First Weekend in Poland

[reposted to fix pics]

Adventures in Poland are going a bit slower with extra sleep to ward off an interminable cold. Friday night after work I met Sarah at a cafe to finish respective meetings. Nice place in Jewish district with wifi, tea, and sitting on the floor. Tables available we just enjoyed sitting lower.



Then we toured the Jewish district more.



Most of the bridges around Wawel are lit with lights blue in the foreground here, white chandeliers in the background are another bridge.



After a nice long sleep we enjoyed linner at Piwnica Pod Kominkiem on near market square. I knocked my head twice in short stair wells leading down to an intimate dining area. Along the ceiling toward the street there was a a clear chute. Presumably previously used for shovel coal or similar down to the basement. The "duo soup" was delicious with mashed pea on one side and horseradish on the other. Small flakes of egg and ham in the middle. Amazingly it stayed separated down to the last bite.



I do not remember the other appetizer. Sarah enjoyed the raw fish, tomatoes, and other bits. I enjoyed the red peppers.


First main entree was potato latke esque with meat sauce on top. Delicious and has all of the makings of a great hangover cure.



We also had part of a pork knuckle. Our eyes were bigger than our stomaches on this visit. I highly recommend this restaurant. Great service (for poland) and great food.

We're slowly learning that polish service mostly responds to requests or demands. "Natural flow" of a meal, driven by waiters & waitresses would either be impossibly long or infinite. We haven't had the patience to find out which yet. Some folks know how impatient I can get. Even Sarah gets a bit impatient here.

Afterwords we walked around market square more. Sarah found an apothecary that carried vodka mixed with pretty much everything including elderberry.


Afterwords more market square exploration. The square was hopping well into the night (2am).



We strolled back by the river with chill of the night setting in. Swans were clustered together sleeping in the river with heads tucked under their wings.



We found a perch overlooking the hotel lobby and chatted further into the morning. I was amazed at how innocuous the water and ice machine was. Here it is built into the wall and partially hidden by a plant. Things that are engineered here are done so to the 9's. It's really exact and refreshing. I'm amazed at how closely the doors seal even with all of the traffic and humidity. I'd expect that to cause wood to swell and contract so doors scrape or don't close firmly. The doors to really well and they're not even the typical industrialized aluminum or steel.



Sunday we ventured across the river for breakfast at a place that more closely resembled someone's private kitchen than a restaurant. I highly recommend Konfederacka 4 to anyone traveling through. We started to put it together a trend of restaurants known only by their address. Sunday morning was a slow time so we were able to chat with the cook and hostess throughout our meal. More good food and great company. I was again amazed at the general diet. 3 egg omelette with sausage and just a few pieces of green pepper. Lots of protein here.



After that more walking. This time along Jozefa Dietla. This was near a church with MPs, armed with actual hand guns or similarly shaped tazers, covering the entrance and directing traffic.


Somewhere along the way we found this statue. It reminds me of communist era symbolism. More research required.

Beautiful parks everywhere:


Christmas works a bit different here. Lights and christmas trees stay up until Feb 2. Allegedly displays similar to the one below originated in this reason. They are also on display throughout January. I've heard a few anecdotes that all of this is inspiration/light for the dark and cold of winter. I'm still working on more personal tour of local culture.


Lunch found us in the Jewish district again. This time at Moment. This the most american scene and food we've seen. I like that Pepsi is the most common soda here :) .


In the evening we toured the Museum of Anthropology for free. This proved interesting with all labels in Polish. Ever the engineer the stairs are what caught my attention the most. Every stair had these brackets on both sides. What are they?




Circling around the city again we found another route near market square. I'm continually amazed and calmed by the parks that permeate this place. They're everywhere. And they're great.






Inside joke. Some of you will get it.






Dinner was great with another variation of hunter's stew. This apple pie dessert looked amazing with powdered sugar decoration. Taste didn't live up to appearance. Sarah swooped in to the rescue and shared her meringue cake. Yum! Bitter coffee was great with all that sugar.






Monday brought new levels of cold and rain. Nice trip to wet and dry sauna, hot tub, and heated pool helped to thaw my core. More soon.