We stumbled upon this place literally by accident. While staying in Bruges at the B&B on one of the maps I saw a little logo of this place. It seemed very odd and rather surprising that there would be a museum dedicated specifically to both Canadian and Polish Soldiers for WWII efforts. This is a […]
If I don’t hear Embassy and Munich in the same sentence ever again it will not be a moment too soon. Today we set off to pick up kids’ passports at the Polish Embassy. Munich is about 180km away – door to door, from our house to the embassy and this we can usually manage […]
Getting out of the house for a walk is the only remedy for not just sitting and eating and eating and eating. We got out for another afternoon walk to work up an appetite and to explore more of Warsaw. On the Three Crosses Square surrounded by Hugo Boss, Burberry, Church’s, Ermenegildo Zegna, Max Mara, Coccinelle, W. Kruk, JM Weston, […]
After a very late lunch we got out of the house for a walk – destination Warsaw Old Town. It was still +10C when we parked but the sun was already setting. It appears that at least half of the city of Warsaw had the same idea, Christmas walk around the Old Town. Warsaw puts […]
Feeling Gratitude and Not expressing it is like wrapping a present and Not giving it. A very Merry Christmas to you all, from all us here in Warsaw.
What used to be the second largest city in central Poland after Plock, is now a small medieval village of about 600 people just outside of Warsaw. The Gothic castle had great military importance, and was built like a fortress. The ruins of this castle, which was originally built in the early 11th century, are all […]
The Warsaw Uprising Museum is located in the Wola district of Warsaw dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The museum opened on July 31, 2004, marking the 60th anniversary of the Uprising. The museum exhibits are very modern but the layout of the museum is reminiscent of an old city streets which were boomed and destroyed during the war. This is […]
We are out doing a bit of shopping in Warsaw. Nothing recharges the energy like a large sugary dessert for lunch!
Despite our prefuse protests, we are 7 months in and in Poland for the 3rd time. However, having said that, this is the first time we are here for holidays. No passports, no paper work, no government offices to visit. We did an afternoon run leaving Nuremberg at 1:30pm and arrived in Warsaw at 8:40pm […]
Our first road trip this holiday season will be to see our family in Warsaw and to spent a few days with them and celebrate Christmas. We are hoping to get there later on tonight and start the holiday relaxation first thing Thursday morning.
This is a list of the places we have visited so far. We certainly hope to add to this in the not so distant future. Google Maps
A lazy Sunday. With Kozluk family here for a visit, we set out to show off bits and pieces of this great city starting with the old town and a couple of its main churches. Both of these churches were greatly damaged in the war and rebuilt but what they have in common is a […]
Today I finally got an update on the status of my Polish citizenship confirmation. It appears that the Polish bureaucracy is finally starting to crack and give in. Officially then, Poland has confirmed that I am and always have been a Polish citizen. Next step is to wait for the documents to arrive and head […]
We have assembled the house and actually moved some furniture around today to get that new minimalistic look we are hoping to achieve here. Basically no one is carrying any more boxes upstairs and no one is interested in assembling anything anymore. We are in a travel mood. After 10 days of hard graft, it […]
We are setting off to go back to Nuremberg. We are saying good bye to our great hosts the Karnath family in Pruszcz Gdanski. Not only were they gracious enough to offer us a roof over our heads and feed us 10 meals a day but Kasia’s mom also helped me get the paper work […]
We headed out to do some shopping for the apartment today and then went to the beach. Once again the sea was angry today, but the water was so nice and warm. Great way to waste an afternoon.
Storks are quite ubiquitous in Poland, they are revered and loved in Poland – unlike the post Soviet area bureaucracy which still lingers around like a nasty smell. Today I had to take another stab at it and try and file some papers, to get the papers I actually need. To do this however, I […]
As if Malbork wasn’t impressive enough on its own – there was one more surprise in store for us. Malbork Castle and its grounds are serving as a stage for a sculpture exhibit by a number of famous Polish artists. Feast your eyes.
There are a lot of impressive sights in the world and a great number of wonderful buildings. To me there are very few as impressive and as memorable as the Malbork Castle. The sheer size of it, the scale of buildings and the magnificent decor and layout are simply stunning. Malbork is 3 castles in […]
Today, Kasia is turning 29 again. There was a small gathering of family and friends to celebrate this momentous occasion. We were quite exhausted after a full day of walking around so it was nice to just sit down and relax for a bit, listen to some crazy travel stories, eat a great dinner and […]
A short drive from Gdansk, is the seaside city of Sopot with its grand pier that stretches into the Baltic Sea. At 511.5m, the pier is the longest wooden pier in Europe. A lot has changed here, there are a lot more stores and restaurants, but don’t come here looking for traditional polish food. We […]
Tourist trap heaven, but if you know where to look – you can find a nice slingshot which is naturally what Evelina bought!
When one has the will and energy to climb the 410 stairs of Kościół Mariacki tower, one gets rewarded with spectacular views of the city.
A stroll down ul. Dluga. It still is as beautiful as I remember it – less the 50,000 Zywiec umbrellas littering the street on both sides. We could not ask for better weather, with sun and a bit of breeze this was a beautiful day to explore the old town of Gdansk.
So after almost 30 years I am back in the city I grew up in. While a lot has changed it here, not much really did. In the end it is really all a matter of perspective. What seemed bright, huge and wonderful as I remembered it, is now aged, dull and all plastered in […]
TIR stands for Transports Internationaux Routiers” or “International Road Transports. TIR-owka then is a lady that works in a service industry, that stands in a forrest, on the side of the highway, usually dressed in a very revealing and easy to spot from the distance neon clothing ready to help the big truck drivers relax for […]
We went to explore the house where Copernicus was born, where he lived, studied and in the end turned the world of astronomy on its head. His house was comprised of two buildings. Even by modern standards this was a huge house. It is also worth noting that Copernicus was a distinguished guest at the […]
Since we are not in a great rush today to get to our destination, we are taking a few stops on the way to explore some things worth seeing. First on the list today is Torun, a city where Copernicus was born. A leisurely stroll through the old town, and around the old Teutonic ruins, […]
Meanwhile somewhere in Poland, on the side of the road is this guy with a wide array of forest goods for sale – all nicely displayed on the hood of his car. I think it is time to give our Alfa some personallity. We are going for that off road rugged country style look. It […]
After a long drive we stopped for the night at this little place. What can be said about it – it was clean, cheap and very pleasant. I think the rooms were €30.00 per night and the breakfast was about €2.50 each. We promptly ordered 5 breakfasts for the 4 of us in the […]
This then is the official European Vacation Wala Family Chariot. It is a bit shorter and less powerful than the Volvo we have been driving but I think we are going to like it very much. It is an Alfa Romeo 159 Stoprtwagon Ti Turismo. It’s black and it ‘s pretty, and it converts diesel […]
Since we are not in a great rush today to get anywhere in particular today, we made a quick stop in Gniezno as we were driving by. This then, according to legend is the birth city of Poland – officially in 966. It is quite beautiful here.
We are back at the Polish Embassy in Munich trying to push some papers through. IT hasn’t all gone according to plan, in fact, nothing so far has, but at least we did managed to push some papers through and for the rest there is hope on the horizon. We know for a fact, we […]
The Polish state, while slow in its bureaucratic ways, has finally agreed and verified that we are officially married. As far as Poland goes we are now a married couple. Now we tell them about the kids and then ask for more papers, for the papers we just go.
The toll highways in Poland are quite amazing. Rain or shine there is always someone working on their maintenance. Always! The second amazing thing is that, and I never will get tired of this, is that trucks are always and always in the right lane and they are restricted to going 90km/h. How awesome is […]
We are leaving rainy and cold Warsaw today and going back to Germany. Now that we have updated the maps on the GPS we think we should get to Nuremberg in about 8 hours or so, maybe a bit longer with the heavy rain. We noticed that a lot of people have secondary antennas on […]
.. but never duplicated. I think today I found the missing link and the explanation as to why some Eastern European women wear carrot tops on their heads, and they do it with such pride. “Words are very un-necessary” here so just click through and shake your head in disbelief.
Łazienki or the Royal Baths is a 17th century park in Warsaw. This is the largest park in Warsaw and it is located in the centre of the city. We went for a nice afternoon walk, listened to Chopin concert in the park. The kids run around trying to scare the peacocks and force them […]
Today we are heading to Bransk, a small town of about 4000 people in the eastern part of Poland. We are picking up some more documents and visiting family. On 18 January 1493, Brańsk received a city charter based on Magdeburg rights from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Alexander Jagiellon. It was the first city in Podlaskie to receive such a […]
Lord thundering Jesus. I never thought I would say this but I do now see the benefits of bylaws. I say the more the better. Edmonton is said to be the king of bylaws and everyone always complains about it. This is what happens to a city that has little to no bylaws. This is […]
Our relentless pursuit of the required documents continues. Sometimes I think it would have been easier to find a Yeti in the Himalayas than to get the right stamp on the correct piece of paper in the Bureaucratic Republic of Poland. Undaunted we forge ahead. Today we set out to Plock, the last place where […]
There is much that can be said about navigating the Polish bureaucratic maze and perhaps even more that shouldn’t be said about the same. I have to say that while no one is particularly helpful about what we need to do, everyone is exceptionally nice and polite about it. I feel like we are […]
Today we are going to Warsaw! For me it is a first trip back to Poland in 29.5 years. For us, as a family, it is the first trip to Poland. We are going to be staying in Loziska just outside Warsaw with Anna’s cousin Robert. The drive itself is about 960km but we managed […]
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