Festival of the Pierogi

Leaving beautiful Błędowo behind, Paula and I head back to Warsaw to drop in on the Pierogi Festival, which was happening down along the banks of the Vistula. Hundreds and hundreds of people turned out to try pierogi and dumplings from around the world and enjoy the beautiful summer’s day.

Munchie madness

It was hard to know where to start; we did so by walking around all the stores to see what they had and then diving in. There were fried pakoras and dim sum and croquettes, Indian dumplings and Polish pierogi. But perhaps the most popular stall, certainly the one with the longest queues, was for one of my favourites – bao. Unfortunately the massive queue was in direct sunlight, and I just couldn’t bear to wait in line for much longer than 10 minutes, so we moved on.

Admission to the festival was free; filling your body to the brim with delicious dumplings? Not so much!

Dumplings in hand, we headed for somewhere to sit, and like many others chose the steps along the river. This part of the river was set up like a beach, complete with a firepit and toasting tongs, though no-one was toasting up anything today, content to have themselves cooked for.

Paula and I walked along the river and back to my apartment, hoping in vain to try and walk off some of our lunch. We chatted about this and that and talked a bit about my plans for the next few days.

It had been such a wonderful weekend with my cousins. I couldn’t believe I was getting to spend so much time with them – it was just what I had wanted for this trip and I was so grateful. Thinking back to my childhood or even my teens, I never would have imagined having the opportunity to meet my Polish cousins, and certainly not in their countries.

The ability to travel has given me the opportunity to get to know my extended family, both in Poland and in Wales. I am so glad I pushed myself to get out there into the big wide world all by myself. I can’t imagine life any other way now!