Not even a month has passed since our return to Montpellier. In that time we have spent three weeks in school, made a last minute six day trip to visit my nephew, his wife Marta, and their new baby William in Wroclaw Poland, and wined and dined four times with French friends.

24 birthday greetings awaited me in Montpellier at the end of a high-speed comfortable German sleeper car for the return trip of 30 hours. German trains are not on time. Our tiny sleeper from Paris to Berlin shown below was 3 hours late so we missed our connections in Berlin. The next train to Wrocraw required a change and again the next German train was 30 minutes late so we missed our connection but finally arrived in Wroclaw at about 9 at night, only six hours late.

Our comfortable hotel featured an exquisite four story wrought iron staircase.

Even though both William and Marta were coming down with a cold, they glowed with pleasure as we played with their son William, the first grandchild in our five person Kessler family, It was a pleasure to be able to honor Will, Marta and William by making this trip just as they pass the five-month mark of being a family. Below, Marta, William and Bob, the great uncle...

Can you see any resemblance? Me neither!

Then of course we got to meet the proud grandparents. Marta’s mother cooked for three days for the six course feast she prepared to honor us into her home where Marta grew up. We walked in the door to a spotless white crocheted tablecloth with two lit candles illuminating the purple blossoms swimming bravely in a huge goblet. The ambiance was festive and the food was impeccably delicious: homemade noodles in a flavorful meat soup; two beautiful salads, cheese and cabbage piroskis, a rounded mound of green sprinkled mashed potatoes with a sauce from the delicious marinated pork, followed by a vanilla éclair and tea.

We spent some time each day sightseeing with Will, Marta and William until it was time for Marta to return home for William’s late afternoon breastfeeding and nap. Will continued with a thoughtful tour of this most unusual city showing us where they had lived, studied and worked when they first met.   The colors and smells of the farmer's market were every bit as rich and sensuous as these markets in Montpellier and Seattle. The differences? More fish in Seattle, more cheese in France and more funeral flowers in Poland.

From the looks of this restoration, who would know that 70% of Wroclaw was destroyed in WWII? 

Poland has disappeared from the map completely twice since the 1600’s, reappearing after WWII. If you want to see the changes: Poland: Territoral Change

The Poles were the only “Europeans” that did not collaborate with the Nazis or fight along side them during WWII. No wonder, since over 1 million Poles joined the 3 million Jewish Poles who were exterminated by the Nazi’s. This sculpture commemorates the disappeared.

In revenge, 5 million Germans were forced out of the post WWII Poland by the Poles. Therefore, almost all of the 600,000 Poles who live in Wroclaw today were relocated there after WWII.

Will drove us to the station and got us comfortably set up to wait for our train which was late. Finally, about 45 minutes later, the reader board posted the platform for our train. Imagine our surprise to see the train pulling out of the station as five minutes later we climbed the last stair to the platform. Determined, I ran after the train. I was getting on if I had to throw myself on after my suitcase. In a gesture of considerable hospitality, the Polish conductor reached out to grab my suitcase. At the same time, he rang for the train to stop, which it abruptedly did and we got on, relieved to know our return trip of 30 hours trip was not going to be further extended by missing the first leg back.

Until next month,

Sharon and Bob