Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

Yesterday marked our "anniversary" of arriving in Warsaw.  Seven months ago yesterday we arrived here tired, confused and uneasy.....not sure what to expect and what our life was going to look like. 

It's amazing all that we have learned and discovered in the past months...a lot about Warsaw and the Polish people, but even more about ourselves and about each other!  We are really happy here and enjoying our experience.  Of course, we still miss our amazing family and friends back in the states so very much.  But we are grateful for Skype so we can talk to them on a regular basis.  And we will be seeing them in just about three months when we embark on our first trip back for the holidays! 

When people ask if we had to make this decision again would we have still come...I think we would both respond with an enthusiastic "yes".  This move has taught us a lot, but I think its not all about being abroad and more about change.  For someone who has always had trouble coping with changes I have come to the realization that change can be a truly wonderful thing at times...it opens your eyes, gives you a new perspective, changes your routine and allows you to see the world a bit differently.  While first encountering change can be a really scary thing I have learned that you need to jump into it and embrace it.  Thank you Poland for continuing to open our eyes and allow us to grow as individuals and as a family.  I am so grateful to be sharing this experience with my best friend and "best" dog!  

Here's to hoping that the rest of our time in Poland is just as great as the first seven months...

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #14

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #14:  Beets

Tom and I have a new love.....we love beets!  Prior to moving to Warsaw I liked beets and I am pretty sure Tom had never even tried them.  We started eating them in Warsaw at a bunch of different restaurants since they are definitely a staple of Polish cooking.  After enjoying them at restaurants, we were eager to make them at home.  So we headed to the market to buy a few.  We got them home and were a bit perplexed...how do you get these rock hard roots to turn into gorgeous, soft burgundy deliciousness?  We did some quick online research and we roasted our own beets!  We now make them all the time and always have some roasted ones in our fridge.  Our favorite way to eat them is on a salad with some feta cheese and walnuts.  And, I am always on the hunt for new beet recipes.  If you have a good one, please pass it along.  Supposedly beets are a nutrition "super" food...just another bonus for our new love. 

Now, you might be questioning if beets really qualify as something we could "love" about living in Europe since beets can be found in just about any part of the world.  But, it is our living in Europe that has made us discover and fall in love with these delicious vegetables.  Living in a new environment has definitely opened our eyes to new things or things that our "new" to us.  And it's been super fun to take in all of these new experiences!

Work Hard, Play Hard.....

Work Hard, Play Hard has definitely summed up Tom's life lately!  I could not be prouder of my husband and how hard he has been working to make the Warsaw office a success.  Change is happening little by little (not as fast as my type-A husband would like....but its teaching him a good lesson in patience) and I am happy that he can start to see the results of all of his hard work.  After a few grueling weeks at work Tom went to the southwest region of Poland last weekend for a team building outing with his entire team.  They were also joined by the team's from CH Robinson Wroclaw and CH Robinson Budapest.  They had the opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous Visla mountain region of Poland and spend time together outdoors.  One of the things Tom enjoyed most was hangliding.  He got to go up in the hanglider and fly over the mountains.  I am glad I heard about it after he was safely back on the ground.  ; )

Tom prepping for his big flight

Uh oh...he's getting nervous!

The Hanglider that he flew in

While Tom was away....Charlie and I played too!

  I am not sure if it's been mentioned in previous posts, but Tom and I live in the neighborhood that was the Old Jewish area.  Wealthy Jewish people lived here prior to WWII and once the war started our neighborhood was the central location of the Warsaw Ghetto, where all of the Jews were forced to live.  It is crazy cool to think of all of the history and people that have passed through our neighborhood in the past 60 years!  This past weekend there was a great Jewish theater and music festival in our "front yard".  All weekend long we could here awesome music in our apartment from the festival.  Charlie and I spent Saturday afternoon walking around the festival and checking out the music, the people, the vendors and more!  We had a great time and Charlie especially enjoyed the love and affection he got from various Poles at the festival.  A big thanks to our friend Monica for the photos....we were enjoying ourselves so much that we didn't take any!

The Festival View from our apartment

The only two original Jewish apartment buildings left from before the war. 
They are currently in the process of restoring them to condos!

The only pre-war Synogauge that survived WWII.

The Festival at Night!



Florida Family = Fun

We were fortunate to have my Aunt Irene and her boyfriend, Ken, visiting us over the past week.  Irene and Ken made the long trip from Miami, Florida to spend some time with us in Warsaw.  We were fortunate to have fantastic weather the entire week and definitely made the most of it.  We saw all of the main sites of Warsaw, took in a concert at Lasienki Park, feated on Polish delicacies, took a city bus tour, and went on a number of walks all around Warsaw.  We even snuck in a quick day trip to Krakow!  It was wonderful to have Irene and Ken here.  We love showing people our new home and we get to spend great, quality time with everyone since most guests are here for more than a few days.  Charlie especially loved Irene and Ken because they spoiled him with love and plenty of "people" food.   Thanks for visiting Irene and Ken!

Enjoying a Chopin concert at Lasienki Park

When in Poland....

Tableside Steak Tartar at one of our Favorite Restaurants

Krakow's Old Town Square

Golf Cart Tour of Krakow

Irene wants to join in!

Charlie is going to miss his visitors.  They spoiled him rotten.



Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #13

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #13:  Quiet Mornings

Our mornings in Warsaw are very quiet and we have really come to enjoy this peaceful time of day.  Due to the 6-7 hour time difference (depending on where you are in the states) most everyone that we talk to in the States is not awake for the day until at least 12:30 pm Warsaw time.  This means that the mornings are quiet ones.  Even my email inbox is quiet....of course that makes sense for personal emails, but commercial/retailer emails don't get sent out until the morning US time as well.  While one of our favorite parts of our day is talking to those that we love in the states, it is nice to know that we have our mornings all to ourselves.  Charlie and I visit the parks, catch up on emails, run errands and grab cofee along with anything else that has to be done that day. 

I think the best part of this is that the time is truly quiet and there isn't really a high likelihood of anyone calling.  This is quite a change from the states, where as soon as you wake up in the morning you could be getting a phone call and emails are piling into your inbox.  Just another small thing that has helped us learn to slow down and enjoy living! 

On a side note, we have more visitors arriving today!  My Aunt Irene and her boyfriend, Ken arrive this evening.  We are excited to have them in Warsaw for the next week!!

Status Quo

I was talking to my mom the other day and she asked how we were doing, to which I replied, "Everything here is status quo." 

Such a simple statement said without much thought.  But as I started to give it some thought I came to the realization how nice it is to finally be able to say that "Life in Warsaw is status quo."  We have fallen into a routine, know our way around, and can even speak more than a little Polish.  We have firmly established our life here now.  Status quo feels good! 

And, according to the experts this is about the right timing for our "status quo" arrival -- we have now been living in Warsaw for six and a half months.  We truly cannot believe it!  The time has flown by and it seems like only yesterday the three of us (of course we include Charlie) were off for our new adventure.  Now, don't get me wrong we are still learning and experiencing new things every day.  Just yesterday I was trying to find baking powder in the grocery store.  Try asking for that one to a grocery store employee in broken Polish.  Thank goodness for my blackberry and google translate.  And, then I come to discover that baking powder in Poland is sold in a packet (not a canister) and sits in the jello and pudding section (not the baking section).  It's these little experiences that have gotten us to our "status quo" and it feels good. 

We can now take you to Charlie's favorite park, direct you to the bank with the best exchange rate, complete a transaction at the post office in Polish, find you a good bottle of wine in our neighborhood, take you to the best outdoor beer garden, send you for the best pedicure in our area and more!  There is a sense of comfort and a lot more confidence that comes with this...and we'll take it! 

So, "How are the Sullivan's you ask?"  We are great...everything in Warsaw is status quo! 

Three Days of Fun!

Today, the 15th, is a public holiday in Poland.  There are actually two holidays that fall on this day; 1) National Army Day and 2) The Holy Assumption.  There has to be some sort of irony that a religious and army holiday fall together.  But, anyhow...We have thoroughly enjoyed our three day weekend in Warsaw.  We have been blessed with sunny weather.  We spent all day Saturday exploring some small towns and villages outside of Warsaw.  We had forgotten how long it takes to get somewhere without any major highways.  So, we weren't too far outside of Warsaw, but it seemed like another world.  We drove through farm land and very quiet and cute towns.  It was cool to see a different part of Poland.  We took Charlie with us and made a stop off at a big grassy park so he could get some good playtime in.  On Sunday we took Charlie to our favorite park in Warsaw, Pole Mokotowskie.  He had so much fun hcasing his ball and playing with other dogs.  As a special treat we even let him into the little lake to play fetch.  It was so much fun to watch him go swimming and a reminder of our times in Michigan.  Today we are getting caught up on some stuff around the house and relaxing.  Its been quite nice to have three days of family fun!

On a aside note, we are taking our big Polish test to pass level "0".  Wish us luck!  And, you have to love the European numbering system...we feel so accomplished that we are almost through level "0".  : ) 

Renovations on the Castle

Please, can I play some more?

Charlie being silly!