The Red Soup – Travel Writing/Memoir

Sour and Sweet Cabbage

Our journey to Gizycko, Masuria – the land of lakes, from Lower Silesia took longer than it normally should. We rented out a van with some random driver. His name was as strange as his appearance. Short with a very messy dark hair. He was so fat that the van was driven more by his big belly, instead of his hands. He hid pierogi and bigos in the big suitcase, which separated us. I thanked God for that. Be able to stay away from his sweaty skin was a blast. Pierogi is an originally Ukrainian dish, it is a small ball of dough stuffed with cheese, meat or sauerkraut with mushrooms. I like bigos the most as it must be cooked longer than other dishes, what makes it tastier. Everything what stays in the fridge overnight is better, as all spices and flavours properly mix together. Any soup or salad is much more delicious the next day. Bigos is made from sweet, fresh cabbage and sour one. When cabbage is soft, we add all kind of Polish sausages, bacon, and meat; previously fried in a pan. Traditionally it is fried on lard, but I do not like it. Ketchup might be added, but it is a new habit.

My Family

‘Tomek, please find some place to park for a while. We need toilet and fresh air,’ said my aunt, Jola, who could not sit too long in one place. Jola was very bossy, her narrowed eyes reminded me about my strict biology teacher from Primary School. ‘Again?’ he replied impatiently, looks like everything was a big deal for him. He was probably just thinking about wedding food.
He drove slowly, I would probably get to the place quicker when walking. I sat at the front as I liked to observe passing landscape. As a twenty year old woman, I had many dreams in my head. I had just finished College and studied law at The Wroclaw University. I was positive about my life and happy to be surrounded by loving people. My parents, Basia and Zbyszek, were great. My mum was still a beautiful woman in her early 40s. Her black, thick, wavy hair almost covered my view when she leaned out from the back.
‘Monia, ask the driver to stop. I am getting crazy with Jola’s whining,’ she asked me with smiling eyes. No one could remember the driver’s strange name, so we called him The Driver.
‘Mum, I want a juice!’ my brother, Piotrek, screamed from the crowd made up of all of them. I honestly prayed to God to be able to stay where I was. Obviously with a suitcase between me and The Driver.
Piotrek was thirteen, he loved me till bits then. I was his older and cool sister, popular in our town. He tried to impress me with everything he did. His blond-ish hair was like my dad’s, and his calm attitude too. I was daddy’s daughter; we were even born on the same day. My dad never had any problem with anything, his laid-back personality spoke to me. I loved his sense of humour and the fact that he never laughed at his own jokes. That was very cool.

The Frozen World

After a trip which seemed like a lifetime, we got to Gizycko. Winters were much stronger next to Russian border. There were so many of them at the back, it was hard to believe that they all fitted well.
‘Monika, please go to see what’s going on there,’ my brother squirmed with laughter.
I saw my uncle’s bold head facing the snowy pavement. He lied down on the ground.
‘What the hell?!’ aunt Jola screamed. Piotrek had laughing tears in his eyes and could not calm down. Everyone started to laugh too. Uncle Darek simply fell from the van, straight into snow.

‘What has just happened?’ my other uncle, who was a groom, was running towards us. He was taller than Darek and more handsome. ‘I thought you were travelling through whole Russia. What took you so long? And what the hell happen to Darek?’ said Jasiu, the groom.
At that moment everyone laughed. Bride’s family must think that we were insane. In this kind of moments, I felt that life had not only meaning, but also its taste.