There’s something so special about revisiting a place you often visited as a child. While it feels like home, there’s a sense of rediscovery, to notice things with a new set of eyes, to experience places you couldn’t have before. This was the ethos of my roadtrip around Poland I have just completed with my mom.
Day One:
Tired after a 14+ hour travel day, we retired to my mom’s friends home just outside of Warsaw. We had fresh strawberry compote, a home cooked Polish dinner, and walked over to get some ice cream afterwards. It surprised me how quickly I could slip back into speaking Polish as if no time had passed. Though Polish was my first language, I only speak my native tongue with a few family members these days. But sitting and listening to the quick back and forth conversations brought everything back within just a few hours.
It felt like a warm hug to see the narrow windy roads and clothing hanging outside drying in the sun. The Polish culture around food and family and community is so intertwined within their lives; though this wasn’t my own family members home, she treated me as such, it felt like I easily could’ve been in my own aunt or grandmother’s home.
Day Two:
An early morning drive to Zalipie, Poland’s Painted Village. I wrote an entire substack post about wandering through the little village, it was special in every way imaginable:
Just an hour and a half drive from Zalipie is Krakow, Poland’s second largest city. I have ventured to Krakow many times as a child, but never as an adult, so I was very excited to see and appreciate some new things I’m sure I overlooked as a child.
Oh man, I love Krakow so much, I wish we could have spent more time here. It’s everything I love so dearly about Europe in general; the old square has incredible history and so much charm that they value and uphold decades beyond. People of all ages are outside, feeding the birds, drinking a spritz, smoking cigarettes, soaking in the sunlight, taking in the energy of the city.
And of course, the shopping is hard to resist. Though there are many stalls to shop from, much of which are tourist driven and have plenty of scams, you’ll find that many of the shops have some locally made, charming pieces. For example, one of these lovely handmade Polish dolls attached to a clothing hanger- it was extremely hard to stop myself from buying one of these lovely ladies but of course, I had so much ahead of me.
While visiting Poland, you cannot leave without picking up some beautiful pieces of amber jewelry. Necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets, everything you can imagine with amber- I had to stop myself from buying hundreds of dollars worth of pieces. These are the rings I ended up leaving with:
During our first few days of the trip, there was a sweltering heat wave making its way through Europe, 100 degrees + no AC in our accommodations making for a great combination. But alas, it gave me the perfect opportunity to invest in a great hand fan, which Poland has so many special ones to choose from.
I mean, look at this vibrant folk art hand fan!!! It’s perfect and I will cherish it through every heat wave I experience.
The wooden folk art pieces were by far the most incredible I had seen along the trip. The attention to detail and pure craftsmanship that still exists in the world gives me faith, as so much of the artwork is still made locally and by hand. As I looked at these pieces, I was reminded of my wood carving class I took back in February that was proven to be extremely difficult and time consuming, and yet artists devote their lives to it and make such beautiful, special pieces. I adored all of it!
Day Three:
We wandered the streets of Krakow in the morning and had the most incredible naleśniki (Polish crepes) at a local cafe, by far my most beloved Polish food growing up. It brought me warmth to see elderly couples enjoying a quiet morning after church in the flower filled sidewalks.
We then made our way down to Zakopane, a resort town in southern Poland at the base of the Tatra Mountains. In all my years coming to Poland, I never made my way down here, so I was entranced as soon as I saw the rolling hills come into view. Listen, this place is definitely tourist driven, but it still has such a sweet charm that feels so different than your regular run-of-the-mill tourist trap.
First off, the homes of Zakopane. All woodcrafted with intricate carvings, steep gabled roofs and heavily leaning into folklore. The windows can be seen to have cotton eyelet or lace curtains, beautiful plants and flowers strewn all about.
No detail was left untouched. I don’t care what it takes, I will be carvings folk flowers into my wooden fence or window shutters.
And of course, we shopped. I truly believe my ancestry is so intertwined within my soul that these fabrics and textiles just stop me in my tracks every time, so taken aback by the detail and the importance of these materials within the home. People in Poland have these textiles within their homes for generations, using them during holidays and changing them through the seasons- it’s so central to their decor and now such a huge part of my own.
We ended the night by walking to this large open field by our airbnb to find the most magical experience- a Shepard was herding his sheep. Just picture hundreds of sheep in this huge beautiful field with the mountains in the back and the sunset shining through the trees- I could actually cry thinking back to how beautiful the experience was.
Day Four:
Up at 4am, we made our way to Morskie Oko, the most popular trail in the Tatra Mountains- and I could see why. We had an early start to the day 1: because of the heatwave, we did not want to get stuck doing this 12 mile hike in the full sun and 2: this is a very popular and touristy trail, so we figured starting at 4:30am may deter some of the others. Oh this was incredible!!!! I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.
The water was so blue, the birds were chirping, the vegetation was so beautiful- it was an otherworldly experience.
And to top it all off, there was an ice cream stand at the peak of the trail. American national parks: please take note and put ice cream stands on your trails!!! Polish people do not play about their ice cream (it’s so much better than anything I’ve ever had in the states btw).
Day Five:
This was a less populated trail and was very close to our airbnb, so my mom and I only had to wake up at 6am for this hike. This was the Gronik - Wielka Polana Małołącka - Przysłop Miętusi trail (try and say that out loud I dare you), an incredible and very uphill hike to the most beautiful open field of wildflowers with the best view of the mountains I could have asked for.
It was calming and magical and I didn’t want to look away at any moment.
The rest of our time in Zakopane was spent wandering and doing some more shopping. I left with this beautiful wooden hand painted angel that now lives above my dining room table in my apartment. I love her so dearly and her little instrument. This is just one of those pieces I know will follow me into every home I have for the rest of my life as a reminder of my roadtrip with my mom.
Day Six:
From Zakopane, we had a nice long 5 hour drive to Wroclaw, the fourth largest city in Poland and home to over 600 gnome statues scattered all across the city. Why gnomes you may ask? This is what google let me know:
The regional capital city was a hub of anti-communist feeling and in the 1980s was the home of Orange Alternative, an underground group who used gnomes as their symbol of peaceful protest against the regime.
I loved the gnomes whether they had a back story or not, but knowing why they were created made me appreciate them even more. We only had a short stay in Wroclaw, but it was full of color and charm and great food and I loved the old town square. But the best part may have been this store…
Yes, I did stumble into my dream shop. If you know anything about traditional Polish ceramics, you’ll recognize this style of work. It originated in the Bolesławiec region, and the pieces are celebrated for their hand-stamped folk motifs. My mom and I spent over an hour in there despite the fact that the store had no AC and it was a lovely 95 degree day- I had such a hard time narrowing down which ones to pick.
Unfortunately, I had to be realistic and acknowledge that I am a single woman living in apartment by herself and already have way too many plates and bowls for just myself, so I opted for some beautiful cups and mugs instead. Perhaps in a few years I will revisit and let myself come home with lots of plates and bowls and teapots and sugar bowls!
If you find yourself in Wroclaw, the store is called Ceramika Vena Pottery Shop, right in the town square.
Day Seven:
Another long, 6 hour drive later (did I mention that I am driving the rental car this whole time btw?) we made it to the northern region of Poland, to a small village called Bącka Huta. When I say small, I mean tiny. This was honestly kind of random but I fell in love with this airbnb and I didn’t care that it was in a random spot because it just looked so peaceful.
As if out of a book, the lovely woman who owned the airbnb greeted us with a freshly made warm cake and cups of tea. Are you kidding me!
After 6 days straight of constant movement with not much rest, this was an oasis for my mom and I to just relax for a few hours. We sat by the pond and drank some tea, I read my book in the hammock, I painted on the balcony while the wind was blowing softly.
It was such a dream. As I was sitting on the balcony, I got emotional thinking about how much it reminded me of all my childhood summers spent in Poland. It was so quiet and green and it made me emotional in an overwhelmingly sad and happy way, it was almost hard to describe. I tried my best to write about it in my last substack essay:
Day Eight:
Our day trip to Gdansk, a port city on the Baltic coast of Poland. I had been as a child, and although my mom grew up in Poland and has been back many times, she’s never made her way up to this region. Though it was rainy and windy, I got to watch my mom touch the baltic sea for the first time which was a really special moment! While here, we met up with my mom’s cousin and her family and we wandered all around the city.
Though all within the same country, it’s incredible to see the range of artwork that exists within a culture. The artwork in Gdansk is very centered around being close to the water, so vastly different to the art in Zalipie or Zakopane in the mountains. It was so inspiring to see the incredible use of color within cities to add vibrancy even when the Baltic weather may make things feel quite dull in this area.
And of course, we shopped and ate ice cream. Guys, I am not lying when I say the ice cream here is just so next level, specifically their soft serve twists. And a shout out to this beautiful washed pink and green ceramic set that I heavily regret not purchasing, yay! I love thinking about my regrets. Anyway…
Day Nine:
And on our final full day in Poland, we made our way over to the areas our family is from. I stopped to see my grandparents in Łomża, the home I used to stay at every summer as a child. We ate a huge dinner and laughed and cried and I relished every moment in which I got to spend with them, I left feeling lighter and like something within me had healed. I just love my grandparents so much, and their home feels like my own.
I wandered the garden I spent so much of my childhood running around in, and we visited my great grandmother’s grave. My Prababcia Zofia (great grandma Zofia), who I was lucky enough to have in my life until I was 21, as she passed away just a few years back. This was my first time being back in Poland since she passed, and as we usually spent time visiting her at her apartment and getting ice cream together, it made my heart hurt to know how much time has passed and how much I missed her. I was thankful I could visit her beautiful grave and say hello.
Thank you for letting me share this piece of my world with you all! This trip was so deeply important to me, as Poland is such a cornerstone to who I am and what I want from my life. It feels ridiculous to say a 10 day trip changed me, but I think this is what I needed after being away for so many years. I cherish my heritage and my family so deeply and I want it to course through me and my work. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my travels- so much more to come!
xoxo Izabela
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