After 19 hours in a bus, I arrived at noon in Łomża hungry. That was good though, because a three course meal was waiting for us.
I can’t remember what meal was when anymore, but it surely started with a soup (like all the meals), then some sort of meat… pork on day one, I think, with slaw and potatoes. Then dessert. …there was always dessert. …even after breakfast. ….even after I said, “No thanks, I’m too full from the delicious dinner.” …actually, when I said I was full, I earned myself two pieces of cake (there were usually about four varieties).
After Saturday’s meal, Monika showed me the surrounding area of Łomża. First stop was the top of a hill just minutes (or maybe even seconds) from her house, where a castle once stood (though there’s no visible sign of that) and a queen once reigned. According to local lore, the queen fell in love with a man she couldn’t marry. Her resulting tears formed the river that now flows behind Monika’s house. …that’s obviously just a fairy tale, but at the very least it was a nice scenic overlook.
From there, it became obvious that the effects and memories of two world wars are still very fresh in the minds of the Polish people.
We drove to the other side of Łomża; to the countryside, actually. Somewhere there stands a Soviet Tank that remains as a monument to WWII.
A couple hundred meters from the tank, a bunker sits on the river bank that guards a bridge that, today, isn’t as old as the bunker is. (That hints at the fate of the bridge as the Nazis retreated).
Before returning home for a late dinner, Monika took me to the trenches of WWI. The trenches and fortifications in the Łomża area are separated in three sections and were re-used in WWII.
Saturday evening featured a pit stop at a Kneipe to see a few of Monika’s not-so-close friends. A pit stop at her brother’s apartment followed, where I twice sampled some homemade Polish vodka. It went down pretty easy, flavored with a little bit of honey. After the first shot, her brother, Kamil, told me it’s about 68% alcohol. It didn't taste nearly that strong.
Easter Sunday was delicious. I met both of Monika’s grandmothers. And I ate. ..and ate. …and ate. The first bite was a slice of one of the holy (blessed) hard-boiled eggs Monika’s family brought home with them from the 6am church service.
- - I would have gone with as well, but I’m not catholic (which really wasn’t the problem but seemed to be the reason everybody best understood). The real reason was 6am was way too early to go to church (Easter or otherwise) and not understand a word (of polish). - -
After the blessed egg, we were allowed to eat everything else. When it was physically impossible to eat anything more, I got to see more of the countryside. Monika’s father thought I would enjoy the “red swamp” near Osowiec because I study biology and because all of the fortifications from the War haben mir Gestern gefallen. I did, in fact enjoy the “red swamp” but more so for the photography than the biology.
Also in the vicinity of the marsh was the second of the three parts of the German fortifications. There was a fairly sizable base,
but we couldn’t get into the main part because the entrance was under about a foot and a half of water.
Sunday night was a party of sorts at Kamil’s. Highlights included shots of vodka and Karaoke (on computer, with a program that Kamil’s 21-yr-old brother-in-law wrote).
Monday was more food. Breakfast at one grandmother’s, lunch/dinner at the other’s. In between, Monika and I visited her friends who just a month ago had a baby. She wanted to see the baby while she was back in Poland. So while she talked with her friend, I took shots of vodka (the only way they drink it in Poland, so they said) with the husband and the father-in-law …”because it was Monday”. (In Poland, the Monday after Easter is also known as “Wet Monday,” so they drink).
Monday after dinner, Monika and I drove to Warsaw. I really want to see Krakow (and Auschwitz), but that was an estimated 6 hours from Łomża, but at the moment, the way from Warsaw to Krakow is under construction, so Monika’s family estimated it would be an 8 hour trip each way; unreasonable for a day in Krakow. …they also thought one needs more than just a day for Krakow + Auschwitz, and Krakow is too schön to go to Auschwitz and not see Krakow. ….so Warsaw it was.
Monika normally goes to school in Warsaw, so we stayed at her apartment. All of her Warsaw friends were either sick, too tired, or had to work the next morning, so I didn’t get to experience the nightlife Monika wanted to show me. Instead, we watched the 2008 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, The Counterfeiters (Austrian), in German with Polish subtitles. It’s quite good. I’d recommend it.
I can’t remember what meal was when anymore, but it surely started with a soup (like all the meals), then some sort of meat… pork on day one, I think, with slaw and potatoes. Then dessert. …there was always dessert. …even after breakfast. ….even after I said, “No thanks, I’m too full from the delicious dinner.” …actually, when I said I was full, I earned myself two pieces of cake (there were usually about four varieties).
After Saturday’s meal, Monika showed me the surrounding area of Łomża. First stop was the top of a hill just minutes (or maybe even seconds) from her house, where a castle once stood (though there’s no visible sign of that) and a queen once reigned. According to local lore, the queen fell in love with a man she couldn’t marry. Her resulting tears formed the river that now flows behind Monika’s house. …that’s obviously just a fairy tale, but at the very least it was a nice scenic overlook.From there, it became obvious that the effects and memories of two world wars are still very fresh in the minds of the Polish people.
We drove to the other side of Łomża; to the countryside, actually. Somewhere there stands a Soviet Tank that remains as a monument to WWII.
A couple hundred meters from the tank, a bunker sits on the river bank that guards a bridge that, today, isn’t as old as the bunker is. (That hints at the fate of the bridge as the Nazis retreated).Before returning home for a late dinner, Monika took me to the trenches of WWI. The trenches and fortifications in the Łomża area are separated in three sections and were re-used in WWII.
Saturday evening featured a pit stop at a Kneipe to see a few of Monika’s not-so-close friends. A pit stop at her brother’s apartment followed, where I twice sampled some homemade Polish vodka. It went down pretty easy, flavored with a little bit of honey. After the first shot, her brother, Kamil, told me it’s about 68% alcohol. It didn't taste nearly that strong.
Easter Sunday was delicious. I met both of Monika’s grandmothers. And I ate. ..and ate. …and ate. The first bite was a slice of one of the holy (blessed) hard-boiled eggs Monika’s family brought home with them from the 6am church service.
- - I would have gone with as well, but I’m not catholic (which really wasn’t the problem but seemed to be the reason everybody best understood). The real reason was 6am was way too early to go to church (Easter or otherwise) and not understand a word (of polish). - -
After the blessed egg, we were allowed to eat everything else. When it was physically impossible to eat anything more, I got to see more of the countryside. Monika’s father thought I would enjoy the “red swamp” near Osowiec because I study biology and because all of the fortifications from the War haben mir Gestern gefallen. I did, in fact enjoy the “red swamp” but more so for the photography than the biology.
Also in the vicinity of the marsh was the second of the three parts of the German fortifications. There was a fairly sizable base,
but we couldn’t get into the main part because the entrance was under about a foot and a half of water.Sunday night was a party of sorts at Kamil’s. Highlights included shots of vodka and Karaoke (on computer, with a program that Kamil’s 21-yr-old brother-in-law wrote).
Monday was more food. Breakfast at one grandmother’s, lunch/dinner at the other’s. In between, Monika and I visited her friends who just a month ago had a baby. She wanted to see the baby while she was back in Poland. So while she talked with her friend, I took shots of vodka (the only way they drink it in Poland, so they said) with the husband and the father-in-law …”because it was Monday”. (In Poland, the Monday after Easter is also known as “Wet Monday,” so they drink).
Monday after dinner, Monika and I drove to Warsaw. I really want to see Krakow (and Auschwitz), but that was an estimated 6 hours from Łomża, but at the moment, the way from Warsaw to Krakow is under construction, so Monika’s family estimated it would be an 8 hour trip each way; unreasonable for a day in Krakow. …they also thought one needs more than just a day for Krakow + Auschwitz, and Krakow is too schön to go to Auschwitz and not see Krakow. ….so Warsaw it was.
Monika normally goes to school in Warsaw, so we stayed at her apartment. All of her Warsaw friends were either sick, too tired, or had to work the next morning, so I didn’t get to experience the nightlife Monika wanted to show me. Instead, we watched the 2008 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, The Counterfeiters (Austrian), in German with Polish subtitles. It’s quite good. I’d recommend it.
