PEEPS AT POLAND

Evening Star, Issue 23113, 12 November 1938, Page 13

PEEPS AT POLAND

TRAVELLING BY NIGHT SOME IMPRESSIONS OF BOARDING HOUSES [By M. S. PniMMiiß.] ' JS’o. I. There was something rather pathetic and charming in the way all the Poles asked us “ Why did you come to Poland?” Why indeed? I think it was the feeling that here at least one could experience a few weeks in a country not over-populated with summer tourists, and where there would therefore —so w,e hoped—be a spice of adventure, and such proved to be the case. Knowing not a word of this, the most difficult language in Europe, and impossible to pronounce except by those horn to it, we armed ourselves with a pocket dictionary (hardly used the ■whole time), rubbed up our rusty German, and set off in high spirits. Actually we found that in the Warsaw district (under the Russians till 1920) German and French were not much used, except among the educated, who all have: a smattering of French; while further south, near Cracow (till the end of the war tinder Germany and Austria), German carried us everywhere, even to talks to peasants in the markets. English is yet hardly known, hut this is being hurriedly remedied, and schools take that as the compulsory'foreign language now, since they say “ you are the only people that have freedom and wealth. How wonderful it must be to live in a country where everyone has enough to eat.” To many it is the land paved with gold, the ideal of liberty in all its forms. I avoided discussions on these points. We decided to travel by night from Berlin to Warsaw, as good trains an; ' not frequent, and we had taken the precaution to reserve seats. But. all the foresight in the world cannot ensure smooth running, and for the see-

ond time in our European tours wo found ourselves travelling—need 1 say to our joy—with a football team in dog days.. The first time was in Spain, with a native team flushed with the success of winning a large Japanese metal “cup” from the Central ■ Europe countries. This one was a team of French athletes (many of them Olympic Games men) invited by the .Soviet Government to compete in the games festival in Moscow, with the promise of reserved carriages right through and three weeks’ hard entertainment. When we got in at Berlin'' all the'second class carriages were not only full, but overflowing with thes» stalwarts. . Ours were numbered all right, but unfindable With 10 instead of six passengers, including a swinging hammock where reposed a handsome young runner (great .admirer of Lovelock, too). German officials, harassed at having to unravel 29 French passports and packages of money, forbade the use of the hammock, and said that some must get up as we had our seats. We all obeyed, deciding to make ourselves Comfortable later, and , to find seats somehow for those apparently doomed to spend the night ja , the corridors. Meanwhile the perspir- i ing head passport officer sent SOS mes- , sages all along the train; “ Where is f the French lady travelling with these j men?” Groans and hilarity, with t “ Where, Oh, Where?” from the grass j •widowers and bachelors, who all re- j fused the telegram addressed sure enough to Jeannette.” The mystery t ■was solved, one of the French hav- , ing this name on his British passport, j though why British remained a mys- , - tery. r

Finally peacm was restored and we were off. Songs kept us all awake and festive till midnight, when I suggested sleep. Had.- 1 foreseen the ,result. 1 would probably have left the matter alone. “ Madame, you and Mademoiselle must indeed have your sleep. We will arrange it.” No sooner said than the hacks of the seats were hoisted up to form sleepers, but not properly, so that they hung at a horrible angle over my head all night, and I fully expected to be damaged before, morning. On each sleeper reposed two men; we, too. double-berthed, and so came at last to Warsaw. Dawn came at !5 a.m. On my expressing surprise at this very early rising I.was told that Poland, in her hatred of everything Russian, prefers td" keep her clocks to Greenwich time. This curious form of revenge for past- wrongs meant that we never had to alter our watches in Poland. FIRST IMPRESSIONS. Let me say at once that, as far as scenery is concerned, most of Poland leaves much to be desired, excepting, of course, the beautiful Carpathian section, of which more later. You must imagine hour after hour, mile on mile of hat land, lovely in its fertility (especially when we went in late July, for the crops were ripe for harvesting), broken by quaint villages, built entirely of wood, and dominated by large churches, often with a mosque-like dome. This we found later was due ' to the many Turkish invasions and consequent Byzatitine influence. Our hick in boarding-houses kept faithful to the end, but after all it was only a matter of common-sense on our part. Anyone can'procure a booklet in Poland of hotels and boarding-houses wherein are inscribed, in English as well as other languages, cost of rooms, various meals, fullboard, and other details. All I did was to find the town, the price 1 was prepared to pay, take a taxi, show the driver the address, and one arrived. So honest are they out there that the landladies insisted on deducting any meals missed. Xow as to the money question. Should any of you contemplate going, let mo suggest the London Bank of Commerce for your financial affairs. • They told us that by taking a note for 500 zloty we should save a good deal, for the normal exchange is 25 zlotics to £l, whereas we should pay £l7 for the larger note. Generally 'speaking, one zloty (pronounced something like zwoty, for the 1 has a line through it) is worth about 9d, and with food at its ridiculous price I never paid more than £2 for full board and lodging, this with at times a balcony -room, and always running water hot and cold. It was now that we began to make use of the two most spoken words in Poland: “ Prosheh pana (or pani)” and “ Jenkooyeh.” These are a pass- * port to the good offices of all Poles, poor and rich, for the first is “ Please excuse me, sir, or madam,” or any of its ramifications, and comes on an average I should say once cverv few seconds in conversations; while the second is “ Thank yon.” and this yon must say to your taxi, mail, porter, and all the rest of them. The grievance I have against the language is that it is not pronounced as spelt. “ c " being, for instance, capable of four or more changes. But it is all too complicated, and we wisely left it alone.

COST OF LIVING. Even with the exchange against us, food is incredibly cheap, with the exception of imported things. Meat never is more than Is per lb, and is nearer 6d than any other figure, even such luxuries as sweetbreads. Chickens are so plentiful, being left largely to their own devices in the way of food, that you go to market, handle them alive, and pack them tied up in your basket. Potatoes, much better in flavour than ours, are 2-flb for the penny; beetroot, 10 for Ijd; tomatoes when in season, Id per lb; carrots, an enormous bunch for 2d, gherkins, so beloved of all that they have their own market, .'ld for a large one. When we come to tea ami coffee, however, it is a different story. Tea is the universal drink, without milk, but with lemon and sugar, and generally served in glasses. When 1 saw its price in shops, from 6s to 12s 6d per lb, I marvelled at our getting it at 2d or even less a glass, whereas in other restaurants we would have to pay up to Cd. Here is the solution. The poorer type of place serves the same tea leaves mauv times, with the discreet addition of a’ few more, and. as you have the glass, and nob the pot. you are none The wiser. At home the sequence is, apparently, first to master with the fresh leaves, then the servants with a now sprinkling, then the beggars, of whom tho number is legion. But it is always a good drink, and speaks well for its origin. Coffee is rather for richer folk, costing from 2s 6d to 10s per lb. Peasants, here as in Germany, make their own by roasting wheat ami other grains, and I must confess that I preferred this to the terrible black real coffee that was served. The homemade stuff costs about 6d a largish packet. Meals arc strange to our palates, especially in the matter of hours. Breakfast is nearly always served in your room, and” consists of various breads, with cheese, ham (the best 1 have ever tasted), possibly slices of sausage, jam, honey, and butter. Dinner is served from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m., and consists of good soup (the staple dish of Poland), meat, several vegetables, occasionally a small sweet, and, of course, tea. The evening meal, from R o’clock onwards, varies, hut is usually cold, much as in Germany.' and Frankfurt sausages. Tea again, of course. T was told that attempts have been made to get people to have dinner earlier. init°vvitb no success, and this accounts for what to us seemed so extraordinary, thnt 11 a,in saw bank, shop, and other business folk all eating at the counters with a cup of tea. T fortified myself by keeping Rome of my breakfast for later consumption.