Brian Returns During Advent Time

Check out the Web cam views of:

The Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square): http://www.krakow.pl/kamera/rynek2/

The Barbakan (Original entrance into the walled city: http://www.krakow.pl/kamera/barbakan/

December 8, 2007

I am composing this while crammed into a coach seat on the Lufthansa Munich to Charlotte flight. I am at hour 6 of this 10 hour journey over “the pond”.

Last Thursday was the last night in town for Alison so we decided to celebrate by having a progressive dinner. It was good way to go back to a good restaurant and try two others all in one night. I wish that I had thought of this back in 2005 as it was a fun night. In the interest of full disclosure this was Cary’s idea.

We returned to Polskie Jadlo Klasyka Polska for appetizers as their Russian blini w/ black or red caviar were sinful. If you have never had blini it is basically a pancake, like we are used to in the States, covered w/ a dollop of sour cream and then the caviar. It has been a long, long time since I had blini. So long ago that I think I was a just a child in New York.

These blini were perfectly done but did not seem to be made of potatoes as Cary and I thought they should have been. In fact, they looked and smelled like buttermilk pancakes right off the griddle. You know golden brown with those dark rings and an aroma that smells like Sunday morning. Regardless of what the flour was they were fabulous. This is the reason this restaurant was on our itinerary for the evening and we were not disappointed.

After our appetizers we strolled over to Szara on the Rynek Glowny to have their hamburger as many have said that it was one of the best in the city. It had been over a year and a half since I had been inside so I did not notice the change immediately. But after being seated in the second room for 5 minutes I blurted out “what happened to the bar?” The waitress then told me that they took over a storefront to the right and moved it there which gave them more room for diners. The other change was that they did not have the hamburger on the menu so we had to choose several alternate dishes that were still very good. One other thing I noticed was that this was still an expensive restaurant, what with the prime piece of real estate they occupy. For example, we ordered a “duzy” (large) of Tyskie piwo (a local beer) and noticed that it was 14 zloty, exactly twice as expensive as where we had just come from. Now I remembered why it had been 18 months since I was last there. But it was a delicious dinner, with great atmosphere and service and entertainment in the form of a man wearing a skirt. He was from Scotland so I guess it was OK. (My apologies to my colleague Angus.)

After dinner we crossed the Square to have the best dessert in town, a chocolate molten lava cake at Pod Krzyzykiem. When I was in town last May Toni liked it so much that we went to the restaurant the next night just to have the dessert. But as we walked in we noticed that it was eerily quiet. We were then greeted by two waiters who apologized by saying that the restaurant was closed. (It was 10:30 p.m.) It was then that one of them recognized me as being from International Paper and said that during the winter they close earlier than normal. While I was living in Krakow this was a popular restaurant for its food, ambience and service. The interior is a bit “Daliesque” and it also includes a glass-covered floor over a model of Krakow. Pretty cool.

So we bid them adieu and promised to return at another time. (Unfortunately, we did not.) Off we went to the only other restaurant I knew that had a similar dessert, Da Pietro. It was here that Alison tried honey vodka and we ate their version of the dessert called chocolate soufflé. It was a good alternative just not as good as at Pod Krzyzykiem.

We strolled out of there around midnight and into the Square to take some photos of the beautiful Christmas lights.

The city has installed, and was still installing when we left, a new set of lights throughout the Square and down the side streets. On each street leading to the Square they hung, from building to building, large green garlands accented with shiny, colored balls. And hung directly over the street center a large lit bell. Think of the scene in It’s a Wonderful Life where Walter Bailey is running and yelling through the decorated streets of Bedford Falls. This is the type of decorations that Krakow uses which is something that we are missing in the Memphis area. Memphis has white snowflakes hanging from the lampposts. What’s so Christmas-like about snowflakes? (Time to get off of that soapbox.)

In one corner of the Square is a live Christmas tree that stands about 20 feet tall and is strung with LED lights and silver ornaments. This picture is of Cary and me standing in front of it.

After getting several good photos we parted company as Alison had an early flight in the morning. It was a fun and gastronomically-satisfying evening as it was a way to sample three good restaurants all within walking distance of each other. In Memphis I had done this once in the Cooper-Young area but there aren’t too many other locations where this would work.

On Friday we left work about 6 p.m. as Cary wanted to do some shopping at the Christmas market set up in the Square. Then we made a stop at my favorite café then off to another fine dinner. After a final walk around the Square, to take some more photos, we returned to our hotel as we too had an early flight.

It was nice to return to my favorite city. I was able to see many fine friends and colleagues and do what I like to do best, talk and eat. I am fortunate to be able to visit Krakow from time to time and will be back for a month beginning February 17th. Be sure to check back here in late February for my next installment.

I wish you all a Boże Narodzenie (Merry Christmas) and a Happy New Year.

December 6, 2007

I met Father Zbigniew Krysiewicz (O.D.) for kawa on Wednesday at a little cafe called Siesta. He is the priest who leads the sole English-speaking Mass in Krakow. When you first meet Father he looks like he is from Ireland and sounds like he is from England. But he hails from a small town outside of Gdansk.

We spent the hour speaking about the history of Poland and the war years. We also touched on what makes people from the UK different than those from the U.S. I learned that he will be coming to Oregon in March to officiate at the wedding of a friend of his. It will be his first trip to The States.

We had such a nice time that we agreed to meet again when I return in February.

December 2, 2007

I spent yesterday visiting a few museums I had not made it to in the past. The first was the Pharmacy Under the Eagle just outside of Kazimierz. This was the only "apteka" that was within the boundaries of the Krakow Jewish Ghetto created by the Nazis during WWII. The owner chose to minister to the Jews instead of relocating and was eventually awarded for it after the war. (He literally received a medal for his efforts.) His pharmacy became a place where the intelligentsia could meet and foment their resistance. Many others hid there to later escape. It was akin to being a stop on the American Underground Railroad.

The second museum was the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kazimierz. Toni and I had come upon it in May but did not have the time to visit so I made it a point to do so this time. It is filled w/ 135 photographs aimed at "keeping alive the memory of Jewish life in the south of Poland after the Holocaust" and it does just that. In addition there is an excellent set of placards that describe the period of time around when the Nazis herded the remaining Jews into the Jewish Ghetto. I learned a lot about the Polish Jewish resistance organizations, one of which had its roots in the local Boy Scouts organization. Here you had a disparate group of youth organizations that eventually banded together for the purpose of creating foment against the Nazi party in Krakow. They had several successes in Krakow but not quite what they had in Warsaw where a similar organization held off the German army for 30 days, before being annihilated. (That was the impetus for the Germans destroying 95% of Warsaw.)

One striking story detailed in the museum was chronicled in a book called Justyna's Diary. It was about a young set of lovers, involved in this resistance, who pledged to each other to surrender if the other was caught first. The man was arrested first and so Justyna turned herself in. While they each were in separate trucks, heading from separate jails but to the same execution point, their fellow prisoners revolted and overcame their captors. The only people to survive were this man and women. They soon reunited and continued their resistance efforts. But the man was again arrested and soon so was Justyna. They were later executed together but their graves have never been located.

It was a powerful story for me which is why I regaled you with it. Although I write often about the fun things going on here it is humbling to be ensconced in a culture that has had it hard for several millennia.

Now moving onto a happier note again.

I attended Mass at St. Giles (Idziego) church which was the first time in a year that I was here on a Sunday to do so. Wasn't Father surprised when he walked in the door and saw me. As usual I was put to work saying a reading. After church I went to a cafe on ul. Kanonicza (the oldest and prettiest street in Krakow) for some kawa and to catch up with my friends Sue and Jacek and their children. Karwiarnia U Literatow cafe is also known as the Bell Ringers' Cafe as the men who ring the bell at Wawel Cathedral come here. In fact, their mugs (piwo, I think) are hanging on the wall. We had a nice visit and made promises to get together again when I return in the first quarter of 2008. I am looking forward to it.

November 30, 2007

I met my friend Kinga for dinner last night at Del Papa and we had a wonderful time catching up. She is currently working on her professional architect certification so I was fortunate to get time on her calendar. It was a very nice evening discussing the recent political climate change in Poland. (A new Prime Minister was elected into office which was a change of party and one which the younger generation was glad to see take place. The PM won by something like 70% of the vote.) I sensed some pride in her as she was able to participate in that important democratic responsibility called voting.

November 29, 2007

Since I am working U.S. hours the office begins to close at 11 p.m. CET. And since 11 p.m. is like 5 p.m. in the U.S. no one is ready to go home. So, last night a large crowd of my colleagues (3o maybe?) met at the club du jour called Pauza for a little wind down time. It was good catching up w/ so many people I had not seen socially for about a year. There was even an employee from Capital One there. (We produce the paper for their statements and "opportunity mail". For those of you at IP it is 55 lb. Accent Opaque.) The place was not crowded and the DJ played some good music so it was a nice time. I had numerous good conversations with a number of friends and spouses of theirs. The best part was that I did not have to wake up until 9 a.m. so it was a late night. (But not too late Toni.)

November 28, 2007

I returned to Krakow this week for a two week business trip. We were greeted upon arrival, not by any familiar faces, but by a winter wonderland of white snow clinging to grey trees. If you

can picture any European city clothed in snow you can visualize what the city of Krakow looks like.

I had dinner in my favorite Corsican restaurant last night. It is named Paese and has great atmosphere and even better food. I had pumpkin soup and a hearty dish of beef, artichokes and cous cous. It surely warmed the innards as I gazed out at the heavy snowfall we were experiencing.

I feel right at home again especially after running into a set of Polish friends and fellow church members. Sue and her husband Jacek. I met them at Paese where they were sitting next to me. I gazed over at the table next to me and recognized the man. It soon dawned on me that it was Jacek and so that woman must be his wife. They were celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. I had not seen them since I said goodbye last December.

What a small town Krakow is. I am not even here 6 hours and I already run into someone I know from the community. It's like I never returned.