Katowice

On Friday morning, (September 20,) even though Zach and I already had a train ticket to Katowice and a reservation, Andrzej decided that he would like to drive us to Katowice himself. So off we went in his Toyota — Andrzej, Kuba, Zach and I. 

In Katowice, my cousin, Elżbieta, who is a professor of architecture, lives with her husband, Maciek, their son, Marek, and their daughter, Ewa, who unfortunately was out of town during our visit.

Maciek and Elżbieta

Elzbieta’s paternal grandmother (Wiktoria Bienia,) Andrzej’s paternal grandmother (Anna Bienia,) and my maternal grandmother (Maria Bienia,) were all sisters in Krosno, Poland. Elżbieta and Andrzej had somehow never met each other. So this impromptu auto trip presented an excellent opportunity for the two to meet. I was pleased!  (And I think our grandmothers would be, too!)

We had a delightful dinner together, and I’m kicking myself that I didn’t take a photo to document this coming together of cousins. 

On Saturday morning, we were greeted by another stunningly presented Polish breakfast, prepared by Maciek:

After some much needed business — a trip to the post office to ship off some items, a trip to the train station to get a ticket from Poland into the Ukraine — we drove to the town of Pszczyna.  OK, now just TRY to say that. You can say “pshaw,” right? Pronouncing the P?  OK, so it’s psh - chy - na.  Roll that all together into just 2 syllables and you’ve got Pszczyna. Accent’s on the first syllable:  PSZCZY-na. There.

Maciek, Elżbieta and their son, Marek, in the town square in Pszczyna.

What you have to know is that this area of Poland is called Silesia in English, Śląnsk in Polish. For a long time Pszczyna was considered part of Germany. 

We found the town really charming:

Look carefully above the door and you'll see this is Restauracja Kmiec! 

The word for bicycle in Polish is rower, pronounced "rover." We were delighted to come across this shop in Pszczyna, especially since Trek bicycles originated in Wisconsin. (OK, OK, most are made in China today...  but still.)

The town of Pszczyna has a German castle, which Maciek says is really more of a palace than a castle since it is not surrounded by a wall. But they call it a castle. 

The entry-way to the castle — hexagonal slices of logs, designed to dampen the noise of carriage wheels

Entry-way: Carriages would pull in here to deposit their passengers inside the castle.

Castle fire extinguisher, about 200 years old.

In the 19th Century, the Hochberg Family owned the house.
They and their noble friends were obsessed with the sport of hunting.

The walls in room after room after room are lined with hunting trophies.

At home that evening, another cousin came to visit:

Katarzyna, whom none of us had ever met before, is a member of my grandfather’s family who happens to live in Katowice. (No relation to Elżbieta.) Katarzyna arrived with her beautiful daughter, Marta, and we all sat down to enjoy a couple of hours of conversation, sparkling wine and an assortment of cakes. (When I get back to Wisconsin I will be totally round.) Katarzyna helped fill in some blanks on my Kosinski family tree.  We’ll meet her cousin, Jean, in Paris in a few weeks. The conversation went back and forth between Polish, French, English, and a little Spanish. Such fun

Standing: Phyllis, Katarzyna, Marek
Sitting: Maciek, Elżbieta, Marta

We are so rich in family! These are all such wonderful people, sharing our ancestral heritage and yet separated from one another by ocean and language. Communication is exhausting! But we try and we are rewarded.