Milk Bar in Krakow, Poland
If you do not know (like I didn’t until I took a 3 hour walking tour in the rain), for over 600 years Poland was the largest country in all of Europe. However, from 1795 – 1918 Poland, the once infamous and grand empire, ceased to exist. Poland was partitioned unwillingly to Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The fascinating part of this story though is that despite the 130 years where Poland was no longer a country, the culture, the language, the music, and the traditions continued to be practiced in the hush tones of the Polish households and private gatherings. The Poles were forced to speak the language of the partitioned country, and yet Polish still exists today. To me, this was jaw dropping. The fact that the culture did not completely die out after 4-5 generations without the ability to practice the culture and the language freely; that is truly a miracle.
Another really cool aspect that existed through these periods was Polish food. Starting in 1896, Polish food was served in hole in the wall shops, hidden in the depths of the city, taking the name of Milk Bars (Bar mleczny). These Milk Bars served traditional Polish food for very inexpensive prices. During the Nazi Invasion and the Soviet Invasion, the Poles were highly poor people, these milk bars alone saved many lives during the tough 40 years of invasion. Today, many of these fantastic “restaurants” still exist throughout Poland. My boyfriend and I went to 2 different Milk Bars to experience this authentic Polish dining, and we have to admit, it was some of the best food we have ever had. You have to be adventurous, because the menus are in Polish (go to a restaurant before and learn a little about Polish cuisine – aka Bigos, Pierogis, Goulash), everyone that eats there are Polish, the people who cook and work there don’t speak a word of English, and you are never 100% positive you know what you are getting – BUT, it is so worth it!
Next time you head to Poland, don’t miss the incredibly historic Milk Bars and try some traditional Polish cuisine in an authentic Polish environment!
