Things Polish People Like

Drinking beer through a straw. Almost every female bar patron we saw drank their beer out of a straw. The reason behind this was that they weren’t just drinking plain beer but rather piwo z sokiem, beer with juice or grenadine in it.
A few squirts of syrup would be dispensed into a glass before filling the rest from a beer tap. The straw allows you to sip the sweet stuff first. I tried the drink twice and it wasn’t really my thing, but I can’t say it was all that horrible either.
Merlin and I also drank from straws when we ordered “hot beer,” which basically took the mulled wine recipe of liquor plus sugar plus cinnamon and an orange slice plus heat. I think I enjoyed that strawed drink better.

Colorful Fiats. Without a doubt, this particular model of Fiat (anyone know exactly what it is?) was the most ubiquitous vehicle in cities and countries alike.
Almost always, they were painted some wonderfully vibrant color. For about the first eight days in the country, I would go "Look at THAT cute car!" and Merlin would respond, "it's the same one again." It's probably because they were so common that people went out of their way to add their own personal flair.
(Poland is also the car theft capital of the world, so the paint jobs may just be a brilliant method of dissuading anyone from swiping their completely conspicuous automobile).

Roadside Altars. No matter how small a town we passed through was, there was always at least one church, if not two. However, the true testament to the religiousness of Polish Catholics were the altars and shrines all throughout the countryside.
Sometimes, it was simply a clump of prayer candles, other times it included a statue of Mary or a saint. Most often, they were crosses adorned with colorful ribbons and a sort of fenced off pedestal where people could place bouquets.

Mushroom Cheese. Mushrooms in general were featured in soups, sauces, even deviled eggs, but it’s to be expected in autumn a.k.a. forest forage season. However, mushroom cheese took the fungi loving to a whole new level.
If you’ve ever had Laughing Cow or some other soft cheese that comes in small foil packages, just imagine having little bits of mushroom mixed right in. Not only were there different brands of mushroom cheese, we also saw more than one billboard touting the product along Polish highways. (for the record, we also saw salami cheese, onion cheese and pepper cheese, made by the same companies, but mushroom cheese was definitely the most widely available).

KFC. When it comes to chain restaurants, KFC definitely reigns supreme. Kentucky Fried was everywhere and easily outnumbered McDonalds and Burger King.
Pizza Hut, which had been pretty popular in every other country we’ve visited, didn’t pop up once in Poland on our travels. But that, of course, is because they have zapiekanka.

Honorable Mentions

Drinking things other than vodka. We read, over and over again, vodka is what people drink. We brushed up on the correct way to order it, the correct way to drink it, the different varieties in different regions, etc. and then found that everywhere we went, all anyone drank was beer. Maybe vodka is just something people drink in the comfort of their own homes?

High Heels. All around Europe, high heels have mostly been shorter and stumpier than the city stilettos I’m used to. This, of course, is due to the cobblestones which are next to impossible to walk on in three-inchers. Polish women, however, have mastered the art of wearing high heels in any and all terrains. Even when we drove into the countryside, middle aged women walking along the side of the road with bags of groceries would still be wearing high heeled boots. I tip my hat to you, women of Poland.

Over-the-Knee Boots. I’m not entirely sure why, but Merlin and I have found it amusing that over-the-knee boots, which were the toast of the fashion world about a year ago, never really caught on in New York. Well, they definitely swept Poland by storm. Any pair of shoes that weren’t high heels were over-the-knee boots. I think part of the reason they’re more popular here is because most women also wear short skirts or shorts over brightly colored stockings. So, the more of their leg they can protect against the cold, the better.

Jesus. Polish people really really like Jesus. The population is more than 90% Roman Catholic and you’re likely to see JC looking down serenely anywhere you go.

A Truly Super Market

Back on our third day in Poland, I took a walk around Wroclaw by myself and went in to explore what I thought was a train station. Truth be told, I was looking for a bathroom, but when I walked in I found one the largest, most impressive indoor markets I've seen in Europe yet.
Not only did the produce, flowers, dry goods, etc span across the enormous space, there were also two more floors circling above, packed with kitchenware, cheap underwear and the like. It gave me a good birds-eye view of the offerings.
Then, while basically hanging from the rafters, I realized that I was finally in a position to take pictures of people without them seeing me. So, I seized that opportunity.
The only men working in the market, aside from the cobbler on the second floor and the security guard near the gambling machines, were behind the butcher counters, which were set off into the dark corners of the buildings. This was the only female meat-server I came across and she also had the most unique selection, organs, appendages and the like.
So many of the stands sold the exact same things, the same candies and juices, the same tobacco products and sodas. I wondered if these two women (above and below) who were situated right next to each other got competitive. What sounded like a cowbell started to ring at about this time, which I took to mean it was time to close shop. Part of me wanted to stick around to see how clean up commenced, but the bigger part of me wanted to navigate my way home before it got too dark.
This is one of my favorite pictures from Poland, simply because I caught someone smiling. Just seventy-hours into the country, I still believed the hype that Polish people don't smile until you really get to know them. I continued to believe this, until Merlin and I made our flashcards and learned a few greetings. Instantly, people began to smile, grin and sometimes chuckle just a little bit at our attempts to speak their language. So, while it may be true that smiling at strangers is seen as a sign of stupidity in Polish culture, being comfortable looking/sounding stupid yourself is always a sure fire way to get someone else to go out on a limb and look stupid, too.

Castle Hunting: Malbork Castle

We stayed in the town of Malbork on our way towards the Lithuanian border, and we visited the incredible Malbork Castle. We've been having terrible weather, so the shots are more atmospheric than good. It was fun, though, and we had a great walkabout in the cold and rain, trying to get a view that encompassed all of the immense fortifications.
The castle has a long and interesting past. It was first founded at the end of the thirteenth century, and was built up over the next century or so. The castle served as the primary base for the Teutonic Order after they were kicked out of their post-crusade headquarters in Venice by the pope, which happened about 1309.
The day was pretty awful, but it wasn't so bad that we didn't have fun. This was a big castle, the biggest in Poland. In fact, some people say that it's the largest gothic fortification in Europe, and I was excited to take some pictures of it - despite the light being dismal and the clouds casting a dismal air over the town.
The scale is incredible. It was impossible to get a good shot of the entire thing, except from across the river. The original castle walls enclosed fifty-acres, which is astounding. At the height of its military importance, the castle housed over three thousand soldiers.
As the pride of Malbork, and of the Polish castle scene, the castle is in great condition, having been lovingly restored and taken care of. The detailing in the brick is amazing, as is the wooden accents and tiling on the roofs. It must take a lot of effort to keep this place up. Nearly half of the fortifications were destroyed during WWII, so a good deal of the brickwork was actually done by modern artisans. It explains the mottled look of the walls.
We had some lunch inside the castle, at their restaurant. We ate near a roaring fire as we waited out the spitting rain. It was nice to have a little soup and sit in the warm room. It also gave us a new appreciation of how thick these brick walls are, and the intricacy of the structure.
This is a food that I'd just as soon forget about. It's called "smalek," and it's very good, but it's also not good. It's congealed pork fat, mixed with crumbled pork cracklings and leftover cooking bits. It's meant to be spread on bread like butter. It's really a terrific thing, but, like I said, it's not good. In other words, the worst part about it is that it's so darn good.

Night At the Museum

Merlin: This was our front yard in Ciechanowiec. We were staying in a "skansen" building on an old estate - a skansen is a collection of old buildings brought together to form a kind of museum. This one was famous, and was also a "Museum of Agriculture." They had rooms for rent in some of the buildings, and we stayed in an old, thatched roof house. It was pretty modern inside, but it was still fun.

Rebecca: We parked our car right outside our little house, at the urging of the groundskeeper with whom we shared a wholly incomprehensible exchange on the rainy, dark evening we arrived. It was hard to tell if we were doing the right thing and really hoped that a tour group wouldn't be taking pictures crouched down next to our New York license plates in the morning.

Merlin: There weren't any tour groups. It was very quiet, actually. When we called about the room, the guy who talked to us (Artur, the only person at the museum who spoke English) asked if we wanted to "see the museum."

Rebecca: We weren't exactly sure, at the time, why he would ask such an obvious question. When we awoke to find that we were definitely the only guests, possibly the only museum visitors and that a tour of the grounds would take two and a half hours (did we mention it was still raining?) we realized that Artur may have actually been trying to give us, and himself, an out.

Merlin: It was a very interesting tour, though, and Artur was a great guide.

Rebecca: His grandfather actually grew up on the property. His great-great grandfather was the groundskeeper in the estate's hay day.

Merlin: They have a great collection of old tractors and other farm machinery. Also, a collection of bee hives, old tombstones from jewish cemeteries, an apothecary garden, some Belgian man's donated antiques, a working water-powered grain mill and "the first and only collection of Easter eggs in Poland." This last collection seemed a little incongruous, but it was very neat. They have over 1,500 decorated eggs from all over the world. The penguin egg was Artur's favorite.

Rebecca: I believe he said it was also "the biggest Easter egg collection outside of Ukraine."
Merlin: They also have a lot of farm animals. This sheep "smokes," according to Artur. What he meant was that she would eat cigarettes given to her by the tour guides. Here she is, having a smoke.

Rebecca: There was another little guy, with horns, that Artur dubbed "a killer." Ever since we asked him what his favorite Easter egg was, he had begun to give far more personal commentary (which was fun). A bunch of ropes meant to block off visitors were thrown aside and we walked around a few dioramas, muddy shoes and all. After he let us sit in an old carriage "because no one will know" he confessed that they sit in it and drink beer all the time anyway.
Merlin: They were in the process of moving a barn from a neighboring town. They have about forty buildings at the skansen, dating from the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century.

Rebecca: When Merlin asked how they marked the pieces or remembered exactly how to reassemble the barn, Artur answered "They just remember. They have to." Truth be told, there didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to the piles and no visible markings, but I have to think their method is a little more complex than a big ole game of Lincoln Logs.
Merlin: Here's our house. Luckily, it had none of the mustiness or mannequins of the other buildings.

Rebecca: Or the plastic food.
Merlin: When we went into town for dinner we found six little markets - all selling the same things - and one place to eat. This was my food. We called it "pork cutlet a la zapiekanka."
Rebecca: It's really a shame that we didn't bring a camera the second night we ate here, because Merlin's "Ciechanowiec" style meat had a layer of shiny cornflakes stuck on top of it with cheese shellac. And I'm not talking about crumpled up cornflakes -whole ones. It was amazing.

Castle Hunting: Pieskowa Skała

Pieskowa Skała has a strange name, like every Polish name. The "W" makes a "V" sound, the crossed-out "L" character sounds like a "W" and the rest of it just turns into gibberish, or something approximating gibberish. It is a beautiful renaissance fortress, though, that we visited outside Krakow one overcast day.
The clouds and dim light prevented us from getting good pictures, but we had a good time anyway. Polish tourist attractions are largely deserted in the more wintery months, especially as one travels further away from the main cities. Pieskowa Skała is in the Ojców National Park, not far from Krakow. There was almost nothing open around the castle, and we had to resort to eating zapiekanka (click on the link to get disgusted/hungry) because there was literally nothing else.
We hiked up to the castle from a low parking lot by the road. When we got there, we were greeted by a few policemen and their unfriendly german shepherd. We decided that we weren't very keen on sticking around for long, so I have no idea what the interior of the castle looks like. I did get a few shots of the courtyard, which is one of the more interesting parts of the building.
This is the well mechanism, which appeared to be a reconstruction and didn't seem to have all of its pieces in place. Wells are featured prominently at many of the castles that we've visited, which makes sense. It's hard to defend a place without any water.

Like many castles, the structure is an amalgamation of different styles and eras. It wasn't built all at once, but rather added onto gradually over many centuries. The initial fortification was erected in 1340, but the castle really took shape in the 1540's, two hundred years later. A century after that, the galleries and roofline were completed, and it has remained largely the same since.The day wasn't as miserable as it looks. We had a good time climbing around the castle, trying to find a vantage point that would afford us a good view. It was difficult, though, because there aren't many higher points around the outcropping on which the castle is built.

We made a valiant attempt to get a good shot, though. We descended to the valley, crossed this stream on a fortuitously-placed fallen tree and made our way up the opposite slope.
Unfortunately, the hillside was too densely forested. This is the disappointing "best shot" from that foray. It's a very pretty castle, and I wish now that we'd taken the time to poke around inside.

A Use for Stale Bread

Zapiekanka is definitely the most popular street food in Poland. It is stale bread with melted cheese and ketchup. Often, there's another topping involved. Ours had mushrooms. Some have meat. Fancier ones may be called "hawaiian" and include canned pineapple or "greek" and include olives. While a lot of street vendor signs also read "hamburgy" and "hot dogy" (which I think translates into hamburger and hot dog, though my Polish isn't great) the only thing you really see people walking around with is zapiekanka. I'm surprised there isn't some Polish-American kid making a killing selling this stuff out of their dorm room. All one would have to do is invest in a grater and buy a block of mozzarella cheese now and then. Then, you swing buy a bakery after hours and snatch the bag of unsold baguettes left out on the curb. Save the ketchup packets that come with just about any order of takeout and voila! you've got yourself a zapiekanka business.
Our zapiekanka was purchased at this roadside food van and was probably not the best, but on a drive that didn't offer any other food options, we figured it was the perfect opportunity to try it out. Most of the zapiekanka we had seen around Wroclaw and Krakow was much, much smaller and crispy, toasted. Ours was limp and soggy, the result of a quick microwave warm-up by the friendly vendor, and had to be held up with two hands. It was delicious nonetheless (especially with the mushroom surprise) and went down far too easily. It reminded me of the Elios pizza squares I used to get at my town pool's snack bar. Only the size of Merlin's forearm.

I wish I spoke Polish when...

...we bought bread in Ciechanowiec. We saw this on the shelf behind the counter and thought, "Yum, brown bread!"
When it was brought down from the shelf and handed to us, we noticed that it looked more like a marble pound cake or something, but it was too late to turn back.
We thought, well, it won't taste good with mushroom cheese (more on that later), but you can't go too wrong with marble pound cake.
Unless it's actually fruit cake- which it was - and you can go very, very wrong with fruit cake.

Żurek, My Love

I have fallen in love. About three days into our time in Poland, I decided to give my barszcz (borscht) consumption a rest, fearing my appendages would soon turn fuchsia. While I love mushroom soup, it's hard to consistently pick out of a 'zupy' line up. Imagine if you didn't speak English and learned the word "mushroom" and then were given menu after menu that read portobello, crimini, shiitake, hen-of-the-wood, oyster, etc, never actually using the word "mushroom." So, I tried out żurek and never turned back.

So, what is żurek? It's "sour rye soup." You have to combine rye flour, warm water and garlic and let it sit in a jar for a few days, to let it sour, before you can make soup with it. Sorta like the kombucha of soups. It's brothy and garlicky and salty. Obviously, it's sour. The best way I can describe the taste is to imagine sucking on a big slab of rye bread that's been dunked into some good and cloudy white miso soup. Sorta kinda.

The best part about żurek is that it almost always contains half a hardboiled egg or - in very special instances, of which I've had two - BOTH halves of a hardboiled egg. Most often you can order it with or without chopped up kielbasa. When I haven't been able to specify 'sausage-less,' it's been easy enough to just eat the rest up and leave the flesh behind.
Merlin has been more than happy to clean the rest of my bowl like a happy dog at the foot of a dinner table. (Sorry for the comparison, honey, but it just worked too well to pass up).
We found this instant żurek at the supermarket and tried it out in our hotel room on a rainy day, adding water from our plug-in kettle. I can't say it was half-bad. In fact, it was more than half-good, but mostly tasted like garlic powder water with croutons. I fully intend to master the art of żurek-making and have it be part of my soup repertoire. My maternal grandmother's family was Polish and I think it would be fun to have my future kiddies grow up eating żurek. Spoonfuls of heritage.

Kazimierz

Kazimierz is a neighborhood in the south of Krakow, originally separated from the main city by the Vistula river. The Vistula has been diverted, the riverbed filled in, and the district connected with Krakow proper. It was historically the Jewish quarter of the city, and some 60,000 Jews lived there in 1931. Today, there are only about 200 Jews in all of Krakow. It's a fascinating place, and we spent an interesting day poking around.
We came for the market, which we had thought was more of an antiques/flea market, but turned out to be a "cloth market." The "cloth" that they're hawking is really used clothing, mostly polyester, sold alongside a few booths with knockoff perfumes and costume jewelry. It was fun, crowded and ugly. People were very competitive about their rummaging. Rebecca, surprising me, didn't buy a single thing.
We had coffee at this little cafe, which we assume was made to look old - the look was too studied to be real. It was a great place, nonetheless, and was popular with nannies. At least, we think they were nannies. The women we saw might have been mothers, but their youth suggested otherwise. The neighborhood has a lot of places like this - it's a recently gentrified quarter, with a bohemian vibe that's on the verge of becoming gauche.
This cat was on a leash.
Down an alleyway, near a restaurant, we noticed this couple. They're either calmly pondering what's about to happen to them, or they're having wedding pictures taken. Rebecca learned, later, that this alleyway was featured in the film Schindler's List, as well as other movies. It seemed like a strange place to take photos, but they looked great.
We stopped in at a Jewish cemetery before we left, which was sobering. The yard is walled off on all sides, the only entrance is through a small synagogue. There was a man at a table, charging admission and making sure that everyone was wearing a yamulka before they entered the holy site. Fortunately, he had one that I could borrow, and we were able to go in. The synagogue itself was crowded - a tour group - but the cemetery was nearly empty, and we wandered amongst the tombstones for quite a while.
The graves predate the holocaust, and some appeared to be very old. It was difficult to tell exactly how old they were because the inscriptions were all in Hebrew, but it was clear from the condition of the stone that they had stood for at least a century. This is about the only thing that's left of the Jewish community in Kazimierz, as it was emptied during the war. The buildings were claimed by non-Jewish Poles, and most of the old community was destroyed. It's amazing to think about this place in those terms - the 60,000 Jewish residents here made up a quarter of the pre-war population of greater Krakow, and they're almost entirely gone. We wondered, actually, what or who had preserved the cemetery? It seems incredible that the tombs weren't desecrated and that the synagogue is still there.

Rebecca went back down today and bought a used, leather purse that she likes a lot. I'm glad because it would have been a shame to waste such a great cloth market.