Home thoughts: The time is now for Poland

Personal View by Dorota Brauntsch

Polska kielbasa, polskie produkty, polski sklep. Polish signs all over London are hard to miss. Wherever I go I hear Polish spoken, I meet Poles, I can buy any Polish product I want. I was literally shocked when I arrived in Britain last year and I saw Polish stores on every corner. Now I don't need to go back to Poland to get my favourite twarog (cottage cheese) or kielbasa (sausage).

The huge migration of Poles to Britain makes me think about my country and its position in Europe. Poland has changed. The reality of our lives, perspectives and opportunities, has changed. Europe has changed.

If ten years ago someone had told me that I would travel to almost any European country without a passport, better...that I would fly cheaper than taking the bus...more...that I would be allowed to live and work in Great Britain, well...I simply wouldn't have believed it.

Living in the UK, I'm able to observe and take part in this sociological phenomenon. Since Communism collapsed, Poland has been going through a political, economic and social transformation that has had a great impact on many individuals. Poland was always associated with poverty and harsh history. As a nation, we always felt worse than and far behind the West. Our national inferiority complex and low self-esteem seems to be disappearing now. Being a part of the European Union opens up new possibilities and perspectives for Poles.

Paradoxically, from here in the UK I can see how rapidly Poland is changing. Poles learn languages, adjust to different cultures, and gain travel experience. Living abroad shapes our personalities and our minds. We become more open-minded, relaxed, creative. We learn how to live in a multicultural environment, where Christians, Muslims and Buddhists share the same bus and the same work place. Poland needs this kind of thinking and people who understand the complexity of the world. So I'm glad we have this opportunity to learn it here and take this spirit of diversity and tolerance back home.

At the same time I know that Poland has a lot to offer. I'm not talking about a cheap and hard-working labour force but about a Polish culture that influences Britain in many different ways. I'm happy to see my English friends drinking Kubus (carrot juice); at parties the must-have is Zubrovka with apple juice (famous Polish vodka with a stalk of grass inside the bottle). Cinemas play Polish movies, the cultural centres organise Polish performances and exhibitions (have a look at www.polishculture.org.uk), new restaurants are opened...seems like there's nothing Polish missing from the UK anymore.

Still...a home sweet home feeling captures me from time to time. And when it hits me the first place I want to go is Wroclaw. Not as well-known or popular as Krakow or Warsaw, Wroclaw with its Polish spirit mixed with a cosmopolitan atmosphere, is definitely a place worth discovering.

Wroclaw, Poland's fourth biggest city, is situated in the south west. Amazing architecture with hundreds of bridges, gothic churches and baroque tenements combined with progressive, modern buildings. A colourful and lively market square, filled with cafes and restaurants is always busy and vibrant. What I love about this place is the fact that there's always so much happening. The best time to visit Wroclaw is definitely the summer when the Wroclaw Non Stop festival starts. Clubs, streets, theatres, every square and park are filled with musicians from all over world. Performances, exhibitions, happenings, artists...the whole town celebrates the summer, the life, the art...vibrations of Polish, Balkan, Brazilian and African music flow around the city. And when it stops...new festivals start. Era New Horizons is the biggest and the most ambitious film festival in Poland. For ten days the whole city turns into one big venue (movies are screened in all cinemas, theatres, opera houses and other venues) where a wide range of movies is presented: from prize-winners to unknown, alternative documentaries, animations and features made by visionary and uncompromising artists. The summer passes but Wroclaw does not stop offering its cultural events...so in autumn The Newest Polish Cinema festival starts and when the spring flourishes Wroclaw Film Spring and Wro Media Art Biennale kick off. The film festivals are only a small drop in the ocean of all the cultural feasts that Wroclaw hosts (find out more on www.wroclaw.pl) .

Wroclaw sweet Wroclaw...but when I really want to feel the spirit of folk culture and Polish tradition, then I choose Zakopane. There is no better place to be if you want to experience the best food, try the warmest beer in the world and steep yourself in the snowy, white and a bit chilly aura of the town. Zakopane, situated in the valley of the highest mountains in the country - the Tatras, is called the winter capital of Poland.

Indeed, the best time to visit the town is in winter. Great ski conditions, breathtaking landscapes and the beautiful panorama of the Tatras can be admired from the ski slopes situated around the town. And nothing tastes better on the ski slopes than the warm beer. Hard to imagine, but believe me, on cold, icy days hot beer spiced up with cinnamon, cloves, a few drops of lemon and raspberry syrup is the most enjoyable drink in the world. This very traditional liquid can be found elsewhere in Poland, but tastes the best in Zakopane.

The highland town offers attractions not only for the body but also for the soul. The place has a truly artistic spirit. At the beginning of the twentieth century the town became a refuge for the best known Polish musicians, writers and artists like the greatest Polish composers: Ignacy Paderewski and Karol Szymanowski and the world famous artist: Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy). Witkacy (1885-1939) was a painter, illustrator, and photographer, playwright and novelist, philosopher, a member of the first-ever Polish group of avant-garde artists known as the Formists. His art was often inspired

by the landscapes of Zakopane and highland folk culture. The artists who lived in the town left an enormous heritage: galleries, theatres and wooden mansions built in the so called Highland Zakopane-style.

The towns, festivals and artists I have mentioned are only the tip of the ice-berg. Poland with its history, devotion to tradition and hospitality is a fascinating and welcoming country. Being a part of the European Union is a huge opportunity for Poles to improve their country and to contribute to Europe as a whole.

I recommend...

[FOOD] Barszcz (beetroot soup) and pierogi (dumplings filled with cottage cheese or mushrooms); bigos (cabbage stew). [FILMS] Saviour Square - the newest film by Krzysztof Krauze and Joanna Kos-Krauze. [BOOKS] Wislawa Szymborska's poems - Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. [MUSIC] Kapela ze Wsi Warszawa (Warsaw Village Band) - music inspired by folklore and archaic sounds in a modern convention.

 

 

About Dorota Brauntsch

Dorota Brauntsch was born in Pszczyna ,Poland. She has recently graduated as a Master of Political Science and Mass Media Communications and Journalism. She also studied TV journalism in Denmark and has travelled all over Europe, South East Asia and Australia. Her passion for travel and living in different countries has brought her to London where she is currently a stagiaire in the UK Office of the European Parliament.

© Dorota Brauntsch. All views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to the European Commission.