Kyle in Poland: Day 94
Final church visit in Sopot, Lunch with friends, and more, Photos at the end
Hello, everyone! After a very long layoff, I am happy to announce that I am officially back to writing again.
I understand that many will have lost interest at this point, but I decided it was necessary to finish what I started and complete my story, so that is exactly what I intend to do.
Now, let’s pick up where we left off and finish discussing my final days in Poland.
July 2 was a Sunday, my final opportunity to go to church in Sopot and see all of the wonderful people there.
I woke up incredibly early that morning and hopped on a train. Like a seasoned pro, I executed my game plan to perfection, hopping on and off the correct trains, at the correct times, and made it to the church building with zero issues.
If you can remember my first train ride fiasco, then you know how much progress and growth had taken place during those couple months.
I made it to the church early and patiently waited for everyone else to arrive. As the usual friendly faces started to pour in, I shook hands and began to listen to some truly remarkable stories about a few of the Ukrainian church members.
One man who, if I remember correctly, was one of the preachers at the congregation, came up and briefly talked to me.
Upon learning that I was from Oklahoma, he told me that he actually had a friend that lived there as well, Broken Arrow, to be exact. I was halfway across the world, so who would have thought that a Ukrainian man in Poland would have a pal that lived in Oklahoma? It was a nice reminder that it truly is a small world.
Later on, I learned more information about the man I conversated with.
Apparently, he was located in the eastern part of Ukraine when Russia first began invading. This man, I was astonished to learn, had a run in with soldiers, took a bullet to the head, and lived to tell about it. Just hearing that story gave me goose bumps and was a somber reminder about the very real and devastating impacts that war has on normal, everyday citizens.
After that, I was told another story about a Ukrainian man and his family.
Also taking place during the early stages of the war, this family had to endure more than 50 days under siege in a church before finally making it out and fleeing the country. Yet still, even though they were in safer hands living in Poland, the man found another way to serve by driving back and forth and delivering supplies to those in need within his homeland.
These were people who had been displaced from their homes, their country, lived through actual war, and despite all of that, they kept on going. By the strength of the Lord and the support of the people from Sopot, they endured and remained strong throughout hard times.
We worshiped that morning, which was good as usual. Knowing it would be my final opportunity to take in the Polish/Ukrainian mixed service, I tried to soak it all in and enjoy the vastly different culture.
Afterward, I stayed around, talked to some folks, and even ate a Ukrainian dessert before meeting up with Molly and Annabelle, who invited me out for lunch.
Now, if you will remember, Molly is an older woman from Mississippi who had married a Polish man and made the country her home. Together, they had a daughter, Annabelle. The two ladies were incredibly nice and welcoming and when I was with them, it was comforting to be around fellow Americans.
The three of us sat in Molly’s office and talked until her nephew, John, pulled up. Once he was finally there, we all went out for a “typical Polish lunch.”
Along the way, we came across a building with historical significance. If I remember correctly, it once housed German Gestapo and Soviet police during their respective occupations. Nowadays, however, it was used as an observation tower and art hub. I always appreciate learning about history, so I enjoyed the short detour.
When we made it to the restaurant, there were more fascinating historical tidbits.
First, there was a large piece of armor in the corner of the room. It appeared to be metal with these notably tall, skinny extensions on the back of it. I then learned (and recently had to research once again), these were the Polish hussars that wore winged armor to intimidate and frighten enemies.
While I am fully aware that Wikipedia is not the greatest source of information and can often be wrong, I thought they had a decent excerpt on the Polish warriors.
Wikipedia said, “The Polish hussars… alternatively known as the winged hussars, were a heavy cavalry formation active in Poland and in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1503 to 1702. Their epithet is derived from large rear wings, which were intended to demoralize the enemy during a charge. The hussars ranked as the elite of Polish cavalry until their official disbanding in 1776.”
The site went further by adding, “The hussar formation proved effective against Swedish, Russian, and Ottoman forces… Their military prowess peaked at the Siege of Vienna in 1683, when hussar banners participated in the largest calvary charge in history and successfully repelled the Ottoman attack.”
Safe to say, this was an impressive piece of armor, and one whose neatness was exponentially enhanced by the story behind it.
We then sat at a table and ordered. This time, I chose a breaded pork chop and boiled potatoes. As we waited for our food to arrive, we mostly talked about John’s travels and how he hiked across northern Spain. It was quite an impressive feat and made for interesting conversation.
The food finally arrived and was decent, but I was so hungry that I scarfed it down rather quickly. For the rest of the time, the four of us continued conversating as usual, which was nice.
When we left the restaurant, we took another short detour by the Grand Hotel. You may recall that I mentioned the hotel several times in my earlier writings. This was the location in which Hitler stayed during the invasion of Poland in World War II.
We passed the hotel so I could see it from the other side’s perspective, which was quite neat.
Once we were finished with sightseeing, my hosts were kind and gracious enough to drive me to the train station in Gdynia Glowna, so I only had a single connecting ride back to Wladyslawowo.
We continued to talk along the way and when we arrived at the train station, I made sure to sincerely thank them for all they had done for me. They took me in, made me feel welcomed, taught me so much, and were fantastic companions.
That was the last time I saw the great people of Sopot and I will never forget the moments we shared together.