There is no explaining it.  Americans are a bit behind as far as the virtue of hospitality is concerned.  I will let the photos speak for me, but let me just say that when the six of us arrived at the home of my close friend's mother we encountered a beautiful scene.  I remind you that there were only six of us and a feast was waiting.

What a relaxing way to spend our Saturday!  We took a three hour trip down the Dunajec river on the border between Poland and Slovakia.  This trip was filled with nothing but beauty - flowing water, mountain gorges, and a lively little joke-telling guide who steered us along the path.  Here are a few views of our rafting experience... 

We had a lovely concert yesterday in the Academic Church of Saint Anna in Warszawa!  The family and all the guests who attended the concert were incredibly grateful and showed their appreciation by their standing ovation which seemed to go on forever.  It was clear they wanted an encore; unfortunately, none of the musicians had one prepared.  Nonetheless, what a great opportunity to share such beautiful music with a truly grateful group of people.  After our concert we went to a lovely Jewish restaurant called Pod Samsonem with the Kozal family living in Warszawa.  It was a wonderfully emotional reunion for me.  Czeslaw and his daughter Marta were absolutely gracious, and I was finally able to meet the rest of their family.  The most important words were spoken by Czeslaw after dinner when he told my Dad that the Kozal family must stand strong together both now and in the future.  I am grateful to belong to this family and continue to look forward to meeting with all of them again in the future.  Here are some photos of the Academic Church of Saint Anna and of the Kozal family living in Warszawa.

After some "executive" decisions, our journey to Włocławek was rerouted to Warszawa.  We encountered a very narcissistic priest via a phone call and decided to skip our visit to the cathedral in Wloclawek and to Bishop Kozal's Museum.  Trust me when I say it was for the better.  We arrived in Warszawa early, and we were able to have dinner and take a stroll down the "Royal Way" to the "Old Square".  Here are only a few photos from our walk...

The happy travelers are now in Poznan.  This is the capital of the province of Wielkopolska.  We just finished a wonderful concert in Fara Poznanska.  All went very well...standing ovation.  The concert was very well attended with many people in the church for the lunchtime performance.  We will share some of that concert later, but I thought it would be nice to share some photos of the happy travelers.  Oh!  And you will see we have gone cat crazy!

I cannot tell you how wonderful the Kozal family in Poland is!  We have never experienced so much love, so much hospitality, so much selflessness, so much inclusion.  Maria Gabryelczyk (Ciocia Maria) said it best when she said that this family is very large...with many limbs which split into many branches which split into many twigs...and every now and again Blessed Bishop Michal Kozal gives them a shake and calls us back together.  What an amazing analogy to explain this sense of Kozal interconnectedness!  I sometimes think about the many Church signs that say "All are welcome!".  Realistically speaking, this is clearly not true for most churches especially in the United States; yet when the Kozal family gathers to celebrate family in Poland, "all are welcome" is absolute truth.  We have been treated with such loving care.  Kozal family members have hosted gatherings in every city we've visited in the Wielkopolska province.  We have been blessed by great conversation, much laughter, and amazing food.  And yes, we will come back ten pounds heavier.  The following are some very memorable photos of us and our amazing family...

The last three days have been wonderfully emotional.  In addition to premiering our piece entitled "Octave of a Suffering Servant" in honor of Blessed Bishop Michal Kozal, we also spent time with Dad as he made his way through meeting his cousins for the first time.  The meetings were a huge success and so was the concert we performed in the palace in Bugaj.  I cannot be more grateful.  And what an amazing opportunity to stay in this palace!  Here are a few photos of the palace in Bugaj.

Today was a much more emotionally difficult day.  We spent the entire day at Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps.  The depth and severity of the Holocaust is hard to process.  Nonetheless, we took the time to remember all who perished there including Kasia's great grandfather Jozef Warszynski and Saint Maksymilian Kolbe.  And we certainly did not forget the largest population who lost their lives in this camp - our Jewish brothers and sisters.  The following are photos of the camp.  The mood right now is a somber one.  Let us not be doomed to repeat history.