Home Again

After a very long flight I arrived home in Oakdale at 2:30 a.m. Monday morning. Since I left the hotel in Wroclaw at 9:15 a.m. it was a long day - remember Poland is seven hours ahead so I experienced Monday twice!! Once again I had interesting travels and learned a bit about how the rest of the world operates. Flight adventures aside I will try to break this commentary into decernible sections: Food, mountain climbing and general "stuff".

Food

As I mentioned earlier we spent my last weekend in Poland with Craig's 3M co-workers in the city of Karpacz. We stayed in a lodge with beds that made the hard mattress at the hotel seem luxurious! Food was provided at D.W. Wodomierzanka (www.wodomierzanka.karpacz.pl). Following is the meal-by-meal playback:

Friday breakfast: After leaving Wroclaw at 6:30 a.m. we arrived in Karpacz hungry. We were first served "milk soup". Basically it was warm milk with white rice. I added some sugar to mine and actually had two servings! This was followed by a meat and cheese tray, tomatoes and onions, an egg spread of sorts and a basket of bread. All meals are served with hot tea in addition to coffee. Since I drink neither I had to ask for mineral water. Since we ate at 10:00 a.m. I thought the sandwiches were more of a brunch item but found out later all breakfasts include sandwich makings. Not sure if that will catch on at our house!!

Friday supper: We were all famished after our trek in the mountains and likely would have ate just about anything!!! The meal began with an incredible cabbage and meat dish. It had several different sausages, pork and chicken. I definitely want to learn how to make this dish and will put the recipe out here once I get my hands on it! The main meal included blood sausage (not for me...!), kielbasa, chicken legs and shish kabobs. Unlike American shish kabobs this version was nearly 90% meats - chicken, sausage, etc. We were provided a keg of beer which tasted darn good! After singing Polish songs around the bonfire we called it a night well-fed!

Saturday breakfast: I was so excited to see the Polish version of Corn Flakes on the table and served myself up a big bowl full. I was a bit concerned when the milk provided was hot milk. Evidently it is common to eat cereal with hot milk. Craig liked it more than I did so I was almost looking forward to my breakfast sandwich of ham, tomatoes and onions. Unlike Friday, it looked like there was a breakfast bread provided. I picked up a square and took a generous bite only to find out it was not bread but liver pate!!! I politely swallowed (bear in mind I have no beverage to wash it down with) and shared my "bread" with Craig. Only after watching someone spread it on bread did I finally figure it out. I thought it best not to ask what it was for fear of stomach rebellion. Let's just say it was pate and leave it at that!!

Saturday lunch: Instead of hiking we took our tired bodies to the Czech Republic where we had lunch in Hasserove. I thoroughly enjoyed apple studel with ice cream and whipped cream. Craig had french fries and a Czech favorite - fried cheese. We aren't talking State Fair cheese curds here. I'm not sure what kind of cheese it was but it was incredible! We learned after the fact that many Poles come to the Czech Republic to buy inexpensive beer and have fried cheese. Craig ordered a beer which came with a shot of Becherodka. It is a sweet tasting liquor - so good we bought a bottle before heading home.

Saturday dinner: BORSCHT. Ummmm...I opted out on that one. Craig tried it and ended up pouring it in the bushes. Supper started with potato soup followed with boiled red potatoes and breaded chicken with some type of gravy. No desserts - bummer! We had another bonfire and roasted kielbasa. Buns must be an American concept. Lots of bread but sausage was never served on it.

Sunday breakfast: We sat down to a bowl with a hard boiled egg, ham and sausage cut into bite-sized pieces. We were served a broth to pour over it. I wasn't in the mood for breakfast broth but Craig said it tasted kind of sweet. Guess what I had? A sandwich!!! What's a day without starting out with a sandwich I guess!

Mountain Climbing

For those of you who know how fearful I am of heights you will be shocked to find out I actually hiked to the top of a mountain!!! We hiked the mountains of the Karkonosze. It is the highest mountain in the Sudety chain. We were above the tree lines!!! It was absolutely beautiful! It was too bad we couldn't enjoy the view on the way up and down the mountain but it was more important we watched our feet to be sure they were firmly planted on rocks. More than once I thanked my trainer for keeping me in shape. I'm not certain I would have made it in my prior shape! We hiked somewhere between 20 - 25k. I will post some pictures once my battery is charged and I can download again. The mountain divides the Czech Republic and Poland. I passed into the Czech Republic without a passport. I was pretty excited about that. Ironically, after hiking nearly five hours to get to the top of the mountain I had to pay to use the bathroom at the top - with bad toilet paper to boot! Thanks to the bathroom attendant I can now report that the "circle" on the door is the woman's and the "triangle" is the men's. I hate to say I had to ask but I wanted to be sure. I'm not sure the attendant could speak English but he definitely steered me in the right direction. I still can't believe they charged me though!! Going down the mountain was a little tough on Craig's knee. We chose a path with a very steep and rocky incline. The footing was a bit tricky and I know Craig twisted his knee a few times. I guess his surgery on the 25th couldn't come at a better time.

Mountain Climbing - Day two

Evidently eight hours of trekking through the mountains took its toll on the group. Plans changed and we decided to do some site-seeing as a group. We began our day in Karpacz where there is only one of eight stave churches remaining in the world. The church was built in Norway and moved to Poland. It is called Swiatynia Wang. After all the Catholic churhes in Poland I walked through I instantly felt at home in this little Lutheran church. We sat through a program (in Polish) that began with two hymns. It was all I could do not to sing out loud!

We then headed to the Czech Republic. The Border Patrol looks exactly like you see in the movies. In our car were two people with Scottish passports, one Pole and us. It was no wonder they kept our passports and asked us to pull over to the side of the road. Our passports had to pass the scrutiny of both the Czech and Nasserove authorities. It is a bit unnerving when you are eyeballed by strangers - and you all know my hair color never stays constant so I was a bit sweaty wondering if I looked enough like my passport! The whole process was repeated on our return.

Nasserove has the largest ski jump in the Republic and hosts many ski jumping competitions. It will be fun to follow some of them now that I've been there. It felt a bit "touristy" but I could envision what it must look like at the heart of ski season!

After heading back to Poland we stopped at Karkonoski Park Narodowy to see a beautiful waterfall. I could hike to the top of a mountain but couldn't walk to the bottom of the waterfall because the stairs were see through and led to a platform with nothing under it. I paid four zlodtys to put on my helmet, walk down 20 stairs and turn around. I think the waterfall was just as beautiful from the top!! We meandered back to Karpacz and rode a bobsled ride. Craig was the brakeman.

"Stuff"

1) Toilets are of the push button variety. To flush you simply push a button. There was one toilet with two buttons. Curiousity got the best of me and I discovered one was a normal flush and the other was a super flush!
2) Wedding rings are worn on the right hand. It is custom to move the ring to the left hand when widowed. One of Craig's co-workers was shocked at the number of widows there were in America!!
3) Amber from the Baltic Sea is abundant. I brought home several pieces of jewelry with the beautiful stone.
4) Beer can be ordered with a fruit syrup. I tried a beer with raspberry syrup. Not sure if I liked it or not. I think it must be an acquired taste!
5) Evidently my dog will need a passport. I think they probably meant an immunization record but I laughed trying to figure out who takes those passport pictures.
6) There is no place in Poland where I was uncomfortable being by myself. Craig and I sat in the Square and watched parents let their toddlers play without worry. I hope the country stays as unaffected as it is now.
7) There is no peanut butter in Poland!!! I may need to ship some over.


Craig returns home this weekend and will head back in August for work. I will be spending the upcoming weeks preparing for the move in September and likely househunting again in August. My to-do list is growing that's for sure.

Watch for some photo updates soon!