Monday-Tuesday, September 14-15 - The train - The Lipkowski's - The Cdn Embassy Trade Staff

LEAVING MAKOWISTO

We were up at 6 in order to have a thankful normal shower for the second day in a row. Beata was supposed to pick us up at 7:30 to catch our 8:42 train at Jaroslaw 7 kms away. We knew they were repairing a bridge over the Sen river so when she was still not there several minutes after 7:30 we were getting anxious. We had the Antonio’s phone number so we called: yedem, yedem Beata said. I said good bye and she arrived with Mike and Lillian (they are trying to cash some international travelers checks) about 10 minutes later. Mike said he would have liked to have another piece of bread. He has been battling diarrhea for a week. We think it was from rinsing his false teeth in local water.


We were at the station by 8:15. I went to the bank machine up the street for another 500 PLN. On return we all walked down through the short marble clad tunnel and waited on Peron (Platform) 2 for the train. I began the verbal dance of giving a gift for Beata and Marion (we had left 200 PLN for the children last night), through my translators, Mike and Lillian. Tell her that we want to give her a gift. Tell her that we do not have room in our luggage for gifts. Immediately Beata’s eyes widened and she said neh neh followed by an impassioned string of Polish words. Tell her it is only a small gift for her and Marian to do something special for themselves. Neh neh. I did not want to stuff the 200 PLN ~70 CAD down her bra as Mike had to do to give his gift to Yanina (Pietrucha) where we stayed for a few nights just after we came into Poland. I shoved it up her coat sleeve. She seemed resigned to accept.


THE TRAIN TO WARSAW



We waited at the leading end of the platform thinking that our Wagon (Car) 3 would be there. It was at the other end of the train so I started the trek to the other end. Neh Neh said a man pointing to the door, and confirmed by the others. Our car was at the far end of the train. We boarded and the train which immediately started moving. We had to walk through 10 cars dragging our bags down the narrow passageways, and through resisting doors at each end of each car. Rose cut her finger in one door and our bags certainly received many tests. We arrived at our 1st class car to find it almost empty and at the far end of the train. The only difference between 1st and 2nd class is that the seats are slightly larger and softer and the café style car is one car away. We took turns going to breakfast. Rose spent 22 PLN for kielbasa, bun, coffee, salad which she didn’t touch, and pickles. Mine was 16 PLN, for scrambled eggs and ham with a bun and coffee – about 13 CAD in all. We then sat back for the 6 hr ride to Warsaw, through Rzeszow, Tarnow, Krakow, and then a long ride to Warsaw.


As the train glides through towns and country we see a Poland that confirms our first impressions. Poland is on the move economically. Most roads are paved, and many houses are new or remodeled. A lot of the brick and block houses have been upgraded by stucco and paint. Automobile traffic is light but steady, whereas in Ukraine it was occasional on badly kept paved roads. Agriculture seems well organized and mechanized with small and older machinery. Church steeples rise everywhere you look. It reminded me of Ukraine where Bill would cross himself when passing any religious shrine. That was not the case in Poland. We did not see many shrines, a few on the edge of home yards, and we did not see anyone crossing themselves as they passed. However, they did seem committed to the Roman Catholic Church and their hero, Pope John Paul II.


We arrived in Warsaw a few minutes late to be met on the platform by Ewa Lipkowski, talking on a cell phone. She was talking to her grandson who is in the finals of the European volleyball championships. She had also just learned that the large consumer mall across the street from the train station, which is managed by her son, had a bomb scare. But that was information. The reason she was there was to get us to the hotel and checked in. The taxi she had arranged was not there, likely because of traffic tie ups caused by the bomb scare. Finally it came and we arrived at the Hilton Hotel in Warsaw. She left us for later pick up by her husband, Janusz Lipkowsky, an internationally known chemist and crystallographer, to go to their place for dinner. One of my last projects at work was to arrange a science tour of Saskatchewan for Janusz and Ewa was with him. We got along well during the week long tour.


The Hilton in Warsaw is a new hotel, in fact one of the finest I have ever seen in the world. We had a special rate of $125 Cdn non-refundable, and paid ahead. On checking in we found that internet hookups cost 75 PLN/day ie 30 CDN. We did not order it, but I felt committed to our blog, and wondered how long it would be until I could make another submission. Our room was total class, and the porter was thorough in explaining its features so we tipped him 20PLN, about $3.50. His eyes widened. I asked if that was enough and he said Oh Yes with a big smile. We have a king sized bed, with white duvet, gleaming bath with shower and tub, kettle with coffee and tea supplies, love seat, plasma TV, desk with internet, and fridge. I asked him why the hotel would charge so much for internet when it cost them so little. I thought, this must be how the corporate magnates get their millions. He said he might be able to arrange a lower cost. Interesting isn’t it, how whenever anyone tries to rip you off, options appear. We agreed to pay 40 PLN about $15 for internet access for our entire stay. Another amazing feature of the hotel was the spa facility: stylish, large pool, many top of the line workout machines, steam, sauna, and tanning bed, and rooms for workout groups, all part of the room price.


DINNER WITH THE LIPKOWSKI'S



Janusz arrived at the hotel from work at 6:30pm and we proceeded by taxi to his home about 10km away on the west edge of the formal city boundary. They live on the top floor of a 5 story walk-up. I kept looking back at Rose to make sure she was still there. Their apartment is about 1200 sq ft and a loft style. That is the roof was encroaching on the rooms and vertical windows were built into the encroachment. They had just arrived from Turkey a few days before. There were paintings all over the walls, a large LCD TV on the floor fitted into one the areas where the roof was encroaching. Janusz pointed out that during the economic downturn the TV sales were so good he had to buy. They rented this place they said because they both like the large space, the loft approach, the quiet compared to their earlier inner city apartment – and it gives them exercise walking up the 5 levels. These are people who study and enjoy every aspect of life. Books lined the walls. An imposing drain pipe was painted and became a unique lamp. Both Janusz and Ewa are chemists, but Ewa left work to raise the family and Janusz became very successful. Ewa paints, travels with her husband, enjoys the grandchildren, and makes a simple dinner for friends like us into a memorable experience. Janusz showed me his camera collection (I immediately told him about our friends the Bliss’s and John’s camera collection and took some photos to send to John), then his crystal collection, and then…and then Ewa had dinner (supper in Poland) ready.


Dinner started with pizza, crust of philly dough covered with a mozzarella cheese, sliced pears, and crumbled blue cheese on top, baked in a slow oven. This was followed by a home made tomato broth soup with onions and parsley, served at the table with dried baked round pea style noodles and a tablespoon of gin mixed in, simple but elegant. The main course was sliced pork sauted in a sauce of creams and spices, together with shredded beats cooked and buttered, small purchased potato dumplings, and a unique cole-slaw. Together with wine and the after dinner expresso (tea for Rose) and a fine single malt scotch, it made for a very special evening. Janusz made the desert, a grapefruit sherbert covered with chocolate and surrounded with whipped cream – not bad for a chemist.


The conversation with the Lipkowski’s was also stimulating. We discussed their hobbies and travels, theirs and our grandchildren, and exchanged a few humorous life stories. We covered the Polish economy with Rose and I describing our recent experiences in the South of Poland and during my 2003 7 week assignment at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw. This seemed like a good place to raise some of our beliefs, particularly regarding the equality of women and homosexuals. We had watched the previous evening, a BBC report on a Norwegian law requiring public companies to have 40% women on their boards. Their reaction was not in keeping with their seemingly scientific and liberal life style. Both suggested homosexuality was not as prevalent in Poland as in North America, and was not the 7% of the population I suggested. They did not have anything to say on the subject. The conversation became sort of one sided with Rose and I putting forth several points and they not really responding. On the subject of women Janusz noted that the majority of graduates in his area of chemistry at university were women. So I asked him how many women were in the Polish Academy of Science. He admitted that it was virtually all men. We discussed how the changing demographics of university graduates had to soon have impact on the traditional organizations of society. The discussion also ranged over divorce. Both they and us had been divorced. Janusz described an interesting approach he had read to making decisions in matters of inheritance. It was in effect a mathematical algorithm which allowed participants to weight their preference for various items, and with the use of some money, everyone’s satisfaction was maximized. All in all it was a delightful evening, and they arranged a taxi to take us back to our luxurious hotel. Ewa gave us some pepperoni, a bun and a tomato so we could avoid the breakfast buffet at the hotel for 85 pln, ~$30 per person.


LUNCH WITH THE CDN EMBASSY TRADE STAFF



Tuesday morning Rose went to the hotel spa for a manicure – same price as she pays in Canada, while I rested and worked on our blog submissions. We then headed to the Canadian Embassy for lunch at 12:30pm with some of the trade staff. We tested our ability to use the city’s tram system, using the passes the Lipkowski’s had also generously provided for us, and it was simple to use. We arrived at the Embassy and were met by Arek who walked us a short way down the street to Restauracja Ujazdowska, where he got us set up for the lunch. We were impressed that 4 trade staff would join us for lunch: Arek, Ewa, Teresa, and Jolanta, all wonderful people who I had worked with during my assignment in 2003 (see guys – I told you I would say nice things about you). We were surprised that they were pleased we had contacted them. Makes me realize how many friendships go undeveloped because we don’t think the other person would be interested. The conversation was exciting as we exchanged notes on past projects, current families, and our world tour. We told them how impressed were are with Poland, and how much it seems to have progressed since we were here in 2003. In 2003 the centre of Warsaw seemed to have more cranes than in all of Canada, building hotels and office buildings. Now, we noted, the most cranes seem to be in the suburbs, building housing complexes. The roads throughout Poland seem to be in very good shape. Rose always adds a little humour and this time it was the story of Rose telling Breann about seeing a horse in Southern Poland on a small farm along with cows and pigs. Breann said she thought it would be wonderful to live on a farm like that. Rose reminded her that animals cause a lot of smell. Breann said, “Well grandma, haven’t they heard of Febreeze (the air freshener)!


We parted with our Embassy staff friends at 1:30 pm and walked all the way back to our hotel, about 2.5 hours. Along the way we stopped at the Sheraton hotel which was part of our life when we were here in 2003 and at the apartment complex in which we lived in 2003. As we walked, many places brought back memories of our wonderful times in Poland in 2003. Back then Warsaw was not part of the European Union and a little scary for us, but now we enjoyed it was we would any city in North America. We both have the beginnings of colds so we purchased some food at the local mall and holed up in our hotel for the night. Still the Lipkowski’s were looking after us. Janusz emailed us to say that our departing platform for our train to Berlin tomorrow will be #3.