Bits of Kanadiana in Krakow

Kata and I took a Discovery Walk when we arrived.

Where all the Polish kings were crowned and buried.
There's even some Hungarian royalty.

Wawel at dusk.

Going deep underground to the Wieliczka salt mine.

The Salt King in Wieliczka.

Oh, hi, from the ballroom of the Wieliczka salt mine. Salt mining seems pretty cushy to me.

Happy New Years!

The third Polish person I ever met was Bart. He came to my second-grade class speaking no English; fresh off the boat, as they say, from communist Poland. Luckily, Kamil, the second Polish person I ever met, was there to translate for him, since Kamil arrived with a similar linguistic barrier in the first grade.

I ended up moving away from the school. Years later I began working at Angelo’s in high school and met a fast-talking Canadian guy who looked oddly familiar. I realized he wasn’t Canadian when he switched from potty-mouthed English to polite Polish while speaking with one of the kitchen ladies kitchen. It was Bart

By the way, the first Polish person I ever met was Mike S in kindergarten. I can’t recall his last name, but I remember it was difficult to pronounce.

I drop this little London anecdote into my travel blog to illustrate the strange place I grew up in, which was filled with friends whose families came form all over the world. Many of them, due to some immigration patterns beyond my comprehension, were Polish.

That is why out of all the places I visited here, including the Britain, Poland has felt the most like home.

I don’t understand the language, aside from a few cuss words, but when I heard it in Krakow, I thought, Oh yeah, I know those sounds, not the words, but the sounds those words make! It was actually an almost comforting sound to hear – until it was directed at me, which prompted my usual awkward stare and awkward shrug response.

That whole home feeling really came out when eating. For one thing, Polish food is damn good. Most of us know about pierogi and they’re great, but a life without potato pancakes is a life not lived. And while it took a few free cabbage rolls during my Angelo’s to fully appreciate them, my first Pączki was sweet, sweet sugary food love at first bite.

But it was in a homestyle restaurant in Krakow that really brought me back to little London. Kata and I ordered some kielbasa. Aside from some homestyle peanut butter I brought back with me from Canada, the kielbasa strangely that felt like Canadian comfort food to me. 

I just had to come to Krakow to get it.