a part of Poland in the middle of France

I’m ashamed to admit, but we (the female part of our trip) slept through almost the entire journey until the first stop. It was probably caused by the excess of emotions and endorphins on one hand and tiredness on the other. After 13-hour-long travel, we stopped in Oignies, France, to visit Bartek’s uncle - Cezar. He is of Polish descent. Uncle Cezar emigrated to France 30 years ago. He joined the association of the Polish community and helped in establishing a Polish Roman Catholic parish. Now he is in charge of organising meetings for Polish pensioners living in foreign country.

He welcomed us with a glass of real French champagne and prepared a special French dinner for us. The starter comprised of a melon with a cored hole in the middle, filled with Portuguese red wine.

Uncle Cezar told us how much he missed Poland. He told us about the history of Polish emigrants during the Second World War and the actual situation at that time in France. His longing for home country was clearly noticeable in his eyes when he talked about Polish culture and history and also when we looked at his home decorations. We could listen to Mazowsze music played by a gramophone that he bought in Poland many years ago.

The aura of this meeting let us go back into the times that we only know from school books. Having left some Polish souvenirs for uncle Cezar, we set out on our onward journey. 

I think this visit was a great lesson of history and patriotism which will stay in our memory for a long time.

Uncle Cezar, thank You for your hospitality and bottles of champagne which you provided for us (It was enough for the whole trip!)