Inspiring Travel Writing from Diane Bracuk
Diane Bracuk is a Toronto writer of Polish descent who recently began traveling to Poland to explore her rootsan exploration that changed many of her preconceptions about the former communist country. Freely admitting that she had expected a babushka backwater, she found, instead, beautiful, cosmopolitan cities, a vibrant contemporary culture, and a deep respect for education and history. Whether writing about shopping in Warsaw, buying amber, or eating pure pig fat for the first time, she brings a highly personalised look at some of Polands unknown gems.
Articles by Diane Bracuk
-
On the Amber Trail
|
Diane Bracuk
|
Poland
|
Baltic Coast
|
Gdansk
Inside a tall, leaded glass window, a grandiose galleon, made from hundreds of pieces of amber, sets sail, redolent of the times when Gdansk was a major port on the Baltic Sea. A few doors down, hanging in a modern, more modest glass case, is a...
-
Going the Whole Hog in Warsaw
|
Diane Bracuk
|
Poland
|
Eastern Poland
|
Warsaw
“Is that what I think it is?" I ask the young waiter at Warsaw's Chlopskie Jadlo. He shrugs, blasé, no doubt used to the North American reaction to the complimentary appetizer he has just set before me. It's a hunk of rye bread on a board and two...
-
Poland: Poster Child for Free Expression
|
Diane Bracuk
|
Poland
|
Eastern Poland
|
Warsaw
Poland has its share of grand museums housing the requisite canvases of historic battles and portraits of heroic, ill-fated counts. But tucked away on the sumptuous grounds of Warsaw’s Wilanov Palace, is a source of real national pride, a former...
-
The Warsaw Uprising Museum
|
Diane Bracuk
|
Poland
|
Eastern Poland
|
Warsaw
Prickly, passionate, patriotic—a preponderance of words beginning with P have been used to describe Poles. Most applicable, however, is proud. Printed on the observation tower of Warsaw’s Uprising Museum is one of the proudest P’s ever—the Kotwica,...
-
Once Shabby Warsaw Steps out in Style
|
Diane Bracuk
|
Poland
|
Eastern Poland
|
Warsaw
Warsaw “How many shoe stores have we passed in the last five minutes?" I ask my niece Brittany. "I dunno. Five? Six?" We're standing on the first floor of the mother, or should I say the matka of all shopping malls—Warsaw's Arkadia Mall— a...