Parting Thoughts on Warsaw and Poland

Bryan

It has been an incredible and at times unbelievable nine months here in Warsaw, partly due to our travels around Europe, but mostly due to the abundant hospitality of Poles and the impressive quality of life offered in Warsaw. We have seen so many amazing things, met so many wonderful people, and had innumerable experiences that will continue to shape us for the rest of our lives.

It was so fascinating to live in a place where so so often the cultural norms could be so different, but in the end it was the idiosyncrasies of Poland that made the biggest impact on us - the attention to detail, the reluctance to rush, the formulaic politeness, the enthusiastic friendliness hiding just beneath the stoic surface, and the passionate faith (how nice not running into contempt for God around every corner). These elements of our daily life will be sorely missed.

We've had to say goodbye to a lot of wonderful people - Fulbright colleagues, fellow Dantiscus-ophiles at the University of Warsaw, Parish friends, Polish friends, and generally some of the nicest people we've ever met. It has been sad but we're comforted by the knowledge that we will be trying especially hard to reunite with many of them in the future, perhaps even back here in Warsaw someday!

Warsaw was a wonderful, stimulating, and comforting home during the first nine months of our marriage, and we wouldn't trade this experience for anything. We're happy to be returning to the US, but sad to be leaving our briefly-adopted home in Poland, where we've learned so much and have been forever changed for the better.

Do zobaczenia, Polsko! Cię kochamy a będziemy wracali, kiedy najpierw to możliwość!
(Until we meet again, Poland! We love you and we will be returning, when first we can!)

Emily
Looking back, we've come a long way since arriving here last September - freshly married (both), freshly Catholic (one), and clueless about what to expect of life in Poland (both). Navigating the city and the language started out as a scary thing but has become second nature and even comfortable. We made our first house (well, Polish mieskanie) here. We took our first trips as a married couple (and second and third and fourth and...) and learned how we travel best (and selfie best). We entered fully into the "Polish spirituality", made pilgrimages, went to Mass in seven different languages, adopted new traditions. We got ourselves into impossible situations in non-native tongues and got ourselves out again. We tried to open Poland to our friends and family and share the goodness! We've seen much and learned more, from our interactions with friends and surprises with strangers. And through it all, most of all, we have changed our landscape here and been changed ourselves. A little bit of our individual selves and our couple self will always be from this time in our life, and for that we are grateful.

Do Zobaczenia, Warszawa! / See you later, Warsaw!

During the past few weeks we've been trying to revisit all of our favorite haunts in Warsaw, as well as to visit several of the many intriguing museums, restaurants, clubs, and neighborhoods that we still had not seen. We also took the time to enjoy the weather in other parts of Poland, even as the sun set on our time in his diverse and beautiful country. We spent a week in Olsztyn, a small city in the Northeast, which was a wonderfully relaxing time for us. We got to see a slower speed of life in Poland, but also experienced how much pride, passion, and joy is displayed by Poles in smaller cities. A quick side trip via country bus brought us to Lidzbark Warmiński, Dantiscus' capital and castle during his time as a bishop, one of the coolest (at least by Bryan's estimation) 4 hours we've spent here. We made a second trip up to Gdańsk and Sopot on the Baltic coast, taking in as much of these vibrant cities as we could in 2 days and enjoying the seaside one last time. Then, this past Saturday, we accompanied Zach and Agata to Swiebodzin, a small city in western Poland outside of which Agata's grandfather lives. We briefly got to experience life in a 100-person village and have a real Polish home-cooked obiad (luncheon), before heading back to Warsaw.

When you move from a great city in which you've lived, you mourn it in many ways - sights, smells, tastes, people. We've tried to fill our final days in our adopted home city with each of those things to make leaving easier, most notably...

1. St. Paul's English Speaking Parish of Warsaw - A deceptively unassuming but much beloved Father Wiesław ties together this multinational community with his humor, bigheartedness, and persistent pastoral care. We also found out at the Parish End-of-the-Year Picnic that he can really rock out. We loved this Catholic community that we found with friends from Poland, Brazil, India, the UK, Ireland, and the Philippines, and had a few get-togethers to say goodbye to all.

2. Fun summer events - Warsaw has come alive as the summer weather has set in, with almost every restaurant offering outdoor seating, the beaches and barge-bars along the river opening up, and the city's summer festivals occupying almost every weekend. Poles' countenances seem to follow the weather, and the summer weather has truly demonstrated how lively, passionate, and fun-loving Poles are, from high school students all the way to senior citizens. We've loved checking out the hoppin' outdoor patios and food stands to free concerts in the parks and impromptu gatherings (for open drinking) next to the Wisła. Thanks to Poland's s (so far) success in the Euro Cup and Poles' corresponding enthusiasm for their national team - we've attended several large viewing parties and have cheered right along with the national cheer "Polska, biało-czerwoni!!" (Poland, white and red!).

Sangria Fest (at Aioli)

Street Fashion Show

Outdoor Viewing of EuroCup 2016 match

 3. Food - very close to our hearts (and stomachs). We could never get enough.

Freshly baked pączki

Naleśniki with beza (meringue)

4. Drinks - kiedy w Polsce / when in Poland

The "Last Night in Warsaw" Challenge

5. Views 

Taras Widokowy (Viewing Terrace) over Stare Miasto (Old Town)

"Kocham Warszawę / I love Warsaw" on the Samsung Building

Bonus - Emily's cousin, Alix, arrived on a business trip from Amsterdam. So glad to show her the city yesterday (and that her trip was not next week!!)

W Górach / In the mountains

We were thrilled to have friends from D.C. spend several days with us as they wrapped up a short summer trip in Europe. We met Sarah and Willi in Kraków on Tuesday night, and the four of us set out by bus on Wednesday morning for new ground for all - Zakopane.

Zakopane is a popular town in southern Poland that is located at the foot of the Tatras Mountains, very close to the Slovakian border. With a funicular, a ferris wheel, a hundred market stalls, two chair lifts, and ski slopes, Zakopane is a bit of a zoo. But its Polish mountain charm and usefulness as a jumping off point for hiking in the Tatras National Park lured us in, and we really did enjoy our time there and would recommend it to others!

The highlights:

1/ Hiking to beautiful Morskie Oko (the largest of the Tatras lakes)

2/ Tasting the regional cheese oscypek (smoked, salty sheep cheese) which is a protected specialty item under EU law... and pairs very well with cranberry jam when grilled!

 Yummm!

3/ Riding one of the chair lifts (in the rain, no less!) down from the viewpoint over the city

 

4/ Bartering for goods at the market stalls downtown. The haul included: natural sheepskin (for Willi), wooden gnome "Pan Las" (for Bryan), felt laptop kitty bag (for Emily), and postcards (Sarah). No photos so here's a nice stock photo of the pedestrian street:

5/ And finally, celebrating a return to Warsaw at the boat bars by the river :)

It was a week to remember, and we hope that Sarah & Willi found Poland to their liking :) The countdown continues, and as it does we feel sadder and sadder about our imminent departure from this country we've enjoyed calling our home away from home. More soon! Goodnight from Olszytn ;)