Recently, I had beautiful moment in Poland that really struck me. It was also the first time I’d really started to appreciate the Capital of Culture. Each year, two different European cities are selected as “capitals of culture,” and they celebrate by holding different cultural events, highlighting literature, art, music and other performances. I was... Continue Reading →
Wszstykie krasnalowe: all the female dwarfs
When I first moved to Wrocław, right away I noticed the dwarves: sitting on windowsills, hanging from lampposts, swimming in fountains. Part delightful whimsy, part tourist attraction, the dwarves are little statues that are placed all over the city— and their numbers are slowly increasing. Some are sponsored by the city, some are privately owned—... Continue Reading →
Lost in translation: buying spices in a foreign language
Cumin is a key spice in one of my favorite dishes— red lentil köfte. But it’s a bit trickier to translate, unlike sol and pieprz, the Polish words for salt and pepper. When cooking red lentils recently, I’d bought what Google Translate said cumin was in Polish: kumin. Hooray for easy to remember Polish words!... Continue Reading →
Return to Wrocław
Sometimes, a holiday needs to be just that— a holiday— and so I spent my five days off around Easter back in Poland, re-visiting my favorite vegetarian restaurants, photographing the city’s dwarfs, and getting some writing and reflection done in coffee shops. Ok, I’ll admit: sometimes I feel like exploring a whole new city. Others,... Continue Reading →
Enjoying the springtime in Wrocław
I had no concrete plan in going to Wrocław, other than I wanted to go to Poland because I’m part Polish. And I lucked out— a lovely spring weekend, flowers blooming, and timing that always worked. The forests on rolling hills I saw on the train ride reminded my of the places where fairy tales... Continue Reading →