Exploring my Roots: Pstragowa

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Today we hopped into our rental car and left Kraków. We headed towards Pstragowa, which is a small city east of Kraków where my ancestors lived before immigrating to the United States. It was about a 2 hour drive, with some stops along the way! We stopped at a gas station for "lunch," and I bought a Twix candy bar. My mom double-checked on the label to see if there was any tree nuts, but I had already taken a few bites. Back home, I am perfectly fine to eat Twix bars, but I cannot in Poland. There were traces of hazelnuts, so I had to take a few benadryl to feel better (thank goodness it wasn't anything serious).

Pstragowa has one main road, which took us through the town. In total, a car ride through the town was approximately 5 minutes - if you blink, you'd miss it. We stumbled upon a church and decided to go inside to see if the church had records of my relatives. We had some paperwork from a few years ago confirming that there are baptism records, but sadly the priest could not find the documents in such short notice. However, he could confirm that the documents we had were accurate and authentic.

Stepping foot into the town where my ancestors lived was humbling. It most likely has changed drastically since the late 1800s, but this was the town where the Dziok family lived. Roughly 400 people with the last name Dziok live in Poland, and majority of them still live in the surrounding regions. It was a powerful, overwhelming, and rewarding feeling to be standing where they once stood. We were also able to FaceTime my grandparents, so they could experiences some of the town with us through the phone.

After spending about 2 hours in Pstragowa, we headed towards Sieniawa, where we are staying for the night. We are staying in Pałac Hotel, which used to be a Manor house for the wealthy. We entered through a large gate and passed through the gardens to the magnificent house. For dinner, there is a restaurant on the grounds, and I ordered the Polish pork chop and ice cream and fruit. The food was very good, and it was our first encounter with someone who did not know a lot of english. Luckily the menu had english, so we knew what we wanted order.

My European adventure is coming to a close very soon, and I do not want to leave! I have grown to love Europe - Italy and Poland - and I do not know what I will do with myself when I get back.

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Comments

[Wendy]

Gorgeous
Love your blog! This snapshot of your amazing adventure has been wonderful to see!