Janek and his family (son Piotr, his wife, Sylvia, and daughter Julcia) have made us very welcome. We have lots more food to eat, and friendly conversation. MOH takes every opportunity to tell people how hard it is to have to translate everything because STS and I don't speak Polish. He says it's hard on us too, but we wanted to come here. He is definitely enjoying being the centre of attention. On the other hand we have been nodding and smiling for nearly two weeks now. It would probably be better for all concerned if STS and I left them to catch up without us, but we don't want to be rude. I have decided to not be so proactive in wanting to join in the conversations to ease the burden on MOH.
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| Janek's home |
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| Picking raspberries |
Today we will be picking our own raspberries.
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| Raspberries - yummm! |
We have an early lunch because we need to leave with enough time to get to Warzsawa (Warsaw). Janek allows me to get copies of some old photographs, and after a teary farewell, we began our drive to Warszawa.
Piotr must have known that we would get lost in Warsaw, so he arranged for his brother, Krystof, to meet us and guide us to our hotel. Krystof and his son, Kuba, kindly waited for us to check in and then drove us around the city, showing us the sights. We saw the Frederic Chopin statue, Parliament and embassy buildings. We saw buildings that survived the war, and the Football stadium where they played the 2012 Eurpoean championships. He took us to the Old Town, Stare Miasta, which was very interesting with a special energy and atmosphere at night time. The statue at the barbican represents all the children who suffered during the war.
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| The Chopin statue |
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| Warsaw soccer stadium |
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| Stare Miasta, Warsaw |
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| Stare Miasta, Warsaw |
Then we went to his apartment for a drink and you guessed it, more food! We were greeted warmly by his mother, Stasia.
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| Looking down onto the tram system, Warsaw |
After several beers, we needed to get a taxi to take us back to the hotel. Krystof came with us to make sure we were OK, and insisted on paying for the fare. He is a very generous man. I suspect we might see him in Australia one day, and I hope we will have the opportunity to return the favour.
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2 comments:
OMG you have been busy! Hope it hasn't been too much of a culture shock for you. I hope you've been enjoying the time, sounds like you have anyway. They certainly love their vodka!
Hi Michael, they do love their vodka, but I think it was to welcome us more than a daily thing. We have had a few surprises, but taking it in our stride, and trying to enjoy every minute. STS and I have even learnt some Polish words - hard not to when that's all you hear all day, and having fun trying to read road signs. OMG! What's with all the extra letters?
Cheers, Jan
PS. Go Hawks!!!
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