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What other reason did I need?
I never thought I would live in Krakow. I never thought I’d visit Budapest. I had never even heard of the little mountain town of Hranice na Morave on the Czech border until I’d been there. I always have enjoyed seeing new places, but this year, with many new friends from all across the continent, I have experienced a new dimension of travel. What links all of these foreign destinations is that I have gone, literally, out of my way in order to visit people.
When I travel, I cannot simply go to a place, admire the buildings, snap a few photos and go home feeling satisfied. Pursuing personal connections gives travel a purpose. What I’ve learned is that locals make the best tour guides because they are people who are the most passionate about showing off where they live. For example, someone once tried to dissuade me from going to Kielce, Poland, saying that there was nothing to do there, but in the company of two friends from the town, I filled up three days with walks and sights.
Even if I like to think I am a fearless and intrepid traveler, I must remember not to shut out the company of other people. Being an independent person sometimes makes it difficult when I must, as Tennessee Williams wrote, “rely on the kindness of strangers.” All of the headaches that come along with trying to get over language barriers and culture shock have been outnumbered by the times I have been overwhelmed by feelings of gratitude toward people and families, some of whom I had never met before and may never meet again.
In Polish culture, as in many others, there is a strong value placed on goscnnosc, or “hospitality.” They even have a saying that mimics the Spanish “Mi casa es tu casa.” (Although their version reads, “Czym chata bogata, tym rada.”)
While there is certainly comfort in the “my home is your home” philosophy, it is even better when there really is a bit of home wherever you are going. When my father recently made his recent visit to Poland, we took a trip to Wroclaw, another major Polish city. There we met up with Ryan Gostomski, a Winona native, who now owns a brewery with his father, Mike, in nearby Namyslów.
A brewery might not always be on the top of peoples’ sightseeing lists, but thanks to a personal connection and seeing his pride for his work, it was definitely a highlight.
Travel is often explained as a means to help us understand other people and other cultures. Whenever I meet someone new and try to
“see where they are coming from,” I literally like to see where they are coming from. Hometowns, family photographs, work places and schools are what builds a life rather than what built some castle. I am a fan of interesting architecture and historically significant sites. However, putting the importance on people moves a place away from being simply an abstract point on a map to something much more, to the place of friendship.
Travel is just as much about people as it is about places. Souvenirs or photographs cannot replace a shared laugh or conversation.
Whether it was tango dancing in Vienna, watching Spanish sitcoms on a lazy Madrid morning, drinking slivovice with the shoemaker in rural Czech Republic, my memories of these places are more vivid because they are connected with the faces of the people that live there.
In the end, my Hungarian adventure continued without problem. The ice cream and Péter’s company were well worth the trek and my first embarrassing moments with the Hungarian language. But right away the next day, I had to hurry home because, back in Krakow, I was about to receive some guests of my own. It would be my turn to try and give a meaningful travel experience to some of my visiting American friends.
A former Winona Winhawk, Sarah Merchlewitz is a recent graduate from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she studied literature and writing. She currently lives in Krakow studying at Jagiellonian University.
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