Strawberry Time!

One thing I must say about Northern Europe, the produce comes to market far earlier than I am used to.
I come from a place where strawberries are only beginning in mid-June and are full fledged in the beginning of July.  In Poland, strawberries burst onto the scene in late May and early June.  Soon, every peddler on the street is hawking baskets of strawberries upon strawberries.  Cherries will follow in the coming weeks, and I am looking forward to that.

Selling strawberries out of a van.

 A traditional way to prepare the strawberries (besides jams and jellies) is to hull them, cut them, sprinkle them with sugar so they form a tart, sweet, chunky sauce of sorts.  This versatile way of prepping the strawberries allows them to be ladled over nalesniki (crepes) stuffed with cheese, put into fruit smoothies, and mixed with yogurt and cream and eaten with pasta.

Fresh-bought strawberries ready to be washed.

Things in Poland That I've Yet to See in the US

Here's another roundup of products and things, which are readily available in Poland but I've yet to actually see in the US, albeit they undoubtedly exist somewhere.

Flyers for strippers/hookers:

Small cards touting naked women are stuck under the windshield wipers of cars. Not the cars parked in seedy neighborhoods either! Cars parked right near Rondo DeGaull'a are always covered with these things.

Pretty risqué.

They come in all shapes and sizes.

Twenty-four-hour video gambling spots:

A couple of video gambling machines in some small nook in an underground passageway? How perfectly Eastern European. Gambling doesn't have to be in controlled places like casinos (which they do have) but one can easily waste his money almost anywhere with these gambling spots.

Kinder Surprises:

Of all the chocolate products we have in the States, we've yet to receive Kinder Surprises. Kinder Surprises are chocolate eggs with a plastic egg within. In the plastic eggs are usually some sort of toy or collectable. The chocolate itself is actually quite good (it's milk chocolate.)

A foil-wrapped niespodzianka.

Sweetie Oranges:

Now, I am SURE we have these in the US. They're a crossbreed from Israel, and they're quite delicious and quite green.

Kwas Chlebowy:

Literally: Bread Acid. It's a soft drink that apparently comes from bread. I tried it on a whim at Smak Ukrainski, and it's actually quite good!!! I can compare it to Kinnie (which is also awesome!) but not really directly. It's got a unique taste that's rather hard to describe. It's kind of like Moxie. Can you describe the taste of Moxie without references to things like motor oil and cough syrup?

Horrible Translations and Typos:

I'm just making stuff up now. Of course we have these! Ever read a directly-translated instruction manual for a Chinese product? It's laughable. I've sold worthless products, which had these types of instructions, to people just because they wanted to show people how poorly translated the instructions were. It's actually a small hobby of mine to go to museums in Poland and see how many typos/mistakes I can find in the translations (about half as many as you can find here.)

I'd love a vannilia yogurth coctail.

SiPahh Straws:

Quite interesting, actually. These straws are coated in some sort of flavoring (chocolate, strawberry, banana) and used to drink milk. The outcome is a flavored milk, such as chocolate milk with the chocolate straw.

Chocolate straw.

Products in Poland

Poland used to be the Southeast Asia of Europe in the 19th century. Lodz used to be the center of the textile manufacturing business, and many of its old factories still remain today. These days the factories are mostly museums or shopping malls. The whirring of looms, clanking of gears, and the blood-curdling cries of peasant workers that have lost limbs in the horrific working environment have all fallen silent, but Poland does churn out some very nice things.

Vodka:

My personal favorite is Wyborowa (Polish for exquisite). It's easily consumed (Bud Light doesn't have shit on Wyborowa's drinkability!) My other favorite is Zubrowka, which derives its name from a type of grass, which in turn is the favorite of the Zubr Bison. In each bottle of Zubrowka, there is a single blade of the Zubrowka. The vodka itself has a slightly woody taste and is a pale yellowish-green.

If you are a fan of James Bond, you ought to know that Mr. Bond only drinks Polish or Russian Vodkas (he's been lately pandering for Smirnoff, which kind of sucks.)

Pottery:

Polish pottery is wonderfully beautiful. It's all very rustic, with intricate-yet-simplistic painted designs. Useful, sturdy and versatile, it's a wonder why it's not more popular in kitchens and dinner tables. There are several sets of designs, each just as incredible as the next. It is actually not that expensive either (some sets are more intricate, hence more expensive.) A three-quart pitcher is usually around $20 (at the going exchange rate. Last summer it would have been around $30.)

Tea pots and cups in a shop.

Gorgeous cookware and vases.

Koniaków:

Koniaków lace may not be as well known as that of Burano, but it does grace the tabletops of the Pope and the Queen. In recent years, the younger generation has decided to be more innovative in their products and have begun making lingerie and some women's wear. This lingerie is the SEXIEST stuff I have ever seen. Victoria's Secret could learn a thing or two.

http://www.koniakow.com/ is the website and online store. (http://www.koniartusa.com/ and http://www.koniakowusa.com/ are the US versions) It's quite expensive (then again, what isn't in the world of fashion?)

Coffee:

Actually, Poland doesn't have good coffee. I must say, most of the stuff you get in the stores is total shit. 80% of the coffee for sale is instant coffee and some of that is made of chicory (Lord save us!!!) They do have some very nice coffee houses, which serve good coffee.

Chocolate:

The Swiss and Belgians have traditionally owned this field, and rightfully so. Polish chocolate is quite good, and I like it a lot.