an excellent meal there, and afterwards entertainment by a Górale band, and it was wonderful. I have some video from that which I’ll have to post some day. Of course seeing the Tatras Mountains was fantastic, too. I loved it. And seeing the local architecture, eating some Osćypek, seeing how it was made–all of it felt “connected” to me in some way. Add to that our stops in nearby Ludzmierz where my great-grandmother was born, and Krauszów, where my great-grandfather was born, and it was quite a moving experience.

Finally, I enjoyed Gdańsk quite a lot. Part of it was the touristy-ness of the area. Part of it was respect for the birthplace of  Solidarność. Part of it was because I have relatives there and know I’ll be back for a visit. And the river/canal…very pretty. And maybe it was partly because it was the first city I visited.

As I think more and more about it now, I’d really want to add all the places I visited to the list, because all were very special in some way. I’m sure there are some I’ll never visit again, but I know for sure I will visit some again. And again and again, I hope. It’s a wonderful country and I’m looking forward to returning again soon.

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Food and Dining in Poland

Posted on 11 October 2010 by lkonieczny

There is a lot of very good food in Poland, and I was fortunate to taste a wide variety of that food during my two weeks there.

First, I already wrote about the breakfasts we had, called Śniadanie. You can read more about that here. But each day of our tour, we also had either Lunch or Dinner somewhere as a part of the tour package. Now I will admit that the distinction between lunch and dinner was mostly lost on me, because all of our “second” meals of the day (after Śniadanie) were rather nice. And lunch was sometimes as late as 5 PM while dinner was occasionally as early as maybe 6 PM. So I can’t really explain the difference. All i know is that, in general, the food was very good. And I certainly did not starve at all.

I have posted a number of food and dining photos on my web site here. I am not going to write about them day by day here, I already covered most of the meals in my blog on the individual days. But I have some general comments on the food I had in Poland

First of all, in general, I think we all agreed that all of our meals were good. There was maybe one or two that were just mediocre, and a number that were exceptional, but we never had a really bad meal. More often, the food was very good, and I tried a few new things as well as enjoyed a lot of different takes on food I’ve had before.

Pierogi — I imagine that pierogi are the one food that a person thinks about when they think about Polish food. And fortunately, we had an adequate supply of pierogi. The typical stuffings were saurkraut and mushroom and potato and cheese, though we also enjoyed some with mushrooms, some with cheese, some with meat, and yet others, called ruskie, and filled with cheese, onions, and potato. We had them boiled and fried, and often topped with fried onions. I loved them all. I do not believe there is any such thing as a bad pierogi–only good, better, and even more betterer….if that’s a word. I liked every pierogi I had, though at times, the portions were overwhelming. They were all very good. I will single out what I thought was the very best pierogi I had, and that was at a non-organized dinner at a restauracja in Wrocław  named Karczma Lwowska–it was fantastic. The best part of the pierogi here was the dough….it seemed very rustic and authentic. They were absolutely fantastic. Of course, I had great pierogi at a number of places. There is no such thing as a bad pierogi!

Smalec — We had smalec at a number of places, it appears somewhat common. What is it? Well, basically it’s pork fat. But more than that, it’s pork that has been cooked down. Think bacon fat to some degree. Sometimes cooked with other things like onion. It’s very rich and very creamy and, I’m sure, very fattening. But did I mention the distinct lack of obesity in Poland? They eat this sort of thing and remain skinny. Perhaps there’s somethign in the air…. Anyway, many a time we used smalec on our bread and it was truly wonderful. 

Zupa — We had several wonderful soups when in Poland. I am hard pressed to pick a favorite. Some of the żurek we had was truly exceptional–a soured rye starter is used as a base with Polish sausage, mushroom, boiled eggs, and other elements. We also had great barszcz–beet soup. Truly another favorite of mine. And of course, nothing can be Polish mushrooms–grzyby–perphaps this was the best soup of all, because we cannot get these same mushrooms in the USA. Truly fantastic!

Bigos — We had some very good bigos as well–hunter stew–full of various meats, mushrooms, onions, cabbage, and sauerkraut. A real treat!

Gołųbki — No visit to Poland would be complete without gołųbki, and we had some that was excellent!

Krupnik — This honey and spice flavored alchohol-based drink was also fantastic. One or two night, I had a bit of this in the hotel bar before I went to bed–it sure made for good sleeping!

Chleb — We had some very good bread when in Poland. None of this “wonder white bread” stuff there! No, we often had a nice assortment of whole-grain breads, often served with the first course (soup) and often removed after that course as well. Usually served with smalec, often with masło as well. I did notice some margarine at breakfasts, but never at our main meals.

Cukier — As Americans, we often had kawa at the ends of our meals, though most Poles would, I think, have herbata, or tea. But one thing I never saw: yellow or pink or blue packets of “sweetener.” Yes, only real sugar appears to be in use. Oh, and have I mentioned the lack of overweight people in Poland. I guess they don’t need to worry about calories as much as us Americans do.

Meats — I ate a variety of meats–and some fish–when in Poland. We had great pork, chicken, beef, and who knows what else. I can’t think of one meal that was not good and tasty, some better than others. I did have some head cheese at one meal. OK, the taste was very good, but I could not get out of my mind what it was and the texture. Again, the taste was great, it was just the mental picture of what it was that kept me in check from really loving it.

Salads — Typical American “lettuce” salads were not very commmon, but we commonly had a trio of vegetable salads for our meal. Teh most common ingredientds were beets, celery root, carrots, and cabbage (red and green), with a nice compliment of tomatoes, onions, and other savory flavors. We really did have some excellent salads. Again, read my daily blog posts for more about some of these.

Ser — There was a lot of cheese evident as well, though it was more common for breakfast. But a wide variety of cheese, from fresh, new cheese (like cream cheese) to some a bit more aged. And of course, osćypek, especially in the Zakopane area. Apparently my great love of good cheese is an inherited trait!

Ziemnaki — Potatoes are a real staple in Poland, and they were a part of many of our meals in some way. Sometimes it was just plain ole potatoes. Other times we had pyży or kopytky, but they were often an element of our meal. And oh so good.

Conclusion — Well, I had some excellent food in Poland. As more memories rise to the surface, I’ll be sure to include them here. But in the meantime, if you have a chance to try any Polish food, I suggest you grab it–it’s the best food in all the world!

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What I’m Reading

Posted on 7 October 2010 by lkonieczny

When we were in Poland, we asked Chris Kulinski, the organizer of our tour, about good books on the history of Poland. He said that he believed that a person should read these four, in this order:

  1. Poland, by James Michener
  2. Poland, a History, by Adamy Zamoyski
  3. Poland: An Illustrated History, by Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski
  4. God’s Playground: A History of Poland, Volumes I – II, by Norman Davies

Well, I feel a connection to all four of these. I’ve read Michener’s Poland many years ago. I liked it–a lot. But of course it is historical fiction–that is, some history and some fiction. But still a good read.

Then a year or two ago, I read Zamoyski’s history of Poland. Boy, was that a real eye-opener. I realized from reading that book that what I was taught in grade and high school was a very myopic view of world history, one skewed towards English history. I learned a lot about Polish history from that book. For example, did you know that Poland’s election of a King and rule by the nobles preceded the English Magna Carta by several years? It was the first monarchy with a constitution in the world, and the the second constitution in the world, only a few years after that of the USA? Yes, Poland was quite the progressive nation. Anyway, Zamoyski’s book is a good read.

So now i have moved on to Pogonowski’s book, and that’s what I’m reading at the present time. It does not have all that many illustrations, and is a somewhat tedious read, but I’m plowing through it, learning more Polish history, I’m currently about to start reading about the first Polish republic in the 16th century.

I am anxious to get through Pogonowski’s book and move on to the massive, two-volume set by Davies for a few reasons. First of all, he is a noted scholar from Oxford University in England, a recongnized authority on Poland. Secondly, I heard him speak. Well, I heard him speak but I have no clue what he said. He was one of the distinguished speakers at the Westerplatte commemoration of the beginning of World War II, an event which I attended on September 1, 2010, 71 years after the war began. Though I’m not sure what he said because he spoke in Polish, I sensed the people there appreciated it. And his work is a massive tome, so I’m hoping to wade through it one of these day.

So, i keep reading, bit by bit, page by page, devouring the distinguished history of the great Nation of Poland. Let me tell you this: it is very, VERY impressive!

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Homes, Yards, and Buildings

Posted on 6 October 2010 by lkonieczny

The homes, yard, and other buildings in Poland are very interesting. You can see a bunch of my photos of them here. So, what makes them so interesting? Let me tell you.

In most of Poland, outside of the Gorale area around Zakopane, the houses are all made of brick. This comes from years of learning about the propensity of wood structures to be easily burned by invading armies and other enemies. So for a large part of Poland, brick is the building material of choice.

One of the things that really struck me was the colors. For most newer buildings, they had a smooth cement exterior that was brightly painted. Look through the pictures I posted and you’ll see many fairly bright (but not gaudy) colors used in painting.

You’ll notice a few fairly large and quite nice houses in the mix of photos. But you won’t really see and “developments” such as those we see here in the USA. It seems there are not a lot of zoning laws in Poland.

Look at a lot of the homes, and you’ll see a lot of two things in the yards:

  1. Kwiaty or flowers. It seems to me that Poles love to have a lot of flowers in their yards.
  2. Gardens. I saw many a home with a substantial garden planted in their front yard–I can only wonder what may have lurked in their back yards, too!

So, take a look at these pictures and get a bit of the flavor of the homes and homesteads in Poland!

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Cemeteries and Memorials

Posted on 5 October 2010 by lkonieczny

Among the most amazing things I saw in our tour of Poland were the cemeteries and memorials–amazing because they are quite different from what you may see in the USA.

First, the cemeteries. Most of the cemeteries we saw were large, I’d say. But the amazing thing is the way they are kept up. First, there are not just simple ground level slabs like those now popular in the US, nor are there only simple headstones. They are more like raised tombs, often. That is, usually a marble or granite or other rock type platform covers the whole area of the grave, and on top of that there is a headstone–sometimes simple, sometimes ornate. But that’s not all Kwiaty. Flowers, and plenty of them. Sometimes fresh flowers, but often lots and lots of plastic flowers, brightly colored, are placed on these tombs. And in addition, there are votive lamps. I believe one of the traditions there is to decorate the graves on All Saint’s Day, November 1st. In some cases, the plastic flowers were quite faded, but I’ve no doubt that this November 1st will result in a total “redecoration” of these tombs and well as a fresh compliment of votives. Take a look at the picture and take note.

In some cases, the graves are even more elaborate. In one cemetery in Zakopane (an area noted for its wooden buildings and wood carvings), there were may tombs decorated with carved figures, carved signs, and the like. See pictures DSC_532 and DSC_536-538, for example.

There were also some very sombering tombs and monuments, such as these: IMG_951 and IMG_953. Look at the inscription on the first one. It reads “in memory of the victims of Bolshevik Barbarism.” The date is August 25, 1920. And the number killed? 48 Countrymen. Very sobering indeed. Notice the rifle and the saber. This was during the Polish war after World War I. Poland had just become a country, and the Russians invaded. They were ruthless and slaughtered 48 villagers.

The other thing I really noticed was the roadside memorials. See Pictures IMG_2693 and DSC_9810. These are the only two pics that turned out really well. But all along the roadside in Poland you’ll see such memorials. Often times they are quite elaborate and the abundance of fresh (though usually plastic) flowers and votive lights shows that they are still maintained. There are a lot of them everywhere in the countryside. Now,  in the US you sometimes see roadside memorials at the site where someone died, but these are different. They are simply expressions of religious belief and may have been erected simply to express that belief, or in memory of a person or event, or have some other meaning. But they are plentiful and well maintained.

So, you can see that Poles are very reverent, and they pay respects to their ancestors and keep their graves and memorials in great shape. It truly was amazing to see cemetery after cemetery like this, and they are scattered all across Poland. Of course, Poland itself is an amazing place!

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The Polish Countryside

Posted on 4 October 2010 by lkonieczny

We did a lot of traveling by bus when we were in Poland, and thus got to see quite a bit of the countryside. The pictures I have posted in the Countryside folder of my online photo album are various photos I took, mostly from the bus and through the window, of the Polish countryside. In some cases the nearby scenery is blurry due to the motion of the bus. In some cases there is a bit of a glare from the bus window. But in general, you can get an idea of what a lot of the Polish countryside looks like from these photos. And by countryside, I mean just that, these photos are not from the cities, though some may include parts of very small villages. But they show the lay of the land in rural Poland. The direct link to the countryside photos is this: http://poland.leonkonieczny.com/images/2010PolandTour/Countryside/index.html.

To a large extent, the photos speak for themselves and give little glimpses of rural Poland. But I’ll make a few general comments, too, about what I saw and experienced when there.

The first thing that struck me was on the plan from Warszawa to Gdańsk. It was cloudy most of the way, but there were little glimpses of a charming countryside thousands of feet below. And what I remember most is this: Two somewhat winding roads made their way more or less (and more less than more) parallel to each other between two other winding roads. And along those two roads there were, every maybe mile or so, a clump of homes, a small village, but also along the roads there were farmsteads fairly close together. And what I noticed was the long and thin fields, that went about halfway back, meeting in the back the fields from the other, roughly parallel road. The fields all seemed so narrow and so long, but also irregular and at times slightly pie-shape. And they fit the countour of the land. It really was amazing for a guy who grew up in Wisconsin where all the roads are pretty might straight and the intersections at 90-degree angles. Here in Poland, things really did follow the lay of the land, I’m sure based on paths and trails and routes from years ago.

On our trip from Gdańsk to Malbork, we went through an area that was very low, said to be below sea level. It was also, of course, very flat. And due to all the recent rains they had in Poland, we saw many fields with standing water. Between Gdansk and Malbork the fields in general seemed a bit bigger, and there was a lot of evidence of modern farming with big machines and tractors. The crops there seemed to be corn and grains for the most part, and some hay. Farther to the east we went through an area of dairy farms, too, with lots of cows out and about.

In the central eastern part of Poland, and towards the south east, I noticed lots of big pine forest. I didn’t see any that seemed planted in rows. In some areas, they were logging the forests. This was in places a fairly wooded area.

The Masurian Lakes area was very beautiful as well, with some hills and a few larger lakes, it seemed a nice resort area.

Closer towards Zakopane I noticed the land change, with more and more hills. Still lots of farms, but some of the hills got quite steep and so there were some forests too on the very hilly areas. And as we got closer and closer to the mountains, the hills were more and more steep, but still there was a lot of farming going on.

Somewhere around Rzeszow–I think–we saw hops being grown. We saw a lot of other crops too, such as sugar beets, soybeans, and corn. And of course cabbage, too. Towards the south we saw some smaller potato fields, and a few where they were actually digging the potatoes by hand.

Again around Rzeszow and towards Zakopane, we saw lots of forest and lots of people out in the forest picking mushrooms. It’s no coincidence that we had a few very good meals with mushrooms when we were there, either.

From Zakopane to Kraków, the land became less mountainous, eventually becoming more rolling hills again. Then as we proceeded from Kraków to Wrocław, the land again became flatter, with the fields larger and the farms seemed to be a bit larger as well.

You’ll notice that the weather was fairly cloudy most of the time we were there, but we did not have too much rain. That is a good thing. You can see a few pictures of a flooded river, that’s generally the Wisła (Vistula) river that winds its way through a large part of Poland, from the mountains all the way to the Baltic Sea. Poland had a very rainy summer and in places some bridges had even washed out. So they did not need any more rain.

Poland is a very beautiful country. On our trip, we spent the majority of our time some of the larger cities. But I would love to return and spend some time in the countryside, hiking, walking, taking photos, and drinking in the luxurious landscape. Hopefully these photos will give you a little glimpse of the wonderful country I saw and enjoyed!

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Us Tourists!

Posted on 29 September 2010 by lkonieczny

I’m still going through all my photos, but I created a folder that contains various pictures of those of us who were on this tour group, along with our guide and driver. We all had a lot of fun on this tour and I think we all got along very well. One of the members of the tour who has been on many tours before was said to have commented that this was the first tour that they were on where there wasn’t someone who did a lot of whining and/or complaining, and that was true. Even with the sometimes long bus rides from place to place, we all got along fabulously. And sometimes in the evening, there was carousing at a local watering hole, or just playing cards in the hotel room. So take a look at the photos and see some of the people I toured with and some of the fun we had with each other. The direct line to the photos of “us tourists” is here: http://poland.leonkonieczny.com/images/2010PolandTour/Us%20Tourists/index.html. Enjoy!

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Churches in Poland

Posted on 28 September 2010 by lkonieczny

I was in Poland for 14 wonderful days, and in that time, I visited more churches than I can count, certainly double the number of days I was there. I think I was in more different churches in Poland than I have been in my whole lifetime up to this, and I know for sure that I was in church more times in those 14 days than I have been in the past 20 plus years! And it was a wonderful experience.

First of all, I have posted some of my Church photos from Poland here: http://poland.leonkonieczny.com/images/2010PolandTour/Churches/index.html. But a few words are in order about the photos themselves. First of all, taking a photo in a church is hard. Oftentimes, a flash won’t work, and the light is low. I tried to compensate in two ways. First, I had my monopod, so that helped at times. Second, sometimes I’d just set the camera on an available pew or ledge or shelf and trip the timer–but sometimes the time was a second, or two, or more! So, some of the interior photos are blurry and some are at odd angles. And sometimes they turned out pretty good (though could truthfully use some better post-processing. But in essence, a lot of times they do a good job of capturing the feel, if not all the detail.

Secondly, a note about my most absolute, favorite, 100% one one place to visit: Wawel. I did not take any photos inside the churches there. Oh, yeah, I could have purchased a photo pass to allow me to, but we were on a tour, it was crowded, and the buildings were closing early that day. I could not have done it justice. So, if you want to see inside of Wawel, check the Internet, there are  lots of good photos there. I have in my heart grand memories of the inside of those churches, and photos of the outside in my Kraków photos (here).

So, that said, let me tell you a bit about the churches in Poland. It was a wonderful, absolutely amazing experience to visit many of these places. The Poles are a people of deep faith, and that faith has been kept alive through wars, partitions, separations, and many other calamities. But their faith has kept them going. Keep in mind that in many of these photos, you are seeing churches that have been partially (or mostly) demolished in various wars and conflagrations–but always the people rebuilt them with a reverent preservation of the past.

To some extent, these churches reminded me of my earliest experience of a Catholic Church, the “old” St. Hedwig’s in rural Thorp, Wisconsin, the church were I was baptized, and the first church I remember. St. Hedwig’s was built by the sweat and tears of the Polish people who settled in that area of Wisconsin, and for many, many years they supported it with money, with labor, and with love. I remember attending Christmas Eve Mass there as a young child, and thinking I heard angels singing in the Kolędy (Polish Christmas Carols) they sang. I have very fond remembrances of St. Hedwig’s. Unfortunately, in the 1980’s a greedy bishop sold the furnishing of the interior of the church and decomissioned it–I’d like to think there is a special place in hell reserved for him and his greed. But anyway, though the building still stands and is being restored, it’s furnishings and adornments, many of them, are long gone. But I digress.

So many churches in Poland reminded me of St. Hedwig’s. It was an aswesome and mind-bending experience. Within the churches, you can “see” and “feel” the deep and heartfelt piety of the people. In many churches, there were people praying. I was a moving experience.

So, I cannot put into words all that I experienced here, but in a sense, I experienced the “heart” of the Polish people, a very pious nation whose piety, with the help of a Polish Pope–among others–helped liberate them from communism and socialism and the backwardness that that entailed and propell them into the forefront of the 21st century.

So, enjoy the photos, feel free to submit your comments. The churches are awesome and speak for themselves!

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Hotel Rooms

Posted on 27 September 2010 by lkonieczny

Yes, I took pictures in all of my hotel rooms, even of the toilets. I wanted to remember what they were like, and perhaps you are curious as well, so I’ll tell you all about them in general. You can see all the hotel room pictures here: http://poland.leonkonieczny.com/images/2010PolandTour/Hotel%20Rooms/index.html. We stayed in 8 different hotels in the 14 nights we were in Poland.

First of all, we stayed in very nice hotels everywhere we went. Before going, I had done a lot of reading on the Internet, trying to understand what I may need and what I may run into. Some places talked of rough toilet paper–I found none of that; rather, the T.P. was general, run-of-the-mill, ordinary hotel room stuff. Not your super-duper extra fluffy Charmin, but certainly adequate.

Then there were the warnings about the towels. They too were adequate. I’d say that only in Kraków and Wrocław were the towels extra-fluffy. The rest of the hotels, they were adequate though not overly soft. Still, they did their job.

There was not a washcloth or facecloth to be seen anywhere I went.

Most or all of the hotels put that fancy little “freshly disinfected” paper wrapper over the toilet, by the way.

Many of the toilets were dual flush. That is, there were two buttons, one for a short flush, and one for a more heavy duty “whoosh” of a flush. You get the picture and I’m sure understand the reason for the difference.

Several of our hotels had hotpots and instant coffee and tea in the rooms, but several did not. Where they did, there were also sugar packets (never sweetener though) and a little creamer cup or two.

Some of our hotels had only showers, some had shower tubs. All had showerheads with a flexible hose so you could remove or readjust or whatever.

One hotel, the one in Kraków, did not have a shower curtain. The tub was bigger than normal and somewhat round and also had like a seat on the side of it (it’s in the pictures, this one: http://poland.leonkonieczny.com/images/2010PolandTour/Hotel%20Rooms/slides/DSC_1214.JPG). The first day, I got quite a bit of water on the floor. Oops! I learned my lesson and was more careful the second day.

Some had towel warmers in them, that was a nice touch. They also served well as sock dryers, by the way.

All of my hotel rooms had Internet connections, some WiFi, some wired.

All or almost all of them had a device right by the door where you put in your magnetic room card. When you removed the card (as when you were going out), the lights went off. Thus you had to put in your card to keep the lights on. A good, energy efficient idea. Only my Kraków hotel did not have this feature, but then again, they didn’t even have magnetic door entry cards, they had old fashioned keys on huge metal keychains. Kinda quaint, though.

Most or all of them had a refrigerator and bar in them, stocked with an assortment of liquors, beers, and water. There was a price list nearby and you just paid for what you used when you checked out. Pretty cool, actually, though I never used it (there was always a liquor or other store close by with better prices).

All of the hotels were very clean, the staff was very friendly and helpful, and the rooms and bathrooms well kept. I’d stay at any of them again, in a heartbeat.

One thing that did strike me as different, though. In this country (the USA that is), I’m used to hearing a language other than the native language of our country spoken by the maids in the hotels–Spanish. And most of them seem to speak barely a lick of English. But in Poland, all of the maids and help appeared to speak Polish, the native language. I guess they were all in Poland legally….

I did not spend a lot of time in my hotel rooms when I was in Poland, mostly to sleep, clean up, and write my blog. The rest of the time I was out and about. But all of the rooms were very nice, I was very impressed with the accomodations there, and with their modernness. Very nice!

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My 2010 Poland Tour in Chronological Order

Posted on 26 September 2010 by lkonieczny

OK, so I was going crazy trying to remember what all I did in Poland by reading my own blog. You know, when you write a blog, you add to it each day, so the you read the lastest information first, and then have to backtrack to read earlier posts. Bass-ackwards from the way things happen, right? So, i took the time to go through my whole blog about my 2010 Poland Tour and I put it in a document in chronological order, first to last, so that I could really relive my trip as it happened.

So, if you’d like to read my blog in chronological order, try these links, depending on the sofware you have installed. And yes, you’re welcome to download it, print it out, send it to others, share it, etc., as long as you realize that they are my words and I ultimately own them. So no book deals for you, but if you can fix me up with one, that’s cool!

If prompted, choose open or save:

It’s 56 pages right now, so I don’t necessarily suggest you print it all on a inkjet printer, unless you want to. But you can if you want, no problem. Enjoy and please send me yoru comments. I have gone through and redacted it a bit to correct some spelling and grammar. But in essence it’s what I first wrote, and a reflection of my visit to Poland. For me, quite the experience.

Bardzo smaczne!  🙂

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