Znin...weddings and family time!

We left Warsaw for Znin for the wedding of Marcin and Marta, Ewa’s cousins. After some phone calls to my Aunt Lula (mother of the groom and also a wonderfully sweet woman) we found out that the bride had a few people coming in from Norway and that she organized for a bus to pick them up from the nearby city of Bydgoszcz so we got to catch a ride rather than having to try to mess around with the Polish bus system! After getting off the train from Warsaw we went out front and looked for the group and quickly found them, Norwegians are tall J As we stood behind the group waiting to ask if they were going to Znin, one of the ladies in the group asked us if we were the Canadians they were waiting for, yup that’s us. The Piwkowski’s we stayed with in Lyon were already there! Reunion! Lula and Kazimierz are the parents of Jacek (whose family we stayed with in Lyon), and Marcin, who is the groom.

The Piwkowski's

As we arrived in Znin at my aunt Lula’s and my uncle Kazimierz’s house we were so wonderfully welcomed, we had a huge lunch because my aunt thought we would be hungry after the long journey, which we very much appreciated…only to find out that there was a family dinner already planned for an hour later. The night lasted well into the wee hours of the morning as Ewa was catching up with family. The following three days consisted of eating way too much, talking and enjoying a few bottles of wine. Somehow at each dinner we underestimated the number of courses as there is always more than one! There were so many people to introduce Chad to. To give a bit of a background: Lula is my dads cousin and her husband is Kazimierz, they have two children Jacek and Marcin. The bride’s name is Marta and she is Polish and has lived in Norway for a long time and now lives in Germany with Marcin. Jacek and his family live in Lyon, France. All of the whole family is very musically talented. My aunt and uncle are very interested in instruments from the renaissance period and had a band that is known all over Poland, their children were also in this band. All of the family members and a great many of their children are in the orchestra and are very talented. Marta, the bride, is also in the orchestra and plays the piano.

Ewa, Hanna, Wanda, Renata

The day of the wedding there was a lot going on, so we mostly just tried to help or stay clear to give everyone enough space to do what they needed to. The ceremony and the reception was being held at a castle outside of the city, there was a little bus that transported people from Znin to the castle which was about half an hour away. It was a beautiful ceremony and the young couple looked very very happy. After the ceremony all the guest were invited to a concert in the main hall of the castle where family members and talented musicians and singers preformed. In this main hall my uncle and his son hung flags of each country that was attending! There was a flag for Poland, France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Norway, the US, Australia and the EU! It was an international wedding! My uncle Kazimierz played the piano to accompany his brother Leon on the trombone, then his son Jacek on the oboe, then an opera singer from Germany sang a song, and another singer from the opera in Germany sang another song, to top it off Leons son who is a wonderful cello player and his wife played a few pieces on the cello, can you say more?

It was amazing. After the concerts it was time for a few appetizers and refreshments (other than champagne which had been flowing from right after the papers were signed!) We were sitting at the ‘kids’ table which was great because our cousins from Lyon were there along with a few younger guests. And here is another example of being not aware that there will be more than once course… the appies were great, everyone was full, then came out the wild mushroom soup, oh dear so delicious, then came out the main course…this does not end…then came the amazing desert….then we were outside and noticed that someone was roasting an entire pig…that also came out after the desert with many salads….it was a lesson in pacing yourself. There were so many family members there from Poland that it was like going back in time for Ewa. Chad was introduced to all of our family here, my aunts Wanda, Hannia, their now extended family, their children and their children’s children! It was a wonderful wedding.

Lyon, Ewa, Wanda and Hanna..

The next day in the early afternoon, we took a little narrow track train for an hour to visit Biskupin. We were joined by our cousins from Lyon on this trip to Biskupin which is a little national park that shows how polish people lived in that area from 5 BC. They have tried to recreate the large wooden fort that was erected on the marshlands and dominated the plains for hundreds of centuries, pretty fun stuff! That night there was one more wedding reception dinner hosted by Lula and Karzimierz where the all of the international guests and the family attended for a night of toasts, more music and sharing stories. Our three days in Znin we were treated amazingly, welcomed with broad open arms from all of the family it was a really great experience! The next morning, after many good-byes, we were off again to Kolo!

Biskupin

Znin...weddings and family time!

Znin, Poland