Been a while since I've had a chance to update! But the last two weeks have been non-stop traveling and a lot of work. I finally have a weekend at *home* where I don't have to do *anything*

So the Thursday before last was a holiday here- Corpus Christi. I figured things would be closed, so taking a long train ride wouldn't be a bad idea. I'd planned to be on a 10am train north, but I'd spent the night before staying out late at a trendy nightclub, drinking beer with a couple of cool guys, so I decided to sleep in a bit. Good call, because the 2:30 train I got on was an express train, which meant more comfort and fewer stops. The cars were *nice*! They had outlets for the computer, nice seats, and a guy coming by every hour to see if you wanted tea, coffee, snacks, etc. I spent the ride doing some homework and putting together a playlist I'd been thinking of for ages, and just watched the nice scenery go by.

Arrived in Szczecin around 8pm. It was still really light out. This is a kind of gritty harbor town WAY up north, pretty much on the border between Poland and Germany, right on the Baltic Sea. Boy, was it windy and cold! Glad I took my good coat and umbrella. It also rained most of the time I was there, alternating between a light mist and cats and dogs. But I was prepared, so it was all good.

I took a tram to the center of town and found a place to stay, the Hotelik Slowianski. Very cute little red brick building with liquid amber and maple trees outside. It used to be an old police dorm, so the rooms have little kitchen facilities and things. Very high ceilings, nice interior, and my room had a balcony facing St. Adalbert's Church. Not too posh or anything, but fine for a weekend trip- besides, I often prefer these little places that have character over perfect mainstream varieties. I opened the cupboards and in one, found a bottle of bison grass vodka! ^__^

Dropped off my stuff, then went in search of dinner. Not much was open, but I found a 24-kebab place across the street and happily ate there. Made it there just in time, because about 2 minutes later, the rain poured down in fierce torrents. I took my time eating and waited until the rain lessened, then went next door to the Dublin Irish Pub. *Great* place!! Totally reminded me of the pub back home, all dark wood, comfy interior, good decorations, dart boards, a few tables of regulars, good beer. Had a couple pints of Guinness and just enjoyed being there, thought of good friends back home.

After that, I wandered around the block a bit, discovered the main post office. It took up about 2 blocks just by itself- huge!! Looked a bit like the one in Olsztyn, all red, yellow and green brick, very pretty. Again, Warsaw could take some architectural tips from these towns....


On Friday, I spent most of the day just exploring the city. Concert wasn't until 10pm, so I had time. I took trams and walked, and saw the Harbor Gate, the Royal Gate, the Old Town, the Castle of the Dukes of Pomerania, the area down by the docks, a huge park, the mall, all sorts of good stuff. I like Szczecin, but.... the only downside is that they don't seem to believe in street signs. NONE of the buildings had signs, or the roundabouts, or anything. I had to use my "eshu" powers quite a bit ;)

Stopped on a quiet street for a relaxing lunch, had pizza and salad. Then discovered a nifty coffee shop next door- sampled a number of yummy varieties. Discovered a yoga place that listed free yoga sessions in parks across Poland- there's one in Warsaw, in Pole Mokotowskie! I'll have to try that. Passed by a store that sold nothing but angels- little statues, stained glass, pictures, etc. Thought of my best friend's grandma, who adores them. Saw LOTS of very adorable dogs!

Later that afternoon, I had a delicious mocha and some vanilla bean tea in the Brama Jazz Cafe- it was actually inside the royal gate! Very cool little spot. Around 7:30, headed back toward the hotel for dinner at an Indian place called Bombay- very good food, I needed some warmth and spice after a long rainy day. Finished dinner and caught the tram out to the Central Cemetery.

The Cemetery was huge, with a large brick entrance house. We presented our tickets at the gate, then walked down through the paths to a large field with a lake in the middle. The choir was on the opposite side of the lake from the audience. Naval officers stood on platforms in the lake, since the piece was dedicated to those who had not returned from sea. During parts of the performance, they shone blue, white and red lights on the trees surrounding the field. It rained pretty much most of the concert, but we didn't care- we had umbrellas and plastic to sit on.

The concert was lovely. This piece, "Requiem For My Friend" was composed by Zbiegniew Preisner for the director, Krzysztof Kieslowski. I'd first heard it about 10 years ago- a friend sent me a recording. It was a nice opportunity to hear it performed live, and in such a nice setting.

Saturday morning, I woke up, took a few last pictures, enjoyed some bread and espresso in a cafe, then got on the train back to Warsaw. Big mistake- I somehow found myself on one of the local trains, meaning that it stopped in every little town along the way. It took 5.5 hours to get up here, but over 8 to get back. And it was dark, rainy and cold. I finished a Robert Ludlum book, then just listened to music for a while- nothing much else to do. Had some dinner when I got back into town, then went home and crashed.

Woke up Sunday morning, packed my bags again, then met my colleague at the airport for a work trip to Prague. We spent most of Monday and Tuesday meeting with colleagues about work topics, but in the evenings, we explored Prague. Very pretty city, and *big*. A nice mixture of classic and Baroque buildings, statues all over the place (there were 30 on the St. Charles Bridge alone!), interesting clocks and decorations. We saw a royal castle, an enormous cathedral, the "Alchemist's Alley" (I recognized the Chinese character for "gold" on the sign next to that one), Franz Kafka's house, some really pretty houses in a residential area. A lot of the houses have Art Nouveau painting on the outside, birds, motifs, Mucha girls. Really cool.

We walked through the old town, across several bridges, watched the little figures come out from the top of the astronomical clock, had espresso in a cafe with live jazz music, and explored the temples in the old Jewish quarter. Altogether, it was a very nice visit. I can see why so many artists and writers want to live in Prague. And of course, I immediately located the soccer stadium and hockey arena, so I'm all set for Czech sports.

Returned early Wed. morning and went straight back to work. Long trip!