Parthemores in Poland

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!  Since this month has been chock full o’ holidays, I’m just going to jam them all together into one post. 

As we discussed in the last post, November 11 is both Polish Independence Day and St. Martin’s Day.  All the flags come out for Independence Day…here is the Ratusz looking festive:

The lancer unit was out riding all over the city.  They wear post-WWI uniforms and give demonstrations of their drill maneuvers.  And leave some surprises in the street…

Photos from the parade down St. Martin’s Street:

After seeing this for two years now, I have determined that the main theme of this parade is:  weird.  Or maybe just “homemade Cirque du Soleil.”  But tons of people show up in bad weather to check it out.

On Thanksgiving Day, we were invited to a dinner at a local restaurant, hosted by an American who runs a publishing business in Poznań.  It was a nice blending of cultures:  the traditional Polish beet soup to start followed by some delicious turkey and cranberry sauce.  There were about 35 people there, and the host did a good job of making sure we mingled with everybody.

The following day, we hosted our own Thanksgiving/Promotion party.  While we only had two guests last year, this year we had nine friends accepting our offer of barbeque turkey sandwiches and free booze.  We had a great time watching futbol amerykański and taking part in a crazy mix of Polish and English conversations.  No kidding…including us, there were 5 Americans, 5 Poles, and a Dane.  The most delicious part was Eric’s 100% made from scratch pumpkin pie.  From an actual pumpkin and homemade dough, just like grandma used to make…as long as grandma had to buy the pie pans at the American Army base in Germany. 

And to close out the month, we’re proud to announce another milestone anniversary.  Eric’s parents will celebrate their 35^th anniversary on the 30^th.  Congratulations!

P.S.  Astute readers are probably wondering about the Michigan-Ohio State game.  Well, we couldn’t watch it.  Not even listen to it on the radio.  Technology totally failed us on this one.  All I will say is that the Wolverines were not as victorious as the other team.  Boo!