Dziś rano, jak się obudziłam ze snem w oczach, myślałam o tobie i o twojej słodkiej jesieni.

It’s not the great moments I remember. There is only a fleeing notion of thousands and thousands of people celebrating on May 1st, 2004. The trips and travels are almost forgotten. Where did we go? What did we do? Gdańsk had lots of water. Zamość was empty and cold. And Warsaw... from Warsaw I remember tall grey buildings and the pale sun trying to find its way through the greyness. And of course Stalin’s gift to Poland: the Palace of Culture and Science that would rather belong in Moscow with its seven sisters. There was also a lonely palm tree growing on a square somewhere in the Polish capital.

I remember the little shop where I used to buy some croissants to eat in Ogród saski. The endless walks in Stare Miasto. The smells. Watching the autumn arrive. The soups and bread we ate in the university cafeteria. The bars and the crazy flatmates. Crowded concerts and stuffed cabbage.

Will I ever go back and experience it all over again?