My Poland
by Aleksander Domaradzki
Information
As each day goes by Poland becomes more and more like home. Despite the UK still feeling like home every time I return to see my parents, my heart is always in Poland, wherever I physically am.
I am an émigré Pole born in London of Polish parents who ended up in England after the war. My parents instilled in me through my upbringing a deep patriotism and love for Poland. I first visited Poland in the mid 1980s at the heart of martial law and for many years would visit for at least two or three weeks at a time.
I am writing this article from Warsaw as I am now living and working in Poland for the second time. I worked in Poland between 1994 and 1999 when I left for Australia. In May 2003 I came back. Many of my Australian (and other) friends can't understand why I gave up the Australian climate to come to Poland. The answer is simple - I wanted to be closer to my family and also despite the UK still feeling like home every time I return to see my parents, my heart is always in Poland, wherever I physically am. As each day goes by Poland becomes more and more like home. Whether it will remain so we will have to see.
My favourite places in Poland are dictated by the season of year and by the moods I am in and whether I want to be with people or whether I want to be on my own.
Two of my favourite pursuits are philately and outdoor life and unfortunately it is difficult to combine the two. However Winter allows me to do so and allows me to visit one of my favourite places in Warsaw – the Koło outdoor flea market. There is nothing better than getting up on a Sunday morning and arriving at the market before the public in general arrives. The colder it is the less people come. The less people the better the bargains, not just stamps and medals but antiques, history books - you name it, it can be bought at a price. Speaking Polish definitely helps.
Spring is when I like to go to the Mazurian lakes. I have family in Suwalki whom I have not visited for years and this year the time will come. Spring in the lakes is a time of year when you can see the Polish wildlife at its best before the hordes of summer tourists descend and take over. Spring evenings are long enough to go to the lakes with like minded friends, sit out by the water, build a fire, cook kiełbasa and drink a beer or a crate or two (taking all rubbish home of course).
Summer for me is the Tatra mountains. I suffer the heat and will climb the highest peak to escape it. My favourite place is near Morskie Oko which is of course a favourite haunt of tourists as they can walk along a road to get there. I can gaze at Morskie Oko for hours sitting on the slopes of one of the nearby peaks such as Mnich or Rysy, hiding in the shade of a boulder watching the reflections of the mountains and the clouds in the sky.
I also like going off the beaten path (you have to be friends with Mountain Guides or Mountain Rescue personnel to do this). That is when you see things that the average Pole only sees in books such as wild edelweiss, wolves, mink, mountain goats and deer and the elusive mountain marmot. Again I have not been to the mountains for 6 years. In 1998 in the Polish tradition I left an old pair of boots there with my friend the parish priest in Koscielec. So return I must.
Summer is also visiting Zelazowa Wola or the Lazienki Park in Warsaw for walks and to listen to the tones of a grand piano playing Chopin. Until I buy myself a piano I will have to make do with listening to others.
Autumn means the gold, yellows, oranges and browns of the Polish deciduous forests. Autumn means walking for miles with friends seeking elusive forest fungi. After a hard days walking, the evening is spent preparing them for drying, pickling and freezing. Then and only then can the foragers sit down and eat some of their spoils and reminisce about who had the best haul of the day. I can’t be more precise as to where I go as no serious fungi collector discloses those secrets.
One place I go at any time of year is one of the most depressing places on Earth – Auschwitz-Birkenau. The only season I have not been there is winter. However down I feel, however annoyed with work and whatever else I am this place has one effect on me. It is difficult to describe but it is almost like an awakening that no matter how bad things may look, they all pall into insignificance when compare to the suffering and evil that took place there. I have not been since returning to Poland as I am still living the euphoria of being back where the heart is.