Poland Day Six

Another event filled viola day in the books! (And in case you are wondering, I did try staying up late, hoping not to wake up at 1 AM. And it worked! I didn't wake up until 4 AM. And slept until six when an emergency vehicle woke me up with its clarion call. But still--a better sleep that the night before.)

Started out with breakfast, with Bob and Ann Frederking and Michael Palumbo:

That fruit tart? Bob F. got one yesterday, and it looked so good! There were very few of them, so I didn't snag one yesterday, but I did today. Bob said it looks better than it tastes, but actually, I loved it! The filling is barely sweet cream, and it was lovely. And see the pile of corn and whatever? I do not know what is in it, exactly, but I love that stuff!

Then on to the events of the day. Lots of interesting lectures and good recitals. Some students from JMU in Virginia spoke about Special Music Education, and that was enlightening. Their goal is to make it possible for anybody to be able to play the instrument of their choice with accommodation.

Jordan, who is from the UK but a student in Virginia, presenting about SME

It was a weird schedule today, with lots of events changing times (to accommodate leaving schedules) or venues (to accommodate the need for a piano or access to the internet) so that kept us on our toes.

We ended with a concert played by Jutta, one of my old and dear viola friends. Emil Cantor was supposed to play as well, but he was ill and unable to attend. (Before Jutta was on stage, I took a picture of the pipes of the organ, because I thought Miriam might be interested in them.)

Happened to catch Nellie and Carlos in the picture

Jutta playing, accompanied by the man from Montreal--Paul Stewart

Boguslawa invited Henrik and Hakan to play tonight in Emil's place, and that was great fun. Swedish polkas. Did I mention that Claudine has invited them to BYU? I am not sure when, and neither are they. They told a joke which would go better if I remembered the name of  the Swedish town in which fiddle music is super important, which started with a D, and which I totally can't remember. But it goes like this. You'll know that Fiddle music is so important in D--- because if you meet three people from D---, four of them will play the fiddle.

Then on to our closing "party" which was actually a banquet. Who knew? I didn't know what to expect, so I bought a sandwich at the convenience store (as well as some chocolate treats to take home) just in case. Now I will have that sandwich for tomorrow in case I need it.

I sat by two men from Canada (on my left) and Christine R. (on my right). The men were Jutta's pianist Paul Stewart and his friend, both from Montreal. Jutta's pianist grew up in Nova Scotia, but most of his family live in Calgary. His friend Janos grew up in Poland, and is an opera singer who has relocated to Canada. He performs and has a voice studio. I should google Janos opera singer Montreal and see if he is a big deal and I was just all "Oh that's interesting." They told me to change my ticket and stay an extra day because I failed to watch the goats come out of the clock. I had no clue about goats in clocks. Then they chastised me for failing to do my research, a fair chastisement, since I AM a librarian and researcher, and they are right; I totally failed.

I bought some viola card games, made by the Skaug family. And I almost used all my zloty. I still have 100 left--and I will need about 50 for the taxi tomorrow. Better to have a little bit too much than not enough.

Jutta was awarded the silver clef by the International Viola Society. She was very touched. She made an impassioned speech about not doing the work in hopes of a reward, but doing what needs to be done to keep the society going so that it will benefit the next generation.

She was speechless and teary at first. That is Greg Williams who is clapping.

Carlos announced that the next year's congress will be Oct. 14-18 in Portugal. I forget what city. A couple of hours from Lisbon; a couple of hours from Porto.

I took photos with and of some friends. I had to take a picture with H and H to send to Claudine, because she asked me to hug them for her. So I texted the photo to her.

I wanted to take a picture of the entire Skaug family, but Mrs. insisted she should take a picture of Kristopher and I.

And then I insisted on taking one of the two of them. We could not find Ursula. Sunniva had gone home early in order to participate in a school field trip to Belgium, to learn about the trench warfare in WWII.

Now I have to pack, ask the front desk about calling a taxi for me, make sure the toilet fully flushes...which will be the hardest task? You guessed it. (I will not miss that toilet.) Although--asking the front desk is also kind of hard, and scary, too. Those front desk guys are a stern lot. (Bruce might like them--they are hardcore.)

Poland Day Five

I sacrificed lunch again today, but not because I was out exploring. Today, I just really needed a nap! I have not been sleeping at all well. Every night since arriving, I have woken up at 1 AM. Wednesday night, I was fortunate enough to get back to sleep, but that was apparently a one-off, because it had not happened before, and it did not happen this morning. So I was running on three hours sleep, and I just could not even. So, I went straight to bed.

Oh, but I did not tell about the morning! All the events were in the school adjacent to the hotel. They were all good--a master class, a recital, a lecture/recital--and when we opened the door to exit the venue, out in the school's lobby were about 35-40 high school girls all dancing in a circle to the strains of Beethoven's Ode to Joy! It was amazing--absolutely delightful. What did I say about dance and Poland? Alive and well!

Then--then, I went and had a nap! I was just glad I woke up in time (barely) for Dwight's presentation at 2 pm. Actually, the whole afternoon was really good, really worthwhile, so I am glad I woke up.

Dwight, Boguslawa, and Dietrich

Same people, only with Ann and Bob Frederking as book ends

Besides Dwight and Dietrich telling about how the IVS came to be (Dietrich speaking in German), Karin, a dutch violist spoke about figuring out your own fingering, and not believing what they print in the book. Because publishers? They are not musicians. They sometimes just mark it, or just print without checking, and your own ideas might be better for you. It was very entertaining, because Karin is very entertaining. She would be such a fun teacher--her lucky students! And then we learned about Brazilian music for solo viola.

Since I spent no zloty at lunch time, I felt I needed to make up for it! I mean, I am not spending anywhere close to my per diem as it is, so I felt some effort was called for. I decided to go to the hotel restaurant again. I checked that they were open (because the door being unlocked is not a sure sign) and then I sat by myself at a table, and they brought the menu. I ordered pasta with chicken and tomatoes, because my first time, the waitress had recommended it. But that time I got the penne with salmon in creamy cream sauce, if you recall. What I got tonight was good, but not nearly as good as the penne/salmon/creamy cream. (I paid 33 zloty for my meal, because I got a salad on the side. So about 11 dollars. See how I can't spend my per diem no matter how much I buy to eat. They allot $25 for dinner. That would be like $75 zloty!! I can't imagine spending that much in Poland.)

However, along came Dwight. He sat with me but said he had arranged to meet Dietrich Bauer for dinner. While we were chatting, along came Ken Martinson, and he asked if he could join us, and we said of course. And then Dwight found and brought Dietrich, so we were four.  Since they brought my food about the time the others were ordering, I just ate slowly. And wouldn't you know--I was the first to start, and the last to finish! Dietrich got what I got, Dwight got the penne/salmon and Ken got pork knuckle. Which looks like what it sounds like. Ken took a picture of it. I did not WANT a picture of it! Just imagine a pig's big knuckle. Now in your imagination, cook it. That is what it looked like.

There are four pretty old men here this year. The oldest is Professor Stefan Kamasa, who is 89. Then Jerzy Kosmala, who is 88. I have not met Prof. Kamasa before, but I have known Jerzy for about 18 years. (I thought he was old 18 years ago!--today, I do not find 70 particularly old. But 88--yes!) Dwight is next at 84, and Dietrich Bauer is a mere youngster at 82.

Dietrich speaks German, French and English, and a sentence or two of Polish, but his English is not the best. Still--much better than my German!! There was some number on a napkin or something that reminded Dietrich of his father, so he showed me, and told me that his father was born in 1914. (I did not tell him that MY father was born in 1915, because I think that would have blown him away. Since he is old enough to be my father.) That got us talking about his father.

Dietrich's father was in Hitler's army in 1935, the year that military service became compulsory. In 1936, at age 22, his father was in a terrible vehicular accident in which a truck rolled, and he was killed, leaving a young widow with a toddler and pregnant with a baby. A few months after his father died, Dietrich was born. He got very teary-eyed while telling me this. Even though it happened a lifetime ago--his entire lifetime ago.  I told him that it was clear that his mother had done a very good job of raising him.

Children who lose their parents. It is sad at any age, except when you are old yourself, maybe.

This reminded me of Grant, which reminded me of this:

Our hotel is named Hotel Ikar. Ann Frederking looked it up to see where its name came from. It was named for the legend of Icarus, and its symbol looks like this:

When I see those wings folding up instead of out, I can't help but see Grant in my mind's eye. And that made me think that Grant and Icarus share commonalities. They were both adventurers and tinkerers. They both didn't like to feel trapped. Icarus was in an actual prison and wanted to escape. Grant lived his life trying to escape the prison of limitations--especially the limitations we impose upon ourselves when we are afraid to try. Grant learned how to transcend those limitations.

Icarus flew too close to the Sun; I like to think that Grant flew close to the Son. As should we all.

Okay, off of my soapbox. Wait, no. On to my soap box. Or at least soap package.

I spent money today on soap! The soap they give in the hotel is about the size of a quarter, only maybe four quarters piled on top of each other. I kept thinking that housekeeping would leave another one, but they didn't. So today, I just ponied up and bought a small bar of soap that cost 3 zloty. Which is only like a dollar. And then! Today they left a new one--after they could see that I had already bought one! (Housekeeping came in the afternoon, after my newly purchased soap was set out on the sink.)

While I was out buying soap, I took some pictures of the convenience stores, which dot the landscape like 7-11s used to do in the US. (I don't think they (7-11s) are quite as ubiquitous anymore.) The two "zabka"s in this picture are only maybe a block and a half apart.

I also took a picture of my breakfast this morning, because I wanted to show off the teeny tiny glass my juice is in. I am not sure the picture is telling enough--the plates are also not terribly large. So, compared to the plate, the glass doesn't seem as small as it looks to me in real life!

The raspberry cake thing--that was divine!! Much less sweet than American cakes, and the middle layer had an interesting texture that I cannot quite describe. But it was delicious.

I also spent twenty zloty for tonight's concert--I decided to go, since it was in the hotel this time, and I didn't have to go out in the rain. This was not my favorite concert in the world. They had the lights off to show a film that went with their first piece, and that was actually quite interesting.

But after that piece ended, they insisted upon leaving the lights low, and that was just weird. Like, we are supposed to be learning about viola techniques, right, but we couldn't see a thing. Ursula is quite vocal, and she spoke up in favour of lights, but the performers nixed the idea.

There is another performance at 9 pm, which is in just over a half hour. I am looking forward to that--it will be baroque music, with viola and harpsichord. It will be Henrik Frendin and Hakan Olsson from Sweden. Nancy may remember them from Kronberg many years ago--they played at that very, very late concert after which we (Nancy and I, with Michelle and Kory) got lost in the forest and arrived at our hotel extremely late (or rather, early in the morning) after finally finding somewhere to ask about how to get back to Kronberg.

Later--after the show: The Henrik/Hakan Telemann pieces were amazing!!! (They also have a harpsichordist, Anna Paradisos.) They did an encore, but it was two short, because the music is so fun, so happy!

 I took this close-up of Henrik to illustrate that he ties his viola to his neck. His scarf goes under the chin rest, around his neck and he literally ties it to himself. Which is actually a thing that baroque musicians did--sometimes they tied their instruments to their belts, sometimes to their necks. That way you can have a rollicking good time with the music and not accidentally drop and ruin your instrument.

What a lovely note on which to end an evening! (Maybe I will be able to sleep?)

Poland Day Four

I finally got out and about today! That meant that I sacrificed lunch, but it was worth it.  Most of the events this afternoon were at the Henryk Wienawski Music Society building at Swietoslawska 7, so that meant I needed to find it. I went into the congress office and took a picture of the map:

Starting from HI, I needed to get to TMHW. Looks simple enough, but on a cloudy day with no sun to help with direction: north, south, east, west, up, down, over, around all looked the same to me--I got kind of lost. I found a convenience store (it actually had a sign that said "Deli" but I spied bottles of water and went and bought one) and I found a perogie store. I was pretty hungry--my only lunch had been a packet of blueberry cracker things that I bought in the airport in Atlanta as an emergency snack--but the perogie store was overwhelming. There were all these lovely sweet and savoury perogies, but the signs were hopelessly all in Polish, and I just did not even know how to try to order any!

I input the address into my map app thing on my phone, and found, bewilderingly, that I was nowhere near where I thought I was. Oops. So I tried to follow where the map was telling me, interrupted frequently by me stubbornly refusing to believe the map and taking different ways. And this one alley it took me down, when I actually WAS doing what it said to do--I was not a fan of that alley at all. Which strengthened my resolve to be skeptical about what it told me to do.

Eventually, I spied my friend Christine R. who was also wandering around lost. She just arrived yesterday afternoon, and has been fighting a cold, so she also did not try to go to TMHW yesterday. So we did some wandering together, eventually running into our friend Ames (who, despite her name being Ames, is indeed a girl) who did know her way--although Chris and I had found our destination once before we found Ames. It's just that we were early, so we wandered away again. I knew I didn't know how to get back, but Chris thought that she did. Turns out she didn't! But, it was fine: we did not need to be there until 3 pm, and we were there with ten minutes to spare.

In the meantime, we saw some sights. Too bad it was cloudy, since these pictures would have turned out better if the sun had been out.  I will not label most of the pictures, since I have no clue what I took pictures of!

This is the street I should have been on if I had followed Google Maps correctly; when I happened onto it while wandering around lost, I was going the opposite direction on it, but I didn't know it at the time!

Our destination, the Wienawski Music Society, which in Polish becomes TMHW when turned into an acronym, is on the right side, nearly to the magnificent pink building.

Close-up of the magnificent pink building

I heard it before I saw it! Immediately thought of Josie, because she has a tambur. This guy played everything on it--folk music, classical music, popular music--any genre can be tambur-ized!

I did not purposefully take a picture of the street. But then I thought, why not keep it? You are welcome.

The lighting is bad; but the water is pouring from the MOUTHS of these cherubs.Want to be clear about the source.

Today I spent 100 zloty (about $33 or maybe $25 depending on the day you figure the exchange) to pay for our closing party which will take place on Saturday. And then I walked to the convenience store and spent almost 34 zloty on food and water. Tonight's meal (another egg sandwich) plus a few snacks. And two bottles of water because water is so hard to come by!! There are no drinking fountains. When the restaurant is closed, there is no water to buy in the hotel. For breakfast the cups we are given for our drinks are not much bigger than shot glasses--maybe two shot glasses. I am feeling kind of dehydrated, so I bought an extra bottle of water. I also bought some candy treats which I am not going to eat, so that was an approximately $11 well spent.

Poland Day Three (point two)

This is my second post for the day, so--be warned! If you missed the one I already posted today, you will know to find it and read it. It has pictures; this post only has words. So.

It only has words because I forgot to take my camera with me when I decided to go and get some dinner in the hotel restaurant, which I could do without even wearing a coat.

And even before I got to the restaurant, I regretted not bringing my phone so I could take pictures--or, had I remembered that I forgot it, I would have regretted it. Because I could hear the dance music!!! But I didn't remember that I forgot my phone until I was in the restaurant, sitting at a table that I think said "Reserved" but which was apparently reserved for wanderers like me who were not a part of the great DANCE PARTY that was going on in the back of the restaurant.

Yes, my friends, social dance is alive and well and living in Poland! And on a Wednesday night! Poland, land of the mazurka and the polonaise to name but a few of the many Polish dances, has not forgotten how to swing! There on the dance floor were some 40-60 people, some in traditional male/female couples, some individuals dancing in a group, some ladies dancing together, all dancing away. All knowing the actual steps! Smiling, laughing, having so much fun--just like people in America used to have fun dancing, only they have forgotten how anymore, and it isn't a thing in many places. (It must still happen in Alberta because Uncle LeRon is still in a dance band. But it has kind of died the death in Utah.)

They were mostly old people. Oh wait--people my age, and my older siblings ages. Oh. We are old people. I wish I could have taken a picture so you could see how happy they all were dancing. People, we need to bring dancing back in North America. It is a very fun, happy, way to exercise!

I ordered a lovely salad. I did not appreciate, from the description, how lovely it actually would be. It was presented in a lovely manner, and it tasted lovely. I wish I had taken a picture, but I couldn't, so I didn't. It was made of lettuce, pears, chicken, walnuts and some kind of cheese, tossed with some unknowable dressing, and garnished with what was probably some kind of thick balsamic vinegar or just vinegar, very artful in the presentation. It was delicious, and all for 24 zloty (about 8 dollars.)

Also, I forgot to mention that one of our presenters today clued me in about Josef Hofmann, who was a composer and pianist and head of the Curtis Institute, but also an inventor with some 20+ patents that helped him to stay financially viable while working in music. For example, he invented the windshield wipers--his inspiration was the metronome. No joke. He watched the metronome all the time, and one day he just thought--use this concept on windshields. So he wrote it up and filed the patent, and here we are all these years later, on days like this rainy day in Poland, using his idea!

Poland Day Three

I am posting early on Day Three because it is a cold, wet, rainy day, and I am sequestered in my room. I am still not sleeping very well, and so, when I was falling asleep in a recital today, I came to my room for a little nap, and slept until 4:37. Since there was a concert at 4 pm, but not here--at the Henryk Wienawski Music Society on Swietoslawska 7, which I have never been to, and missed my opportunity to walk with the Frederkings, since they were leaving at about 3:30, I just decided to stay in. All the rest of today's events are out there in the cold and wet, and I just don't want to be out there.

Oddly, I can hear all kinds of trumpet riffs. Huh. I am used to hearing violas in the hotel, but today, while the violists are elsewhere, someone is practicing the trumpet.

Although I am ridiculously sleepy, today was a successful day! I successfully gave my presentation at 9 AM this morning to a receptive audience. I got lots of good comments, and one person asked for my slides--which are very minimal--I just talked about each slide without notes. I presented with my friend Elyse Dalabakis, who is Greek-American and lives in New Zealand; like, we shared the hour. Her presentation about a Greek composer, Dimitris Dragatakis, was very interesting. Here is Elyse with Artur Paciorkiewicz, a Polish violist who premiered Dragatakis's viola concerto in Athens 26 years ago. So a Pole gave the premiere of a Greek's viola concerto in Greece, and today a Greek gave a premiere talk about a Greek's viola concerto in Poland. Full circle.

Elyse is making a piano/percussion/viola transcription of this work as a part of her PHD work, so that will be cool.

I don't know which has been the highlight of my day today--successfully presenting my paper, or successfully flushing my toilet! I have been having poop issues. As in, all the poop will not disappear. All day Tuesday, a piece of poop kept bobbing up in the toilet. When it finally decided to vacate the premises, it was time to poop again, and the same thing happened! AARGH! There is no plunger here. Now, I am very good at unclogging toilets, and I know that the best cures are pretty simple--pouring warm/hot water from a height into the toilet works very well. Adding dish soap and letting that soak in before flushing for some added lubrication.  But I had no bucket--there are no ice buckets in European hotels, since Europeans do not constantly need ice. I had no dish soap. But I did have a little bottle of hotel shampoo, and a little bottle of hotel shower gel. I used them each individually with some time in between, and that did the trick. So, my toilet is poop free!!! I actually think that might have been an achievement that required more effort than presenting to 35-40 people...

Speaking of toilets, here is a picture of mine. Or mine for the week.

You can see it just peaking around the corner.

I really like European bathrooms. They are super small and yet so efficient. They have everything you need in a compact space without feeling overcrowded. I do not know why American bathrooms do not seem able to achieve the same amount of efficiency in a small space.

Here is what the rest of my room looks like:

 And here is the view out my window on a foggy morning. Today looks just the same, only actually raining, so wetter.

Oh yes: what did I eat and spend today? Well, so far I have only had lunch. I ate at the hotel restaurant with Bob and Ann Frederking, and we all had the dill soup (with chicken) only today I ordered bread (3 zloty) and butter (2 zloty) so I spent 15 zloty (about five dollars) for the meal. I am not falling for the water trick again!! 6 zloty for a bottle of water! It cost not even 2 zloty at the convenience store, and we all know that convenience stores overcharge!

Poland Day Two Plus More

First the plus more: I am afraid Nancy won't write down the Other Alexander story. So I will. But I am not as good a storyteller as she is--still, here goes.

While we were at the park on Friday, Alexander climbed onto the little kid big toy, and there was another little boy about the same size who was trying to get to the slide, but Alexander was kind of getting in his way. So Nancy called out, "Alexander, stop." Or something like that. Multiple times. And the other little kid had this shocked look on his face.  His dad turned and said, "Is his name Alexander?" and Nancy says "Yes" and he said that his son was also Alexander. Our Alexander will be two in October. His Alexander will be two in November. Practically twins. So that poor little boy was so confused about why this strange lady was telling him to stop!

See. Now the story is saved forever, but not told as well as Nancy would tell it.

On to Poland, Day Two. It was a pretty standard viola day. Although it got off to a rough start because I woke up at 1:30 AM and could not get back to sleep! And I didn't want to take another nap today because I wanted to be sure to sleep tonight. (Although, I did doze in this one lecture, where the elderly gentleman was speaking in Polish, and then a girl was translating into English liberally peppered with "um" and "uh"-- I dozed so much that I dropped both my phone and my glasses on the floor! That work me up, momentarily...)

The day started with the breakfast smorgasbord, which is included with the cost of the hotel. This is nothing like the free breakfast at an American hotel...and I did not take a picture of the drinks table, and I also missed photo-ing the hot stuff. Like, a bunch of meat. I didn't want any, but I realize that some people would enjoy seeing pictures of a bunch of meat. So here is a nice view of the things I did eat some of.

Then I went to all the viola things, some boring and some interesting; some lovely music and some not-so-lovely music. (Boring, interesting and lovely all subject to my opinion, of course.)

For lunch, Dwight and I went back to the same restaurant in the hotel. This time I got the dill and chicken soup, because ever since I DIDN'T try the dill pickle soup that Donna got at the Whistle Stop Diner, I have regretted not trying it. This dill soup was wonderful, I must say, and only just barely pickley, and in a very nice way. I also got a side of dumplings. I don't know what I expected, but what it was was two puffs of doughy white rounds with gravy to pour on top. It was not bad.  The poor waitress did not speak English, and she was not super impressed with my order, but she didn't know how to explain to me that what I ordered was weird. But I knew she really wanted to be able to tell me! Dwight got a chicken soup and this huge order of meat and fries (both of which he isn't supposed to eat.) Poor Dwight. He just turned 84 years old yesterday. He is happy to be at the congress, but did not enjoy getting there. He is suffering from terrible anxiety, and all the hassle of travel is not sitting well with him. He flew first to London, then took a day or two to recover enough to fly to Berlin, and then took a day or two to recover enough to take the train to Poznan. He is already getting very nervous about the idea of making the trip back home. He said he isn't going to commit to it, but he THINKS this will be his last international congress. Honestly, I think the same thing!! The travel is SUCH a hassle. And I have none of my kids or grandkids at the end of the travel, so is it really worth it? I don't know.

Oh, and I solved the bill mystery from last night, because the waitress did bring me a bill, and yes, my water did cost me an additional $6, but in zloty that isn't so much, really.

One of my favorite things about Polish is that "Windy" means elevator, maybe. At least, on my floor, there is just a sign that says "WINDY" and that is where the elevators are. Here on the main floor, they spell it out in British, too.

 The room we are frequently in has this cool thing on the wall. Is this a sculpture? Like, what do you call this kind of flat art with texture? In front of it are the Skaug sisters, from the Netherlands. I first met them in Cremona three years ago. I thought then that they were 16 and 13, but they were actually 19 and 13, since they are now 22 and 16. They have grown up and also really become outstanding players in the meantime. They gave a great recital.

The Skaug girls, Ursula and Sunniva, with their parents. Their dad is Dutch and their mom is Italian.

I took a picture of Hilary's students after their presentation, but on their camera (phone) not mine. I was very proud of them. They had some trouble to contend with which they dealt with masterfully. First, the master class before them went right up to their start time, so they had to rush around like mad setting up. And then there were technical difficulties. Someone went for help, but there was no time to wait because of the tightly scheduled conference. So they came up with a work-around, and while it wasn't perfect, it was perfectly fine. A computer tech guy walked in after they were midway into their presentation (about a new etude book) and asked in a loud voice if they needed help, but they sent him away--they were winning it the way they were. Really great to see them roll with the punches so professionally.

For dinner tonight, I went to a convenience store nearby, which I am delighted to have discovered--well, someone told me about it, but still. Delight. I bought an egg sandwich (sliced eggs, sliced cucumbers and lettuce on a bun) and potato chips that were so good because they were just potatoes and salt. No dextrose or any other kind of -ose. And real water!! Just cool, clear water. My favorite. (The whole thing cost almost $7 zloty--so like $2. A bargain.)

Hello from Poland

Well, here I am in Poland. Which looks pretty much like Alberta, except I can't read the signs and the license plates are a different shape.

Nancy and her family said goodbye to me--I am relying on her to blog about what happened in Atlanta, which she has been doing very nicely so far--and dropped me off at the Doraville MARTA station.

What Nancy did not say (yet) about this picture is that in every single shot, someone was goofy. I know there is one where Rachel is the one with tongue extended--in this iteration, it is Miss Z with the protruding tongue!

I bought my ticket all by myself--push A then A then A--and got on the train. All was well until it wasn't. They had to take our train offline, and we had to all get out and then get into a train on the northbound track even though we were southbound. I am sure that messed with the plans of many people that morning. So, I got to the MARTA station at something like 11:25 AM, and my flight left at 4:10 PM, and I was almost busy getting to my destination for most of that time.

The only slightly unsettling thing that happened was that this guy came on swearing into his phone and threatening death to the person he was talking to. Loudly. He was called out by an older gentleman, in a very kind and gentle way (a man of the same race--I do not think a man of another race could have done this in Atlanta, honestly) and he said, "I am sorry, people. I was just talking to this dude on the phone. It isn't you. I am not mad at you, people. Sorry about that, people."

When I got out at the airport station, I went wandering in the airport, only to realize that I was in the domestic terminal, and I needed the international terminal. That was an easy fix, but it meant I had a short walk to where the free shuttle to that terminal is located, and then a 15-20 minute ride, and then I had to get my tickets and baggage squared away, and then go through security, and then get to my gate.

As I was getting into the security line, I was greeted (by name) by a friendly voice--it was my friend Hilary Herndon, from Knoxville TN, and six of her ten viola studio students. So we were on the same flights! That was nice--I felt less alone.

The flight was fine--there was some mild turbulence which I slept through. I just was plagued with nervous intestines, so I had to go to the privy like four times. I felt gassy and bloated and kind of icky. I did not sleep much, even though I was gifted with leg room and space, since there were only two of us in our row of four seats.

In Frankfurt, we had to go through customs and then back through security before our connecting flight. So we were kind of stressed. But we made it in time, and then had time to spare because our plane to Posnan was delayed. We had quite a long bus ride from the airport terminal to our little city commuter plane--100 seats. I was with Mikayla, one of Hilary's students, on the very last row, row 25. There was a bit of a kerfuffle because of all the violas. The airplane people were insisting the violas needed to go in the luggage bay; Hilary was insisting that musical instruments could not ride there. Hilary won. She threatened not flying, which would legally obligate them to sort through all the already stowed luggage to find their seven suitcases.

And there was plenty of room! But it would have worked way better to get the violas stashed first, and then the other pieces of luggage. The viola students had to do some shifting of stuff to have long enough places for their instruments. Because all the arguing meant they were last on the plane.

Those commuter planes are not really made for going to the bathroom. I went before, and even though my guts were unhappy, I avoided the privy for the short 1 hr. 15 min. flight. But another person needed the bathroom--he was the guy sitting right in front of Mikayla. First, the attendant called him back from the bathroom, asking him to wait about 5-8 minutes because the beverage trolley needed to be able to be maneuvered in that space. Then, he was in the privy for a loooooooong time. Like, noticeably long. Even, for this champion worrier, worrisome long. I was not alone in worrying. So were the flight attendants. The poor sweet girl called out to him. No answer. Then the other attendant, at the front, got worried, and they were having a phone conversation about what-to-do. The young attendant on our end banged on the door. Nothing. Then she really banged on the door, like knock-the-house-down banged on the door. I guess he banged back.

When he finally emerged, he was super angry. "I can't even take a s--- in peace!" he yelled. So that was fun. Or not.

We waited in the itty-bitty Posnan terminal while our luggage was finally put into a carousel, and then we waited while everyone had a potty break, and while other people got some money from the ATM (I had changed money in Atlanta myself) and then while Sophie (who is from Doraville, Georgia, by coincidence, though a student at Knoxville) remembered that she left her jacket on the plane, and then we convinced her to ask for it, and she got it back.  Hilary's plan was to take the bus, but we realized it meant a substantial walk and we weren't sure how much it would cost once we walked there--so we did two taxis. Three students and me in one, three students and Hilary in the other. I got out at my hotel; they headed on to an AirBnB they had nearby. $46 in Polish money (zloty) which is about $16 in US dollars, so that was pretty sweet.

I paid for my entire hotel already, which is $630 in zloty, so about $210 in US dollars. For six days. Pretty sweet! It is pretty spartan, but has European windows, which we all know I love!!

Here are some pictures of money and my good old-fashioned door key. Also you can see my blue carpet.

I came in and crashed for about an hour and a half. Woke up for a bit, had a second nap. Then I got up and went for a walk.

Pictures from my walk:

Our conference hotel

This is where you walk.

Something about soccer in Posnan

Why I am not always understanding things...

Went to try to have dinner twice. First time, before my walk--nobody was there. The hotel restaurant was open, but empty. Second time, there were two ladies working, and one of them put me at a table and gave me a menu.

It was very thick. Very many things to order; very many drinks. I ordered straight up water, which was brought with no ice, of course, just the way I like it. And then I got the  Penne with smoked salmon creamy cream sauce. Honestly, it was not so creamy that I would call it creamy cream, but it was delicious. I ate the basil leaves, too. I was probably not supposed to, but I wanted a few more veggies than the scant tomatoes--and they were good! I think eating basil leaves should be a thing!

Once I had my food, she never came back again. I finished. No workers in sight. I was sitting alone in the restaurant; it was starting to get dark. No lights were on--except over the bar, which was a distance away. Finally, she reappeared and turned on the lights in one section, but not where I was sitting. Bob and Ann Frederking came in and sat with me--finally she turned on the lights in our section. Michael Palumbo joined us. I chased her down so I could pay, because I wanted to write on this blog and go to bed. (I have been writing a long time.) I paid $32, even though my menu said $26. I just paid because I don't know--maybe my water cost money? A tip? Tax? I have no clue. She gave me no bill; just told me an amount. I will compare notes with Ann tomorrow. (It is only about $11 US anyway.)

My phone keeps ringing!! I have blocked numbers from Romania, Italy, Ireland, the UK and Germany thus far. The first 11 calls between 7 and 7:30; the last one just now. Seriously, robocallers! Somehow they knew I was in their area, and they are calling, calling, calling.

This is just a picture of some directions for guests here, which I took a picture of and texted to Hilary for her students for tomorrow's conference. So they can get WIFI.

This is just the WIFI directions for those who wanted to be able to read them.