Awesome Thing About Living in Europe # 6

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #6 : Pace of Meals

An outdoor cafe in Warsaw's Old Town.  We are looking forward to hanging out here in the warm weather.

Tom and I are really enjoying the pace of life over here when it comes to eating out or enjoying a cup of coffee.  In Europe, there is absolutely no rush whatsoever to get "in and out".  Even if you order a single cup of coffee during a busy morning rush no one will look at you twice if you sit and enjoy it for an hour or longer.  Same goes for dining out....on a busy Saturday evening the staff are more than happy for you to savor your entire bottle of wine and enjoy your time out.  We L-O-V-E this!  It's such a nice change from the "and I'll just leave your bill on the table (as soon as the food arrives) in case you want it".  It has encouraged both of us to slow down a bit, enjoy our time together or with whoever we are out with and really focus on living in the moment....not just rushing to the next thing.  

We are sure part of this has to do with the fact that it is typical to tip your server very little over here.  Therefore, the majority of the server's pay is from their hourly wage and they are not in a hurry to get a new table in, to get another tip.  Maybe the U.S. should think about switching to this pay structure so people start slowing down a bit?  Might do society some good.....

A Day of Remembrance....

Yesterday, April 10th marked a day of remembrance here in Poland. One year ago the former President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, along with 95 other Polish diplomats, dignitaries and military officials died in a plane crash in Russia.  On the anniversary yesterday, the streets in Warsaw were flooded with people carrying the Polish flag and lighting candles in front of churches, cemeteries and the Presidential Palace in remembrance of the crash.  Tom and I took a walk to check everything out and the scene outside the Presidential Palace was pretty amazing.  There weer thousands of people gathered together chanting the former President's name and listening to a series of speeches.  

It was also a day for the Poles to express themselves.  The plane crash that killed a large number of important Poles has caused quite a stir.  The crash happened in Russia, Poland's biggest rival, and apparently happened due to very foggy weather.  Ask anyone in Warsaw and they will give you their opinion on the situation and there are a large number of people who claim that the crash was a conspiracy that was carefully planned out by the Russians.  There is also a huge discrepancy over how helpful the Russians have been in turning over information for the investigation of the crash.  And, a large group of people protested in front of the Russian embassy yesterday chanting that "Putin is a murderer."

Regardless of how it happened it was very nice to witness such an outpouring of nationalism for our new home country.  It was a unique memory that we will always remember.