The Green Way Three-Way

On the street that connects Hotel Wyspianski with the Rynek Glowny, there is a magical pace full of vegetarian wonder and enchantment. This place is called "Green Way." Even though I am sure there are many perfectly lovely restaurants in Cracovia, there is something about this place that calls me back at least once a day from wherever I am in the city. Part of it is the huge menu, the crazily inexpensive prices, huge portions, and the homey "Cheers"-like atmosphere. But is the three way combination of strawberry and whipped cream pancakes, the strawberry smoothies, and the amazing lentil soup.

Let me tell you about the lentil soup. The strawberry pancakes and smoothies bring me ephemeral pleasure, but my heart truly belongs to lentil soup alone--at least while I am in Cracovia. When the Cracovian evenings are dark, cold, and windy, a bowl of lentil soup is always waiting for me--ever the hot and cheap way to cap off an evening. When I look at the lentil soup, I don't see the individual lentils, carrots, onions, potatoes, celery, turnips, red peppers, black pepper, paprika, and too many other yummy ingredients to name. Rather I just see the bowl of lentil soup sitting before me, waiting to tickle my tastebuds. I don't taste all of the different vegetables and other things in the soup--things I might normally pick out or not eat at all--but they all come together in one harmonious song in my mouth. It's not broth or peppers or carrots I am tasting, it is lentil soup. I can't imagine my life in Cracovia without lentil soup, or my life after Cracovia without lentil soup. Lentil soup has filled a hole in my life after I had to leave gelato behind in Bologna, and there will be a hole once again when I must go onto Prague and the lentil soup must stay behind at Green Way in Cracovia.