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!