Thursday 5 April 2007

easter


It is 11pm at night. In four hours I have to get up. We are driving 500ks west to spend Easter with my parents (aka The Jaskies – in translation The Johnnies, my dad’s name in a diminutive) and are dropping off Michal’s boss at the airport in Katowice – an industrial mining town that still happens to accommodate late flights to Rome for the Easter break. I shouldn’t be writing. I should be in bed sound asleep. But tonight is Wednesday, official day of the Slav version of the Crafties (an ideological concept that actually works, developed by Tabitha – noseyinnewtown - for women friends to meet and make super cool shit) and I wanted to throw in my final two cents before I disappear for the long weekend.

We’re heading to Debno, the town my dad was born in and the place where I get to see a lot of people that look like me. It’s small but cozy. And finally I will get to view the house my parents bought and renovated. It was a bitch, but somehow they managed to convince the local tradesmen to work for the Polish zloty (Debno is on the German border). Plus I will get to eat a zillion dishes made from herring. The salty substitute has almost made me forget the taste of prawns. Almost. But most importantly Michal and I will get to hang with my parents. It’s been too long. Five bottles of wine are packed for the long weekend (two from Italy brought over by Michal) and my mum’s favourite mayonnaise – she couldn’t get it in Debno – and one kilo of Ethiopian coffee (again, impossible to get over her way). Feeling quite the merchant coming to exchange goods. I’m sure we will return with radishes, raspberry jam and what not.

The Easter pics are from the Krakow market square. The sheep, well the lamb really, is the Easter icon here. Yes. It has huge Catholic connotation (sacrifice etc etc), but also manages to keep the cute and cuddly effect. The baskets are big on Saturday. You fill them with food and have them blessed in church.

Hope you all have an excellent Easter with plenty of goods in all your baskets!


2 comments:

Tabitha said...

That's quite an impressive pile of baskets! It reminds me of the pile of slippers from an earlier post. They like to pile things in Krakow.

I hope you had a lovely Easter with the Johnnies, and that you over-consumed. I just had a Lindor chocolate egg for breakfast.

Anonymous said...

stinki mate, i think easter is the perfect occasion to post some pics of glorious polish food (hope you took the camera to your folks!) the thought came to me as i spent most of this weekend munching on buckwheat, rolled up meat things with gherkin and bacon inside and pickled wild mushrooms on the side! delish!