I'm Dreaming of a White Easter

Eat all day we love. Not only is this the name of our blog, but (un)coincidentally it is also the mantra of our trip. And never has this mantra been so significant as it was at this stage of our journey; Easter 2012 in Dzierzoniow, Poland.

The significance and buzz surrounding Easter in Europe had already started infecting us a couple of weeks prior to the big day. The town squares of Prague and Krakow were filled with bustling market stalls selling everything from sizzling fresh kielbasas (Polish sausage) to ornately decorated eggs. Easter monuments adorned the area, and there was a palpable feeling of excitement amongst the townsfolk, akin to the hype associated with Christmas in Australia. All in celebration and anticipation of this special occasion. A stark contrast to the horribly commercialised 'spirit' of Easter which dominates Australian culture. 

 

 We woke up on Easter morning to find that the streets outside were blanketed in snow. Trees, benches and cars were all frosted with this powdery white layer. For us an Easter miracle. Needless to say, Jay and I were probably the only two people in Poland thrilled at the sight, given that for the rest of the population Spring was already overdue by two months.

Instead of waking up to an Easter Egg hunt as is tradition with my family in Melbourne, we all got dressed and ready for church. Rugged up in our winter woollies, we made our way to the local town parish. Jay was absolutely beside himself that it was snowing, and released his excitement by throwing snowballs at me the entire way there. This led to my uncle declaring Jay a hooligan as snowballs flew past me and dodged the local townspeople.

Upon returning home, we were served a traditional Easter morning breakfast. My aunty had been preparing food the entire previous day, so our tummies were eagerly anticipating the feast she had in stall for us. The first item on the menu; white barscht soup. Made up of a dill and sour-cream broth and filled with white kielbasa, potato and carrots, this was a refreshing change to the usual bacon-and-eggs breakfast served on Easter morning at home. Though the soup itself did not look too appealing to the eye, the mellow meatiness of the boiled kielbasa complimented the acerbic flavour of the stock delightfully, and eaten together with rye bread it made for a deliciously hearty start to our frosty Easter morning. That tasty main was followed by an even tastier cake my aunty had made; a scrumptious caramel, cream and biscuit concoction. And that was only the beginning.

This is what followed: delicate-to-the-point-of-melting slow-cooked beef served with home-made mushroom gravy, potatoes and salad; salatka, a traditional Polish salad made up of various vegetables cooked and diced, with a dressing of mayonnaise and mustard; bread, hams, and salamis-a-plenty; not to mention the plethora of sweets and cakes which were on offer too. My aunty did not stop bringing food out the entire day, and just as you probably struggled to keep up with the list of delicacies I just described, by 2pm our stomachs were also struggling to keep up with this superfluous amount of food my aunty had been working so hard to prepare.

Most importantly of all, the day was filled with plenty of family, laughter, and exchanging of stories. Various family and friends were coming and going all day, and not surprisingly there was plenty of food to accommodate everyone. Spending this special day with my relatives for the first time together with Jay was so wonderful and heart-warming, and I cannot thank my beautiful family enough for making Easter 2012 such a memorable one for me!