All around the Market Square you can find stalls with lots of Christmas creations, to eat, to decorate, and to give as a present.
I chose a hand sewn fanny pack, called kidney (nerka) in Polish, as a Christmas present. I left my family at the stall and walked away, giving them time (hopefully) to buy my present. I won't know till Christmas morning. I hope it's there under the tree.
The kids had a harder time deciding. They wanted cotton candy, gummy bears, licorice, chocolate IPhones, roasted nuts, pajda (a lard and pickle sandwich), and much, much more. We settled on licorice, roasted nuts, and gingerbread cookies for later (pierniczki). They also took a ride on the Christmas train, a loud and fast roller coaster set up near the whipping post. All aboard!
I almost forgot the most important part! We had guests from America -my cousin and her husband. It was wonderful to have a visit from home and talk about old times. We're the same age so we were in school together from kindergarten through high school graduation. There was a lot to talk about. It was also a pleasure to show off Poland and what it's got to offer. Besides sightseeing, we took them with us to a charity auction we go to each year.
When in the Market Square we decided to go to "Lwowska" for lunch. We had our wedding reception in "Lwowska" 16 years ago this month, and I think we haven't been back since then. I was excited to go there again, and it's a great restaurant to choose if your guests are interested in pierogi, gołąbki, meats, and sausage. It must be a great place to work as well because one of the waiters from our wedding still works there! It was great fun to talk to the waiters in Polish, but of course their English is excellent, and reminisce about the old accordion player who used to play there.
Flash forward a week, and we were heading out for our first company Christmas party in a restaurant in the Market Square. We just so happened to arrive as they were lighting the tree. For the kids (and not only), it was a magical moment.
Saturday we headed off to the village, where Misiu was set to play Santa Claus again this year. He did a great job of course.
Now we are thoroughly in the Christmas mood. It's time to get the tree!
Check out this Christmas card from Kraków, Poland
