Eastern Poland

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We have just come back from the trip to Eastern Poland to visit family. It was refreshing to contemplate the beautiful nature, seeing storks build their nests, watching people observe their traditions, enjoy the slower pace of life and things done the old way.

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I have brought lots of impressions and very probably a couple of extra kilos - just look at all this food! :D

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Food is important for the Slavic people - it is a tradition, it is good, and you HAVE to eat! The table for a modest occasion can look like this:

Sometimes it seems amazing that Northern Poland where I live now and Eastern Poland which is about 450km away is the same country. Eastern Poland is so much more like Belarus - home! It was quite hard for me to be just 50km away from Belarus and not drop in. Borders and residence permits make life too complicated :(

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And I just can't skip mentioning this cafe we stopped by in the middle of our 6 hr drive back to Gdansk - a place we visit every time we travel East. The building is an old mill which is filled with old traditional furniture (I was fascinated by old lamps and lamp-shades)...

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...hand-crafted goods...



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(I just had to buy this little cute pin cushion)

...and one can try lots of typical dishes from the region there.

Yet the coffee is served 'modern' :)

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All images by Arek

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome home, Olga!

Thanks for letting me travel with you. The pictures remind me a bit of Switzerland. But so much food ....

Agneta

SkyTrail said...

Hello Olga. How’ve you been? :)
Thank you for fantastic photos. I could enjoy the beauty of Poland!

玲奈、怜奈、玲菜、レナ、れな All these words are called Lena. It’s a typical female name in Japan. Olga, I have a question. Is Lena a usual name in Belarus or Poland? I’m interested in this coincidence.

I’ll have to change my mother-board. :(
Have a nice day. :)

JuanitaTortilla said...

Incredible pictures, Olga!Oh my, the spread and table setting -- how inviting!!!
I can certainly see why you guys make that special stop to that cafe. It's really lovely. If only I could visit it in person. Will you take me there? :D

Floss said...

What a wondeful glimpse of the area, Olga - thanks so much! There are so many details to the traditional way of life - the food, the crafts, the general welcoming feel, it seems. Thanks - that was great!

Michela said...

..and you say "modest"??? That display of food looks amazing!
I don't know why, but when I think of Poland, my mind thinks of grey, very dark colours and cold weather, but it's only a stereotype. Thank you for sharing some interesting bits of the country you live in :)

Olga said...

@ Sky Trail:

I'm so glad you are back, Masa! :)Yes, Lena is a very typical name in Belarus and Russia, not so much in Poland (it's rare). I was surprised it's also Japanese. Bu there is this strange migration of names from country to country, for example Olga and Ivan are really popular in Spain although they are not Spanish.

@ Juanita Tortilla: of course we would!

@ Michela: 'modest' because the occasion wasn't very big ;)

Διάττων said...

Dear Olga, you have a great ability to make us travel every time you upload such wonderful photos!

Oh, i had a look on these photos with the food! What delicious dishes Olga!