Bread festival - 100% not gluten free

Everyone seems to love a festival. this time we went to a bread festival. Yes, the world of wheat was thrust upon us in loaf, slice, bun, and all manner of forms.

I love that there was a bread festival, the reason I was so happy and impressed was because ever since I moved to Poland people were telling me how great Polish bread is. People who had travelled or lived in places like England and the US had found life tough because the bread was of poor quality. When I first came to Warsaw, I still found the bread was really not so great, but of course, I was buying it in a supermarket.

Once I started to go to little smaller bakeries, the quality of bread grew along with the variety as well. The best bread to eat in Poland really is the rye breads, and these are the breads which most people prefer, and refer to as the bread they miss. Yet, funnily enough many people here still buy by price rather than taste. As such, the bread quality, according to connoisseurs here has continued to drop as the larger factory bakeries take over and continue to put more additives into the bread. After reading about this, I decided to start to make my own bread, and now very rarely will eat anything else.

That said, the fact that they are even celebrating a bread festival shows you how important it is to this country. Bring on the bread.

Some traditional fare.

Sekac is a popular and quite expensive cake.

As you can see even the smallest one is 44PLN ($AUD13.50, £8.80, $US14.15)

Look they are even holding wheat!

Of course bread needs condiments

 

Some of the rye breads. Not the darkest but the most common and popular.

Bread mermaids, clocks, you name it they'll make it.

Some smoked cheese for your bread maybe.

The mullets love it.

Bread isn't part of the food pyramid, it IS the food pyramid.

Chocolate or apple Grandma... ;)

Sweet breads.

Bright traditional colours.

What is this?! A competitor to the bread world? Yes, Poland's other love.

Sour dough breads.

Now something completely not heard of in Australia, as far as I know, bread drinks. The first one L-R is juniper berry, then young beer, Hops, and sour bread

The hops based bread drink was really tasty, like a really fizzy light beer. I think they year I might try to make one of these bread drinks.

Best Colour Photos of 2012

Every year I like to put up what I think are my best colour (and black and white in another post) photographs. People then vote for their favourites and then we compile a top ten of the most liked photos.

The task is pretty simple, just flick through the photos below and add a comment at the bottom to give your vote for which is your favourite or favourites (as you can, of course, like more than one) and then I tally them up and the winners announced in a glittering red carpet ceremony.  Or due to the fact I own no carpet, I will probably just put them on here, and am thinking I might make a calendar of the best photographs.

For the last 3 years I had selected randomly a voter for a special prize, so I shall do it again this year. So, have a look, let me know and maybe you could win too. So here they are and in no particular order.......

3

A) National Stadium, Warsaw.

B) Long and Thin Berlin.

C) The inspiration for Boy George I am sure. Berlin Zoo, Germany.

D) TV is on the up. Berlin, Germany.

E) Piggy back Lady bird.

F) Night lights. Warsaw, Polamd.

G) Blurred night vision. Warsaw, Poland.

H) Berry good tart.

I) Bursting beauty, Krakow, Poland.

J) Stoned love. Krakow, Poland.

K) Old world ways. Krakow, Poland.

L) Reflections on a square. Krakow, Poland.

M) Late light. Lossiemouth, Scotland.

N)

Product placement. Ursynow, Warsaw.

O) Hollandesc. Lossiemouth, Scotland.

P) To Burghead. Lossiemouth, Scotland.

Q) Kids in the water. Bialystok, Poland.

R) Golden steps. Wroclaw, Poland.

S) Soft 'n' Smooth. Wroclaw, Poland.

T) Colourful flappers.

U) Up, Up, Up.

V) Autumnal bits. Pole Mokotowskie, Warsaw, Poland.

W) Nature hard and soft.

X) The beetle. Kabaty, Poland.

Y) Acorn to you, is a nut to me. Kabaty, Poland.

Z) Reflections on Autumn. Zoliborz, Warsaw, Poland.

2012 The Best Colour Photos
2012 The Best Colour Photos
 2012 The Best Colour Photos

Finally Warsaw

So, after time in Wroclaw, Krakow, and the east we can wrap up the holiday somewhat at home, Warsaw. We love Warsaw, and so do our family. It isn't a traditional European city with large amounts of gothic or renaissance architecture. It relies more on being rather than appearing. My father marvels at how many beautiful women there are here, and that they all appear to smoke. My sister and her boyfriend love the food and she the fashion, especially the jewellery at Zielony Kot on Chmielna.

We had booked the family an apartment in Zoliborz in the suburbs just north of the city centre. We were then able to take them to Kawiarnia Fawory

Breakfast, was more brunch. So we had some sandwiches (kanapki). They had really good coffee there as well as some fantastic bread which was why we ordered the sandwiches. A good start to the day.

We stopped to look at the Umschlagplatz memorial, dedicated to the jews taken to the Treblinka gas chambers

And strolled into the new town to grab some pierogi in the sunshine. Here you can see some rentable city bikes

Rveryone was getting on their bikes.

Te Amo kebab. Actually no, but I like the shadows.

Sawa, the mermaid (syrena) symbol of the city

Polish birds. :D

Someone looks a little nervous.

The shadow suggests a really odd creature.

Now that is an ominous looking door handle.

Sir there appears to be a human cuckoo in your chest.

butterflies. sweet

Another wedding party popping up.

that is some big blue pants

Everyone loves ice cream

and we keep on walking.