Sunday Mass

Sunday, July 12, 2015 

(Sorry this is only being posted now;  the internet was down this morning!)

It’s Sunday and we need to be ready to leave for mass by 9:00 if we plan to walk, or 9:20 if we drive.  We have a breakfast of bread with butter, herb cheese, meat, lettuce, tomato and cucumber slices with coffee.  Such a lovely way to start the day!  We are talking and the time gets away from us, so we drive to Swavek and Ania’s parish church.  We aren’t the last to arrive;  but we’re pretty close!

Even though the service is in Polish I know the rituals well enough to be able to follow what is going on.  It is interesting to note that there isn’t a single female among the officiants;  but the priest has a beautiful singing voice and his homily is delivered with sincerity and a lot of eye contact.  They use a rear-screen projector for the words to the hymns and I can follow along if you aren’t too picky about pronunciation!

After the service we discuss the differences between the Church in Poland and the United States, and we find that we are the last ones here, so I ask if it’s okay to take some photos and Swavek says it is.

There are three kitties who live on the grounds.

After church we head home and Bartek asks if he can have some of the left-over meringue cake.  After a taste test we agree that, although it is a bit shorter, it is also a bit sweeter with more of the strawberry flavor and is quite acceptable.  Everyone wants some!  We’ll have to wait a bit for lunch!!

What a feast is planned for lunch!  Swavek and Ania are preparing green beans from their garden at the farm, carrots from the garden, and yellow potatoes from the garden.  There are delicious chicken cutlets that are to die for, to accompany them. Everything is so fresh!!   Swavek also prepares parsley root to be used in a soup and wax beans for another time. 

Ania teases us that vegetables don't really come from the
ground unless they are dirty!  These have already been washed!

The choreography in the kitchen is fun to watch!
I understand that it isn't always so smooth.

It takes a while for the chicken to bake and by the time it’s ready we are ready to eat again!  Ania’s friend gave her the idea to prepare water by adding mint, lemon and cucumber to the pitcher.  It is so refreshing!  You can tell the food is good because silence falls and even the boys are quiet.  There also aren’t many leftovers!

After the table is cleared Marilyn begins trying to organize her family data.  I make her a diagram of the three family photos from yesterday with numbers for her to fill in with the person’s name.  Swavek is watching tennis from Wimbledon, but when Marilyn starts asking him questions, he gives up and the pair of them pore over the two reference books and the photos to get everyone identified.

In the meantime Ania and I are talking on the couch, solving both our countries’ health care problems.  Eventually Marilyn has it all straight and can entertain the idea of going out!  The boys certainly need to let off a little steam.  They have been on their best behavior since we met!

It is cloudy and threatening but we are undeterred.  Ania and Swavek want to show us the oldest cathedral and some other sites downtown and we are always ready to get up and go.  The cathedral is well worth a long trip, but this one isn’t more than ten minutes.  It is quite dark inside and Swavek pays for the lights in one of the side chapels to be turned on for a few minutes!  There are also tombs of Poland’s first kings and many historical markers.

 Outside we walk onto a pedestrian bridge that was moved to it’s current location when a new one was built further down the river.  It is adorned with many Locks of Love and from it you can see the new archeological museum, which documents Poland’s rich history.

It is raining lightly and we stop by the cars for rain gear and continue our walk around the cathedral and the surrounding area of down town.  Although most of the buildings are very old, there are some very modern ones intermingled with them.  And everywhere there are tram tracks.  Poland’s history is so filled with conquerors and desperate struggles for Independence that there are monuments everywhere.  Swavek’s knowledge of his country’s history is amazing, especially when you realize how far back it goes and how complicated Poland’s relationships have been with its neighbors!  One thing is abundantly clear;  no matter how atrocious Russia’s behavior has been and how difficult life was under the Communists, no country is more hated and despised by the Poles than Germany.  And rightly so!

Do you see the face?

This was Kaiser Wilhelm's palace, so, of course,
Hitler took it for his own.

Monument to Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement.

The music building of the university

The music university

 After our tour we come home and Ania and Swavek fix a light and luscious salad with lettuce from the farm and olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and cheese with a creamy garlic sauce that Ania made.  It is perfect with cherry tea and for a brief moment it is quiet while everyone enjoys dinner.  It is after ten when we clear the table.  Swavek has to get up for work at seven and we say our good-byes so the family can settle down for the night.

It will be so hard to leave this warm and loving environment.  When I told Michal that I was sure he would be happy to have us out from underfoot, he said that he would miss us!  True or not it is such a charming thing for a twelve year old to say!

Much as I’d like to finish this entry tonight, I just can’t do another four-hour night, so I’m now writing in the morning.  Saying ,“Good night” doesn’t work, so I’ll see you later!!