Kraków, Poland

Over Easter weekend my host sister and I along with two family friends traveled to Krakow, Poland to visit some of their relatives. We experienced how the Polish celebrate Easter, and I got to learn about a new culture. The first thing I learned about Poland on the drive there was that it is 95% Roman Catholic and the religion is the main influencer of the traditions, society, and even the law. 

The Polish celebrate Easter a little differently than Americans do. On Saturday there is a blessing and prayer service. We all walked to the village church bringing along our Easter baskets filled with bread, sausage, chocolate bunnies, and of course decorated eggs. The priest blesses the baskets and that marks the end of the fasting period. On Sunday of course there is Mass, followed by a huge feast back at the house.

Easter egg hunts are not a part of Poland's Easter tradition, but the weekend was about sharing cultures. My host sister and I hid eggs (at a medium difficulty level because it was their first time, but they aren't children either), and everyone in the Polish family each had to find one egg. It was fun for us to watch, and I think the others enjoyed the hunt as well. 

On Saturday afternoon we drove into Krakow, which is a stunning city. It is a city that wasn't destroyed in the WW11, so everything really is original. We walked into St. Mary's church for only about 30 seconds because there were services going on. I didn't get any photos, but it is probably the most beautiful interior of a church I have ever seen. We also went through the famous market hall, which sells mostly souvenir type items. Outside the long hall was a huge market with food and more things to buy. At the market, I tried a very interesting food. A fried piece of cheese with jam on it. It was different, but it wasn't that bad. We then did a ride through the city in a horse carriage. If that didn't top off the perfect day in Krakow, nothing could.

I was on food overload for three days. The meals were frequent and large in portion. I actually was ridiculed for not eating enough. We had had a late (and large) breakfast 1 hour before and then I was supposed to eat duck with potatoes...insanity.

I get it was a holiday, so food obviously played a large role in the gathering but I have heard the large amounts of food is a general characteristic in Poland. 

Poland is probably a bad place to live in if you are lactose intolerant because it seemed like everything contained dairy. They also put jam on everything. The cool thing was that everything was very fresh: the mother made the jams herself and they bought the cheese, milk, and cream straight from the dairy farmer nearby from their house. The mother also made bread, and it was probably the most delicious bread I have ever tasted (and the Germans make really good bread to, so that is saying something).

It was a bit chilly while we were in Poland, especially in the morning, but generally it wasn't so bad. It also snowed really hard for a solid 15 minutes when we were walking to the center of Krakow, but afterwards it was sunny with clear skies. 

Before the church became filled with people and lined with Easter baskets. 

Our basket with the eggs, but before everything else went in.

My host sister and I on the horse carriage.

St. Mary's church in the main square

At the outside Market

The back side of the Main Market Square

The Market hall with all the little shops inside.

These aren't the eggs I have written about. These were ones to buy at the market, and we were told the flower motif is very common in the region.

Fried cheese with jam...not that bad.

Pope John Paul II is from the area, and that is the window he gave a speech out of when he was pope.

I was proud of how well I hid this egg. Last one to be found, and hints were given as well.

One of the sweetest women I have ever met. She didn't know German or English and I obviously don't know Polish. She would talk to me regardless of the language barrier. When I really could't figure out what she was saying, she would just hug me.