Moja miłość do Polski

I got back to the hotel from my trip to Weliczka to find Chris, our tour organizer, busy wrapping the czupaga I got a few days earlier. He’d promised he had a way to send it and he was true to his word. There were some other parcels of Chris’s to that were being wrapped. His friend Anna from Krakow was over and helping as well. So I helped him finish wrapping and eventually we went to the Post Office with about 7 packages to mail. There we had a very efficient clerk who took very good care of us. My czupaga should be arriving in about a week to my home. How nice. All told, the various packages we mailed cost just over 800 zloty, but some were books and quite heavy.

After that, I took off for the center of Kraków. I wandered around for a while but eventually found a great place for lunch, a place called Restauracja Jadełko. I had an excellent lunch there. I will write more about it in my food blog at http://lakemaryfoodcritic.blogspot.com when I have a chance, but it was a good Polish lunch. I started off by telling the waitress, Pierwsze, piwo, drugie! But for my meal I had barszcz czerwone z uszkami, pierogi ruskie, and coleslaw. It was all very good. The barszcz was a bit to salty for me and, honestly, the barszcz I made last Wigilia was better, but this was very damned good too, as were the uszki in it. The pierogi were also quite good, as was the coleslaw. The atmosphere was very nice, in an old storage celler, underground. I’m sure there was a history there but I was not about to ask!

After that I did more wandering and the like, then I went to the church on the corner near here. I forget the name at the moment, but it is very historic and very old. This church was here and in this building when the Turks (or was it Mongols, I forget) came to invade in the 13^th or so century. Legend has I that the lookout in the tower saw the Turks invading and sounded the alarm with his trumpet, but the invaders killed him with an arrow. Now, each day, and every day, and every hour, even through the night, a trumpeter plays out of the windows in the tower, once to each direction, North, East, South, and West, and sounds the alarm, but the song ends in mid-note to commemorate the sudden death of the trumpeter. And yes, this is played at the four directions 24 times each day, on the hour. I have heard it myself a good half dozen times.

So guess what, you can actually climb this tower. And I did. All 237 steps up. And they are not easy nor shallow steps. It’s quite a trip up and equally treacherous on the way down. But apparently in Poland they don’t have all the scummy trial lawyers and the ADA to deal with. Poles are reasonable people and I knew to be careful. It was quite a hike up—and down. But a beautiful view, even on this cloudy day. I’m glad I went.

Yes, it is cloudy and rainy at times today. Well, not a real rain, but a drizzle. But that’s OK. And even in the midst of this less than ideal day, there are tons of people on the streets. It appears that Krakowians know to carry their umbrellas. So there were things going on in the square, rain or shine. It really is an alive place.

After my climb to the to top of the church, I sat under a big umbrella on the square and people watched for a while—and recovered. And I had a Żubrówka and a piwo drugi. That went down well. Then I shopped. I found some very nice stuff and I may go back for more. I found some wycinanki, a szopka, and a few other trinkets. Look out to see how I decorate this year for the holidays! I did a lot of walking today. At times I just wandered down some streets to see what was there and where they’d take me, no set goal in sight. It was a lot of fun and I had no fear of getting lost. Of course I have my iPhone for a backup plan.

Speaking of getting lost, what happens in Poland may stay in Poland, and I won’t mention any names, but several of our party had a bit or a challenge getting back to the hotel last night after our tour and dessert. I won’t mention any names, but I ran into two of our party whose initials are Pat and Sonja. I was walking down Ulica Święty Tomasz toward the hotel, and they were coming towards me. They said, thank god we found you. I asked, “where are you going.” They said “to the hotel” I said, “well, then you have a long way to go because the hotel is the other way.” Now in all honesty, someone gave them bad directions. But it was funny. And they were not the only ones. But for some reason, I’ve had an easy time finding my way around her. I am confident that next time I’ll be able to explore even further off the beaten path. I am looking forward to that.

So now I am back at my hotel, at least for a bit. I may go out again before we go to dinner. I’m actually going to dinner a bit early with Chris and his friend Anna and some of this other friends. They may all speak Polish, but after a few vodkas, as Anna said, she’ll speak and understand better English and I’ll speak and understand better Polish. Oh, and our dinner is at Wesele. Even I have heard of that before. Look it up, it’s a somewhat famous restaurant here in Krakow and famous in the world, I believe. Or at least, I’ve heard of it before for some reason. It will be an enjoyable dinner, for sure, and you know I’ll write about it when I can. But for now, it’s time to rest…or maybe have a piwo or some wódka, we’ll see!

[Ok,nix that previous post, I solved my problem by going up he street to McDonald’s, buying a cup of coffee and some “apple crisp,” and getting on their internet!]

This morning, we went to Weliczka. Weliczka is the home of the famous salt mines. Long time ago, like in the 13^th century or so when they were discovered, salt was a very important commodity, sometimes more valuable than gold. After all, you cannot eat gold, but we all need our salt. And Poland discovered a huge vein of salt, deposited several millions of years ago when what is now Poland was a sea which eventually dried up leaving salt, a vein of nearly pure salt that is about 10 miles long and a mile or so wide. Starting in the 13^th or 14^th century, Poland started excavating this salt. It is amazing to see how the did it. As a matter of fact, the mine was in operation until just about a dozen years ago, and still employs over 1000 miners who preserve this.

Ah, but we’re not just talking salt here, there is more to the story. But first, it’s important to know that this mine which I guess belonged to the king was a source of great richness. The salt from this mine is what financed the building of the spectacular Wawel palace and churches.

Mining salt is not easy work and it developed over the ages, but at one time it was estimated that 25% of all miners would die in the mine from some sort of accident. But to be a miner meant you could get some salt for your family, so it was a very good paying job for the time.

But there is more to the story, as these people did not just mine the salt….they carved in it. Words cannot describe some of the beautiful carvings that I saw today. I did not take any pictures because without proper lighting and equipment, they would be dull and boring pictures. But there are plenty of pictures on the Internet of Weliczka, look it up! There is a beautiful church carved right out of the salt, including and altar, podium, pulpit, priest or bishop’s chair, and the like. It is truly amazing.

And, remember, it is a mine, so underground. The whole mine extends down 9 whole levels, to over 350 meters deep (do the math, it’s over 1000 feet!). But we were only down to the third level, still am impressive 135 meters or about 500 feet below the surface. Of course I had to pee there, because that I a record low pee for me! Yes, I can be silly at times, I am on vacation. Oh, but I did use a regular WC or bathroom, don’t worry….

We started out by taking an elevator down, then we had a guide for our tour group of about 16 people. But then we ended up descending something like another 400 steps. So we were really down in there. Fortunately, the way out is with an elevator of sorts… more like a sardine can, but we made it to the top. In case you are interested, yes, both Sonja and Pat went on this tour.

So that was our tour. I encourage you to look up Weliczka on the Internet—Wikipedia is always my friend—and learn some more about it, it is an amazing and fascinating place, and I’m glad I went.

Kraków at night….what can I say. I was just out a bit ago for a walk around Kraków at night, and I loved what I saw. First of all, it’s a damp and rainy night, a slight rain—almost a mist but certainly wet, has been falling constantly since about 7 or so this evening. So it’s not the most enticing weather. But it’s also a Friday night. On my latest walk I basically walked down to the square (the rynek) and walked around it. There are a lot of people out and about. At one point I had a few people speak to me, but I’m not sure what their intentions were, I more or less ignored them. At another point, two nice young ladies who spoke great English introduced themselves to me. Again, I was a bit skeptical and just wished them a good evening. But all in all, it’s a very vibrant city at night, I was totally amazed. The bars and restaurants seem to be doing a fine business at this time of night.

I cannot imagine what this city and these people endured for many years under Communism, but I do know that it is a failed ideology. I know that today’s Poland, the modern Poland, is full of hope and idealism, hope for the future and the belief that Poland will prosper. I’ll tell you, based on the last thousand years of history, I have every reason to believe that will happen. So tonight, seeing all these people out and about, enjoying themselves, it gives me a big dose of hope for the future of Poland. Well, that along with a lot of other things I’ve seen on my amazing journey her. I’ll say it: Poland is a growing country, one to be watched, one to be admired, one to be invested in, be it time, money, or only the heart. I foresee great things for Poland, based on my limited experience of the past 10 days or so. But it gives me great hope for the future.

So, I saw a lot of people, mostly younger, out and about tonight. This is the future, this is the future of Poland. And I think it’s again a great future for a great race of people. I am so happy that I am a part of that race, that culture, that people!

There is a party going on in the hall just outside my room. These Polish, they are very smart. If you have a group of American tourists who’ve been riding, walking, and touring all day and just want to relax, but them all on the same floor in the small hotel. I believe there may be 8 rooms on this floor, and they are all occupied by our group. I earlier made a beer run for them, Chris had a bunch of his own, and I just saw missy who was going for a wine run. They are having a good time, a nice way to relax after a long day, for sure.

So let me start at the beginning because there were more amazing things that happened today. We started our day with an early breakfast and were on the bus and ready to go shortly after 8. Our first stop was Szaflary, as Marek (our tour guide) and Jeanne had an appointment with the priest. Jeanneis looking for the birth record for her grandmother, I believe. This priest was very helpful and looked through a number of old books and was about to give up when he found the record they were looking for. So Jeanne got her information as well as the promise of the priest that he would look further for other records for her, a very helpful priest.

The parish at  Szaflary, by the way, is one of the oldest in the area, it is 660 years old this year. Yes, you heard me right, six hundred and sixty years old! The church building itself is not that old, invasion after invasion and war after war saw to that. But still very amazing to have something that old.

Our next two stops were dear to my heart. First we stopped at the city of Ludźmierz, at the Sanktarium Maryjne w Ludźmierzu. This city has a shrine at which Pope John Paul II prayed the rosary in 1997. It is a huge place with outdoor stations of the cross, gardens, and a huge church. In 2001 it was declared a basilica. The city of Ludźmierz, however, is notable for several other reasons, too. It is the oldest city in the Podhale, and is the city where my great-grandmother, Wyktorya Sopiarz, was born in the latter half of the 1800s. So it was a very emotional visit for me. I even lit a candle and prayed a bit for her and for my parents there.

But there is more, because after that we journeyed up the road a kilometer or so to the next town, Krauszow. This is the town from where my great-grandmother’s husband, Franciszek Szczęch, came to the US in the very late 1800s. It was wonderful just to see this town. But we stopped at a sklep, and it turned out that a man named Józef Szczęch was there! So we met and I had my picture taken with him, and I have his address. I am not sure if or how we are related, but he did say there are a bunch of different Szczęch families around. That was so very cool. I will publish the pictures and you can be the judge, but I thought I saw a resemblance to my grandfather Joseph Szczech. It could be so…

After that, it was back on the road again to head to Kraków. On the way, we saw a sight that brought me back to my much younger years and reminded me so very much of my grandfather, Joseph Szczech. We saw a farmer in a field cutting hay with a kosa, just like my grandfather used to do. But even more amazing, while we were watching, he stopped, checked the blade, decided it needed a bit more sharpening, and sharpened it right there with a few strokes. Who knows, maybe it really was my grandfather in that field, cutting that hay. He had everything grandpa had going for him except no bib overalls. It was an amazing sight! And we continued on to Kraków.

Kraków is a very old city and until the late 1700s was the capital of Poland. It escaped major destruction in World War II and so there are building in the old city that date back all the way to the 13^th century. On the way into the center of town, we stopped at the mound that was built to honor Tadeusz Kościuszko, but did not have time to climb it, maybe on Sunday on our way out of town.  After this we stopped at the hotel only long enough to get our rooms, throw our stuff in them, and use the bathrooms (when you have to pay for bathrooms all the time, this becomes very important!) Then we went to lunch.

We had a hurried lunch at  a very nice place whose name escapes me right now. But it was very nice. We were seated in a room in the underground area, an area that in olden days probably was storage for a shop above. There we had an excellent vegetable soup. It has bits of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and rice in it, as well as a number of other things. It was delicious. And then we had our main course, and again, we had a wonderful meal. Our main course today was gołąbki! A meat and rice mixture was wrapped in cabbage leaves and served with a nice and acidic tomato-based sauce, along with a few bits of oven-baked potato wedges. This was very, very good and we all agreed on that. I ate every last bit of it. But, we were behind schedule, and so we postponed dessert and coffee until later, as our tour guide for a tour of Kraków was waiting.

The next few hours were filled with a wonderful tour of old town Kraków. We went up the hill to Wawel Cathedral and saw that church, inside and out. Words cannot begin to describe it, nor the feeling of being there. This is where the kings of Poland were crowned and buried. Even the last president of Poland, killed in the tragic plane crash 5 months ago today, is buried there. We saw the crypts and sarcophaguses of saints and kings. It is truly an amazing place. But on top of that, we say quite a few other churches and even a basilica (maybe two, I lost count). We saw other sights too, such as the Jagellonian University which gave rise to many famous people. It really was overwhelming, so hard to take it all in. The short time we are here is only a taste of all there is to see, but now I am hungry to see more, very hungry….

After our tour, we headed back to our restaurant for our missed dessert and coffee. Oh My God! The dessert was to die for. I have to find out the name, but it was two pastries with a filling of the most delicious crème or pudding. But it was not ordinary filling. This was to die for. It’s said that this was the favorite dessert of Pope John Paul II and I can see why—it is like eating a little bit of heaven.

Eventually, we were all done and we all split up to do whatever we wanted to. I was a glutton for punishment, but first I made my way to the hotel. The rest of my evening was a series of excursions around Kraków.  First I went down a few blocks and found a street full of people, so I explored that. Then I went to the old cloth store area (I forget the Polish name but am counting on my friend Ewa to tell me, it’s based on the work bluszka) and looked at the vendors there. By this time it had begun to rain so I returned to my hotel for my umbrella.

Venturing out again I walked up a ways and found a small store where I bought several cans of beer—this is an important staple of my diet by now! LOL.  So I got my beer and was returning it to the hotel when I stumbled upon my cousins (once removed) who were heading down the street our hotel is on, but away from it. I asked where they were going and they said “to the hotel.” I said “it’ll be a very long walk if you go that way!” Well, they had gotten a bit turned around but as luck would have it, I stumbled upon them. Or maybe it wasn’t luck, who knows? So I got them back to our hotel. And on the way met a few more who had gotten turned around. Imagine a town where the streets go at  angles, and stop and start, and are all centered around a square (that is not really square) and was “laid out” 600 or more years ago. Yes, it is easy to get lost, I’m sure. So I got them back safely, and then after a bit of rest (and a piwo, yes!) I headed out again. But by this time some of our group was in the hallway about to play cards. The begged me to go on a beer run for them, so I did. Luckily I had my umbrella, but I went down a few blocks and bought them a bunch of beer, some cokes, and even some munchies.

Now finally, I was able to take another walk. Oh, by this time of day my knees are hurting, but no matter, I am going out, and so it did. I was looking for a bar I read about on the Internet, one that has more than 4 dozen beers on tap. I found it but did not go in. But instead I walked around some more and made several important purchases. I got a t-shirt from Hard Rock Kraków. How many of you can boast that. And a few other things. And also a small 100 ml bottle of Wódka Żołądkowa Gorzka which I am working on right now (to make sure I have no stomach problems in the morning, remember, this is preventative medicine!).

So, it has been a very long day, but also a wonderful day, most wonderful. I have visited a number of amazing places, but by far Kraków is my favorite. I feel the spirit of Poland here, I really do. Here I feel what it means to be Polish, and I feel something special inside of me, something that’s been speaking to me my whole life. I know I’m Polish, and now I understand what that means a whole lot more. What an amazing day this has been…but also, what an amazing tour this has been…..

Poland is very beautiful and colorful, and I’ll tell you why. This beauty is well enhanced by the abundance of kwiaty everywhere. This is one of the first things that I noticed when I got here, and it has been consistent everywhere we have been.

The “yards” in Poland, at least in the cities and villages, are for the most part very narrow and long, as are the houses in some areas. But the front yards (when the house does not sit right up on the road) are generally taken up with one of two things, flowers or a garden, or both. There is not a lot of lawn and when there is, it is usually green more from weeds than from any cultivated grasses. In my whole time here I have only seen one or two lawmowers, so most lawns are somewhat shaggy, though that could be due to the recent abundance of rain, too. In one area I saw someone attacking an overgrown lawn with a weed whacker. But outside of gardens which are somewhat prevalent and extensive, there is an abundance of flowers, flowers everywhere. I see a lot of marigolds, zinnias, roses, and just a wide variety of flowers, but marigolds seem to predominate, both yellow and rust colored varieties. These flower gardens appear well maintained to. I have come to the conclusion that Polish people love their kwiaty, which explains my mother’s love of flowers as well, and my sisters’, too.

The town here are filled with the sign, Kwiaciarnia. But these shops sell another type of flower that is very prevalent but only in certain areas—plastic flowers that are used to decorate graves. Yes, the cemeteries are filled nearly to overflowing with flowers decorating the graves. True, there are also other live plants sometimes planted at a gravesite, but almost always on the raised stone monuments there is an abundance of flowers as well as votive lights. Polish people show very much respect for their ancestors and in each of the many cemeteries we visited, most of not all of the graves had flowers on them. Yes, they may be a big faded with time, but it would seem that at least annually these are renewed with fresh plastic flowers. There were a few graves, very well maintained, with fresh cut flowers as well, but that is not as common.

So, Poland is a very colorful nation from the perspective of all the flowers in the yards and in the cemeteries and in the parks and on the streets. I even saw some sort of shade shelters were the roofs were made of potted flowers, very beautiful and well maintained. Ingenious, I thought!

But there is another source for all the color, and that is the houses themselves. Most all are built of brick with the exception of the mountain areas. But many of the newer ones, and some older, are plastered over the brick and all very brightly painted. The colors are very warm and cool at the same time, very soothing. Certainly there is nothing like deed restrictions and the property police here, but the people paint the houses with a good sense of color as well. I’ve taken lots of pictures of these homes and will certainly post some when I return.

So two things about color in Poland: houses and kwiaty in the yards. Polish people love color and know how to use it in balance and harmony—no bright pinks or hot reds or painful greens, just soothing and mellow colors, all enhancing what is by nature a beautiful country, a beautiful place.

Well, the evening turned out be pretty spectacular as well today. We had an excellent meal and were also entertained. How much better can it get?

We left our hotel just a bit before 7 for the short drive to Sabata, the restaurant where we had dinner. We were seated at one large table in a side section of the restaurant, so basically had that area to ourselves. Our dinner there was fantastic, and was some typical górale food, though I do not know the proper names of all that we ate. But I know it was good and I can still describe it for you!

Our meal began with bread and lard, or smalec. OK, I know what you’re thinking, but you’d be wrong. This is not just ordinary lard, this is pork fat that has been rendered. You know that Emeril says “pork fat rules” and his is right. Now I only put a little bit on my bread, though some put on quite a layer. But however you do it, it is a little bit of heaven with each bite, I’m telling you. The Polish people know how to cook and eat, and there are no overweight people in Poland that I could see, either.

For our zupa course, we had  some sort of meat soup that was absolutely wonderful. There were chunks of pork in it and perhaps just a few dumplings. But the broth was the star. It was meaty and heavily flavored with paprika, primarily. I could have drank this nectar of the gods all night, it was that good.  I even had seconds, that’s how much I liked it.

For salads we once again had a trio of fresh veggies. One was a red cabbage slaw. It was not very sweet which was a good thing, but it was tasty. The second was a coleslaw, shredded cabbage with some carrot and red pepper and a few other things, it was quite tasty. And the third was a celery root (celeriac) slaw, this was also quite a hit. It had a few raisins in it to give it some sweetness and a bit of acid, a nice balance of flavors. I didn’t leave any on the plate.

Our main course was a good ole meat and potatoes course, but certainly not at all ordinary. The potatoes were oven fried/roasted and seasoned with a bit of caraway, they were very good. And the meat… well, it was anything but ordinary. A thin cutlet of, I think, pork was topped with just  a tiny bit of sauerkraut, then a thick piece of country ham/bacon, and then some slices of ośćypek, and baked/broiled.  It was divine, absolutely divine. Again, I didn’t leave a speck on the plate, it was that good.

Finally, the desert. Well, we did have kawa with our dessert. But the dessert itself was a cheesecake, nice and flavorful but certainly not very sweet, which was nice. I am not sure what kind of cheese was in it, but it was very good and topped with a crumb topping. By this time in the meal, I was pretty full and I am sad to report that I did not quite finish the cheesecake, but only because I’m not a big dessert fan and I was already quite full.

But that is only half of the story. We also had entertainment! There was a górale band at this place and they came and played for us three times, a total of at least 6 song, and not short songs either. They were dressed in traditional górale garb and sang and played for us, three violins, a bass, and an accordion. They were very good. Christine, one of our group members, has a lot of górale music at home and recognized several of the songs as well. It was excellent entertainment.

We had a good time this evening, and now I am back at my hotel, enjoying a nice cold piwo and writing in this blog. I have to get packed and ready this evening as well, as in the morning we leave very early for Krakow, but have a number of stops to make on the way.

I am glad for all of your comments and/or emails and glad that there are a number of people out there enjoying my blog. I have a lot, lot more to say about Poland, just not enough time in the day to say it all. But suffice it to say that Poland is a wonderful country, I can well see why Poles are so strongly nationalistic and why they as a culture have lasted for over a thousand years. Not many other cultures on this earth have such a long and rich history as has Poland. And in today’s world, they are just coming of age as a country, it is truly amazing to see this happening right before my very eyes. You cannot imagine how it is, you cannot. You’ll just have to come over with me on my next trip to see it for yourself! But for now, dobranoc!

It is early 6 PM in Zakopane as I am writing this, and my legs are sore—or more properly, my knees. It had been a rather full day so far. And in about an hour or so we will once again board the bus and head out for our dinner which is going to include some local food as well as some Górale music. Not sure just what all that will entail, but I’m sure it will be great fun.

It has been a busy day so far, but the Warka piwo I had a bit ago on ulica Krupowki and the Leźajsk piwo I am having right now are helping relax me, for sure. Breakfast was served starting at 8 AM and I was there pretty much for the beginning of it. We boarded the bus about 9 and had a tour of Zakopane first, and then a few side trips. One was to a very old Górale church, it is very beautiful and very small, but I do have pictures. Sorry it is too difficult to put them on the web now, but I will after my return and you will be amazed at them. The architecture in Zakopane is very interesting. The “real” buildings, that is, the older ones, are all wood. I mean all. As in everything. Except the door hinges! Yes, no nails were used, the rain gutters are wood, and they used wooden “nails” to put it all together. And the roofs are wood shingles too. Now some of the newer buildings “cheat” with metal rain gutters, using nails, and with tin roofs, but all wood is the original way, way back when.

By the way, the gorale are very religious people, and when they heard of the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II, they gathered at this church and prayed for his recovery, and promised god that if he recovered, they would build a shrine. Thus our next stop at the Sanktarium Matki Boźej Fatimskiej. It too is very beautiful and again, I have pictures I’ll post at some later date.

This region, part of the podhale, is famous for its ośćypek—unpasteurized goat’s milk is made into cheese, formed into shapes with wood molds, and then smoked for 6 days to cure it. We stopped at a farm and saw one of the houses or huts where they do the curing. And also bought some. I believe a very tiny piece or two (and I mean very tiny) could possible become entangled in my dirty socks (but the piece safely wrapped in very durable plastic) and make its way into  the US. But only if I forget about it, I cannot promise. And if there is a problem, I hope you will sent me bail money….  Anyway, I did get a few small pieces and one to eat as well. It is awesome. So we saw a place that makes it.

After that, we also journeyed to a wood carver’s shop. Very interesting. The guy does great carving. Again I have lots of pictures. And his son is also learning the trade, I managed to get a few pictures of him carving too.

Finally, after all of that, it was on to the funicular. We took the funicular up to Gubałówka. I have not words to describe what I saw, nor the emotions that went through  me. You see, I saw the Tatra Mountains. These are the same mountains that my great grandfather and great grandmother saw. They left this “god’s country” for America to make a better life, which they did, and for which I am forever grateful. There was a lot of good emotion going through me to see this sight, it is awesome.

The bus left us off near the funicular to gubałówka, but to get there, we had to walk through a flea market. I did buy just a few things there. Oh and by the way, for all my friends and relatives, you should know me well by now and know that I’m not much of a gift and/or trinket buyer, so my apologies in advance. Maybe a few of you will get a postcard if things work out right, but that may be weeks away. But I did look at the stuff in the market and buy one or two things. After the trip to the mountain top and the walk back through the flea market, I continued up Krupowki street which is a pedestrian way with lots of shops. There is a little ośćypek stand on every corner it seems, but I already had some. I did sample a few things, however. I did get a pączek with a chocolate filling, though I have only eaten part of it. Later I had a placki ziemnaki as well, though again, I only ate part. I did wash that down with a piwo, the brand was Warka.

In the midst of all this, I actually walked all the way back to the hotel and left some stuff here, then went all the way back, quite a lot of walking. And I did buy one thing for myself, a thing I really wanted. I got a ciupaga. It is too big for my suitcase so I’ve no idea how I’ll get it back. Chris says to mail it, so I’m expecting him to help me do that. We’ll see.

So it has been a very full day so far and I am glad to be sitting down, resting my knees, and enjoying a piwo. Besides Zakopane, we’ve been in Kościelisko and Chochołów  and perhaps a few others, quite a tour of the mountain area. I should also note that we visited another small church and also a cemetery here in Zakopane. That cemetery is “reserved” for people of some note, area people who have made a difference. There is even a plaque in Polish that proclaims that Poland and the world in general may forget these people, but Zakopane will not. Pat found a bunch of tombstones with the last names  of one of her relatives on the Urbas side, though at this moment I don’t recall the surname. But that was very cool too.

If you have read this far, you are a real trooper! For those who leave comments, it gives me great joy to know that you are reading this, so keep it up. And you may have noticed that I sometimes post things more than once a day, so do read them all and don’t miss a thing. I really am having the time of my life here. My “real” life back in Lake Mary and with work and all seems so remote (though I do miss my house and friends just a little, but know I will be back there all too soon!). I really do love it here and am thinking how I can come back next year. Since I work for AT&T and will get a nice bonus if the company does well this year, you can help finance my trip if you use their services! LOL Well, I tried. But seriously, I’m having  an awesome time. I cannot wait to get some of my pictures online, but that will happen in due time, and I will write here when I do that as well. So, there is more of this day to write about, but for now, I will quit and give myself a bit of a rest…..  Dobry wieczor!

We had a long day today of travelling and not travelling. We started out with breakfast, of course, but then all gathered about 8 AM to say goodbye to Rzeszow and begin our long trek to Zakopane. Of course there were some stops along the way, too.

We took a different route to the south and east today. Our first  stop was the picturesque town of Strzyzow where we visited the market square. As with most towns, it was very picturesque.

Then it was on to Biecz. In the 14^thcentury,  Biecz was a rather large town—it had 3000 people. To compare, at that time the very large city of Krakow was a city of 10,000 people. So Biecz was large and important. Today it is a town of about 4700 people. While there we of course started at the rynek, as we usually do.  Then we walked a bit and found an old church with a very old wall near part of it. This was a defensive wall and was very thick and very high up. Some of it still exists. While there we also saw the church. It is a very nice church inside. Very ornate, typical of the churches we’ve seen. The people of Poland are deeply religious and it shows in the care they show for the churches and in the decorations they have. They obviously spend lots of time and money on their churches.  It was very nice and I took lots of pictures.

Back on the road, and eventually our next stop was Nowy Sacz. We drove through this good-sized town and did drive along and around it’s town square, but did not stop. The word “nowy” in Polish means new, so we journeyed on to the nearby town of Stary Sacz. Guess what  “stary” means!  So we stopped at this old town. Guess where we stopped? You got it, at the rynek!  There we went to the old church called St. Kinga, or in Polish, Kunegunda. It is a church and a convent and the tower is undergoing construction—a new copper roof is being put on. Someone came by and opened the church so we could look inside. Guess what? Another very ornate church, very pretty inside. It was very enjoyable.

Eventually we took our leave of Stary Sacz, heading to our next destination,  Niedzica. By this time, we were getting well into the foothills of the mountains. We even caught some glimpses of the mountains. They are spectacular, with high, snow-covered peaks. Unfortunately, it was quite cloudy and at times a bit foggy today, so the view was not exceedingly clear, but they were there for sure, nonetheless.

Eventually we arrived at Niedzica where we were scheduled for “late lunch.” True to form our 1:30 lunch took place closer to 2:30 or 3:00. However, it was worth waiting for. We all sat at one long table and had an excellent lunch. Our first course was zupa, and this one was called basznica [I have no idea how to spell that, but I’m sure my friend Ewa of the Polish spelling policja will set me straight on it]. It was sauerkraut in a very flavorful broth and had a bit of smoked rib in it. I think it was pork, but it lent a delicious flavor to the soup. There were also some ziemnaki in there, fitting because along the way we saw some farmers digging ziemnaki by hand. The soup was excellent, and I ate every drop.

Next was the main course. We had little pyzy and some exceedingly tender meat covered with a brown grzyby sauce. The grzyby were outstanding—I’d guess they were picked locally as this is the season. Their flavor was outstanding. Add to that the great flavor of the meat, and this was very good. To go with this we had a trio of salads. One was a carrot salad, finely shredded carrots with a sweet and acid type dressing, very good. Another was a cabbage based slaw, it was very good as well. Finally there was a third salad, but at this moment I can’t remember what was in it­—I’ll have to look at my pictures to remember. But I do know that I ate them all, they were all quite good.

Dinner was finished off by dessert, a braised pear covered with a tapioca pudding sauce—It was very good, absolutely delicious. After that we had some kawa c mlekom. And of course ciukier, as the kawa tends to be very strong.

After that, many of us went on a tour of the Niedzica castle. There were a lot of steps there and it was raining a bit, so some of our group decided to forego the trip to the cold castle and remain in the warm comfort of the restaurant. The tour was very good. This was actually a Hungarian castle. In its history, it belonged to Poland only one time. It’s a beautiful old castle built and expanded ever since the 1300s. Imagine how old parts of it is. It is undergoing some renovation at the current time, too. It was a neat tour. Eventually we made it back to the restaurant, rejoined our group, and hit the road yet again. The castle, by the way, overlooks the Dunajec River, and on the other side of the river somewhere are the ruins of a Polish castle, because at one time the Dunajec River was the border between Poland and Hungary (though not it is the Czech Republic across the border).

Eventually we hit the road again, winding through the mountains with more glimpses of the Tatras, first getting to Szaflary, then Maruszyna where one of our group found some distant relation. Now Maruszyna is probably not too big of a town, I would not know as we never got there. When we got close, our bus, which was also towing a trailer with our luggage, pulled to the side of the road. It was decided we could not get any further. For about an hour, maybe less, we sat and waited while several were off in search of their roots. When we eventually got back together, we attempted to turn the bus—with trailer—around. It was no easy task. Eventually the trailer was removed, and some people from the back of the bus moved to the front since the hitch kept hitting the ground. But eventually, due to great driving skills by our driver, Andrzej, we made it turned around.

After that—it was by now quite dark—we headed the last 20 km or so into Zakopane and checked into our hotel. As luck would have it, their restaurant  was closed for a private party tonight. But a few of us went to a nearby hotel and had some piwo and some food and a good time.

So, today was a very long day of travel, way too much bus time, but so it goes. Hopefully tomorrow we will have more time just to look around and shop and see the local sights—I think  that is true. And hopefully the weather will clear up a bit, but you know how easy it is to control the weather…..

What can I tell you about breakfast at the hotel?

So far, all of the hotels we’ve stayed at have had nice breakfasts buffets. Some at the larger hotels were a bit more extensive than others, those at the smaller places a bit more limited. But all in all, they have been very nice.

There are some common elements across the board however. First is jajka, scrambled, poached, and sometimes boiled. The scrabled eggs tend to be a bit watery, but are in general pretty good. Next is meats, always some sort of sausages and bacon. We’ve had veal sausages, mini-kielbasa, and even kiszka at one place. As a matter of fact, Dennis who is not Polish and has never had kiszka in his life tried some and loved it. He wants more.

There is also assorted breads and rolls, and various fruits. Even more interesting, there are often veggies such as tomatoes and cucumbers. There are usually some assorted cheeses and always a cold cuts assortment as well–that’s how I build my lunch sandwiches. Grapefruit and orange slices are popular among the fruit. there’s yougurt (Dannon!) and various dry cereals as well. And juice. Among the better juice I’ve had is black currant…now that is great.

and of course there is kawa i herbata, i mleko i smetana. Cukier is at the table.

So as you can see, we’ve had great breakfasts each day, a great way to start the day and a necessary way, given our group’s propensity for “late lunch.”