a sort of homecoming

On May 24, just nine days from now, my father, my step-mother, and I will step foot on Polish soil. We will be the first Powazeks to do so in over fifty years.

This is not going to be a light trip.

Poland is where my family comes from, in case you couldn't tell by the domain name. In 1950, my three year-old dad, his older brother, and my grandma and grandpa Powazek got on a boat and came to America. What happened before then, well, you know that story already if you paid attention in history class.

My dad and I have been talking about making this trip – a pilgrimage, really – for a long time now. And over the last few months, it's become a reality. But I've been so wrapped up in finishing the book, I've barely devoted any thought to what I'm about to do. Maybe it's better that way.

But I wanted to post this on the off chance that I have any readers from Warsaw who might be interested in meeting up with a dazed American or three. When I was in Europe last time, I met a few wonderful souls thanks to the web (you know who you are). If so, please say hello.

And either way, wish us luck.

{ 1:01am }

» The trip will be nice for your dad.
enjoy

– Connor Aston  { 5.15.01 @ 1:39am }

» WOW - It's bound to me one of those trips that will stay in your memory.

Unfortunately, I don't live in Poland, so I can't help you there. But I'll come back and check if there are any stories from your trip there.

– Rasmus Rasmussen  { 5.15.01 @ 1:44am }

» godspeed to the both of you

– caroline  { 5.15.01 @ 2:15am }

» Blessings and best wishes to you, from another son of a Polish father.

– Noah  { 5.15.01 @ 5:59am }

» Before your return to Poland, you may want to listen to The Connection audio archive of their nostalgia broadcast:
theconnection.org/archive/2001/05/0511a.shtml

(Found your site via Zeldman. Very nice.)

– Al Stakhanov  { 5.15.01 @ 8:17am }

» (fray) story in the making! Good luck and make many wonderful memories.

– Penny  { 5.15.01 @ 9:13am }

» Have a good trip
After your return, look into a:hover on your page in NS6, not all of 'em work, someHow.
Enjoy Poland and yourSelf

– andrei (dude from russia)  { 5.15.01 @ 9:13am }

» poland is interesting. although i was young when we made a very similar pilgrimage back, i remember it being a country of great contrasts. looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

enjoy the trip...we'll all enjoy it through you upon your return.

– sara  { 5.15.01 @ 10:30am }

» Reading poems by Milosz will reverberate your experiences in Poland.

– Peter Hinchliff  { 5.15.01 @ 3:46pm }

» sounds like a wonderful experience for your family to make together as a family. you will be changed by this i'm sure and there will real lows as well as highs - but that's what life is about is it not? have a wonderful time. i llok forward to reading all about it.

– danielle  { 5.15.01 @ 7:35pm }

» sounds like an overwhelming experience....good luck!

– Ben  { 5.16.01 @ 7:14am }

» Have a safe journey Uncle H.

– Uncle H  { 5.18.01 @ 7:31pm }

» To bardzo mile, ze przyjezdzacie do Polski. Zycze wielu milych wrazen.

– Tomasz Bielecki  { 5.19.01 @ 1:36am }

» Hi Derek,

I visited Poland (Lodz) , the place my grand parents were born 8 years ago

You might want to take a lookat this.
http://www.hillerphoto.com/eastern_europe

Havea great trip

-Geoff

– Geoff Hiller  { 5.19.01 @ 10:03pm }

» good luck man,,,,,,,
there's been people planning my visit back,,,,
i've just been so busy.....
make sure to take a camera and take the scenic tourist trip.......

good luck

– mike  { 5.20.01 @ 10:08pm }

» >>To bardzo mile, ze przyjezdzacie do Polski. Zycze wielu milych wrazen.

translation: that's very pleasant, that you will be coming to Poland. I wish you many pleasant impressions (or memories of Poland).

:-)

-Jon

Do Tomasz: Mieszkasz w Warszawie?
Kiedy jestem w Polsce, mieszkam w Krakowie. Mowisz po angielsku?

– Jon Glass  { 5.21.01 @ 7:46am }

» Hey DMP,

Wish you luck in Poland. Warsaw is nice, especially the Old town, make sure you go there. But, if you can, think about visiting the Cracow castle or Gdansk sea port. And get out of the cities too! Major places on the country side would be The Tatras (Zakopane) or the lakes in Mazury. Anyways wish you good luck, and I hope that your trip will show you the good sides of our country!

Maciej from NYC

– Maciej Kupiszewski  { 5.22.01 @ 7:34am }

» >>And get out of the cities too! Major places on the country side would be The Tatras (Zakopane) or the lakes in Mazury. Anyways wish you good luck, and I hope that your trip will show you the good sides of our country!
>>

Outside of Krakow, you gotta see the Wieliczka Salt Mine, and north of Krakow are a group of ancient castle ruins, called the "Eagles' nests". They are also worth seeing.
-Jon

– Jon Glass  { 5.23.01 @ 3:49pm }