Polish Odds-n-Ends

Today's entry is going to be comprised of mini entries that didn't really fit into any of the other entries about Poland. After today, I think I will have pretty much captured the trip for you. We do have hours of video for any of you who just can't get enough of the Rodda family's adventures.

Polish Bling The day before the reception Joanna's mother booked manicures for us at a salon in Kartuzy. Courtney and I had our appointments together. The lady doing our nails didn't speak any English, so there was a lot of pointing and hand gestures for communication. We both wanted French manicures, which the lady thought was really boring. She kept trying to get me to paint my nails bright shades of red, purple, and blue. When she saw that she was getting nowhere, she pulled open a drawer and brought out the bling. Literally. She convinced Courtney and I to get little crystals on the ring fingers of our hands. We gave in and tried to only get it on our right hands, but the woman insisted (through a series of pointing and head shaking) that we have the crystals on both hands. So, we left the salon a little more sparkly.

 

The Cabin I have mentioned the cabin in several of the Poland entries, but I haven't included many pictures. These should give a better picture of the cabin and the gorgeous countryside that surrounds it. The picture below that has a pole in it is trying to show that there is a stork's nest on the top it. Throughout the countryside you can see storks. They migrate to Poland from Africa and awesomely huge birds. They look almost cartoonlike.

Across the road from the cabin was this field where a farmer was haying his field using a horse-drawn machine. It was so old-world and picturesque.

Our Wonderful Hosts Joanna's entire family (especially her parents) were such wonderful hosts to us during our stay in Poland. They opened their home to us, they toured us around, and they fed us super yummy meals. Our Poland experience just wouldn't have been the amazing trip it was without them!

Joanna's dad found a special place in Jack's heart. Jack loved his mustache and smiled the minute he saw him. Mr. Plichta also would say little Polish nursery rhymes to Jack, which made him giggle hysterically! They had something to do with a crab coming and pinching him and Jack thought it was the funniest thing ever.

We can't say thank you enough to the Plichta's for their hospitality. Dziękuję! (thank you, in Polish)

Polska Part VI: To Hel and Back (Literally!)

We spent the final day of our trip in Hel. Seriously. Hel, Poland is a small fishing town on a cape about an hour's boat ride from Gdynia.  I had read that it is a fun place to visit with lots of restaurants, shopping, and an awesome beach. As if those weren't reason enough to visit, how could we resist visiting a place with such a name?! Even though we made jokes all day long, this town was nothing like its name suggests. The main street is lined with restaurants and vendors selling anything and everything. At the end of the main street, the road becomes a dirt path which leads to the end of the cape. The tip of the cape is home to a gorgeous beach with warm sand and gentle waves. 

 

Joanna, Justyna, Bryan, and I climbed to the top of a lighthouse where we were treated to a great view of the town.  It was a very windy and steep climb up there, but the view was definitely worth it.

 

After a delicious lunch of fresh fish, we had to get an ice cream cone. Ice cream is huge in Poland. Every other vendor on the street is selling it. There are three different types of ice cream. All are soft serve and range from really creamy (almost like eating frozen whipping cream) to one that is more like iced milk. My favorite was the latter. Apparently it was Jack's favorite too, thanks to his grandma!  She snuck a taste to him and he was hooked!

I'm glad the guide book told us to go to Hel. Though the trip home really was the boat from Hel, it certainly was one Hel of a day. Yes, I could go on and on with the Hel jokes, but I won't. Thankfully.

Polska Part V: Gdynia

 

On Monday we spent the day in Gdynia. It is another port city and one of the Tri Cities (Gdansk, Gdynia, and Sopot). It has a beautiful beach and a great boardwalk that follows the beach.  Tom and Jack couldn't resist the beach.  I took the opportunity to capture some great shots as they played together in the Baltic Sea.

 

On our way home from Gdynia, the Plichta's took us to, what can only be described as, a bizarrely random collection of memorabilia.  In this place (I'm not even sure what it was called) we got to see the longest piece of cut timber, a house brought back from Siberia, and an upside down house. Jack loved the cow statue--cows never cease to cause Jack to laugh. Wacky as it all was, these are the kinds of adventures that we would never have experienced had we visited Poland on our own.

 Here are my parents really embracing the culture of Poland. Great look for them, isn't it?

Polska Part IV: Malbork Castle

It took everyone a few days to recover from the wedding. On Saturday we went to the Plichta's cabin where all of the immediate family gathered to attempt to eat more of the food from the wedding. Even after a second day of eating, it still seemed like there were piles of food!

 

On Sunday everyone's engines were recharged and we hit the road to travel to Malbork Castle. The castle was about an hour and a half drive away and we got to see a lot of the Polish countryside. It was built in the 1200's by the Teutonic Knights. Like most of Poland, it was nearly leveled after WWII. Thankfully, it has been restored (though parts of it still have the original bricks which are laden with bullet holes).  We hired an English speaking guide who toured us through the castle for nearly 3 hours.

  

Polska Part III: The Reception

Thursday was a fairly uneventful day for us in Poland. That evening my parents arrived. They were just in time for a traditional element of any Polish wedding, the glass breaking ceremony. The ceremony consisted of all of us (everyone staying with the Plichta's) breaking bottles on the ground. Joanna, then, had the honor of cleaning up all of the broken glass while Matt watched. His job was to watch her clean it up to see if she would make a good wife.

 

 

Friday was the big day. The festivities began at 4pm in the historic church in Kartuzy. The church is shaped like a coffin and the monks that used to reside there slept in coffins. They did so as a reminder of their own mortality. A little creepy, but the church was beautiful. Unfortunately, like many of the sights in Europe, the front of the church was covered in scaffolding because it was being restored. This picture is the back side of the church, but you can sort of get an idea of what it looked like.

Matt and Joanna had a blessing in the church since they were already married. It lasted about a half hour and was completely in Polish. We took cues from those around us and stood when they did and bowed our heads when the priest did. The inside of the church was gorgeous--very ornate with lots of gilded wood and statues.

After the blessing we went to the reception. It was in a Greek restaurant just outside of Gdansk.  There were about 100 guests present and they seated us at 2 very long tables. We settled in and prepared ourselves for a night of eating, drinking, and lots of dancing.

To say that we ate well would be an understatement. There was SO much food throughout the evening. The evening went kind of like this--platters piled high with food would be brought out to the tables, guests would gorge themselves in between taking shots of vodka from the bottles on the tables. Then the band would come on and people would dance. HARD. Dancing would last for about a half hour and then the whole cycle would start over again. The food and alcohol just kept coming and coming. American weddings are so tame (or boring some might say) compared to Polish weddings. EVERYONE danced, EVERYONE ate, and of course, EVERYONE drank.

 

Jack was such a trooper. He hung in there until nearly 10:00. Tom and I snuck out to the outside patio and were able to get him to fall asleep. We brought him back into the party and were able to successfully strap him into his carseat where he amazingly slept for a couple of hours. This was pretty incredible considering that there was a band playing and people constantly toasting and roasting the newlyweds. We (and most of the other guests) were very impressed with Jack.

Eventually, Jack was done with sleeping in a noisy room and it was time to call it a night. We were pretty proud of ourselves that he lasted until midnight. Tom and I had gotten a couple of hours to celebrate with everyone and do a little dancing. So, at midnight we headed in the cab for home. We were the first guests to leave and no one else showed signs of leaving any time soon. My parents lasted until 3am and Matt and Joanna finally rolled into the condo around 4:30am.  What a party!

I couldn't resist capturing Jack's amazing feat on video. Check out the video below. When you see and hear what Jack slept through, I think you'll be impressed, too!

Video: Now That is Amazing

 

Polska Part II: Sopot

Our second day it rained, so we headed to a mall in Gdynia to pass a few hours and wait for the rain to stop. A mall is pretty much mall, although we did jump at the opportunity to grab lattes. Our discriminating Seattle palettes were happy for the caffeine boost, but found the coffee didn't compare to home.

On Wednesday we went to Sopot, one of the Tri Cities (Gdansk, Gdynia, and Sopot). It is a resort town with beautiful beaches, nightclubs, and the longest wooden pier in Europe.  Determined not to miss out on any of the cuisine, we sampled Polish pizza, which is eaten with ketchup on top! The ketchup is much sweeter and has a smoky flavor to it, almost like BBQ sauce.

The pier was a fun way to see the beaches of Sopot. The weather was HOT, so there were tons of people out on the beaches and swimming in the water.  We thought about dressing Jack up like the little boy in the picture below, but didn't want to traumatize him later in life. :)

 

   

 

Jack was perfectly content hanging out in the Ergo, as long as he got some chances to stretch out his legs and wiggle. After walking the pier and the accompanying boardwalk, we decided to head back into the town to explore the streets a little more. Tom, Matt, and Bryan were hungry and took off to get kebabs (so yummy, but look nothing like a kebab--they are actually more like a gyro). As we stood with them to wait for their food, the skies literally opened up and a huge storm set in. It started pouring down rain. Luckily, we had already sat down at some tables underneath giant umbrellas, so we were safe from the downpour. We had to wait there huddled together for about 20 minutes, before we sent the guys to go and retrieve the cars and pick us up!