A near perfect day

I just woke up from an early evening nap, after a fresh-air filled early summer day, and am feeling fuzzy but very content.

My Polish friends took me on an excursion out of the city again today (the third they have treated me to in the past two weeks), to the nearby towns of Wadowice and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.

Wadowice is the birthplace of Pope John Paul II, and is a pretty enough place, but filled with pilgrims. We stopped in Wadowice only long enough to admire the square, see the baroque church the Pope was christened in, and eat the pope's favourite cream cake, kreemowka.



We then drove to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which I thought was just a monastery. It took me a while to understand that it is a series of 40 chapels scattered throughout the surrounding countryside and has something to do with the stations of the cross.

Regardless of its religious significance, it was the setting for a perfect walk in the country. After visiting the main Baroque monastery church (from 1702), we started walking up a fairly steep hill into the forest. I thought we were just going to the top of the hill to see another church, so was surprised to see a series of small chapels nestled in amongst the trees. The chapels varied in size and style, but were all built between 1600 and 1632. I am glad I didn't really know what we were going to see, as each time I saw another chapel it was like finding another Easter egg in the hunt.




As we continued walking, we left the forest and walked through fields. We stopped to buy freshly picked cherries from an 81 year old woman, who had just picked the cherries herself. A few minutes later we sat in the grass under a tree and ate them, seeing who could spit the pits the farthest, and laughing at 11 month old Julia enjoying her first taste of cherries.

We then wandered by three sheep, who made me laugh with each baa they uttered. Their bleating really did sound like BAAAAAAA, but they had such dramatically deep voices that I couldn't help but giggle.

As we continued on the route, we encountered several groups of pilgrims, who sang as they walked. Magda told me they were singing hymns, but all sad ones in accordance with the stations of the cross. However, to me, they sounded quite joyful and it was lovely to hear the music periodically throughout our journey.

At one point Magda suggested we gather some of the wildflowers that were growing along a wheat field we were passing through. So the two of us started picking chamomile (I thought they were daisies), some pretty blue flowers, and stocks of wheat that had strayed onto the path.


I never really thought about the Polish countryside before moving here. It's unexpectedly lush and green, and deeply forested in many places. The areas near Krakow are full of rolling hills, dotted with red roofed houses, and like Krakow itself is, to me anyway, incredibly picturesque. The views from the monastery on the hill, and through the wheat fields were so lovely, that I was continually exclaiming aloud.

I never think of myself as a country girl (and I highly doubt any of you do either), but today will stay with me as one of my favourite memories, along with other walks in the country in the Cotswalds, the Lake District, the Scottish highlands, Austria and Tuscany.