These are the notes of a once-in-a-lifetime trip through Central Europe, with my two best friends from college. It was an epic way to celebrate our milestone birthdays and everlasting friendship.

We began our reunion in Rzeszów, Poland, where Julie and her family had settled for a multi-year job assignment. We spent our first few nights unpacking the US goodies we brought – expat necessities like tortillas, salsa, chocolate chips, and mac n’ cheese, of course! We met their new friends at backyard barbecues, and we discussed how life was different and yet the same halfway around the globe. We experienced their community, dining in the main square, taking walks, and seeing the school the children attended. Julie and her family had settled into their home-away-from-home, the new language and cultural norms, all with a sense of curiosity.

Cathy and I embraced that same of curiosity as first-time travelers to the region. The entire trip was memorable, but there was one particular day spent exploring that I will never forget.

The girls had pieced together the possibility that Cathy might have relatives living in the area. So, we loaded into the car on a quest to see if we could find some of her ancestral Polish roots in and around Rzeszów. With a wedding invitation, a few notes from Cathy’s 90-year old Grandma Clem, plus amateur investigation, the generosity of neighbors, a priest, and one of Julie’s acquaintances acting as our translator, quite remarkably, we managed to track down Cathy’s relations.

We started at the church (the site of the 1980’s wedding), which led us to a record book of parishoners, which led us to a cemetery where Cathy’s foremother was buried, which led us to THE HOME OF HER COUSINS. True story. I wish a film crew had been there to document the day.

The cousins welcomed us into their home, offering us refreshments and pulling albums from storage that included photos of Cathy and her family. The pictures had been sent from the US prior to the fall of the Iron Curtain, along with dresses and other hand-me-down items that were difficult to come by in the region at the time.

It was a remarkable introduction to family Cathy didn’t know, in a small city in Central Europe that Julie brought us to through pure happenstance, set to a backdrop of laughter and tears. And it was beautiful. It was also a reminder that curiosity, adventure, and a little help can lead to incredible surprise encounters.

The remainder of our stay in Rzeszów was brief as we had an itinerary of other Central European cities to see. But this trip wasn’t really about the stops, the sites, or the destinations. It was far more about time spent together. Prior to the trip, we stayed in touch through video calls, care packages, and social media. But finally getting together in the same space and timezone is what made the trip truly spectacular. We stayed up late talking, and we took breaks between sights to talk some more. Because for as long as we’ve known each other, there has never been a shortage of things to catch up on. So, while I’m sharing our trip details, the REAL story is one of friendship that knows no distance or borders. If you’re still curious to know where we went and stayed, what we ate and saw, read on.

After our first two nights in Rzeszów, we traveled to Krakow, Poland.

  • So. Much. Walking. And I loved every minute of it.
  • With Julie’s encouragement, we ate żurek, a delicious Polish rye soup, at the charming Pierogarnia (which I affectionately nicknamed Pierogi-mania), and SHOCKER… we indulged in PIEROGI, the well-known and well-loved Polish dumpling. We also fueled up on potato pancakes (ptaki ziemniaki) and sampled Piwo beer at the restaurant Hawełka.
  • The Krakuska Sztuka Ludowa shop had all of the folk souvenirs we hoped for. And we scored honey, mustard, and preserves at Krakowski Kredens in the main Market Square.
  • We marveled at the Wawel Royal Castle, Planty Park, and St. Peter and Paul’s Church.
  • We stayed at Hotel Amber Design in adjoining rooms. It was conveniently located, clean and efficient, and otherwise unmemorable this many years later (note that not being memorable isn’t necessarily a bad thing).

Next stop, Vienna, Austria.

  • We flew from Krakow to Vienna, with only a momentary stoppover in Munich.
  • We visited the Old Castle, the Austrian National Library (Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek), because we all LOVE books, then we continued on to Maria-Theresien-Platz, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral (Stephansdom).
  • There was no shortage of delicious food – we had a beautiful dinner at Artner, we ate schnitzel and drank beer at Gasthaus Pöschl, and we lunched at Café Central. Lunch at Café Central was wonderful, but next time, I would skip lunch, content to go just for the espresso and sweets; viennese cakes, brittle, brûlée, and chocolates.
  • We walked a ton and didn’t shop nearly enough, and we generally tried to avoid the large crowds of tourists.
  • We stayed at Hotel König von Ungarn in a two-story storybook room. The hotel had a lovely bar and a bartender who made it even better. The location was excellent, the room was fabulous, but the service was the best. We’d settle in each evening for a nightcap, laughter, and storytelling.

Our final destination was Prague, Czech Republic.

  • We rode the train from Vienna to Prague. Prague is notorious for playing host to European stag and hen parties, so the train was packed, raucous, and fun with groups of revelers headed out on getaways.
  • No surprise, but we walked for endless, seeing the Charles Bridge the Prague Castle and St. Vita Cathedral, and we stood captivated (alongside everyone else) by the not-to-be missed Astronomical Clock Tower.
  • We shopped, on Kings Road, in Manufaktura, and at the open air market; bringing home replicas of the landmark clock, wooden nesting dolls (Matryoshkas), and sparkling glass bird ornaments for the Christmas tree.
  • We dined on regional specialties, sausage, and cabbage salad at U Tří Růží. And we enjoyed beers at Hoffa Bar, sampling the Vienna Red and the tmavý speciál (a hearty, dark, malt beer).
  • We stayed at the Hotel Kings Court, scoring a room with three twin beds all in a row. It’s the stuff fairytale sleepovers with best friends are made of.

At the end of the trip, my suitcase was re-packed with European goodies to bring home, and I had four different currencies in my purse: Polish Zloty, Euros, Czech Koruna, and of course US Dollars. But more importantly, my heart was full after time spent with friends who were like sisters.

If only every trip offered an opportunity for discovery, curiosity, and reunions (unexpected or planned) of family-like friends and friends-like family. My endless thanks goes to Julie and her family for giving us a reason to adventure.