Day 8 - Monday 16/09/2013 Slupca

After breakfast, Vojek brought out old photos and I was able to scan some on the iPad. We had a tour of the vegetable patch and the rest of the farm. He grows pumpkins, onions, sunflowers (seeds), squash, parsley, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, and beetroot.

Vojek in the vegetable garden

Today we have visitors coming 200km to see us and have lunch. They are MOH's cousins, sons of his mother's brother. They are from the northwest of Poland and drove for 6 hours to see us. They are very friendly, and encouraged us to visit their scenic and picturesque part of Poland, Pisz. The conversation was very animated, particularly after a few shots of Scotch whiskey. Their names are Jurek, Michael (Jurek's son), and Rysiek, Jurek's brother.

Goats on the farm, railway line in distance

Late in the afternoon we moved on to Vojek's daughter, Krysia's house to stay the night.

View from Krysia's house

Krysia lives with her daughter, Ella, and her three delightful children. Michowy (not sure of the spelling), 6 years, says his name is really Alain Grobovski, and is a live wire, very energetic and climbs on everything, even STS. Amelia, 5 years, is a true beauty, and will break a lot of hearts when she grows up. Ella's younger sister, Maya, is a little sweetie, who also took a liking to STS. He seems to have an affect on children.

STS and Maya

We had a good wash, a talk, a delicious supper and a good sleep.

 

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Day 7 - Sunday 15/09/2013 On the road again!

We drove to Poznan and Slupca (swoopsa) - a 2-3 hour trip. At one stage we wondered why the cars in front had stopped, and realised we were stopped at traffic lights for the first time.

View from the car - trees are very close to the roadside

We needed to fill up the car with diesel, so MOH spent some time looking for the button to open petrol cap. n the meantime STS went outside and opened it manually - thank goodness for tech savvy kids!

Voyek Zenek's farmhouse

Today has been the strangest birthday I have ever had. We are on MOH's uncle's farm, just outside Slupca. They have a very simple life, no running water inside, an outdoor toilet, and no bathroom facilities that I could see. They bring in water from a tap outside, and boil it to wash the dishes. Voyek (uncle) Zenek and Ciocia Janina are always smiling and enjoy a laugh. Ciocia needs two walking sticks to get around. She has very sore legs and hips.

Farming equipment, chicken coop behind

On arrival, we had a late lunch, Polish chicken noodle soup, chicken, meat balls and schnitzel, salads and potatoes, followed by cheesecake and another slice with a biscuit layer and cream. All very delicious. There are lots of flies everywhere this time of year. Wojek and Ciocia spend a lot of time swatting flies on the farm, even on Uncle's own head. We later had a tour of the farm, main building, chicken enclosure, dog kennels, outdoor sitting area.

MOH and Voyek in hothouse

We all sleep in the same room - Uncle, STS, MOH and me. Ciocia was too shy to sleep in the same room as MOH so she slept with her daughter, Danka. On the other hand, I was sharing the room with Uncle! We all slept in our clothes.

The original well

Danka's granddaughter was born a few days ago, and came home today. I hope she keeps well.

This is a real eyeopener and not a day we will forget for a very long time. It makes us grateful for the lifestyle we have at home and realise how lucky we are.

 

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