For Christmas this year we decided to go back to England. However, we wanted to see some other sights, too, so we planned to spend a week in Poland on the way there. Angie hadn’t been back to Warsaw since she moved away in 2011, and Adam had never been, so it seemed like a great opportunity. Plus, there would be Christmas markets!
We stayed in the Chopin Boutique B&B close to Nowy Świat, which was a beautiful cozy hotel. We loved being able to easily walk to the evening Christmas market and to the bus and metro. The first day, Angie wanted to go back to her old neighborhood to see what had changed. We took the metro and walked to her old apartment, which looked just like it did when she left. Her neighborhood was remarkably unchanged, including the sklep on the corner where she used to pick up groceries.
She also managed to remember the way to her landlady’s house. We stood outside and looked up at the building, trying to be sure it was the right one. There was an old man at the window looking out. We walked away for a moment, and then Angie decided it was the right house, and we went back and rang the bell. The old man opened the window and yelled out to ask what we wanted. Angie asked for Ana, and there she was! She invited us in, and we had a lovely time catching up with her and hearing about how her family is doing. She fed us tea and pierniki (homemade gingerbread) and szarlotka (a type of apple pie/cake). It was so wonderful to be with her again in her snug little living room!
In the evening, we took advantage of our proximity to the Christmas market to go out and explore. There were thousands of people out that evening (Sunday night) and lots of hot wine, smoked cheese with cranberry sauce, and other goodies from street vendors. We also got to hear some carolers performing on the stages that were set up along the street.
On Monday, we were able to meet up with Angie’s friend and former colleague, Mark, who is still living in Warsaw. It was great to catch up with him and hear about his family and their recent move just outside the city. We also did some more sightseeing and exploring Angie’s old stomping grounds.
One special visit was to see the brush man in his shop near Centrum metro stop. The shop is a tiny closet-sized space filled with brushes in all varieties, including rougher kitchen brushes and brushes for shoes, hairbrushes of all types, and fancy shaving brushes. All are handmade, many by the brush man himself. Angie used to visit him fairly often, buying special brushes, like the infant hair brush she bought for her niece, Paetra, when she was a baby. That brush has the softest bristles you’ve ever felt, and has become a family heirloom, along with the brush made for a one-year-old, which has only slightly less soft bristles.
It was a wonderful surprise to find the shop still open, and the brush man behind the counter. He was looking very aged, however, and shook so much as he brought out kitchen brushes for us to see. Angie was happy to remember some small amounts of Polish, and was able to understand a little bit of what people said, including the prices for things in the shop. We bought some kitchen brushes and bottle brushes for Adam’s brew setup. We’re so glad we got to see the brush man one more time; he’s looking so old that we wonder how much longer he will run his shop, and whether someone else will take over for him.
One other important stop in Warsaw was E. Wedel Chocolate. Wedel serves a variety of delicious treats, including what it is known for: Polish hot chocolate. That drink is like a melted chocolate bar, thick and rich. After wandering around in Łazienki Park, it was a great way to warm up and re-energize.
Besides checking in on how Warsaw has changed in the last decade, we wanted to see Kraków, which is lovely all year, but especially magical at Christmas time. There is a new (since Angie last was there) fast train from Warsaw to Kraków, so we decided that was a great way to get to Kraków and see the Polish countryside along the way.
The train, of course, was delayed. However, once we got on we loved the comfort of the first class carriage, which was not very expensive but super nice.
Once in Kraków we dropped off our belongings at the apartment we were lucky enough to borrow from friends and went out to explore the city. Kraków has the largest medieval town square in Europe, and at this time of year it is host to a huge Christmas market. We had a great time wandering around grazing the amazing food and looking for Bolesławiec pottery and other souvenirs.
We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in Kraków, even going on a carriage ride around the old town and up around the Zamek, which is on a hill overlooking the Wisła River. The carriage ride was also memorable because we decided it was a good idea to enjoy a wino grazane with our ride. We didn’t take into account how bumpy the old cobblestone streets would be in a horse-drawn carriage!
All in all, it was a fantastic trip! Angie got caught up with the people and places she knew before, and both of us experienced a little bit of the beauty that is Poland.