Lublin, Poland
My alarm clock on my cell phone went off at 5:30 am. (I never did replace little inexpensive Chinese clock—I just use my cell phone now. Works like a charm.)

I was exhausted but forced myself out of bed. I packed my bag for the day, got ready and quickly walked in the direction of the train station. I got a bagel thingy and an orange drink for just under $1.

I knew where to go to get tickets when I got to the train station. I wasn't surprised to find that there was a large line in front of the ticket counter. Darn, I thought, I have only 15 minutes. Thankfully, another woman appeared in another window, took her time adjusting the brightness and position of her computer monitor, position of ticketing paper. Finally, she logged in and said dryly "Prosze."

I was second in line and I handed the woman a piece of paper with the details handwritten:

Kraków -> Lublin
04.03.2005
06:20
Klasa: 1

She read the paper and typed into her keyboard. I recognized that she said a set of numbers, in Polish. Presumably, the price. I smiled and handed her my credit card. I signed. 66.98 zl later, I had myself a first class ticket to Lublin.

I slept a bit and I blogged a bit during my 4 hour journey.

My first impression of Lublin, from the trainstation, was not a good one. It's just not very nice. The Lonely Planet Guide suggested taking the #13 bus to the old city. I went to the nearest kiosk and muttered something about "dwa autobusy." Two buses. The woman complied and handed me over two tickets.

My second impression of Lublin, outside the trainstation was also not completely favorable. But things looked more interesting the closer the bus approached the old town (or what I assumed to be "old town." It looked pretty, so I assumed I was there and that I hadn't taken the #13 train in the wrong direction!)

I hoofed around the city for an hour or so before deciding on a place to eat. I decided on a place that had some local Polish food. It was most unusual: the soup was with green olives, pickles, capers and ham. The main entrée was cod covered with sauerkraut and sour cream. It was served with potatoes. It was good but I can't say that I would order either of them again.



I continued to explore the city by foot. The guide had said that the buildings in Lublin had not been destroyed in WWII. That was part of my attraction to the city. It was the "real thing." Unfortunately, several of the buildings were in pretty bad disrepair.



Still, the city has its charms. I kind of like the castle, although the current building was actually a prison and is somewhat of a symbol of the killing of the city's Jewish population. (The book said that upwards of 100,000 Jewish people went in and out of that building.)



I went to the market to see if I could find some CDs. No dice. Just ugly clothing. I did have luck at the Galleria store: I got a good book/CD set on the Polish language, which I think will be useful. Also, I bought a fun blue/green T-Shirt that says the brand of the shirt on the front "AUTOGRAF."

After walking around more, taking more pictures, my feet hurt and so I went to a pizzeria and enjoyed a beer. The waitress was very friendly and I expressed this in the tip.

I used the second bus ticket to go back to the train station. I felt daring and so I ordered my train ticket without writing it on a piece of paper. I spoke it. The woman handed me over the ticket. I checked it. Success. The train rattled for the next few hours, as I returned "home" to Kraków.
- posted by Matt @ 3:49 PM 0 comments

 
European Work Trip: Preface
Here I am leaving for Europe and I've not complete finished the previous blog entries from my last Europe trip. (There are more pictures that I intend on posting. I'm aware that I'm also missing a day or two from Pilsen. Oh, well. Pilsen wasn't exactly memorable, anyway. I really do think I forgot to take my "nice pills" this week.)

This will be better in the fact that I'm flying over to Europe in business class (with all of the pouting snobs, one of which was clad in Walmart-style grey sweatpants.) This means I'll wake up in Europe refreshed. Also I get a 6 hour layover in Paris. I'm going to lock my laptops in a locker, grab my camera and venture into the city for a couple of hours before my flight to Warsaw.

I guess one of the biggest drawbacks to this trip is the work aspect. I will be working some long hours; I'll have to be very attentive and focused. I'll need to present a good impression to my Warsaw counterparts.

The good thing is I do get a long weekend to put around Poland. On Thursday, I'll take the train down to Kraków. Friday, I'll go to Czestochowa, a religious center of Poland. I'll spend some time with Brad, Mike and Samir before heading to Warsaw the following day. I'll work the following week before flying back to Cincinnati on Saturday.
- posted by Matt @ 8:03 PM 0 comments