Easter in Poland (Warszawa i Kraków)

For Easter this year, I had not really made plans. For Thursday and Friday, I just hung around Kraków and look at all the festivities they had set up there. There was an Easter market was very beautiful and they had many things for sale including candied nuts, chocolate covered fruits, mulled wine (served from wine barrel shapped huts), kielbasa stands, mountain cheese, and of course tons of easter decorations. After staying in the city for a few days, I decided to see if I could make it to Warsaw.
I have a cousin (Wojtek) by marriage who lives in Warsaw, and I finally contacted him to ask if I could spend Easter with his family. I had been e-mailing this cousin for a few years trying to practice my Polish. He said yes, so I took a train to Warsaw the next day to arrive on Saturday. It was only about a 3 hour long ride and the people who I sat next to me were one Spanish woman and a man studying to become Jesuit priest who had already gotten a doctorate in physics. He said he was on his to Warsaw in order to sing at a church for Easter services. Once at the train station, Wojtek was very nice and picked me up from the train station. I immediately realized that I would have to start putting all the Polish that I had learned into practice since this part of the family does not know too much English. My cousin took me to the Debkiewicz's grandparent's apartment so that I could say hello to my other cousin's grandparents. It was very nice getting to see them, and we all had tea, cakes, and some soup together (Zurek). Then we made our way to Wojtek's home where he lives in a very nice house outside of Warsaw. The ride there was interesting as Wojtek likes to drive pretty fast. Once at the house I was greeted very kindly and offered food or what ever I wanted. We all had dinner together which consisted of kanapki (sandwiches) and salads. The bread was very good and Wojtek's mom had made it putting pumpkin seeds and I think orange/apple puree in the bread (it was hard to understand). The desserts were really good and I had a few pieces of szarlotka (apple pie) and sernik (cheese cake).

That night, Wojtek took me along with some of his cousins to the old town of Warsaw. We entered the old part of the city walking through the Barbakan (city gate). I think in art history class I learned that this gate was not original and was only built after pretty much all of Warsaw was destroyed after WWII. The old town was very pretty. I liked the castle there where the later kings of Poland moved to from Krakow. (Interesting story, that people in Warsaw do not like people in Krakow and vis-a-versa due to the whole moving of the capital. I could really sense it a little more in Warsaw though). The castle was pretty big and well lit at night. We eventually made it to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where we were able to watch the changing of the guard. We tried to find a bar to have a beer before we went back, but everything was closed. Instead, we stopped so that they could all go get Kebabs (sandwiches with shaved meat from a big spindle with vegetables and spicy sauces).
The morning of Easter, we spent at the grandparent's of Wojtek's dad. They live right in the city of Warsaw in an apartment building. We had a big breakfast together that consisted of more zurek and kanapki. As a tradition for Easter, they had a hard boiled egg cut up into wedges and we all stood up and ate the egg while wishing everyone all the best. It was a nice tradition I thought. Then we had a small desert with tea and cakes. I really liked the mazurek which was cake composed of layers of pastry with a really thick frosting on the top. I was surprised to see all the photo albums they took out later on which had pictures of the family I knew. I even saw a picture of my mom, dad, and sister Chrissy when she was a baby. I guess this is how I am connected to the family here in Poland.

After the breakfast, we made our way to the grandparents of Wojtek's mom. They live in a small town even further than where Wojtek's house is from Warsaw. The house was a rural house with a few chickens and roosters, one or two cows, and I think even a pig. They were also very proud of nest they built, because there is a bocian (stork, which are only native to Europe and Africa) that comes to roost there every summer. Shortly, the whole family showed up and we had our Easter meal. First course was flaki soup (tripe soup, you know... cow stomach). Ever since I arrived in Poland I was dreading that I would have to eat this soup, and to be a good guest I tried to each as much as I could. It wasn't that bad, but I really didn't like the flavor of the broth and when I tried to each the tripe part, the noodles were too long to pick up with a spoon. Wojtek's mom could see I was struggling with the soup and cleared it away. I'm glad I tried a good amount of the soup though. On the table was also pickled herring which was in a marinade of oil, spices, and onion. I tried a piece because it looked fine and it ended up tasting really good. I guess I just don't like the smell when my dad eats it. Also on the table was tartar (raw, finely mashed beef), which they also started eating and that I tried. It was actually really good tasting, and I put raw onions in it with a good amount of salt and pepper. The other people around the table put diced pickles in the tartar as well, but I don't like the pickles here. Then for other food we had more kanapki and salads. The kielbasa was really good and one of Wojtek's uncles had made it homemade.
What was interesting for me to experience was the drinking aspect of Easter. The same uncle that made the kielbasa also made an alcohol called bimber (a type of "moonshine" which was really strong and I think aged in a barrel to taste like whiskey). The whole family was calling it "Polish Whiskey". When ever Wojtek's father had thought enough time had passed, shots were poured for everyone to drink... I had a few of them. After dinner and desert, all the cousins went for a walk around the little town. We had to cross a little stream over a rickety wooden bridge that I was afraid would break. I met the neighbors and I finally got a break from all the Polish when I met on of the neighbors who had studied in an American school in Romania. She especially liked the southern accent of Americans and liked to watch "True Blood" because she like the accent. For the night time activities, all the cousins made a small fire, roasted kielbasa, and drank vodka.
The next morning, it was Śmingus Dyngus, which is Easter Monday where everyone can throw water on each other. They had water guns, cups of water, and Wojtek even through a bucket of water at someone. Monday was still a holiday in Poland so more family came over for the same types of foods. I did not feel well from the night before so all I could eat was a slice of cucumber. I think I was making Wojtek's grandparents sad because I kept saying that I didn't want to eat. Wojtek and I spent the whole day at his grandparent's house and this is when I really started to flex what polish abilities I had. Me and Wojtek's grandfather had conversations the whole day about what I like about Poland, about my family, and about weddings. His grandfather was pretty surprised that in the United States it more common to have a wedding for only one day. He said in Poland that weddings last two days atleast, and that I would be invited to Wojtek's wedding when ever he finds a wife. I guess my family is unknowingly traditional with the length of weddings since both of my sister's weddings lasted full weekends.
Finally, we made it Wojtek's house where I went to bed early. After, taking a shower I noticed in the mirror that a blood vessel had popped in my eye. It look bad but after I looked it up on the internet, it was nothing serious. The next morning I was driven to the train station by Wojtek's dad and made my way back to Kraków. I was very glad that I got to experience a real Polish Easter and I thought Wojtek's whole family was very nice.