…you know, this summertime I got some experience of your country: there are still many things to take knowledge of, but I nearly found a piece of bursztyn on the Gdańsk seaside, I tried komary and jeziora in Kaszuby, I visited the magic red castle of Malbork and the new old town in Warszawa, I knew the salty ser and the wooden statues from Karpacz and the soft gόry above Szklarska; I saw many blocs chains and shopping centres in cities and I cooked kiełbasa on the ognisko…and I found out that Copernicus is not Italian but from Toruń, “robot” is a Polish word or that the Poles are the first herbata consumers in Europe!!
Yes, I had been travelling from the North to the South during a long one month trip, following the Wisła river up to the Odra one by train with open windows to the almost always flat view and collecting puzzles of life, recording memories; many people had been telling me their stories in the Polish history, a few private houses welcomed me to let me smell and taste true pieces of Poland: even I made pierogi and I knew a nice “stara maruda”. I asked for information po polsku as much as I could, I was singing turystyczne piosenki and drinking piwo i wόdka…to get in.
Valentina
