So much to report, so little time!

(partial) GLOGOWSKI REUNION

That's right - I was introduced to my grandfather's brother and his kids/grandkids/great-granddaughter, which means I've located other Glogowskis!
Today, we got the big group of those of us that were in/near Bydgoszcz together for dinner at my Wujek Jurek's apartment. Everyone is SO nice. Dinner was great, and I was in the company of a few willing English speakers (my cousins Agnieszka and Joanna), which was great. Before we left, I insisted on getting a timed group photo (note me running in at the last second) - in part for my own memory (and blog's) sake, in part for my Ciocia Ela. Aren't we such a good-looking group (I'm a little biased, of course:)?

Left to right: 

Top row: Tomek (married to Agnieszka), Babciu, Mateusz (Jurek's son), Ela (Jurek's wife), Henryk (Marian's late wife Irka's brother), Marian, Urszula (Henryk's wife), and Dziadziu

Bottom row: Joanna (Jurek's daughter), Jurek, Iwona, Agnieszka (Iwona's daughter), Zuzia (Agnieszka's daughter), Monika (Jurek's daughter), Olek (Iwona's husband), and me

Also noteworth: I FOUND A BABY TO HOLD. My cousin Agnieszka gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Zuzia, last month. She is such a good, smart, strong baby! At only a month old, she is already able to turn herself over if placed on her belly and was in good spirits while at dinner with a ton of (admittedly somewhat loud) people! And she fell asleep while I was holding her. Love her!

Here's a pic of her with her grandfather Olek, who is perhaps one of the best cooks I've ever had the pleasure of visiting! If memory serves me well, he cooked us 3 meals in the past 2 days. He's very welcome to visit us in Connecticut anytime he wants:)

 He and his wife, Ciocia Iwona, were also very good tour guides. Here's a pic of them and my grandparents in Bydgoszcz's main square (I believe they were captured laughing at me for having finally learned to count to three in Polish):

Also, we stopped by my Ciocia Terena's well-decorated apartment. She's not a Glogowski but one of Babciu's cousins, she just happens to live here in Bydgoszcz. She's very sweet and reminds me exactly of her daughter Ciocia Iwona from Gdynia:

In other news: Obviously, this blog is a testament to the fact that this has been a week of "firsts." First time officially leaving the country, first time in Poland, etc etc. 

But here's a story of a "first" that I couldn't ever have imagined experiencing: running around a cemetery with a handful of extended family members in search of a grave during a thunderstorm earlier today!

That's right - #3 on my grandparent's list of family members to pay tribute to - my Babciu's late cousin Andrzej (husband of Ciocia Terena, mentioned above) and his parents. Understandably, it's very important for my grandparents to visit the graves of their late family members to say a prayer, light a candle, and leave some flowers. But because it's been seven years since their last visit to their native country, we had some trouble locating the one we were looking for today. Considering how important it is for them to visit family, the three of us and my Ciocia Iwona and Wujek Olek literally ran around looking for it as it began to thunderstorm for about half an hour... it seemed metaphorical, but of what I'm not sure. 

Finally, after a few quick words to St. Anthony (so-called patron saint of lost items) and getting soaked, I found it. Thank goodness.

Anywho, as I said, we've spent the last few days staying with my Wujek Marian - my grandfather's brother. He's so sweet and is very worried about us being comfortable staying with him - surely we are!

He was the new first person I've met in a while that shares my last name. It was good to walk into his apartment and immediately see pictures of the familiar faces of my Ciocia Ela and cousin Tim from back home (side note: they all still call you "Timmy" here, Tim:). Oh, and my own (how strange to think people from halfway across the world have a picture of me when I was little!) The family here has been asking if my grandparents and I keep in touch with Tim. My answer? We're best buds (although apparently there's no exact translation of that in Polish, darn):

Also best buds - my Dziadziu and his bro, reunited after seven years: 

Love that pic, and here's another I absolutely adore (except the cars bother me). We do a lot of walking around here...

... Here being Bydgoszcz of course. It's a smallerish city kind of near Torun, and it's very cute! It also happens to be the place my grandmother insisted on giving birth to her first child, my Ciocia Yola. 

Well, we're heading out again tomorrow, so I'd better get some sleep. Babciu laughs at how just when I get used to the house, bed, town, food, and people, we're on the move again! I only hope the next city treats us as well as Bydgoszcz has!

Pokój,

Rach

Danke schön!

Who would have imagined that I'd be using some German and Spanish during this trip?
That's right, there were little phrases of four languages being tossed around over the last few days. We've spent the time in Starogard Gdanski, inland and south of the big port city Gdansk, visiting Babciu's brother Wujek Benek. Here's a pic of Wujek Piotr, Wujek Benek, and Babciu - reunited for the first time in seven years!

 
Wujek Benek lives with his daughter Garzena, son-in-law Simon, and grandson Nicholas. Garzena is an awesome chef and has been very hospitable over the last few days. We've been staying at her friend's apartment nearby.
Yesterday, we walked around the main square at Starogard Gdanski, a city with about 50,000 citizens according to Wujek Benek's daughter Celena.

 It had quite a few stores, including bookstores (including the one I got yelled at in for attempting to exit out of the entrance door, whoops), shoe stores, linen stores, and drug stores.
It even had "lody amerykanskie" - American (soft serve) ice cream:)

It also had a church from the 1484 (which my family here attends)... I can't get over the fact that I'm surrounded by buildings older than America itself!!!! Here's the scene above the altar:

Later, we visited the grave of Wujek's late wife, Ciocia Teresa, where her daughters replanted the flowers on her grave. Polish graveyards are all beautiful because every grave is covered in flowers... people take care of their loved ones here. 

The cemetery was surrounded by lovely hills.

 

In other news, we've generally been doing a lot of driving. Dziadziu has been in good spirits about all the traveling (fav picture of the trip so far):

  

Today, we drove about two hours to the city of Torun, where astronomer Nicholas Copernicus was born. Babcia's nephew Roman drove us to visit Babcia's cousin Jas and his wife Urszula. Here's a pic of Urszula, her daughter, Dziadziu, Babciu, Wujek Benek, and Jas:

But then, perhaps recognizing that I was antsy to get out and see the main square of the city, which is known for its old architecture, Wujek Roman took me out on a walk to see Torun. Wujek Roman, a retired detective, was paranoid about losing me (because he didn't speak English enough to warn me not to wander off), but no worries - I managed not to get lost. Torun has some of the most beautiful streets I've ever seen.I can't post a ton of pics now due to limited internet, but here's one of me and Copernicus' donkey. I stopped to take a pic with him:

Then we returned to Starogard Gdanski for our last night in this city, and here we are. 

I had my first go at Polish whiskey (blech).

Tomorrow we head off to Dziadziu's brother house in Bydgoszcz. 

Until next time,

Rach

I FINALLY SET FOOT IN THE BALTIC SEA

(... And I promised my cousins I'd write about it in my blog:)
Okay, so, where to begin? 

We continued to stay in Gdynia throughout the weekend. Fun (educational) fact of the day: Gdynia is a port city in the northern part of Poland. It used to be a small fishing village but now it's a pretty developed city, and it's one of three major cities in the area (the other two being Sopot and Gdansk). Bottom line: It's such a pretty area - city and beach all in one. 

AND after having been there for a few days, I finally set foot in the Baltic last night. Mission accomplished.

Here's my update from the past few days: 

We've been staying at one of the houses Babciu's brother, my Wujek Piotr and his wife Ciocia Marzenia Rajnik. The house is straight out of "Under the Tuscan Sun" - so big, old, and beautiful. And only a few minutes away from the main pier/beach. Here's a pic:

They both have been super hospitable. Ciocia Marzena has a kitchen full of teapots too, so I (being a big fan of tea) felt at home from the start:)

The day after we arrived, Babcia and Dziadziu went off to Gdansk (the largest of the three cities) with Babcia's cousin's daughter, my Ciocia Iwona and her husband Marek.
Here's one of Wujek Marek's pic of them by what I assume was the sea (side note: not the ocean. They're very distinct things in Poland):

I later found out (but wasn't surprised) that Babciu spent some time shopping when I looked through Ciocia Iwona's photos:)

Meanwhile, Ciocia Iwona's sons, Marcel and Rafal, and later Marcel's girlfriend Olga, were all commissioned to baby-sit me and show me around the city. I was so glad to have people my age to hang out with for a few days. We hung out at the main pier in Gdynia...

... went to Sopot for lunch...

... and then went out back in Gdynia later that night.

The next day, we went to dinner with everyone. Here's a pic of my Ciocia Marzena, Babciu, Ciocia Iwona, and me at the restaurant. (Obviously, I'm a giant):

... And then later that night (yesterday), I hung out with Rafal, Marcel, and Olga again. And that was when I finally STEPPED IN THE BALTIC. They laughed at me for wanting to run in so badly (especially since Marcel told me its polluted after I went in), but I told them I'd be sure to laugh at them when they beg me to step in the Atlantic Ocean when they come visit me in the U.S:) Thanks to them for being great baby-sitters and friends!

And this morning, we stopped by a higher point of Gdynia for a quick photo-op. Here's a pic of me and my lovely grandparents:

And here's one of them with Wujek Piotr and Ciocia Marzena: 

And that's it for now. For the next few days, we're at Wujek Benek's in Starogard Gdansk.

Goodbye, Gdynia, see you later for a brief stop in a few weeks!