W W W.P O LO LI FESTYL ES .COM
My Poland of Today
WHERE THE
FOOD & WINE
REVOLUTION DEFIES POLITICAL STAGNATION
Cezar Kusik, wine contributor
At the risk of sounding like a national self-deprecator—quite a common trait for Poles—I can safely state that Poland’s history has been unusually turbulent. Its geographic positioning between two ferociously aggressive and greedy empires, Germany and Russia, combined with internal dysfunction often caused by innate provincialism and political
pettiness, has turned Poland into a nation of schizophrenic political instability. Most recently, the post-communist era has been yet another tumultuous trial. After nearly half a century of the Soviet Union’s merciless oppression and human rights violation, Poland, like all other ex-communist countries, was thrown into the unfamiliar territory of a free market economy and democratic governing. Poland managed to transition in a relatively smooth manner; no serious, violent domestic upheavals, no tragic economic unrests. Not to insinu-
ate that the new reality has been void of the difficulties often caused by the clash of the new progressive social groups and the conservative, regressive fractions of pro-communist and Catholic sentiments. But enough of this stark, grim reality talk. Let’s set the table. We are here to wine and dine. Aside from some unavoidable social and political adversities, the new democratic reality brought about a fresh sense of awareness and exponentially page 149
