Dzien Dobry from Poland.......

Dzein dobry, (jane dob ray) or good morning from Poland. Today we are in the beautiful city of Poznan in western Poland. While I expected this to be a tiny place, Poznan is actually the 5th largest city in the country with a population of around 600,000. Known for its universities and colorful Old Town, there is also another hidden secret about this place. Poznan is famous for its croissants and even has a museum here dedicated to these sweet delights. 

But unlike its French counterpart, the St. Martin's croissants are folded 81 times. Between each layer the baker spreads a mixture of white poppy seeds, nuts, raisins, almonds, sugar and butter. Then each one is glazed and sprinkled with more sugar and nuts and MUST weigh between 150 and 250 grams (5 and a half to 8 and a half ounces, for our US friends). These suckers are huge and heavy. There is a local museum which is more like a show where participants are allowed to sling some dough of their own as they learn about the history of these famous sweets. Unfortunately for us, we ventured out too late in the day yesterday only to discover that we had missed the English speaking presentation.

According to the legend, one local baker was so inspired by a sermon he heard at St. Martin's church in the late 19th century, he took to heart the priest's message of feeding the poor by creating this special croissant. Since he had recently seen a horse lose it's shoe he had the idea to craft these pastries in the shape of horse shoes which he then gave out to those in need. 

These croissants are actually protected by European law and any baker who wishes to make these for distribution must apply for a license every year. Each Pierkarnia or bakery must display a sign bearing a photo of the croissant letting patrons know that they have permission to bake and sell these guarded desserts. 

We did search bakeries yesterday afternoon until we found one that had Rogale Marcinskie, also known as St. Martin's croissants. While we both DO love sweet treats neither of us found these to be what we thought. Perhaps had we gone out earlier in the day and tried them while they were still warm the outcome would have been different? Or perhaps as Americans we are so used to desserts being overly sweet that these paled in comparison? Either way it's actually a good thing that we did not fall in love with these croissants since we don't need more food in our lives.

But speaking of food, I did grow rather attached to Torun, the last town we visited with it's history of Pierniki or gingerbread. What could have been more pleasant than having a gingerbread factory directly next to our hotel? Everyday felt like Christmas! With each passing breeze my nostrils would inhale the sweet aroma of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and other delectable scents. Add to that the fact that our cheap $45 a night hotel featured a jar of cookies on the front desk for guests to enjoy. We could not pass by without grabbing a few before climbing up 60 steep, winding stairs to our room on the top floor. Yes, this is Europe where elevators are not common as buildings are old. 

Although Clyde did enjoy eating the gingerbread cookies it seemed like it was me that was having this love affair with these adorable treats. We did embark on a tour of the pierniki museum, or so it was called, which was simply an explanation and demonstration of how the cookies were made. Our tour included a master baker along with a kitchen witch who took us back in time to medieval days in the kitchen. First the entire group was forced to take an oath that we would not reveal the secret, age old recipe to anyone.....ever! The witch let us know that IF we ever revealed the secret we would develop a mole on our tongues which would prevent us from talking ever again.

The factory experience was interactive and we were each given dough, a rolling pin and wooden molds to make our own cookie as a keepsake. Since I have always enjoyed baking I was surprised to discover that the most important ingredient in gingerbread is, pepper. It is pepper that gives it the spicy taste that give our tongue a bit of a nip when we eat the whole bag of cookies.....uh not that I have done such a thing, but I have heard this can happen. 

Also interesting is that the dough needs to mature for at least 3 months before rolling out and baking. Since we didn't have that long to wait we were given dough made by someone else for our cookie experiment. In the end our cookies looked good but lacked much taste. In medieval times sugar was not invented yet so they only had honey to use. And baking powder was not available yet either so our cookies were hard and tasteless. But the experience was so much fun and we highly recommend it to anyone visiting Torun, Poland. 

Typically when we travel we rent a car to get us around. This time Clyde wanted to try the trains which had really added to our whole adventure here in Poland. We are visiting seven different cities, which means six different train trips.  Some trains have been sleek and modern in design and we were even served free drinks. Other trains were old and our wagon was entered through a glass hallway. Each wagon would hold 8 people, 4 on each side facing each other. Luggage was placed either under the seats or on the overhead shelves. Trains here do feature bathroom facilities which have been spacious and clean, so overall our train experience has been good.

The train station in Gdansk lacked proper signs indicating the schedules and even the Poles we talked to were confused. Lines at the ticket counters were so long, sometimes with one agent and 20 or more people standing in line. By the time Clyde managed to buy our tickets the train was long gone and he had to get back in line and start again. Just part of the overall experience and adventure!

Today we have a twenty minute walk to the train station here in Poznan. Our next stop is Wroclaw, about a 3 hour train ride from here. Stay tuned for more adventures in Poland.....along the gringo trail.

Thoughts of Poland.....Our First Days....

As we were planning our trip to Poland we were met with some strange responses from people. "You're going where?" "It's not safe there you know." "Wasn't the whole city of Warsaw demolished and flattened? Why would you go there?" "And you will spend over two weeks touring Poland?"

Anywhere there are tourists with money, there can be safety issues and we do take precautions. We are both wearing money belts underneath our clothes. Inside these pouches buried beneath our clothes we have our passports, credit cards, cash and other important documents.....just in case. Should anyone reach into our pockets we simply get a free feel up and they leave with nothing.  Even in the crowded city of Warsaw we felt perfectly safe at all times. Of course we are NOT late night people and since it gets dark here around 7:30, we are inside well before that time. 

In case you are wondering about eating dinner out, the Poles tend to have their biggest meal between the hours of 1 and 4pm and only eat a snack at night. During our first evening in Warsaw we made our way into a local restaurant around 6pm and were informed by the waiter that they would be closing in thirty minutes. He happily made us traditional pierogis which we enjoyed and were out of his way before closing time. 

So what are my thoughts of Poland thus far?

I grew up in New Jersey with a Polish Mother and Grandmother, both of whom spoke Polish to each other, yet neither of us three children were taught to speak it. So I am a Pollack as they say and Polish is in my blood. I heard plenty of Pollack jokes and was teased about having a big nose, which I was told was a Pollack trait. 

Holidays were spent at Grandma's house eating pierogi, kielbasa, blessed hard boiled eggs at Easter, along with plenty of other Catholic and Polish traditions. But as I grew into my teens I began to hate these family traditions, regarding them as stupid. Yet I always wondered did the REAL Polish people in Poland eat this stuff or act like this?

Pulled Pork with Coleslaw

Pierogi

Well they say that travel is meant to change us, and it took visiting Poland to have an eye opening moment at breakfast one morning. There I sat eating kielbasa (fried Polish sausage) with eggs and a piece of rye bread dipped in mustard when tears began to roll down my face. The tastes on my tongue took me back to the early days of my childhood and I suddenly realized something. My childhood that I often thought of as less than wonderful, with an overbearing, mean mother who never accepted me for who I was, had surely left an impact deep down in my soul. 

The thing that I was blessed with from my youth was this incredible food culture and a sense of belonging to a large Polish family. The traditions that were passed down from one generation to the next, the food, the recipes, and the belonging to something bigger than myself was suddenly clear to me. And it took visiting Poland, the land of my ancestors and eating real Polish food. Perhaps there is something about being here, among these people that makes me feel like I fit in? I am no longer a stupid Pollack, but instead I realize there are people like me, and here I am surrounded by them, although we speak a different language. 

Poland is a beautiful country with people who have endured such tragedy yet have endured despite of it all. Warsaw, its Capital was demolished during WWII and nothing was left to the historic old town. Like nowhere else we have been, Warsaw is a stark contrast of modern, shiny skyscrapers that stand tall next to demolished remnants of buildings. The ruined buildings bare scars of war and bullet holes, yet some have modern structures built on top of their rubble. 

Sights Around Warsaw, Poland

The historic old town was painstakingly rebuilt, piece by piece using photos to make it as authentic as possible. It's stunning buildings, fountains and statues frame the pathways to plazas full of locals and tourists alike. Breathtaking Catholic churches stand proud and tall as believers enter and fall down to their knees to bow before the cross. Some of the women wear veils as we did in my childhood and some older women bow so low as to put their foreheads on the floor in worship. While we have visited many churches around the world we have never witnessed such serious religious practices as we have here in Poland.

The Polish people appear bulky, or husky as we might call them, perhaps storing extra body fat for the long winters here? They seem aloof and unfriendly to foreign visitors like ourselves, and few we have met speak any English. Pedestrians and cyclists seemingly  tried to run us over on the streets of Warsaw, perhaps the only safety issue I have had here. 

Yet this country offers visitors some spectacular sights to see and such a vast array of sad, yet important history to be learned. We have seen some of the most beautiful churches, palaces and castles here, and we have been to many other countries. 

Malbork Castle, Malbork, Poland

As we wrap up our first five days here we have only visited Warsaw and the small village of Malbork. Tomorrow we will take a train to Gdansk to continue our Poland adventures......along the gringo trail.

Our First Year Living In Portugal......

As I gaze out from our balcony admiring the lush, green, rolling hills of fertile farmland that blanket the landscape, the silence in my head is interrupted by a noise. A rusty green, tractor hobbles up the road with an old farmer at the wheel and a woman, presumably his wife riding in the rear. He nods his dusty grey head at me as I lift my hand in a friendly wave. A smile spontaneously adorns my face as I remind myself just where I am.

Views of the farmlands of Portugal

It's been one year already since we planted our feet on the ground in our newly adopted country of Portugal.

A neighbors dog comes to life barking out a warning of another passerby. A tiny, white haired woman comes into sight carrying a plastic bucket. Like many farm wives she wears a simple, house dress of black topped with a green and yellow flowery apron. I notice she wears black, rubber boots that cover her calves before she vanishes from my view into a nearby house.

We need not go far to find gardens of fruits and vegetables that grow plentifully all around. And the wonderful Portuguese people are always willing to fill our arms with plenty of free produce. A few days ago Clyde was outside chatting with our landlady and came back with three large grocery bags stuffed to the brim. Courgettes, also known as zucchini to some, tons of tomatoes, plums, lettuce, strawberries, and more.

From our Trip to the Market

Our first year in Portugal has been filled with the excitement of finding a place to live, getting our residency visas, buying a car, exploring our new town and making plenty of new friends.

Those of you who have followed this blog might remember that we left the United States 8 years ago and first retired to Panama. From there we decided to travel fulltime as house and pet sitters and enjoyed that lifestyle for two full years. It was house sit that first brought us to Portugal. We looked around, talked to people that had already made the move and decided to make this our next home.

We are leaving Panama, heading for adventure!
Hard to believe, it has been over 3 years!

Over the past year we have joined a gym and are back to exercising five times a week for ninety minutes to two hours each time. My goal was to lose 10 kilograms (22 lbs) but I ended up losing 13kg or 28 pounds. Two times a week I work out with a personal trainer who pushes me hard. Clyde has turned his excess weight into muscle and is enjoying his new body too.

We have, unfortunately tried out the healthcare system here with regular checkups and other ailments that we have had along the way. As part of our visa requirement we have purchased private health insurance at a cost of 250 euros per month ($278) for the both of us. It covers us at 90% if the doctor is in network and 80% if they are not. Some of you might recall that the major reason that we left the US was due to the high cost of health insurance. If we were still living in Texas today our monthly premium would be around $1800 per month!

So what are healthcare costs like in Portugal you may be wondering? To see a specialist we pay 80 to 90 euros, a general practitioner around 60, in private clinics. A month ago while doing a boot camp class outside, I was running and fell on cobblestone and broke my left elbow. First we went to a private hospital where I was seen quickly. Our cost was 75 euros. I was told by the doctor that he thought my arm was broke but since it was Sunday there was no orthopedic doctor on staff. I was sent to the public hospital where I saw an orthopedic in about an hour at a cost of just 18 euros. He confirmed that my elbow did have a slight break in the ulna and I was sent to buy a sling to wear for two weeks and could resume normal activity after three.

Caldas da Rainha Public Hospital

For me it was time for a routine mammogram which here in Portugal is followed by a routine breast ultrasound. Of course I had to visit a gynecologist first for a checkup of the lady parts. Then I decided it was time to be allergy tested again and began immunotherapy in the form of sublingual drops. I am being desensitized against dust mites, dogs and cats and should begin to notice results in six months to one year. Also had an eye exam followed by ordering new contact lens. Total cost after insurance: Gyno, 18,50, Mammo, 4,50, Echo 3,50, allergist 18,00, immunotherapy for 5 months, 260, bone density, 7,50, eye exam 16,00. Also needed to have a root canal done at a cost of 200 that was reimbursed by our insurance. Following this procedure all dental cleanings will be done free of charge, every six months for life.

For Clyde is was time for to have his pacemaker checked and first had to see a cardiologist for a referral. The cardiologist recognized us from the gym since he is there every morning also. Consult, 12,50, holter monitor overnight, 7,00, 12-lead ekg, 1,25. Then off we went to Lisbon to see a specialist that would check the pacemaker itself at a cost of 20,00. Everything with his heart is perfect and he was told to live life as usual and pretend that he does not have a pacemaker.

Clyde's Pacemaker

Next was a checkup of the manly parts, urologist 16,00, eye exam for him, 12,00 along with a dermatologist for 4,00. This was just a quick breakdown of our medical costs. Medication at the pharmacy is far less than our US counterparts also. Costs are listed in euros so it does add up to a bit more in US dollars.

As our first year comes to an end so does our rental agreement. But since we love living where we are we have decided to renew and ask for a long term, five year lease this time around. This agreement was contingent upon our landlady installing some type of heat source, other than the fireplace that we already have. Being warm blooded we both froze last winter since buildings here tend to have NO heat source and are old with no insulation. While Clyde was willing to absorb the entire cost of a heater, we asked our sweet landlady IF she would go half and she gladly agreed.

At her request we had quotes done from several different companies and we all decided that a pellet stove insert put into the fireplace would be the best choice. From there tubes will run through the ceiling into several other rooms, offering us central heat throughout the home. If you are not familiar with pellet stoves they burn cleaner and more efficiently than wood and are quite economical to run. The total cost for this project is around 4,400, and if we pay half that adds just 41 euros per month to our rent of 350 euros for the next five years. A great deal for a three-bedroom, fully furnished house in the country, just a ten minute drive from town.

What ours might look like

While are mornings are spent in the gym our afternoons for the past year have been spent, in part, working on learning European Portuguese. We are now at the point of being able to converse in Portuguese, somewhat anyway. Our first instructor was British and although we loved her and learned lots, we decided it was time for a change. Currently we are taking private lessons with a Portuguese teacher that we met in our gym. Although she does speak English, her classes consist of conversation totally in Portuguese to challenge us to speak more.

Life in Portugal is good and we are happy that we made the decision to settle down and create a home base here. Quite often we have to remind ourselves just how cool it is to say, "we actually live in Europe." Smile!

We will resume our travels soon and have some cool trips planned for the near future. In just a few days we are heading to Poland for over two weeks. Since I grew up with a Mother and Grandmother who spoke Polish but did not teach it to us kids, it's a country that I have always wanted to visit. I grew up eating delicious Polish foods that I will soon get to sample in Poland. In November we will be house and pet sitting in France and in March we will revisit Valencia, Spain for another house and pet sit.

Warsaw, Here we Come!

Stay tuned for details here and on Facebook of our travels around the world and throughout this gorgeous country of Portugal that we now call home. Tomorrow our adventures in Poland begin as we head to Warsaw..….along the gringo trail.