Current Events

Remembering Smolensk – Six Years Later

April 10, 2016 by polishhousewife 4 Comments

Six years ago today, a Polish military airliner crashed in Smolensk, Russia, killing the 96 souls on board. The passengers were the Polish president, his wife, senior military officers and clergy, the president of the national bank, members of Parliament and others. They were on their way to a ceremony remembering the 22,000 Polish military officers, academics, professionals, clergy and other Polish leaders slaughtered by the Russians at Katyn in 1940. It was only recently that Russia had acknowledged their role in the massacre. For the longest time, when Russia controlled what was taught in Polish schools, young Poles were taught that Nazi Germany had been responsible for the travesty.

This happen before I made the permanent move to Poland. Ed was living there on his own. The tragedy took place on a Saturday. I recall that he had been out of town, maybe visiting our daughter in Berlin, and got call from his employer in the states as he was driving back to Poznań to tell him what had happened. I remember him saying that the streets were eerily quiet that weekend.

It seemed that many people were remembering Vladimir Putin saying “Poland will pay for this.” This being wanting to host NATO missile sites. When I was visiting Poland months later, I found many Poles were sure this crash had been planned by the Russian government.

The plane was trying to land in terrible weather. I remember a few days after the crash, former Polish president, Lech Wałęsa saying that we shouldn’t jump to conclusions; hinting that when he had been president that there had been times when he had ordered his pilot to attempt landings that he shouldn’t have; landings they had been lucky to survive. It appears that was the case here, but luck was not with the pilot and his passengers. A few months before this fateful day, the presidential pilot had “gone around” when attempting to land in Tbilisi, Georgia. The president had made it clear that if the pilot couldn’t put the plane on the ground that he would find a pilot who could, that his career who be over. That may have been the message he was receiving from the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, who was in the cockpit at the time of the crash rather than strapped in his seat for landing. The plane, below glide slope, caught a wing on a wire, severing much of the wing. They didn’t stand a chance.

It was not uncommon in the days after the crash to hear speculation about the future of the country. So many in leadership were lost in one tragic event. Would the country continue? Would neighboring countries try to take advantage of the void in leadership by moving in and taking over? I was surprised by these questions, until I remembered that the current governmental structure in the Republic of Poland was relatively new, and as I learned more about Polish history (Michner’s Poland is a great source), I could see where people would worry about neighboring countries interfering.

The crash at Smolensk was a terrible loss for the country and for the Polish military. Elections were held, the government and the republic carried on, but the military has yet to recover. The Polish Air Force lost its most progressive leaders, visionaries with an eye for change. Command was returned to the old guard, those unwilling to look beyond their Soviet training and mindset. Sadly, mountains of paperwork and official stamps continue to be the order of the day at the expense of improvement.

Euro 2016 Qualifying

October 12, 2015 by polishhousewife 2 Comments

When I first visited Poznan in 2009, there was a countdown clock in the old market square, ticking off the minutes to the first match of Euro 2012. Euro is a European football championship played every four years, it happens in between the World Cup; every two years one of these major events is happening.

It was a big deal for Poland. Soccer stadiums were built and remodeled, new motorways crossed the country, all to accommodate the visiting football fans. The hope was that Poland’s European neighbors would see the country in a new, positive light and return again for business and pleasure, and I saw that happening in the years following 2012. We’d be at a festival in the old square, and end up sharing a table with others who were speaking English. Usually a Irish couple, there on holiday after he had visited during Euro.

The national teams from Ireland, Croatia and Italy played in Poznan. Fans from all three countries filled the hotels and campgrounds. It had been SO long since Ireland has qualified for Euro or World Cup that more than one fan told me they had promised themselves they would be there for the next one, no matter where it was.

The Irish national team had the worst performance in our group on the pitch. They were quickly out of competition, but their fans were the best! They were so loved that the city hosted an appreciation rally for them in the Stary Rynek. They said it was for all the fans, but the focus was singing the Irish football songs, that we’d heard all over town, at all hours of the day and night, back to the fans. “You gotta love the Irish. . . You’ll never beat the Irish.” It was easy to learn the words. The national teams have played friendly matches since then, in both countries, I believe.

I was an English speaking city volunteer in the Poznan fan zone. My interactions with the other national fans were limited. my friend, Caroline, and I gave directions to Italian fans inquiring about the nearest supermarket while we were out on our bikes. A Croatian fan in the fan zone was annoyed that he had to ask me a question in English, a language he spoke very well, but he wanted to know why there were no Croatian speaking volunteers. An interesting point, but I suspect there were no native Croatian speakers who had come forward to volunteer in that capacity.

It’s exciting to see Poland playing well in the qualifying matches for Euro 2016. Robert Lewandowski continues to be a national hero and make a kazillion złoty in TV ads. Poland tied Scotland. As I recall, last time around, they only made it into the competition because they were hosting. The next match is with Ireland.

I’ve delayed in posting this, Poland qualified for Euro 2016 over the weekend, beating Ireland 2:1.

Looking bask and fondly remembering Euro 2012:

Marzanna — The Winter Witch

March 20, 2015 by polishhousewife 4 Comments

National customs are facisinating! Does it seem crazy to the rest of the world when men in top hats and tails pull a slumbering groundhog from his den in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania on February 2nd, in an effort to predict the arrival of spring? That ritual is very tame compared to the drowning of Marzanna the winter witch in Poland.

Not long after I arrived in Poznań, I hosted a group of ladies in our little Polish kitchen for a bagel making class. It must have been on March 20th.

My friend Joanna received a call from her mother to say she’d seen Joanna’s children down by the river. Joanna’s family and her mom both live in apartments along the Warta river. The flats have beautiful large windows facing the river. As Joanna relayed the story of Marzanna the winter witch, I’m sure that I look incredioulous. This isn’t a celebration that would ever happen in the United States.

This is what the first day of spring looks like in Tucson

Marzanna the winter witch

The school children had built an effigy of Marzanna, representing winter, something akin to a female scarecrow. On the first day of spring they take Marzanna down to the river, put her on a little raft, perhaps a wooden pallet. They light the effigy on fire and send her off into the water to drown signifying the end of winter. It’s a tradition from midieval times.

I’m sure my Polish readers have fond memories of this celebration; and I’d love to hear about them. My friends who write the amazing travel blog, KarolinaPatryk.com, have more to tell you about Marzanna and other things unique to Poland in their witty post, 10 Funny Facts About Poland.

There are so many reasons why this wouldn’t happen in the US. A school field trip with water is risky enough, but a school field trip with fire? Burning effigies just isn’t politically correct. We have to respect winter’s rights too. Can’t you just imagine a child hatching a similar plan to get rid of an annoying sibling?

Let me be the first to say that Americans worry too much. We worry about offending someone; we worry about law suits; we worry about protecting people from being stupid. It prevents us from having some having some crazy fun traditions like drowning Marzanna the winter witch, but it just can’t happen here, where People for the Ethical Treatmeant of Animals (PETA) protest Grounhog Day, demanding the groundhog be released from his duties and set free.

Are there wilder spring rituals out there than the drowning of the winter witch?

Zlota Rybka Swarzedz (Goldfish kayak rally)

August 30, 2014 by polishhousewife 6 Comments

The 6th annual “Rajd Kajakowy Zlota Rybka Swarzędz” or Goldfish kayak rally took place in Swarzedz (a suburb of Poznan) today. My friend Elzbieta reserved a water bike, as they call paddle boats in Poland, for us. The other contestants were paired up in kayaks. We were not the sleekest or most graceful boat on the water today, but we had a very good time and finished “not last.” It was perfect for a couple of bicycle enthusiasts.

Elzbieta has participated in Zlota Rybka Swarzedz before, but it was my first time. Let me explain how it works. We checked at the boat dock at Szarzedz lake this morning at 10:00. At 10:30 we started, they kindly let the paddle boat go first, but it wasn’t enough of a head start. We were 5 or 6th by the first check-in point. Here each boat was quizzed (in Polish, of course) about the size of the lake we were on, where a famous person was buried, the first name of the Swardedz bookkeeper, etc. There were 5 questions, and the teams earned one point for each correct answer. Elzbieta earned us 3 points.

At the second check point, we were the last to arrive. Here, each participant tossed 4 horseshoes into a bucket. So we were competing against each other not as a team at this station. Time was up before we got to station 3, so I can’t tell you what happened there.

When we got back to the dock, there was one last feat to perform. A long rope was attached to our boat at the end of the pier and we had to race up the beach and steps until we pulled our boat ashore. It took us 6 seconds, one of the slower times. Now the scores could be tabulated.

The people who came in dead last had already left at this point. We, the next to last team, were the first to receive our consolation prize. Elzbieta’s daughter and her friend came in third, a very good showing. We wrapped up the day with lunch for the 4 of us at Swarzdez’s authentic Italian restaurant. What a fun day! Dzieki, Ela! 🙂

Mint Brownies and a Pink Picnic for Restaurant Day

August 16, 2014 by polishhousewife 2 Comments

I first learned to make these mint brownies when we were in Spain. It was a recipe in the cookbook put together by the squadron wives.

It couldn’t be simpler, your favorite brownie recipe topped with a mint buttercream, and then spread melted chocolate over the chilled sweet. Mint brownies freeze well, so it’s perfect to make in December and tint the frosting green or red; you’ll always have a seasonal treat ready on a moment’s notice.

It’s also perfect if you’re looking for something American and something pink! Tomorrow is Restaurant Day, a quarterly international event, and I’m setting up a popup restaurant that will offer two American baked goodies. All the proceeds from tomorrow will go the World Sepsis Day (#WSD14) to help fund the fight against sepsis, a life threatening condition that put Ed in a Polish hospital last year for a month.

World Sepsis Day

The theme for WSD’s activities this year is a pink picnic, so my pink offerings will be the mint brownies and mini cupcakes made with beet. I’m a huge fan of Restaurant Day, sometimes the food is extraordinary and memorable, sometimes it’s just nice, but what I LOVE is the spirit of Restaurant Day. People all over town, cooking up a storm and sharing the food they like to make with adventurous diners who are roaming the city, sampling as they go. The downside to participating by setting up a popup, is that we’ll be tied down to one location and won’t be able to check out the other offerings.

At the moment, we only have 10 popups in Poznan, which is half of what we’ve had on recent Restaurant Days, but August is a slow time here. A lot of people are away on holiday, and we’re competing with the Festival of Good Tastes in the Stary Rynek. If you’re on Twitter, follow me, @PolishHousewife, to see how it’s going!

#ppicnic

Mint Brownies

Category: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Description

A colorful, minty brownie

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (113 g)
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (114 g)
1 1/4 cups granulated white sugar (250 g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1/2 cup flour (65 g)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (28 g)
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted (115 g)
1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
green or red food coloring (optional)
3 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (90 g)*
1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter

* I can’t get semisweet chocolate chips in Poland, so I chop up plain chocolate bars, mixed dark chocolate and milk chocolate in equal proportions.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C)
In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter and unsweetened chocolate (99-100%), stirring occasionally
Remove from heat, stir in sugar, and vanilla
Add eggs
Stir in flour and salt.
Pour into a parchment lined 9 x 9 inch pan (23 x 23 cm) and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until the edges begin to pull away from the pan, a toothpick inserted in the center will come out almost clean.
Cool completely
In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons butter, powdered sugar, cream, and peppermint extract, use just enough cream to make the buttecream spreadable
Spread over cooled brownie, refrigerate for at least 15 minutes
Combine 1 tablespoon butter with semisweet chocolate. Melt in microwave or over low heat, stir to combine
Spread over mint layer, Refrigerate
Dip a sharp knife in hot water before slicing. For best results, clean and warm the knife before every cut.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by our Pink Picnic fundraiser for World Sepsis Day. We were able to send 100 euro with your help! 😀

Transatlantyk Kino Kulinarne 2014

August 10, 2014 by polishhousewife 7 Comments

Organized by Oscar winning composer, Jan Kaczmarek, the Transatlantyk — Poznan International Film and Music Festival began in 2011, the year I moved to Poland. It seems only fitting that in our last summer here, that we join in the festivities of their fourth season.

Transatlantyk Kino Kulinarne

The Film

We participated in grand style last night. My friend, Barbara, was kind enough to invite us to join her group of friends for Transatlantyk Kino Kulinarne, which is done in partnership with Kulinarisches Kino (Culinary Cinema) from Berlin. We were part of about 200 people who saw Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film Modern Times. I’ve never watched all of one of Chaplin’s films before and was surprised to see that besides starring, he wrote, directed, and composed the music for the theme song.

The film was not actually silent, but in keeping with the theme of technology and dehumanization, the only time the audience hears spoken voices are when they delivered by mechanical devices such as the videophones used by the factory president, who works a jigsaw puzzle while commanding the masses on the factory floor to “work faster!” Apparently, an anti-capitalism world view in Hollywood is nothing new. 😉

The Meal

The real highlight of the evening for me was the meal that came after the film. Two Polish chefs, Robert Trzopek from Warsaw and Jacek Fedde from Poznan, using the film we had just seen as their inspiration, prepared a four course meal in a tent set up just outside the theater. Let me walk you through our menu:

The first course was three mini-sausages, one each of pork, lamb, and boar; served on top of an onion marmalade. It came in a 35 mm film can, which we were invited to take home as a souvenir of the evening. I’m such a fan of caramelized onions that I think I would love anything put on top of onion marmalade.

The second course was a disc of chopped toasted nuts and black sesame seeds bound together with a light syrup, topped with a thin slice of turbot and a curry oil. I loved the nut and sesame seed combo; it’s one I’ll remember and incorporate into my own repertoire in some way.

Our main course was a oxtail topped with a small piece of rib-eye, foie gras, and a truffle jelly. Served with a sauce made from port wine and sherry vinegar and maxim potatoes. The potatoes originating from Maxim’s in Paris are very thin slices arranged in a flower pattern, brushed with clarified butter and baked into a beautiful crisp disk. Someone at our table picked up the thin potato flower and joked about such a small serving of potatoes in Poznan. This region has to be the potato capital of Poland. They even have their own regional word for potato, pyra rather than ziemniaka. Pyra is also used to refer to people from Poznan. We were chatting with our waitress last week, and when we asked where she was from, her response was, “I’m a Pyra.” Potato jokes aside, this course was amazing. The sort of thing you’d make at home if you had a big talented kitchen team for backup.

The dessert was described as banana parfait with crunchy macadamia, salty caramel sauce, corn bread crumble. The banana ice cream came out in the form of corn on the cob. This was especially creative because in the movie, an automated machine is feeding Chaplin corn on the cob, of course, it goes out of control at that point. One of our table mates said about the dessert, “it’s good that it’s not too sweet.” While I applaud the creativity of the dish, for me, it was a very Polish dessert, not at all sweet, and I want my desserts to be sweet — just a difference in taste.

The evening ended with a standing ovation for the crew who prepared and served our meals. It was amazing to watch the wait staff as they served the courses. Picture this; we’re at tables of 10. Five waiters arrive with a plate in each hand, standing behind every other chair. The lead waiter nods and in unison they place their plate on the table and then step to the left. The leader waiter nods again, and the second plate is served. A final nod and the team circles the table and they file after the leader waiter and return to the kitchen. It was a beautiful performance.

They sent us home with a goodie bag that included two copies of Food & Friends magazine and a jar of house made chutney from Bazar 1838. It was a great evening. If you have the chance to attend, by all means, do! It was pricier than your average meal out in Poznan, but this was no average meal! I am blessed to have friends like Barbara who make sure I get to see what makes Poznan so special!

ps – I should also add that Jan Kaczmarek stopped by every table during the evening, just to chat for a few minutes, see if everyone was enjoying the evening. I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to an Academy Award winner.

10 Apple Recipes for ‪#‎jedzjablka‬

August 4, 2014 by polishhousewife 3 Comments

#Jedzjablka #Eatapples – take that Putin!

The Russians have placed an embargo on fruit and vegetables from Poland. Officially, it’s because of concerns about “public health,” but in reality, it is seen as retaliation for the European Union’s economic sanctions because of what’s going on in Ukraine.

If you’re in the United States, you may not have heard much about Russia’s invasion and annexation of Eastern Ukraine. It’s very close to home for us here in Poland. I was shocked and disappointed on a recent visit to the US that TV news spent more time talking about their own facebook page and the Kardashians than this international incident. Enough of my rant, back to apples.

Poland is the world’s leading exporter of apples, in a recent growing season, 1.2 million tons of apples were shipped aboard. Over half of those were sent to Russia.

Poland has responded with ‪#‎jedzjablka‬ (hastag eat apples), a media campaign encouraging people to not only buy and eat apples, but to post photos of themselves doing so with the hashtag #jedzjablka to protest the embargo. The selfie goes political! If you google the hashtag and check out the images you’ll see everyone eating apples, football teams, businessmen, babies, dogs – all with an apple. An article making the rounds proclaims An Apple a Day Keeps the ~~Doctor~~ Russians Away.

Facebook groups have popped up in the last week, such as this one, encouraging everyone to eat apples to annoy Putin. Maybe it’s because Ed was on active duty during the Cold War or maybe it’s because I remember the excitement in the Officer’s Club on a Friday night during the 1980 Winter Olympics and the Miracle on Ice, but I have a desire to annoy Putin in my own little way. Here are 10 apple recipes (in no particular order) to help you #jadzjablka eat apples and support Poland’s apple growers.

Apple Pie Flavored Vodka

Dried Apples

Apple Pie

Apple Butter

Poached Apple with Sweet and Sour Beets

Zubrowka Vodka with Apple Juice

The Warsaw Uprising Anniversary

August 1, 2014 by polishhousewife 4 Comments

At 5:00 PM on August 1st, Poland stands still and silent (except for many wailing sirens) for one long minute. That conincides with 8:00 AM where I live now. It’s become my tradition to also take a moment of silence as we all pay respect and remember the brave souls who fought and died in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.

It began on August 1st, and was expected to be very brief. No one thought this battle would drag on for 63 days. That belief was based on the assumption that Russian troops would offer support as the Polish resistance battled their common enemy, but Poland and Russia had differing visions about Poland’s future. Poland pictured a western capitalist nation. Russia wanted to add Poland to their their Soviet empire. They were both connected to the allies, but you can’t really say they were on the same side.

The Warsaw Uprising was the biggest act of resistance in any country occupied by Nazi German in WWII. The heroism of the insurgents plays a key role in the Polish national identity. If you’re ever in Warsaw, be sure to visit the museum that tells the story of the uprising.

Girl Scouts on their way to ceremony

We visited the museum a few years ago, and I can highly recommend it. They have signage in English and many interviews with survivors on video that have English subtitles. A foreigner can really get the story, but you’ll want to have several tissues with you. The story is so moving, I left more than a little misty eyed.

One of the most impressive things to me was the role played by he Boy and Girl Scouts in the uprising. Scouting is coed in Poland.

Prepared for their 21 gun salute

The Scouts ran the underground post office. Canceling the mail with potato prints. Do you remember doing that as a scouting craft? My Brownie troop made neckerchiefs. They were using it to do a job. They delivered the mail walking or crawling through the sewer system (that involves traveling through what one would normally expect to find in a sewer), providing communication for the resistance movement. One young girl was working to hide and save art masterpieces. She didn’t survive.

I remember my grandmother saying that she didn’t want her children in scouting because it was too much like the military. I thought she didn’t understand, come to find out, it was me who didn’t understand.

We were in Poznan for the 70th anniversary in 2014. About 300 people gathered to commentate the day, many military and public officials, scouts in uniform. At 5:00 PM, the air raid siren sounded for one minute. There were speeches. The Polish flag was raised on a special red and white striped flag pole as the national anthem played.

More speeches and eventually a 21 gun salute, and lots of flowers. It was a good day for florists. So many big bouquets and single flowers with red and white ribbons.

The Kotwica, the letters P and W combined to resemble an anchor, were the symbol of the Polish resistance. They stand for Pomścimy Wawer and translate to “we shall avenge Wawer,” the Wawer massacre in 1939 was the first large scale massacre of Polish civiilians by the German troops.

Pozdrowiam,

Lois

The Great Escape 70th Anniversary

April 18, 2014 by polishhousewife 2 Comments

Until recently, everything I knew about The Great Escape came from the film with Steve McQueen and James Garner playing American POWs; I saw it when I was a kid. Hollywood tells a heck of a story.

It happened in Poland and this is the real story. The Nazis built an “escape-proof” POW camp at what is now Zagan, Poland and put their problem prisoners there – the ones who were repeat offenders in attempted escapes. What they really did was put the best and brightest together in one place.

The Allied prisoners planned to escape and worked on three different tunnels with that goal in mind. On March 24, 1944 (a little more than a year before the war ended in Europe), 76 men successfully escaped. The 77th man exiting the tunnel was spotted. Only three of the 76 avoided capture and made it to safety. In retaliation for the escape, 50 of the recaptured prisoners were murdered, and 48 of the 50 were buried in the British Cemetery in Poznan’s Cytadela (Citadel), including the group’s leader, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell.

Most, but not all, of the escapees were members of the Royal Air Force. There were Americans at the camp and they helped with the tunneling efforts, but the Yanks were moved to another camp before the escape. Steve McQueen’s character and the motorcycle jump only happened in the movie. They did find one of the Americans from the camp and he returned to Poland for the anniversary. He had been a “penguin,” someone with the job of smuggling out sand from the tunnel to the yard in their trousers. They would shake their foot in dispersing the sand, mimicking a penguin’s walk. The sand was a different color than the surface soil, so they had to be very careful about disposal. This account from an RAF Wing Commander, explains the penguin’s work and many other details of life in the camp.

On the 70th Anniversary of the escape, a large, multi-national ceremony in Zagan commemorated what happened there, and the next day, 50 members of the RAF set off on a 200 km (about 120 miles) march from Zagan to Poznan in memory of the 50.

They arrived at the British Cemetery in Poznan’s Citadel, limping, on Friday afternoon – many had changed from military boots to civilian sport shoes with their uniform. The brightest shoes being worn by a woman; whom we later learned was an RAF Chaplain. Each carried a photo and short bio of one of the murdered prisoners. They filed in to stand in front of that prisoner’s grave during a brief ceremony, placing the photos in front of the headstones in unison.

Our friend, Rev. Robert Gamble offered a prayer, the chaplain read scripture, we observed a moment of silence, and it was over – a moving tribute to their bravery and a symbol of the enormous loss.

One of the 50 was a Polish POW. We overheard the organizer tell the young man marching in his memory that his family was in attendance that day and they he would introduce them after the ceremony. How nice that they got to meet the young man representing their loved one, and it made those touched by this tragedy all the more real.

We chatted with two of the marchers after the ceremony. They were both enlisted men, munitions troops, from a base near Brighton. They were exhausted, said their feet had gone numb on the first day, and they expected them to be very painful when feeling returned. The men were very surprised and touched by the enormous turnout in Zagan. They hadn’t heard much news on their four day march, so Ed caught them up on the important outcomes in Premier League that they’d missed. One of their highlights along the way had been a pick-up football match with local youth. We asked about their plans for that night, recommending a visit to the Stary Rynek. They only knew that they were attending a dinner that evening and just hoping to stay awake until it was over. After averaging 30 miles (50 km) a day on foot, for four days, it’s understandable that they were absolutely exhausted.

They both indicated that they were among many who had volunteered for the project, and they felt honored to have been chosen. We noticed a headstone in the British Cemetery with our surname (not part of the Great Escape), he was a Bomb Aimer. I left the Cytadela a little misty eyed and with a growing understanding of the local history.

Kamil – the Pride of Poland

February 10, 2014 by polishhousewife

Kamil Wictor Stoch is the toast of Poland this morning. The twenty-six year old Polish ski jumper won the gold medal in the men’s normal hill ski jumping last night. Poland’s first in the sport since 1972. Very impressive for a guy who began the day with a headache and fever. This morning my facebook feed is full of posts with the YouTube video of young Kamil (see below).

Born in Zakopane, the place where all of the Polish pilots go for their ski vacations, young Kamil was on skis at the tender age of three – taking his first jumps on hills he built with his friends one year later. He attended the School of Sports Championship in Zakopane and has a masters from the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow. His helmet last night was the red and white checkerboard, symbol of the Polish Air Force. According to the guys in Ed’s office, Kamil hasn’t served in the Polish Air Force but he has a family connect that dates back to the early days of military aviation.