Here in Poland, the day after Easter Sunday is a national holiday, Lany Poniedziałek or Wet Monday. No school, most businesses are closed, and watch out for water fights! The day is also called Śmigus-Dyngus, and you can read about its long tradition in Poland here.

We were warned that people would be out and about water fighting, and even strangers could fall victim to a water balloon or bucket drenching. All morning, we heard the laughter and shrieking of children in our apartment’s courtyard, chasing each other with water guns:

Fortunately, nobody seemed to be interested in getting us wet. We didn’t leave the apartment until the early afternoon. The day was gorgeous, warm with a bright sun and a cloudless blue sky. We headed to a bird sanctuary island we’d heard about, Wyspa Sobieszewska, just east of Gdansk:

The bus let us off at a dead-end road that then became a sandy path into the forest. The walk soon became a terrific climb. The forest had grown on top of sand dunes, and they made a high crest just inland from the Baltic Sea coast. Andy discovered that a geocache was hidden nearby, so we walked along the ridge looking for it, eventually climbing to the top of the tallest sand dune, Gora Orla. (Mountain Orla, named in good humor?) Andy found the cache, which was hidden in a deep, square cavity in the hill, possibly made by mortar fire? a bomb? I didn’t take a picture of the hole, but here is what the forested ridge looks like:

Then we trekked through the forest, up and down hills, until we finally came to the beach. We were tired, so we put out a blanket and got cozy on the sand. As I’ve said before, I love the Baltic Sea. After a short rest, I took off my shoes and socks and headed to the water. It was cold, but refreshing. Standing and watching the waves come in is mesmerizing.

I’d thought there might be people getting each other wet at the beach, but the people we saw were sitting and enjoying the sun or walking slowly along the edge of the sea. It was windy and in the 50s Fahrenheit, about 12 Celsius, and we were a long way from anyplace anyone could get warm again. Most people probably realized it wasn’t a good place for water fighting.

We didn’t see many birds. I’d have to do more research than I’ve done so far to learn why the island is a bird sanctuary and when and what kinds of birds migrate through. (Note: I spent about five minutes researching this and gave up.) If you can add something about the bird sanctuary on this island (or maybe we went to the wrong place??), please share your knowledge in the comments. Birds or no birds, we had a wonderful time exploring the forested sand dunes and the beach.

Easter

I’m sorry to say that I don’t have Easter pictures; however, I have learned a bit about Polish traditions. On the Saturday before Easter, families put together a basket of food (eggs, cheese, sausage, bread, etc.) and take it to the church to be blessed. That food becomes their Easter morning breakfast.

Andy and I had a wonderful Easter-day feast, thanks to our friend Sarah, who bought most of the food (bigos, hard-boiled eggs, roasted chicken, red cabbage, egg salad with veggies, cheesecake and mazurka, and so much more!). Thanks also to our friend Wojczech who delivered to us a delicious babka cytrynowa that his mother made. And we are thankful for the friends who gathered with us to eat, drink, converse, and have a really wonderful time. I’m disappointed that I didn’t take pictures.

I hope you are well and enjoying good food and friends.

Until next time, do widzenia!