Live Life AS THE POLISH DO
| Update: November 10, 2009 Pozdrowienia, While the days have become much shorter with the changing of seasons (amazing just how much 1 hour fall back affects me this time of year), the colors of the leaves vibrant with impending cold, my adventures more spontaneous! M y recent fascinations with Poland stem from more ancestry curiosity that takes me to both Warsaw and Krakow on 2 separate trips from Eindhoven . That and the fact that living on this side of the pond allows me the opportunity (and my sometimes boredom in my daily mundane routine)! There is very little knowledge on those that migrated to the U.S. for whatever reasons they may have had...the promise of The American Dream? I often times wonder how much of this was found on the other side of the pond. Just as I often times wonder about my own curiosity that brings me here. In honor of my great great grandfather Jacob Kulka I have now been twice to Poland . I have no idea where he came from there other than the fact he ended up in Canada and marrying my great great grandmother, French Canadian Alice De M arse. That’s about the extent of information I have but still, walking the streets in Poland somehow connected me to a part of my family history. Thank you to the friends there that offered me free comfortable accommodations and a first hand tour of their culture. I am told it’s not a common name but both Janek’s (Johnny’s) showed me an insiders view in both cities tapping me into what one only gets from the locals (I usually stay away from most of the tourist crap). I also made many new friends and reconnected with and old friend (Wojtek in Warsaw ) whom I met in Berlin 3 years ago. M y time in Poland is priceless and has left me with much cherished memorable experiences that have again, enriched my life! I hope you’ll take the time to view the video and music with pictures taken to capture at least a fraction of my adventure I’d very much like to share with you now. One could easily miss out on all the charm Warsaw has to offer, or be fooled. It’s a city which was mostly destroyed by fire and heavy bombing of World War II, now the capitol of Poland; it has been completely reconstructed (some to its original state). I purchased a little walking tour guide book that touched me immensely as I read about each and every significant address in the old town and other parts of the city giving a short description of the buildings and their rich history, all ending with the same destruction of war. This little guidebook along with being shown the city firsthand by those who live there I was able to get a sense of the dynamics that still makes Warsaw a great city. There’s a lot more there than meets the eye and between the kamikaze surprise at Bar M etal (highly recommended by Eric in M D.) and the homemade Żurek soup Janek #1 prepared for me (check out a recipe for it on the new recipe page)…it was my last night in Warsaw while watching a Polish drag queen perform I met Janek #2. (From here on out I’ll refer to him as, Janusz). One thing led to another and in his best English invited me to try the Polish sausage in Krakow (252.61 kilometers from Warsaw ). Unfortunately I was flying home the next day. I’d heard great things about this old city and I’m in spontaneous mode lately…so 2 weeks later I took him up on his offer! Unlike Warsaw , the city of Krakow was untouched by the war (despite the close proximity to Auschwitz which I decided not to see). Close your eyes and you will see what we have seen at night – endless nocturnal processions are converging here at night and here it is always night. Close your eyes and you will see that here heaven and earth are on fire. Close your eyes, my friends, and listen, listen to the silent screams of terrified mothers, listen to the prayers of anguished old men and women, listen to the tears of children, Jewish children, beautiful looking girls among them, with golden hair, whose vulnerable tenderness never left me. Look and listen as the victims quietly walk towards dark flames so gigantic that the planet itself seemed in danger - Elie Wiesel This former capitol city remains to be one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been to in all of Europe holding its own special charm enriched with centuries of history. I was fortunate to catch it right in the middle of the change of season making it the perfect time of year to catch the vibrate colors on my many strolls within this romantic city and surrounding areas. I learned how to drink vodka as the Polish do (well sort of anyway…I had to take it in moderation as I do anything but had more vodka during my 5 days there than I have my entire life…I think) and I learned some things are just as legal in that country as they are in The Netherlands. I met a lot of really great people and yup, ate myself all kinds of good Polish food I had no idea even existed (I’m craving Pierogi this very minute…mmmmm)…and comes to mind those crude Polish jokes Archie Bunker used to make to The M eathead on “All in the Family” (those were the days) LOL! I wonder if they get that show in Poland ? This link will connect you further perhaps getting you there just a little bit closer. Hopefully between my experiences best described in words here, some pics that try to capture those and the link I’ll be able to bring you in just a little bit closer to my adventure. http://www.ilovepoland.co.uk/ There’s not really a whole lot for me to complain about this moment and plenty to keep me busy with birthdays that just won’t quit (where the hell did all the Scorpios come from all of a sudden), regular Thursday nights at Bier Professor, other happenings, and the upcoming holidays. While it’s hard to believe it’s already that time of year it’s time to decide on what and how to celebrate it. I’m not lacking for choices or for friends to celebrate it with! Life is okay. I make choices and orchestrate the rest of whatever isn’t left up to the fates. Yes, I have a great deal of power I’m aware of while there are just some things unexplainably out of my hands. These are the things we sometimes have to trust the fates to even when we are reluctant to trust what they are. And yeah, I’m still riding my bike every day despite the falling temperatures and sometimes rain (it sure beats the extra time it takes to walk the same distance) and I think maybe I’m even getting a bit of a Dutch ass for my efforts : ) Not really sure where the next adventure will take me just yet but it could very well be right outside my front door here in Eindhoven . http://www.gloweindhoven.nl/ Be sure to check out the beautiful art of my friend Felipe (no we’re not related) Garcia here or from the kewl links page. Art by Felipe (Austinut) http://fgthe5th.blogspot.com/ Soups on… Bon Appétit!!! dużo miłości i pokoju, Jes (the Adventurer) |