I'm Going to Poland!

While I was in Switzerland I chatted with Robyn about travelling and she asked if I wanted to join her and her roommate Madelein on a trip to Poland for Easter. I just about choked. I'm half Polish and have wanted to visit Poland for many years. It's not that I know a lot about the country, I just wanted to at least stick my toe over the border so I could say I've been there. To suddenly be offered the opportunity to travel there with friends was an amazing surprise and an opportunity I couldn't pass up.

My flights are booked and I'll be in Poland from April 9 to 17, spending the first four days with Robyn and Madelein and the rest visiting family.

I've been in touch with some extended family members - distant cousins, although I'm not entirely certain about their connection (I think they're descendents of my paternal grandmother's uncle). It seems a bit odd to contact random relatives I've never heard of to ask if I can visit them, but they live close to Krakow, the city I'm visiting with Robyn and Madelein, so I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to meet some family members and see more of the country. I just spoke with my cousin, Ela, and I've been invited to spend as much time as I want with their family. It sounds like I might end up getting passed around between various family members. Thankfully some of them speak English!

Is it sad that one of the things I'm most looking forward to is the food? ...pierogi, gołąbki, borscht, kiełbasa with sauerkraut. I may sound crazy, but it's serious comfort food in my mind as those are the foods my babcia and ciocias (grandma and aunts) made for Christmas and Easter dinner when I was growing up.

(Background on my connection to Robyn and Madelein: Henry, the friend who invited me to spend Christmas with his family last year, has two girls living at the cottage with him, Robyn and Madelein. The girls spent the holidays with their families in South Africa so I wasn't able to meet them when I was in Eastbourne for Christmas. Robyn went on the trip to Switzerland last week so we spent some time getting to know each other and I'll meet Madelein when I return to the farm for lambing next month.)