Poland - Głubczyce

In the morning it was only me, Ludmila, and Jan at the house but I managed to figure out the basic meaning when Ludmila repeatedly said, "Proszę, proszę!" (pronounced PRO-sheh with loosely clenched teeth giving a "sz" sound in the middle of the word). I later learned that "proszę" works as "pardon me", "sorry", "thank you", "please", or other words depending on the context. This morning the context meant that I should sit down and help myself to the spread of food on the table - various kinds of sausage, meat and cheese along with pickles, butter, jam, and cakes. Quite the breakfast! I put one of my few Polish words to good use - dziękuję (pronounced djen-KOO-yeh) means "thank you".

Mariusz soon returned to the house and dropped off Angela and Paulina - thankfully they were on their Easter break from school so they were readily available for translation assistance. I think they were dropped off at the house partly to keep me company, partly to visit their babcia, and partly because spending time with me was like having a free English lesson.

Ludmila asked if I wanted to see her father's grave and out of respect for her and a desire to experience more of the Polish culture, I told her I would like to visit the graveyard.

Ludmila's eyes filled with tears while visiting her father's grave and through Angela's translation she told me she loved her father and missed him a lot.

As we walked through the graveyard I noticed a large monument with a unique design using train tracks. I asked Ludmila about it and found out that it's a memorial to those who died during exile to Siberia. As I travelled in Poland I was amazed to repeatedly see memorials to those who were exiled - I didn't expect so much recognition of what my Babcia and her family went through.

Memorial to those who died during their Siberian exile.

Ludmila and Jan's apartment is beautiful and clean with all modern conveniences. I sort of expected Poland to be like the run-down areas I've seen in photos of Ukraine or Russia. Although the exterior of many of the buildings are in need of repair, all the places I visited were very modern and well-kept.

Entrance to the apartment complex where Ludmila and Jan live.

In the afternoon, Ursula (Ula) and her husband, Stanisław, arrived to bring me to their home in Ząbkowice Śląskie (apparently the origin of the story of Frankenstein), two hours away. While everyone else had tea with Ludmila and Jan (Ludmila is Ula's godmother), Mariusz, a city employee near the level of mayor, from what I could understand, took me for a walking tour of Głubczyce.

Town Hall, or the "Rat House" as the Poles call it in German.

A beautiful city park.

A typical apartment building.

I may not speak Polish, but some words don't require translation.

Ludmila was incredibly hospitable, offering me tea or cakes or something to eat every fifteen minutes. Literally. I was recovering from a cold and cough and every time she heard the slightest cough she would make a "tsk tsk" sound and smile compassionately at me. She reminded me of my Babcia and I'm sad she never had children to dote on. She doesn't have any children of her own and has never had anyone from Canada visit since a couple of my great aunts visited Poland over twenty years ago. She gave me one of her gold rings that she's had since 1964 - I felt incredibly honoured to receive such a gift.