Happiness in Small Things

I have lived in Poland for 9 months, and over and over again I am finding that "happiness" for me is found and felt in the small things that fill my days.

Signs of Spring

Window washers climbing across the buildings. They actually looked like colorful

ants. I was on a "Warsaw Walk" and it was quite a blustery day...but these busy men were doing spring cleaning!

Wild flower sightings on my walk home. Now there are actually purple flowers beside the yellow ones! 

Tables and chairs, soon to be joined by umbrellas, on the patios and sidewalks.

We haven't seen this in 6 months....Looking forward to eating outside again!

Dessert served with a fresh carnation on top...the dessert was delicious, though I only had one bite.  Mark loved the cake, berries, and creamy topping with sliced almonds. 

Small Moments in Warsaw

Last Saturday Mark and I spent a good part of the day at my Polish language school. One of the activities was learning how a few Polish dishes are made.  Above, the cook is demonstrating how to make Mazurek cake - an Easter tradition in Poland.  It was delicious! I loved her wooden mixing board too!

This may look like a normal underground mall parking lot...but what we think are so cool are the red and green lights above every parking space. Most in this picture are red, indicating that the space is full.  When a car leaves, the light turns green, to indicate an open space - you can see a few green lights at the far end on the right side.  What a time saver, and so helpful too!

"Happiness" truly is when you can find a parking space.  Outside of parking garages it is usually difficult to find a place to park...even for small cars like our Skoda.  Mark found one behind a tree....with the front tires in an empty planter!

Dinner and Fireworks

Last Saturday evening, one of Mark's co-workers, Grzegorz and his fiancee Gosia invited the Accounting group to dinner at their apartment.  We had a delicious meal of cream of pepper soup, gołąbki (go-wohmb-ky - stuffed cabbage), and marble cake. 

Then we set out across the new Marie Curie bridge that spans the Vistula River. The bridge opened to traffic the following day.  It was a brisk evening but we enjoyed the 4 K walk.

Pictured above: back row: Brandon (Houston), Jim (Scotland), Grzegorz (Poland),

front row: me, Claire (Scotland), and Gosia (short for Małgorzata - Poland).

In celebration of the opening of this bridge there was a great fireworks show!

We stood directly under the fireworks display...neither Mark nor I had ever been so close to fireworks before, and spectators probably wouldn't be allowed so close in the U.S....but it was a beautiful show celebrating the 8th bridge to cross the Vistula River in Warsaw!

Another Day in Old Town...

The last time I ventured to Old Town was when I took a tour of the Royal Palace (the building above).  It was in January, when snow covered the ground, and the square in front of the palace was still and quiet.  

Now look at that green grass....we know spring is right around the corner!

What brought me back this time was a 2 hour tour with members of my Polish Literature Group.

The gentleman above is Mark Krawzynski, and he led the walk around Old Town. His father was one of the architects who designed and oversaw the reconstruction of Warsaw after WWII.  It was a remarkable undertaking, as 80% of Warsaw was destroyed by Hitler in 1944, in retaliation for the failed uprising against German occupation.

The Warsaw that the Germans destroyed was over 700 years old.  Much of it...especially the Old Town...was reconstructed in just a few years.  

When the elder Krawzynski refused to spy on his friends and colleagues for the communist regime, his career came to an abrupt end.  So the Krawzynski family emigrated to Australia in 1959, when Mark Kawzynski was 10 years old.  Nearly 50 years later Mark returned to Poland, where he has created a fabulous documentary of Warsaw and his family's story. It was great to hear about Warsaw and Old Town from his family's perspective.

Here is a little statue that is also in the Uprising Museum that Mark and I visited a few months ago.  It is controversial because children did not really bear arms, though they were certainly exposed to the cruelties of the conflict.  But youths of 12-14 years were used to help deliver messages around the city during the Uprising.

Another Warsaw monument....

....to Jan Kiliński.  He was a shoemaker by profession, and is remembered for his heroism and patriotism in leading an earlier Warsaw Uprising - in 1794 against Russia. 

Restaurants and Good-byes...

We went to a new restaurant near our home this past week...Stary Dom (Old Home). The Polish food and atmosphere were great...but we especially enjoyed sharing the evening with special friends.

Ross and Jean Richards have completed an 18-month mission of church service in Poland.  We were so blessed to get to know them when they were assigned to our congregation in Warsaw.  Most recently they had been living in Poznan, but returned to Warsaw before leaving for Las Vegas, U.S. on Friday.  A few of their friends enjoyed dinner with them and said our good-byes.

Pictured above: Elder Ross Richards, Elly (in a comical pose), and Sister Jean Richards. 

I love all of these women who are beside me...Gosia (Poland),

Elly (England), and Jean (Las Vegas). 

I have come to appreciate, enjoy and learn much from these ladies!

Pictured L-R:  Mark, myself, Emmanuel and Gosia, Dominik, Elder Ross and

Sister Jean Richards, and Elly.

As we were leaving the restaurant...the desserts from their bakery next door were spread out on tables and in glass cases...they all looked scrumptious! 

Here we are pictured with the Richards in early March at the Poland church conference in Warsaw.  We have been enriched by their friendship, their kindness and the love they have given to all in Poland.

We will miss this wonderful couple....how lucky we are to have come to know and cherish Ross and Jean Richards!