Pit Stop in Wloclawek 02.06

We arrived back in Wloclawek after our roadtrip to Bialowieza. Unfortunately, our luggage still had not been found, and we were facing the prospect that we would not get it back at all. We spent the next two days filling out 'lost luggage claim forms', so that the airline would compensate us. It was very long and annoying, as we had to list all of the items in our bags, along with their sizes, brands and colours!

Avance, the Fat Cat, sleeps in style.

We also spent some time shopping for the important things that we'd lost in our luggage, like medication and contact lenses. The most important thing that we went shopping for though, was presents for Artur's dad's name day, which was the next day. A name day is celebrated in Poland with equal importance to birthdays. Basically, a Name Day, is like the birthday of the saint who shares your name.

The next morning, after Artur's dad had gone to work to work, Loren made some Chocolate Chip Biscuits for his name day. The recipe was one that her family loves and they had adapted it from a recipe in a cookbook.

Later on that day, we went to visit the chocolate factory that Artur's dad owns. We had to wear lab coats and hair-nets! First we saw the lab where they experiment with new flavours and different chocolates and lollies.

Then we got a private tour of the factory! We saw the amazing machines that wrap one candy per second, and the different machines that weigh and distribute the lollies into bags. There were production lines for sealing, labelling etc. Very cool!

We saw candies being made as well, both the machine-made and hand- made kinds. The hand-made ones were great, they looked like one big mass of goo, then it all gets rolled and rolled again with icing sugar. Then we saw them being rolled into a snake shape and cut into smaller pieces.

We also saw some chocolates being made. That was cool as well. There were huge vats full of swirling chocolate. Then we saw the a production line that made blocks of chocolates with fillings. We made the most of the opportunity to taste all the chocolates, fresh off the production line :)

We also saw some new additions to the factory. There was a new sign that marked the entrance to the factory, and lit up at night. We also saw the new cooled warehouse for storing all of the chocolates and candies.

After seeing this factory, we travelled to the other factory, where the head offices are located. Here we met all of his dad's office employees and met in the board room for a big birthday celebration.

The table was covered in cakes and pastries, and so many vases full of enormous bunches of flowers. Everyone had a glass of champagne, so we all sang 'Sto lat', and toasted him for his health.

That evening, we had a big family dinner and gave our presents to Artur's dad. We bought him several travel books that he wanted, and a big book on the life of Gustuw Holoubek - a famous Polish actor. Because his dad's name is Lech, we bought some bottles of beer for him that had the same name. Loren decorated the bottles with fresh cherries from the garden, and red ribbons. He was thrilled with the presents.

The next day our baggage arrived, much to our surprise and relief. Just a day after we finished filling out all the forms, listing the precise content of our luggage. If they had bothered to call to let us know, we might have been spared the hassle.