Lindsay's Lessons

My beloved Poland. I first visited her in 2016 – 10 years ago – as a pilgrimage of sorts. A trip to find my roots and myself after my first husband died a few months prior. Three out of my four grandparents were born in Poland and grew up there during the Second World War. They fled to Canada when the war ended and embraced their new lives. In recent years I have always been curious as to where they and by proxy where I came from. It sounds odd as in the end they spent most of their lives in Canada rather than Poland. However my family has only existed in Canada since the early 1950’s as opposed to hundreds of years in Europe.  When I visited Warsaw and Krakow for the first time in 2016 I knew something was happening in this country and for the first time in a long time I felt like I belonged. 

I fell in love with Warsaw over the time I was there. It coincided with rising from the ashes of one of the worst times in my life and indeed Warsaw has been known as the Phoenix city. Perhaps it brought me back to life. People constantly have this impression that the Polish capital is still this communist, drab, grey place and while there are certainly some fantastic examples of that insane cement architecture – this could not be further from the truth. The first time I ate in a Michelin starred restaurant was in Warsaw. The hotel I stayed in was one of the big brands and boasted a glass elevator and a beautiful bar stocked with French champagne. I shopped so much at all of the beautiful shopping centres that I needed to buy another suitcase. 

I felt reborn after my first trip there and marched forward towards a new life – one I did not choose but one I had to make. Much like the residents of Poland painstakingly put their beautiful old towns back together I pieced my life together. One year later I went back again as I decided I was not quite done with Poland yet; I needed to see more. Indeed I would never be done with her, returning again in 2020, 2022 and again this year. Follow along with me and I will show you the new Poland – one that I dare say has leapfrogged us in Canada.