BOOK & BLOG

March 29, 2010

Blog

The next stretch of our trip was Poland. Paula and I had no idea what to expect. On the way there we got scolded for being late to board our flight in Austria, where we had to change planes. Being scolded is never fun, and when you’re in your fifties, it becomes even less so. The airline employee told us very sternly that if we’d been ONE MORE MINUTE getting there, she wouldn’t have let us get on the plane. We felt suitably chastised. But we did get on the plane and we did get to Krakow, our first Polish stop. We were met by the fabulous Greg Zielinsky, our interpreter, hired by my Polish publisher, MAG.

Greg was one of the most helpful people I’ve ever met. He dealt with our luggage, coped with our questions, and explained Polish food to us in great detail. (Due to Paula’s onion allergy, this was more than a polite duty.) Greg’s English was great and his knowledge was broad. He knows Polish history, cooking, social customs, and how to deal with middle-aged American women. He and his wife are also expecting their first baby, which may have put Greg in a better mood than he would have after carting us around in the cold.

Here’s the deal about Poland. It’s cold in March. And I’m not just saying nippy. People there wear ankle-length coats for a reason, and it’s not a fashion statement. It snowed when we got off the plane. When we walked out of the other side of the building, it had quit. And that was the pattern of our stay in Poland. There are doubled-over duvets on the beds, which you sleep in as though you were the filling in a taco. And the beds were very low to the floor, at least the ones we saw in our first more Polish-style hotel, the Modern.

Anyway, back to Krakow. It’s old, it’s fabulous, and Greg was the guy to show us how wonderful it was. Poland has seen so many invaders and border changes in its struggle for existence that many influences have washed across it, and the people have had to struggle right along with the country. The parks are great, the very old churches are incredibly beautiful and touching, and the chocolate; well, if you haven’t gone to Wedel’s, you haven’t tasted heaven. You can drink chocolate there, and it’s pretty close to a divine experience. Chocolate with ginger, chocolate with chili, chocolate with . . . well, you get the idea.

Also, Poland is a big amber producing company, and there are lots of jewelry shops that sell wonderful amber items. I looked in a lot of windows until Greg pointed out that at some point I would have to go inside. So I did. Wait till you see the necklace I got.

After my signing at Empik, which went very well (had to learn some new letters for the alphabet to inscribe names!) we went to Warsaw. We stayed in a more American style hotel, the Sheraton, and we were able to do all my interviews in the big room on the club floor. My Polish publicist from MAG, Kasia (also the wife of MAG’s founder), kept her stylish self busy ferrying one journalist after another up to the room, and with almost no exceptions these journalists were very polite and spoke very good English.

Warsaw itself, very nearly completely destroyed in WWII, is rebuilding in a hurry. It’s a place that can laugh about Communism, to our astonishment, and we had an interesting dinner at a place called The Red Pig. The menu (and English menus are usually available on request) was divided in to Proletariat and Commisar dishes, if I’m remembering correctly, and the food and service were very good, though some dishes required explanation. I had an equally busy signing in Warsaw at another Empik, and I was impressed with the very professional staff.

I hate to compress Poland so much, because we really had a wonderful time there. Greg arranged for us to tour the Wadislaw Palace, and that was an amazing experience. But next week, on to England!

Charlaine Harris