Polska: Part II

Despite my previous Holocaust and cultural confusion posts, Poland has been incredible*.  As I indicated in my previous blog post, I was not quite sure what I would find.  Luckily and contrary to my concerns, I found myself falling in love with the beautiful people, cuisine, and country. 

With the luck of the locations of my hostels, the Polish and international individuals I have had the opportunity to get to know during the past few days, and the beautiful cities and architecture I have visited the country has been nothing short of breath taking.  

Harbour in Giżycko

One of my Polish highlights came from my tour guide from afar, Dams.  He mentioned a hostel that he heard about in Gdańsk, so after my slightly strange night train experience, I headed towards Mama's & Papa's as soon as I arrived.  It was about noon when I reached the hostel, which was located about a five minute walk down a rather nondescript street (another cultural fun fact from Eastern Europe...I'll try to remember to note this in another regional post soon). 

The hostel is run by an amazing Polish couple, "Mama and Papa", who have been running the hostel for the past 3 years with hopes of expanding internationally within the next few years - my dream life!  I loved chatting logistics and development with "Mama" while "Papa" chatted over us about his love of the Grateful Dead...you can imagine the tone of the hostel.  It was the absolutely perfect place to relax; they had the newest Phish album blasting around the house...Hello, Heaven!

A Polish friend of theirs claims that the 6 bears are actually reps of the lonely 6 Polish fans...if they even have that many!

After exploring the Old Town on my first day in the new city, I returned and "Papa" asked if I wanted to hang out with some Polish friends who had come over to visit.  Since I was practically living in their house I was excited about getting to know them better so, like a good wannabe Pole and guest, I headed to get some beer from the local store for hanging out in the backyard.  On the way back to the hostel, I passed "Papa" stocking up on as many beers as his rather large bag would carry...I guess I'd remain a wannabe instead of impressing them with my attempted hospitality.

We had a great time chatting about music and culture, and as soon as I thought the language barrier was going to end our evening, his daughter drove up the small driveway.  She was in her early twenties and having grown up in the hostel had a healthy appetite for culture and already spoke about five languages fluently - my jealously was out of control!  She mentioned that she has visited the USA, spending time in Wisconsin and Chicago (I've come to learn that this is a popular choice of destinations for short trips for Eastern Europeans).  I shocked her with the knowledge that I've never visited Chicago, but that it's very much on my "Must See" list; the fact that I had only recently (within the past two years) seen Washington, DC was also a point of hilarity for her.  She was excited to share her Chicago experience with me, and I wish I had made the quick trip before my departure so that I  contribute more to the discussion, too bad!

We had a good time discussing the differences between Polish and American culture, and the fact that stood out the strongest for me was her incredulousness at the "perfection of US museums".  I tried to explain that most of them were forced on us at a young age, and that other than our Art and Science museums, most people steer clear of them until they force their own children to go visit.  She was shocked and claimed that there is nothing "that great in this country".  I tried to tell her how magnificent I thought the church and arts festival were, but she wasn't interested.  I guess the grass is always greener....

I spent one afternoon in Gdańsk exploring the Bazylika Mariacka, or Saint Mary's Church, and it was quite impressive.  The sheer size of the building is noteworthy, but when you consider the fact that it is the largest brick church in the world and then consider the dates of its construction (the 14th until the 16th centuries) you find yourself truly in awe.

Passing through the gate to the Old Town

Luckily for me, the annual art festival in Gdańsk was scheduled at the same time as my visit, and I was able to see traditional Polish art crafts, as well as many Pinterest worthy creations.  It helps to remind myself that my backpack is only so large when exploring exhibits like this!

During my stay with their family, I was also lucky enough to taste "Papa's" mother's homemade Polish food.  It was delicious but, as with most food in this region, extremely filling.  I ate two potato pancakes before feeling like I was about to pop, but obviously had to snap a picture to authenticate my Polish-ness for Damian.  In a few weeks, I am going to get the authentic recipes from his grandmothers...though he might have to translate for me.

I'm obviously a local.

After three nights in Gdańsk I headed for Gizycko, a city near the Lithuanian border, early on Sunday morning.  Although I didn't have any accommodations, I headed towards the pier and decided to chat with the "Information Booth" and see what they had to offer.  Luckily, the booth consisted of two teenagers who were beyond excited to practice their English, and within minutes they had a short list of about 20 guesthouses for me to call.  Unfortunately, at my first attempt I was stopped by the aggressive voice on the other end informing me "English...NO!"

Poor guy didn't realize I had my own personal Polish interpreter.  

What bilingual bestie doesn't like being harassed at (their time) 8 AM on a Sunday morning waking up to a fresh hangover and a desperate call that they need to immediately Skype and ask the prices for a hostel room for someone a few countries away?!

Damian was beyond thrilled, and when he attempted to stall and use his own Skype account that would be reactivated in "a few minutes" I immediately changed my account password to his name and sent him the details.  No time to waste.  In less than a minute I got a message from him that "there is a room, but it only costs $10 USD, which that doesn't seem right..."  It seemed perfect to me.  

The details of this entire story left me feeling quite inexperienced as a traveler, but I was beyond thankful to have Damian helping me.  The remainder of my time in the Masurian Lake District can be summed up by a few words: sun, sailboats, opera performances, cardio tourism, and a few new freckles.  

Not a bad first visit for the country I married into...

Beautiful lakeside Gizycko, Poland

*This message was encouraged and subsequently financed by Damian Brychcy and the entire Polish government.