Saying "Good-bye" is Never Easy

Saying "good bye" is never easy...it sounds so permanent. My heart says "ouch" when a person I have come to enjoy, admire and appreciate is leaving and moving away.

Such was the case this weekend in Warsaw with a special Scottish friend...Claire.
Below are Claire and me on her last day at the Marathon office in Warsaw.

Claire is an accountant for Marathon.  She is from Keith, Scotland and has worked for Marathon in its Aberdeen, Scotland office.

When Mark first arrived in Warsaw last February, he was in need of more help and the Aberdeen office loaned Claire to the Poland office.  Originally she was to be here for 3 months...but that 3 months turned into 11 months.  Lucky for Mark and Marathon in Warsaw!

This past Friday it was time for Warsaw to say "good bye" to Claire as her assignment in Warsaw ended, and she was returning to work in Aberdeen.  Mark presented Claire a Warsaw remembrance gift and said some very kind words about her work, dedication and contributions to Marathon in Poland.  Mark did a good job honoring her in front of the other co-workers. 

He also had fun giving Claire reminders of Poland in red and white - the Polish national colors.  He gave her a red and white lei, face paint for football (soccer) games, a Polish scarf, and two hats.

Claire has been a great assest to Marathon's Warsaw office and has done an excellent job getting the accounting work established here. I know she has made Mark's life at Marathon easier during this first kick off year. 

Personally I have come to know Claire as she has joined Mark and me on some of our family excursions....to the zoo...to movies...out to lunch and dinner. She has joined me on a few Warsaw Walks...and she has been a delight to get to know!  I will miss Claire.

Thanks for the memories....and being a part of our lives! 

June 2011....at a Water Fountain show at night.

Warsaw, Poland Zoo....August 2011

Marathon Christmas Party....December 2011

Holiday Brunch at our home....December 2011

Open Market in Warsaw.... January 2012

Walking across the Marie Curie bridge....March 2012

Bowling with Marathon Co-workers .... April 2012

No good-byes....for my special friend....only Do zabaczenia!  (See you later)

Now...Mark and I will need to plan a trip to Scotland!

Easter Monday

Happy Easter Monday in Poland

Dyngus Day or Wet Monday 

There is an old pagan-turned-Christian custom in Poland that on the Monday after Easter, young boys and men douse others with water...especially young ladies.  Girls are often chased and splashed from head to toe. 

Originally the custom was for a person to be cleaned before the spring season...but now it is just to bring good luck for a whole year....and a fun day for many!  (Does it seem like there are lots of goofy traditions around the world that are carried out in the name of good luck?)

Several weeks before Easter, grocery ads and stores and feature all kinds of water guns and water bottles used for soaking others.  Though Mark and I did not see any water splashings on girls or ladies...it was a great extra holiday with beautiful weather, and time together once again. 

Mark is leaving for Houston at the end of the week so he spent a good part of his "extra" day packing and working on Marathon business.  But we did make time for a few hours together...we had heard about a Mexican restaurant near our home...the Blue Cactus...so we found it using GPS, hoping it would be open on this holiday....

....and we were in luck!

In the U.S. chips and salsa usually come with the meal, but here in Poland you have to pay for both the chips and the salsa.  They were both quite tasty, especially the salsa, which was very fresh!

Here I am eating my first tortilla chip since having my braces off. I only had chips once in 2 1/2 years while wearing braces...so this was quite a treat for me! 

Mark and I shared our Mexican feast...ribs, enchilada, a soft taco, coleslaw, a tiny cup of beans, and a bit of salad. It was all very delicious!

One of the hostesses took our picture as we were exiting the restaurant.
We will return...hopefully with our children when they come for a visit in May!

The restaurant is on the edge of the Morskie Oko park.  It is a small, charming park and after eating we enjoyed a quiet, nice walk around the area.

We walked up to the main street Puławska, which also passes near our home, and saw that we could  easily take a tram from near our home to the park and down to the restaurant. 

The park was filled with people, children, dogs...and it was starting to get green!

There are nice walkways and a couple of large ponds also.

We came across what we thought was a small monument to the Warsaw Uprising.  I Google-translated the inscription on this monument....

"Here, at this time, the Warsaw Uprising

occurred from 1 August to 5 October 1944.

To the hundreds of innocent victims, eternal honor and glory.

Residents of Mokotów"

Mokotów is a region of Warsaw.  The Warsaw Uprising was an effort by its citizens to free themselves from German occupation during WWII.  They fought valiantly but not only were they defeated, but in retaliation the German army blew up nearly every building and home in Warsaw.

Another spring sight...an esplanade filled with pansies!   What beautiful sights to see now are beds and planters that are beginning to be filled in with spring flowers.

Our spring Easter Monday afternoon was filled with chilly air, but lots of sunshine and blue sky!

I love days like this....and what a nice bonus to enjoy it with Mark!

Easter Weekend in Warsaw

Wesołych Swiat

albo

Wesołego Alleluja! 

Happy Easter!

Our 3-day Easter weekend began on Saturday.  In Poland the Easter holiday is celebrated from Saturday to Monday.

On Saturday we decided that our weekend date would be a trip to a mall that we hadn't been to before - the Arkadia Mall.  It is in the northern part of the city and is the largest mall in all of central Europe.

I convinced Mark not to drive to the mall but to take a tram...a 5 minute walk from our home and then the tram would drop us off very close to the mall.

We are waiting for the tram dressed in our winter coats...and yes it is April 7th!

We were able to get on one of more modern types of trams...lucky for us....the more modern trams are clean and comfortable! This is how Mark usually goes into work each morning...on a tram. He likes to be able to see where he is going and the tram drops him off very close to his office. 

Easter is one of the most important holidays in Poland...there are many traditions, events, and special foods during this Easter weekend.

On Saturday (often called Holy Saturday), people take special baskets filled with mostly food items to the church to be blessed. While on the tram we saw people carrying their baskets into the church. 

After about 18-20 stops we arrived at the Arkadia Mall.  We learned that since this was the Saturday before Easter, the mall and most businesses would be closing by 4pm, and then be closed the rest of Saturday, all of Sunday, and all of Monday.

In Poland, when there is a national holiday...the people take it very seriously! I can't think of any holiday that would span 2 1/2 days in the United States!

Most malls we have been to in Warsaw are very large...with multiple floors and numerous stores.  There are over 220 stores in this mall. 

We arrived in time for lunch...and we noticed that although there were numerous restaurants to choose from in the food court, the longest lines were for the American chains such as KFC, Burger King and McDonalds!  But we chose spinach lasagna from a local shop we hadn't tried before.

I found The GAP...the only one in all of Poland! The GAP came to Poland last fall and I remember seeing large advertisements around the city announcing its arrival. When we found The GAP the mall was about to close so I will need to return again sometime. 

Another find....chocolate chips! We walked by an international food store, went in and started exploring....happy day when I found little tiny packages of chocolate chips! It will be fun to see how they work out in our cookie recipes.

Another find....The Grycan Lody shop!  Our favorite ice cream here is Grycan and we found a restaurant selling just ice cream and desserts.

I purchased a mint chocolate treat and Mark ordered a delicious Polish apple cake with vanilla ice cream!

Simply delicious!

Another sight...while I was looking at the mall information map, Mark snapped a picture of a man he thought was wearing odd attire - matching plaid trousers and sweater top.

We enjoyed exploring this mall for a few hours...and then headed over to a large, domed church we had seen in the distance while we were eating lunch.

We walked over to the church to see if we could see any other people bringing their baskets to be blessed.

We did see more people leaving the church with  their baskets (swieconka).

Inside these baskets are usually samplings of...salt, bread, sausage, butter (often in the shape of a lamb), ham, a candle, eggs, cheese, bacon, and colorful ribbons and sprigs of greenery. A linen or delicate cloth covers the top of the basket.

Here inside the church is the table where people are placing their baskets (swieconka) to be blessed. 
All the foods have symbolic Easter meaning and are blessed at the church, then taken home and saved until the Easter meal.

The church is next to a very old and very large cemetary. 

I later found out it is the oldest cemetary in Warsaw, and many famous Polish citizens are buried here. 

Next to, in front of and near the cemetaries are many different flower shops. Now that it is officially spring, there is even a greater abundance of flowers out for sale.

After visiting the church, we took the tram back home.  

Here are a few pisanki (Polish Easter eggs) in our home...the eggs are wooden and are  hand painted with bright colors.

The egg below is made of special hand cut stickers that cover the egg.

In so many shops, stores, windows, and restaurants one can see a variety of different lambs...I purchased a small ceramic lamb to remember our first Easter in Poland.

Wesołwego Alleluja!

On Sunday morning, we woke up to church bells ringing in our neighborhood...ringing continuously from 6:00 - 6:30 a.m. I told Mark they were calling people to church, and he said it was also proclaiming the good news of Easter.

Here we are on Easter morning....it was cold and we actually wore our winter coats to church! You can't tell...but it is actually snowing little flakes behind us! Ahhhhh....springtime in Warsaw!

Our church service was wonderful...remembering our Savior Jesus Christ and what he has done for each of us! Though our congregation was small....our time in church was very good and I left very thankful for my belief and testimony that Jesus Christ lives!

In Poland the most important meal of Easter is breakfast on Sunday morning.  I decided to have an Easter breakfast...but it would be American style and we would serve it in the afternoon after our church service.

I invited 8 missionaries who serve in our congregation to come for our Easter meal.  We served egg frittata, German pancakes (monsters), blueberry muffins, an assortment of yogurt, fresh fruits and homemade syrup.  Though not completely Polish, it was delicious!

We were so glad we could welcome these guests into our home for a few hours on Easter Sunday!

We ended our Easter Sunday making Skype connections with Melissa in D.C. and Jamie and Caroline in Houston. We love our Sunday evenings and the time we have to chat with our children!

We had a good first Easter in Poland!  Wesołych Swiat!