Our 1st year in Poland

Happy First Year Anniversary to Us....The weekend of February 4-5 was significant for as it marked the "First Year Anniversary" of the Pickett's in Poland!  Mark has lived here for one year and though we both have not lived here a year...Poland has been a part of our lives and family for one year!

I remember vividly flying into to Warsaw Feb. 2011...nervous...and excited to be having this adventure with Mark.

I remember having a great week together...working to find a place to live and helping Mark to get settled into his hotel/home, attending church, shopping and enjoying my first trip to Europe experience! It was a quick week and I was very sad to see it come to an end. 

To think we have been here one full year is very exciting! We have learned and experienced so many things since moving here.  We are so thankful for this wonderful opportunity.

Why do we like being in Poland ?

We absolutely love our home, our landlord and neighborhood. Even though we climb 80+ stairs daily to get out of the neighborhood and 50 stairs in our home...we get aerobic exercise just being here!

The summer and fall seasons are fabulous...beautiful weather, green trees, flowers everywhere...I haven't been here in the spring...but I look forward to it. 

We are having a beautiful winter! It is freezing cold...but there are so many blue sky, sunny days (very unusual for Warsaw)...how lucky for us to be here at this time.

I get to learn a very difficult language!  I am learning a little more each day and I do like my Polish lessons...I read, think, and hear Polish daily. I even turn on the children's cartoons to hear Polish while at home and cleaning. This has to be good for my brain! 

We love the food here...the restaurants are many and there is always such a great selection. We think the food is quite inexpensive here..both in grocery stores and restaurants. 

I get to visit Mark at his work and have lunch or dinner together weekly...that used to happen only during the summer or holidays for us previously. 

I have had a great orthodontist here in Poland...she is thorough and takes detailed care of my mouth. I am so pleased because that was one of my original "worries" in moving here. 

We are taking advantage of opportunities to travel in Europe. A year ago I had never been to Europe and now ... here we live. We have a trip planned for Munich Germany this month and in April a trip to Amsterdam! 

So...how did we celebrate our First Year In Poland Weekend? 

We learned about Poland!

We went on a "field trip"/date to the Warsaw Uprising Museum...this place tells the story of Warsaw citizens and how for 2 months they tried to fight against the German Occupation during WWII ...it is a courageous and yet sad story...and told very well at the museum.

We bundled up wearing our Prague hats...I drove to the museum and Mark was the navigator. We were grateful for a parking place close by...the short walk was nice because it was very cold! Even inside the museum we wore our jackets! 

This little statue of a young child holding a weapon is a model of a much larger statue that is in the city of Warsaw. Throughout the city there are a number of statues erected in memory of this period of time in Poland...the Warsaw Uprising.

This room is filled with a number of children's toys and displays about how families tried to keep their children's lives fun and enjoyable through this very difficult time.

We took a self guided tour and  thought it would take only 2 hours but for us... it took 4 hours. There was so much to learn, see and hear .... the museum gave us  a greater appreciation for living here in Poland.

Here is a display of original arm bands worn by some of the Polish soldiers.

This is a model of another statue in Warsaw...honoring the people who lived, fought and died during this time. I wasn't sure if it was appropriate to smile.

This is a small model of the destruction of Warsaw...though it is difficult to see.

Warsaw was practically destroyed during this time.  When the citizens began to fight back against the German occupation...Hitler was determined to destroy all that was dear and precious to the people.

It is a sad story...but a story of courage as well.

Many people traveled through the underground sewers like the picture above in order to hide and get from one part of the town to another. The sewers were much smaller and of course extremely, cold, dark and dirty!

Here I am again in this little children's room...I decided I would smile next to this statue.

After 2+ hours of learning we were hungry...there was a little 1940s cafe where we ate some delicious treats...as seen in the case below. We chose Ciasto Babuni (like an apple pie) and Pychotka  a berry like cheese cake. Their pies and cheese cakes are quite different here but we like them!

We learned for another few hours and towards the end of the museum I saw this quote.

It wasn't until later that I realized it was said by US President Ronald Reagan. 

 

Mark is standing outside the entry of the museum after our 4 hour visit.... 

It was a great 4 hours of learning at the Warsaw Uprising Museum  I thought it fitting for us to have a "Polish" activity on this weekend..

When it came to having a late lunch we went to a new Polish restaurant... Folk Gospoda!

It was fabulous! I enjoyed my warm soup and bread and Mark enjoyed a potato pancake with some kind of meat in it.

Mark said it was one of the best meals he has ever had in Poland! 

 We had a good Saturday....celebrating our first anniversary in Poland...we continue to learn, and experience so much each day we are here!