Slovakia and Poland - Christmas 2011

Christmas had crept up on us and before we knew it we were back in Poland for the festive season to spend it with Naomi’s extended family. But before the onslaught of family time we decided to take a break of our own and spend some time down south in the mountains, in the hope for an actual winter and European snow, as Berlin had not shown us any thus far!

We flew into Krakow for a night in the magical city. I love it when you have been to a city before and know your way around. We dropped of our bags and found our favourite little bar in the Jewish quarter. Excited by the Polish cuisine we over ordered like usual as our food cravings overtook our senses. Everything was so tasty from the Borscht with meat dumplings, Jewish caviar and honey roasted lamb leg all washed down with the local honey beer. We were entertained by the background gypsy band, and the whole moment was just what I wanted from a night in Krakow.

We were catching the afternoon train the next day and ventured to the old town first for a visit to the local ‘Bar Mleczny’, the old communist cafeteria style eatery, for a breakfast borscht followed by a visit to the Christmas markets. These were by far the best Christmas markets I had experienced in Europe in my time. After this discovery I really felt like it was Christmas time and was excited be the idea of a proper white one!

Hours later we arrived at our destination in Slovakia on the Polish border to our new home for the next few days – Zdiar – high in the Tatras mountains. This was perfect. Just what we needed and had wanted.

The town was totally covered in a blanket of white snow. We arrived late in the evening and hunger had set in and we were worried as the ghost town looked totally deserted and in a desperate need to find something to satisfy the hunger we were recommended to visit the infamous ‘Goulash Man’. 3 Euros later we were presented with a huge bowl of tasty homemade beef goulash that seemed to magically be delivered to us from a hole in the wall. The old man inside the facility had been dealing out portions of goulash since the war, and he knew his stuff.

We woke the next morning to the sound of pattering snow on the window of our snug bedroom and were presented with the most magical, amazingly breathtaking view of snow-caped mountains and immediately got the urge to layer up and wander around this winter wonderland. We took the house’s dog, Wally, for a walk through the forest, which was a good idea as he not only ended up taking us for a walk and guiding us in the right direction, but also lead us to the safety of a cute little Slovakian restaurant – a total replica of the Great Northern from Twin Peaks!

The open fireplace, copious amounts of Rum hot toddies, a good book and yet again more goulash (this time local deer with soft bread dumplings) made for the perfect afternoon. Our time was spent playing in the snow like children, snow fights, building snowmen, and lots of warm cuddles which made it hard to say goodbye to the minus 10 temperatures we were experiencing. Nevertheless, we said our goodbyes and took the overnight train to Warsaw and I dreamt the whole way about me and my snow bunny wife in the perfect start to our Christmas festivities.

We arrived into Warsaw and we were warmly greeted at the station by Naomi’s uncle Krystof. First stop on the agenda was the local farmer’s market to stock up on local supplies for Christmas. A Polish tradition explained to us after the purchase of some live carp was the whole ceremony from choosing the biggest healthiest stock, taking them home and preparing them for the next day. I was chief scaler, and a kitchen full of large fish scales later, we had the fish prepared and ready for consumption.

In Poland the Christmas traditions were very different to what I was used to in Australia. Obviously not having a warm one was an immediate difference for me. In Poland the main festivities are a big dinner and the opening of presents on the 24th (Christmas Eve) and the 25th and 26th were still used to force feed us with endless amounts of mouth-watering cuisine. A tradition we broke was the putting up and decorating of the tree as this is a man’s job! Naomi snuck her way into the decorating as we threaded and placed the wonderfully colourful decorated gingerbread shapes all over the tree.

The smell of the fresh pine tree mixed with the spicy gingerbread wafted through the house to imprint the idea of Christmas time. As Christmas should be, we spent our time eating well, drinking well and being totally spoilt by all the family on the first Christmas as husband and wife! Thank-you to the Krzyczkowskis and the Jankowskis for the perfect Christmas!

The Honeymoon – Mexico

On the plane to Mexico I think we just sat back relaxing and the past few days events came flooding back to me like I was in some kind of dream… I was married!!

Knowing this was reality, we landed in Mexico and made our way to the Caribbean coast to a small town called Tulum on the Yucatan peninsular and called this home for the next 8 days.

I don’t have much to write about, besides an ocean fronted beach hut – as beachfront as you can get when there is sand and hammocks at your front door step, relaxing, happy hour margaritas, endless amounts of amazing mouth watering Mexican cuisine and me and my new wife!!

Viva Las Vegas

I know the suspense is killing you and you’re wondering why, how, as if… Jake the experienced traveller possibly could miss his flight… well the secret is surely out by now.

The reason we ‘missed our flight’ home to Berlin is because, on our last night in New York I was sipping on my apple-infused old-fashioned in this pokey romantic bar in the ‘meat packing district’, reminiscing about the amazing past week we had just had in New York and how this was all to come to end tomorrow, when the waiter handed me a message that said “Let’s get married in Vegas”. At first I thought the waiter was trying to tell me something, until I noticed the handwriting and the smug grin on Naomi’s face and instantly the constant joking suggestions of how easy and amazing it would be to wed in Vegas turned into a reality!

Even though at first I thought ‘great joke Naomi’, it just started feeling right. We talked about it and decided, as amazing as it is to have the massive wedding with all your family and friends present and one million dollars in debt later, we came to the realisation that this is the most special moment in our lives and this one tiny moment should be experienced and shared with just us, and of course Elvis! It all just felt right and as much as there was the constant voice of Mumma Rita (being the angel on my shoulder of course) telling me it is not the traditional thing to do, I thought of how rules are made to be broken and this is actually my dream come true and we had no time to waste. It was now or never! We had to do it and we couldn’t expect our family and friends to pay all this money to share this with us overseas, so we decided to go for it and just have a huge wedding party when we return to Australia. I think I vouch for all when I say the reception is the best part of the wedding anyway!!

So we skulled the last of our swanky cocktails, jumped on the subway and got on the phone to change these flights. Flights changed, new ones booked to Las Vegas and no idea what we were actually doing, we told our new friends who we were staying with our sporadic idea and they were all for it and were so excited for us which helped to settle our nerves a bit. They were so lovely and supporting and made us a love bed on the floor of their gallery for one more night in NYC before our flight the next day to Viva Las Vegas!!

The whole plane ride I fought the gut wrenching nerves and kept on telling myself this was the right decision and how amazing to one day tell the grand children “Grandma and Grandpa got married by Elvis”!

We landed in ‘Sin City’ close to midnight, picked up our hire car and drove to the Flamingo Casino for our first night in this buzzing city.

We woke up in the morning and decided to make some rough plans. As easy as it sounds to walk in and get hitched, we still needed to know what we were doing! So we jumped in the car and drove out of the city for a drive along Route 66. We were headed to the Grand Canyon for a night of sightseeing and a chance to think and plan without the distraction of the lights and noises of Vegas!! The drive was so magical and the whole experience was just so special. Driving and stopping in hick ghost towns, eating buffalo burgers at an amazing diner called Road Kill and the romance of the Grand Canyon at sunset. The day’s events slightly calmed the nerves and helped us decide and plan the most important day of our lives!

Back in Vegas I managed to hook us up with possibly one of the best deals I have secured for myself in my travel agent life – I sweet-talked our way into an upgrade to the penthouse spa suite of the MGM Grand Casino with the most breath-taking view over the strip and the never-ending desert of Nevada. We took a visit to the marriage registry office, signed up for my new title as Naomi’s husband, chose our chapel and our Elvis and walked in and said our “I do’s” and sealed the deal which made me the happiest man in the world to have the most amazing beautiful and caring wife for the rest of my life. The whole experience was a dream come true and I am glad the beans have been spilled and everyone knows our news and I can happily tell the world Naomi Jankowski (Cassar!) is my wife!!! – Sorry Mum you can now maybe understand how it just happened! xx

See more Wedding photos on the photographers blog - Aussies tie the knot Vintage Vegas style {Naomi + Jake}