POLAND: Krakow to Gdansk

An Eastern European country Poland has lots of culture, history, and scenery to absorb. Whether you travel its landmass from north to south, or south to north you'll be enriched with it's diversity and remarkable people.

WIELICZKZA SALT MINE
www.wieliczka-saltmine.com

One of the few cities in Central Europe to withstand its medieval buildings during the "WAR" days, Krakow is filled with many sights to explore. There is Old Town, Wawal Castle, Wawal Cathedral and the not to be missed Wieliczka Salt Mine. Built in the 13th century the mine has been in operation for over 700 years and is a whirlwind of chapels, galleries, monuments, statues, tunnels and lakes all carved out of rock salt by the miners. There's even an underground sanatorium where people with allergic diseases are treated overnight. Not far from Krakow are the Carpathian Mountains with their majestic high peaks. The resort town of Zakapone that is popular in the winter for skiing and hiking in the summer is a nice place to spend a night or two.

ZAKAPONE
www.zakopane.com

A port city on the Baltic coast and one of Poland's oldest cities Gdansk has interesting sights such as Neptune Fountain, Gradowa Hill, Royal Chapel, and the Great Armoury Hall. One of the most popular streets in Gdansk is the quaint Ulica Mariacka. Here you'll find cafe's, jewelry shops, residential buildings, and a Gothic style hotel called Kamienica Gotyk. From Gdansk you can easily explore the various seaside towns along the Baltic Sea.

Each country around the world is known for it's cuisine and Poland is no exception. The Polish are known for a multitude of dishes; beet soup, duck blood soup, mushroom soup, sauerkraut and kielbasa, meat loaf, pierogi, stuffed cabbage rolls, buckwheat, cucumber salad, makowiec (poppyseed swirl cake), and sernik (cheesecake) are some of the dishes that Polish people enjoy eating.

STUFFED CABBAGE ROLLS

12 cabbage leaves
1 pound ground beef, cooked
1 cup cooked rice
1 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1  teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped green pepper

Cover cabbage leaves in boiling water and let them stand in the pot till they become limb.

Drain the cabbage leaves.

Mix together the cooked ground beef and rice, onions, green pepper, garlic powder, pepper and
1/2 the can of tomato sauce. Put a 1/3 cup of the mixture in each cabbage leaf roll tucking the sides. Place seam side down in baking dish. Pour the remaining tomato sauce over the cabbage rolls.

Cover and Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Once the cabbage rolls are cooked you can serve them with some sour cream or plain yogurt.