Family Reunion, Part 2 – Warsaw

Saturday, September 22
 
True to the forecast, our weather changed dramatically overnight.  There was a pre-dawn windy downpour, which lasted just long enough to bring us a dramatic drop in temperature.  With a flip of a switch, summer turned to fall.

We left Bialystok and drove back to Warsaw and, despite some issues with our GPS, we managed to find John’s hotel, Vicki’s apartment, and our own.  We’re all staying in the same part of town, but the streets were congested and our large van not the ideal vehicle for either maneuvering or parking. 
After a pause that refreshed, we assembled for a trip across the Vistula River to Praga, Warsaw’s “Right Bank.”  Anna, the Sokolowicz cousin who reminded each of us of Tom’s mother when we’d met on Monday in Tykocin, had invited us to her home to meet her daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters.  Anna does not speak English, but her family does – with varying degrees of confidence and skill.  Ada, the older granddaughter, is fluent, and she managed the flow of conversation easily. 

While we enjoyed a meal that included Anna’s traditional stuffed cabbage (which Tom pronounced reminiscent of – but better than – his mother’s!), enough desserts to fill a bakery and several varieties of the family’s homemade fruit and nut alcohol extracts, Vicki shared a great deal of what she’d uncovered about the family story, asked some questions about their shared history, and answered many others.  

Though Anna is close in age to Vicki, Tom and John, she belongs to another generation of the family; she is their mother’s first cousin.  Anna is the daughter of one of the two Sokolowicz brothers who were taken by the Nazis to work camps in 1945, when she was just an infant.  She and her mother were removed and taken to Ravensbruck, a German concentration camp for women.  They survived and were able to return to Tykocin after the war; her father and uncle did not.  Listening to her tell her difficult story was an experience we’re not likely to forget.  

Once again, we were welcomed with great warmth and by the time the evening was over, we felt that our family had grown, as had our list of most memorable travel experiences.