From Dublin to Görlitz
Damian Kuck-Doszko is a walking rubber ball. A guaranteed source of good cheer. If you want to catch him at the trendy "Jakobs" restaurant in Görlitz, you'll need quick feet. This bundle of energy can simultaneously operate the impressively steaming Italian coffee machine, take drink orders in German, English, or Polish, ring up the cash register, and answer questions about his life. His earliest memories of Germany date back to the early 1980s. He remembers waving to the girls he met as a primary school student on the other side of the Neisse River. They would wave back, giggling, across the destroyed bridge in Deschka, a small village near Görlitz. He also recalls trips with his parents and summer holidays in Saxony before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Things get really exciting, however, with the fall of the Wall. Damian forged friendships across the now more porous border. He exchanges information with a friend in Zittau about the Olsen Gang and realizes how similar people are, even if they speak different languages.
The high school in Zgorzelec offered him the opportunity for extended German lessons. He gladly took advantage of this to be able to communicate at the nightly parties in the Görlitz club "Basta." Girls probably played a role there as well. For his university studies, in which he studied sociology and politics, he had to go to Opole, but he never lost touch with Germany. During semester breaks, he looked for a way to earn money and found a job in a brewery restaurant in Cologne. He enjoyed the physical demands of the job, and because he was faster than most, his tips were substantial.
His university thesis was titled "European City Görlitz/Zgorzelec: Opportunities and Challenges of Integration. Seventy Pages of Thoughts on the Future. Looking back at the division after the end of the war in 1945 and looking ahead to tomorrow." He then took a position in the civil service. But Damian soon realized he was still too restless for a desk job. On a whim, he boarded a bus and a plane to Dublin. Many of his school friends and fellow students were already there. The prospect of a decent salary and a life among many different nationalities was too enticing.
It takes a full four days before he can start as a server in a restaurant. He does so to the chef's satisfaction and is soon promoted to kitchen assistant. Then he's allowed to work as a cook and as a waiter. At the same time, he goes back to school and studies English like crazy. He knows that his language skills will be his most valuable asset.
Soon he moves to a Dublin neighborhood where Chinese, Spanish, and Italians set the tone. A delightful mix to his ears. Irish people have also become part of his circle of friends. Through them, he learns that IBM is always hiring, applies, and gets a job as an administrative assistant in controlling. The pay is fantastic, life seems to be on his side. What bothers him are the temporary contracts. Often only for a few months.
Damian wants stability, he wants to be a settler, not a work nomad. So he changes jobs again. He starts at the national airline, Aer Lingus, in the Ground Operations Department. What sounds so glamorous is actually hard work: loading and unloading planes. But the pay is good, and it's finally a permanent contract. He likes the job, the international team, and the Irish air. Until his family calls from Poland. His mother is seriously ill. He knows this is the moment he'll pack his bags.
And once again, he has the proverbial luck of the prepared. He's approached about helping to establish Jakobs in Görlitz. The idea is to create a modern, international restaurant where fun at work is paramount and all kinds of languages are spoken. Neither of these things is yet a given in Görlitz. And that makes it all the more desirable in circles with an unbridled enthusiasm for a European future. Like Damian Kuck-Doszko.
What impresses him about this European city? He doesn't have to think long. "How many different and fascinating people I've met here. Architects, writers, filmmakers, journalists from all sorts of countries. They like to come and eat with us, and we enjoy talking to them." Then there's the beauty of the city and the surrounding area. The nearby Berzdorf Lake is his favorite place to relax. "And cycling on the German side is fantastic. Definitely much safer than on the Polish roads!"
Does he want to stay? "Yes, ideally with my own restaurant. Pure, organic, vegan. Healthy food for relaxed people, that would be my dream. And ideally, connected to all the places I've lived. I already know what it should be called: Equal."
Living in Görlitz Working in Görlitz Visiting Görlitz
