Ania's Wedding and Amelia's Birthday

The happy couple

Another long drive to Poland saw us lose half of the underside of our bumper along the Autobahn in Germany!  Following a mysterious loud flapping noise for a few minutes we pulled into a restplatz to inspect for damage.  We’d heard a similar sound to this months ago on our way to Kufstein for a day out and it turned out to be a flat tyre which left us parked for hours before we could get it fixed, by which time it was too late to explore the town and the castle, and we arrived home in time for dinner!  We worried this would be a similar story, but could find no problem at all so we carried on, unfortunately so did the flapping noise, when suddenly something black and bulky bounced off across the lanes behind us.  Panicking that it was something vital to our safety and having visions of our car blowing up (me, that is, always imagining the worst and most dramatic!) we pulled into another restplatz and were greeted by the stench of burning plastic (and stale urine as I crouched with my face close to the tarmac to inspect under the car – gross!) and found the front driver side wheel guard burnt away by the tyre, and half of the underside bumper cracked off and gone!  No idea how that happened, but not much we could do about it there and then, and deciding it posed no threat we carried on, with no flapping sound, so we relaxed and tried to enjoy the rest of the journey listening to The Wiggles and playing Eye Spy!


The ceremony

We arrived in Wroclaw that evening at Maciek’s cousins’ apartment, Kamil and Ania and their little girl Viktoria, to a beer and wine and a couple of Vodkas (what else?).  It didn’t take long for Amelia and Noah to scatter Viki’s toys all over her room!  The next morning Kamil and Ania had to go to work so we relaxed for a couple of hours before greeting Babcia and Dziadek at the door and venturing into the Rynek (old town square) with them for some traditional Beef Goulash (I know what you’re thinking Peta!) and Platzki (potato cakes).  We traipsed those cobble stones for miles until we finally found a place with that dish on the menu (we both had it in our heads that that’s what we wanted for lunch and wouldn’t except anything else!), we didn’t realize how hard it would be to find!  After that it was off to ‘old old old old Babcia’s’ for visiting Ciocia Lila, Agnieska and Kasia and young Frankie (or Franklin as Noah called him!) for coffee and cake.  In the evening Babcia and Dziadek babysat so we could enjoy a drink in the Rynek with Kamil and Ania, and since we could all speak a little German we attempted to continue the conversation in that language to try and include me a bit, but the sound of crickets soon descended amongst the shy and embarrassed giggles, so I reverted to people watching in my isolation!


Family photo outside church

Saturday was the day of the wedding of Ania and Mariusz.  We made it to the church on time and unlike the weddings we are used to in Australia the bride and groom were standing outside the church greeting all of their guests, and waiting for the previous wedding to finish and guests to disperse before theirs commenced.  I greeted Ania with a ‘kiss 3 times’ and commented on how beautiful she looked, to which she replied ‘look at you, what a dress!’  Ania, you’re the one in the stunning white gown!!  Time to enter the church, and we assembled into our pews before the organist began to play Here Comes the Bride.  I couldn’t understand what was being said or sung but I tried my best to keep up with the kneeling down, standing up and sitting again routines (it could have been a game of Simon Says for all I knew!) and really wanted to know what was going on when everybody giggled at things the Priest said!  It didn’t take long before the kids were bored but luckily Babcia came to the rescue with sweets, but that didn’t stop them from crawling under the pews and pulling faces at the men behind us proudly singing their hymns!  It was a lovely ceremony and Ania and Mariusz couldn’t stop smiling!

Family from Oz

 

We made our way to the reception venue, but first had to find our motel, which was not making an appearance on the sat nav.  The reception venue was a stunning thatched, log built restaurant on the highway, and once we spotted it we knew we couldn’t be far from the motel, and eventually found it, but this made us late for the reception and we had missed the grand entrance of the bride and groom and crept sheepishly to our seats while everyone else was stuck into their soup entrees!  That’s the second time being late at a Polish wedding, the last one was eight years ago and due to a broken down car!  It was one long table with the Ania and Mariusz and their two witnesses seated on the ‘T’ at the top.  It’s not easy supping at chicken soup with a three year old squirming on your lap trying to eat his noodles!  But we managed, and after a few shots of vodka and the commencement of dance music, things became easier.  Ania and Mariusz had obviously practiced their first dance for months, it was amazing, they looked like professionals!



Feeling okay Barry???

About 9.30pm and after a few visits to the white chocolate fondue table, Amelia and Noah had had enough and fell asleep with their teddies on the makeshift bed in the corner of the hall.  And then things really became merry when Dziadek supplied me with never ending Jack Daniels, and I heard Maciek enjoying himself by cornering random unsuspecting guests and demanding to know ‘the first thing that comes to your head when I say ‘Russia/Australia/England/Scotland/America’ etc!  It’s actually quite interesting listening to the different responses, and presents interesting points of discussion, or arguments, depending on how many vodkas have been consumed!
I was back at the motel by 2am, tucked up in bed with the kids, but Maciek decided to go back for more.  Much to his regret the next day.  He finally made it to bed at 5am, and the kids woke at 6.30am (they never sleep in no matter how late they went to bed the night before!).  He tried to keep sleeping, but to no avail, as it was Amelia’s 6th Birthday!  And she was dead excited! Only the poor thing had to wait as we’d left her presents in Babcia and Dziadeks room, and we didn’t want to disturb them! 


Wow what a candle!!

Birthday girl in her birthday dress

She finally opened her long awaited Lala Loopsy Coral Sea Shells doll, and some other bits and pieces, and we ventured for a birthday breakfast at the restaurant.  Babcia had organized a cake for her and she was busy playing with her new toys at the table, although I’d forgotten to bring a few things to keep Noah occupied!  She celebrated the rest of her birthday at the same restaurant as it’s Polish tradition after a wedding for the families to get together again for ‘Poprawiny’ the day after to finish the leftovers.  I think Maciek spoke two words the whole afternoon and at one point was circling the venue for a place to be sick!  Other than that it was a pleasant afternoon talking to Ania’s brother Michal and his girlfriend Ola, and laughing at Ciocia Ella trying to get photo’s of the kids ‘with no monkey faces!’


Cheeky boy - give ME some attention!

Town hall, Rynek




Next morning on the way back to Kamil and Ania’s we stopped at an outlet shopping centre but came out empty handed with a headache (who enjoys taking their kids shopping?) and returned to Babcia’s for some more coffee and cake, and more presents for Milly. 

It was an early start the next morning back to Austria.  This time we had a clean run and arrived home with the car intact!


Congratulations Ania and Mariusz!  Thankyou for having us at your wedding!  And thank you Kamil and Ania for putting us up again.  And Congratulations to our little Milly turning 6!!! XXXX



Just walking my geese!