USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

Well, the week's done and I'm back. My trip was udany(successful) and I'm almost ready to report. All I've got to do is gather my thoughts and pictures.

To those, who have been following me and offering helpful suggestions these past months, I thank you once again. Your tips came in handy. As you know I was very nervous prior to my trip. Most of you told me to stop worrying and enjoy the journey. You all were right! As soon as I landed in Wrocław, my nervousness turned quickly into excitement. In the next few days I'll give an account of my trip. Thanks.

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

The time has come. The eve of my flight back to Poland after a quarter of a century's absence! I'm nervous. I spoke with my cousin for the first time ever yesterday. It was a surreal experience. He sounds like a young version of my father! I plan on spending a few days in Wrocław just walking around my old haunts weather permitting. Then my cousin will drive from Zabrze to pick me up. The drive back will give us about three hours to just talk. I do my best talking in a car :) I decided not to bring my laptop so I will report back in about a week. To those of you, who have patiently "listened" to me whining - I thank you. I also want to thank those of you, who answered my many questions. You should know that I'll be taking a lot of your advice and acting on it.

Do następnego razu!

Food / Coffee in Poland: cheap and undrinkable / expensive and good [89]

Would bringing coffee be a good present? Don't want to insult anyone.

History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

Ogórek works. We Americans gave it that moniker(kiełbasa).

The Pewex
Nothing epitomized the schizophrenia of everyday Polish life more than the Pewex store. Short for Przedsiębiorstwo Eksportu Wewnętznego- Internal Export Company*, the Pewex system was a 24-7, in-your-face reminder to the average Pole, that the communist system which had promised to provide for all their needs had failed them. In the 1970's hard currency eg. US dollar, West German Mark, was desperately needed to help pay back loans taken by an overly ambitous Edward Gierek. The PRL brain-trust devised an exceptionally cynical solution to the problem: sell everything of value (cars, vodka, tractors, TVs, ham, etc) to the West for dollars and sell those same items to the Poles only for hard currency in the Pewex stores (hence Internal Export)..........The hypocrisy was not lost on us. On the one hand, the communist party was pounding the masses with the message " The PRL will take care of all your needs from cradle to grave" but on the other they seemed to be saying "so long as those needs don't include an apartment, a car, a washing machine, food, vitamins..." You get the idea.

My first Pewex experience was in Krakow on ul Piastowska. It was a big two storey modern-looking affair, which stood out from its drab grey soot-covered neighbors. Conveniently, a tram/bus stop was situated immediately in front of it. Besides the modern architecture and convenient access by mass transit, this Pewex also had "greeters" waiting for you. They were always short, seedy-looking men clad in leather jackets, who would oft times open the door for you and ask "chenge mahnee"?

Once inside you immediately knew you were in some place special. The shelves and racks were stocked with colorful new-looking items: sweaters, skirts, shirts, perfumes, make-up, ties, vodka,scotch, cigarettes and much, much more. We initially felt guilty buying stuff there but after 6 months we got over it. From then on until my departure in '85, the Pewex was a frequent shopping destination especially during the "nie ma days".

NB. there was even an "Auto Pewex" in Wroclaw, where I once bought some paint for my "garbus". That's another story.

* leave it to the commies to come up with the concept of "internal export". How's that for an oxymoron!! Come to think of it, life in those days was very oxymoronic.

Hahaha!
I just saw a Polish commercial for M&M's. The word menu(phonetically something like men-yeee) was used. What happened to jadłospis?

During the PRL days I never, ever heard the word menu!
I know, I know language changes and is a fluid thing. Got it.
When I came for a vist last year I also didn't see the word jadłospis written nor spoken.
Why?
I find it funny, that's all.

Real Estate / How to get my property back in Poland? I left 36 years ago. [59]


Burned all your bridges did you?

History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

Beleive it or not, we brought it all "en masse". The transfer process was way too cumbersome, took too much time (weeks) and we didn't trust it. I don't remember now how much exactly I brought with me but I think a thousand dollars for the entire year would've sufficed (barring any large purchases eg car).

History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

The Money Changers
I was soon to learn that this commie economy was a sham. The dirty truth was that it really ran on twarda waluta (hard currency). It turned out that nobody wanted the Polish zloty. NOBODY. Everybody lusted after the US Dollar, British Pound, German Mark, etc (not necessarily in that order). Hard currency, in other words, was any denomination NOT Warsaw Pact-related. Rubles, East German Marks, and Hungarian forints were pecunia non grata . You see, the real commerce of that day took place in the shadows of public life. Say you needed a new battery for that Syrena you've been driving around. Pay for it in dollars and you got it. Pay in złots (our nickname for złotys) and you might have to wait. And this was way before the "nie ma" days! The Poles knew what was coming.

Hard currency made the Polish world go round. Everyone asked you if you were selling dollars - everyone. The babcias in the stolówka asked. The lobby man asked. Your Polish student neighbor in the dorm asked. Everybody asked!

So it should have been no surprise when short, seedy-looking Polish men, smoking Marlboros, clad in nice leather jackets pestered you on the Rynek. These buggers were worse than the Gypsies for chrise sake! If you looked like a foreigner - "chenge mahnee"? Say something in English to a friend, "chenge mahnee"? These diminutive pains-in-the-asses with greasy hair were everywhere! As soon as you'd shoo one away another one came to bother you. They were tenacious as gnats. They grew more irritating as the years went by. I almost hit one at the Pan Am office in Krakow during my last year.

We were warned early on not to deal with them because you'd get ripped off or worse - arrested. That's what we were told and we listened.

Family
One of my reasons for coming to Poland was to finally meet my family on my father's side. All the aunts, uncles and cousins whom I wished lived near me in New Jersey, would finally be "meeted n' greeted" while in Poland.

I don't remember how our meeting came about. Whether I called them (I doubt that because my Polish was very bad) or wrote them (more likely) whichever way, I found myself on a "kiełbasa bus" bound for Rybnik one September Friday night.

The bus was odd, loud, smelly of diesel fumes and full of people. I was anxious. My Polish was really bad and I was scared I would miss my stop ( I forgot that Rybnik was the end of the line - "koniec jazdy"). That night I recall as chilly and dark- very, very dark. I was not accustomed to the deep darkness of the Polish countryside. I mean it was black! No such thing as light pollution back then.

Rybnik PKS was nothing special. The walking directions I got from somewhere brought me to ul Rudzka. "This is the place". After 22 years I'm finally going to see, touch, hear people who are related to me; of whom I had just heard of in stories. Up until now they were an abstraction. Now I will literally be coming face-to-face with them! My heart was beating a mile -a-minute. I heard it in my ears. A deep breathe and I knocked on the door. After what seemed like a long time a stout lady, with rosey cheeks, who looked a lot like my father, opened the door, screamed my name, like she knew me forever giving me one of the best hugs of my life. The rest is a blur. A man, another man, then another man all shook my hand saying something like nice....see you...nice...your father.....I remeber smiling a lot and nodding. The last person to welcome me was my aunt Marta. Her words(which I had previously heard many times before in Kraków) are forever etched in my memory. While kissing my cheek this Silesian ciocia with the gold bicuspid whispered in a slow, deep voice "masz dolary?"

• 
  the one on the left is the bus
  

History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

Bar Mleczny

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]


I still remember the kisses. It was also to the count of three. I think I will kiss her on the cheeks and forgo the hands.

Food / What's your favorite Polish beer? [870]

My cousin tells me I should try Warka STRAG when I get to Poland. Has anyone tried this?

Law / Starting a car junkyard in Poland [27]

Keep us posted Moose! I'm sure there's a lot of us, who would find your adventure interesting.

Travel / Would I have to worry about organ thieves when traveling into Poland alone? [36]

Wow! Even I never thought about organ thieves ;)

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]


Thanks Scottie! No what is Cooks?

That's right! I've got another question :) When greeting my heretofore-never-met ciocia do I kiss her cheeks, kiss her hand, hug her all of the above? (maybe kiss her arse while I'm at it eh!)lol

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

Thanks. It's good to know but I'm flying into Wrocław from Frankfurt. :)

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]


You're right Z. I used to be a care-free traveller. It appears the older I get, the more hung-up I become on details- "be prepared" and all that. I've got my plane ticket and my hotel room. That's enough to start right? OK. Deep breathes, imagery; I'm better now. Thanks. I neede that :)

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

thanks. I know exactly where. How about calling for cabs? Does that work?

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I'm going October 4 - 12. I'll try to do a running commentary as I go along. I've got such butterflies!

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

You know I will! I'm only going for a week though.

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

LOL! Zman you really got my number! Scared is too harsh BUT I am really nervous. Dude, I haven't been back in a very long time and I don't know what to think. I know I must sound like a little girl :)

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

noted
thanks

Can one get a cab near the Rynek after midnight in Wroclaw?

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

thank you!

Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]


Nutria?

Travel / Any Hooters in Poland? [28]


Oh that is funny! Catholic vs pagan wings. lol

USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I did, I did. Thank you! I haven't booked yet. I don't why I'm procrastinating.

Is there such a thing as a tram map for Wrocław? I hope to "tour" the town reacquainting myself by tram.

History / An American studying medicine in the PRL 1978-1985: my story [142]

There were no cranberries in Poland. The best we could do was sos porzeczkowy.......In a nutshell: we went to the nearby hotel and spoke with the manager ( can you imagine?) about the turkey, trimmings, etc. We returned a couple of times to check the progress. On Thanksgiving Day there was turkey and trimmings, albeit Polish ones, and Americans. We ate, drank and celebrated our holiday in splendid fashion trying hard not to feel the deep ache of homesickness that all of us were feeling.

Now we'll eat ham!
I don't remember exactly why I was on the Rynek that October 16, 1978 but I was. I remember being inside the Sukiennice and looking out onto the Rynek at the Kościól Mariacki (St Mary's Church) end. Heretofore, one didn't see groups of clergy walking together. They usually walked alone or in pairs. On that day I noticed as odd, groups of priests and nuns coming onto the square. Soon there were lots of them along with other folks. Most had smiles on their faces (another odd feature) and an unseen before spring in their step. The crowd was definitely into something both PT and I clearly were not. We started hearing Wybrali papierza. Wybrali papierza! "Hey PT they picked this guy Papierz, but for what and why the commotion"? Too bad we didn't know what the Polish word for pope was. We continued walking around the Rynek, watching the happy Poles and hearing about this papierz guy.

When we arrived at the dorm we were met by another yank, who told us what all the excitement was about.....I smiled at our Portier, Pan Jan, who smiled back and called after me "Zobaczy Pan, teraz będziemy jedli szynkę!" (Now we'll eat ham)

Kabanosy
My first month in country was, to say the least, painful. The homesickness was intense - an ache so deep, so all encompassing at times, especially at night, it became incapacitating. You can become very sad during those moments. You begin to question yourself- why, why, why?......About 6 weeks into it I got a note from Pan Robert the lobby-man telling me a gentleman was waiting for me in the lobby. Wow! What's this about? The KGB already! (we were Very paranoid back then). The dorm I was in had a grand staircase that descended into the lobby. One could make a grand entrance on those stairs if one so wished. So off I went, descending down those stairs excited as hell! At the bottom stood a distinguished looking man, suit-and-tie, glasses, holding a large oblong package. We shook hands, bowed; he began to speak. "My name is Doctor so and so", he continued telling me he's a veterinarian somewhere na Śląsku(Silesia) and that my father had asked someone to ask someone to ask him to visit me and bring me some kabanosy. He presented me with this 10-pound package of semi-dried kabanosy (those of you, who are familiar with this Polish delicacy can understand my excitement). I accepted the gift gratefully, thanked him profusely and returned to my room feeling high like I was loved and not forgotten. The delicious smokey sausages reminded me of the folks back home and helped me forget how much I missed them.

USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]

just doesn't sound right ;)

USA, Canada / Why are Polish restaurants not successful in the USA? [698]


I love your imagery! LOL There's something about ground meat wrapped in cabbage. It's hard to mess up :)
What Polish soul food needs is a Steve Jobs-type to make it cool and hip - like sushi.

Life / How do Polish people in Poland respond to Polish people abroad....? [17]


Yes. It worked for me!

Language / Wedding day talk - common sayings or interesting phrases? [11]


Are you serious? Please don't make this potentially fatal mistake. Make your mother-in-law your ally. Mamusia plays a very potent role in the Polish family. Spare yourself a lot of grief and heartache(I'm speaking from personal experience). It's a battle that's not worth the fight. There will be no winners.....( I know I sound hysterical. I'm just trying to impress upon you how serious I am) :)

History / Question on Poland 1980-82 (the history of Solidarity during the years of 1980 and 1981) [17]

I was in Wroclaw on that day. I was too scared to join the brave ones demonstrating on Plac Grunwaldski. My wife and I came after the fact to gawk at the ZOMO and breathe in the expended tear gas.