To celebrate our grand climbing adventures, we went out for some food and drinks. It happened to be the night that the French celebrate Le Beaujolais Nouveau. This involves drinking some really bad wine and commenting that it tastes of banana. There are some other things involved, but that's the most important part. Anyway, it was kind of fun and a great way to cap an epic day.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
A Little Bit of Travel
To celebrate our grand climbing adventures, we went out for some food and drinks. It happened to be the night that the French celebrate Le Beaujolais Nouveau. This involves drinking some really bad wine and commenting that it tastes of banana. There are some other things involved, but that's the most important part. Anyway, it was kind of fun and a great way to cap an epic day.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Winding Down
Well, here it goes, my last few days in Poland. So, after getting rained on every day down in southern Poland, and being stuck inside for nearly the whole time, I decided to escape to Krakow, my home away from home for nearly a year. Immediately, I ran into rain, and lots of it, as the bus rolled into the bus station in Krakow. I was convinced that I was cursed, bringing rain everywhere I went. In fact, the Wisla River, the main river flowing through the city, had inundated nearly all of the walking and biking paths around it, and nearly flooded a few bridges too! I am sure that the population of Krakow is probably glad that I am gone now, hoping to see the sun again.
So the last few days were mostly about catching up with old friends. It was exactly what I needed after 10 days of rain and isolation. I don’t want to go into all the details here, but it was just like old times; well, mostly. It is so great seeing people and friends that I said goodbye to a few years ago, not knowing if I would ever see them again! It is also awesome renewing and mending old friendships along the way. I feel very lucky to have a great group of friends, and staying in touch with them has always been important to me. The growth of friendships is also something I believe strongly in. Good friendships always have the potential to be great, but they just require a little more effort. I know a few of my friendships have grown stronger these last few days, and I am extremely happy about that.
I spent one day riding a rental bike out to the outskirts of the city, where my friends and I had a nice little picnic in the grounds of a monastery overlooking the flooded river. It was a beautiful day, and sort of caught me off guard, punishing me for not wearing sunscreen. On the way back, my tire decided to go flat, so I was forced to ride a few miles back on a semi-flat tire, with the last mile or so on a completely flat tire. I'm sure I looked a little strange riding down the cobblestone streets with my rear tire barely hanging on the back rim. Let's just say that I wanted to get my money's worth out of that bike.
I also was able to experience my first Polish barbecue. Can you guess what was served? Yep, kielbasa! Now, the previous three weeks, I was so excited to get to Germany, Austria, and Poland so that I could eat loads of sausage. Well, after eating at least one or two sausages each day for the last 10 days, my sausage craving flew the coup and it was replaced with a general disgust of sausage. In fact, I wouldn't mind if I didn't see another kielbasa for several months, or maybe even until I get back to Poland! However, the barbecue was great and we had some other tasty food, including some grilled mushrooms with cheese that temporarily found their way to the floor, but were quickly recovered and disposed of properly, in our stomachs! It was a blast just hanging out with my friends, eating some good food, and drinking Desperados (nothing like drinking a Mexican drink in Poland, where vodka is king; however, due to some past encounters with the vicious V, I decided to refrain).
My last night in Krakow, I decided to stay at the hostel where I pretty much lived every weekend during my first 6 months in Poland. The same girl who worked there 2.5 years ago that I befriended was still working, and she immediately recognized my voice from another room and ran out to give me a hug. It was great seeing her and we sat down and chatted for nearly 45 minutes, catching up on each other’s lives. She then arranged for me to have my own private room, even with 4 beds in it, and a new mattress to also be put on my bed. After all this was taken care of, she told me that it was not going to cost me a single penny—that as long as she works there, all my stays will be free! Wow, another example of friends reaching out and showing how much our friendship means to them. Everyone loves feeling appreciated, and I am certainly no different.
That last night, I was even able to go out with some friends to a Thai restaurant, of all places. We sampled some good cuisine, visited a lot, and I even had the chance to receive a free massage from one of the Asian ladies there! I figured that it would do some good to loosen up all those muscles, before being stuck in airplanes for nearly all of the next day. Wow do I hate travel days!
This time, walking through Market Square on the way to the train station at the break of dawn the morning of my departure, I stopped and just looked around again, letting it take hold of me. To think, 2.5 years ago, during the same walk to the train station, I did the exact same thing, not knowing whether I would ever return to the place where some of the most important events in my life had taken place. I hoped I would, but I also knew that sometimes life has different plans. This time, however, when I said goodbye to Krakow, while still being sad, it was different. I know I’ll return one day, and probably fairly soon. Krakow has worked its magic on me once again, with the help of some great friends there. I guess the only question is, when will Krakow call me back? Hmm, I can’t wait to find out. Do zobaczenia Krakow and friends. Dziekuje bardzo for everything. You really are amazing!
Friday, May 21, 2010
The last week or so I have been staying in the same guesthouse that I stayed at for most of my time here two years ago. Unfortunately there is a lot of construction going on in the little town surrounding the pension, so the construction crews are staying in all the rooms around town. I was lucky to get a room in the same house as before, but I have to stay in a different room. I am a little sad that I couldn’t stay in the same room that I had called home two years ago, but I still have a lot to be thankful for. It has been just like old times being here. I met the family that owns the house and their son, who is now married and has a two-month old daughter. It was great to see them again. We smiled and gave each other hugs. When they started spurting out sentences in Polish to me like I had learned a lot more of their language in the past two years, all I could do was smile and say that I didn’t understand and that I was sorry. They smiled and there was a lot of signaling and hand waving after that. It was a lot of fun. They looked exactly the same as the last time I saw them. I wonder, did they think that I looked any different? I hope they don’t think I look older now! That does make me curious…….
After getting settled in my place in southern Poland, I started to crave getting back into the mountains to see what had changed, what had stayed the same, and what had ceased to be. I met my biologist friends, who fixed me breakfast in their little cabin, told me all about some of the new developments in the area, and all the projects they are currently working on. They must be the busiest people I know, but they like it like that and I know it must be easier when you are doing work that you truly believe in. I hope that is how I’ll be someday.
The weather has really been lousy here. Rain is the rule right now in Europe, or, at least wherever I am. After being stuck inside for 4 or 5 days with daily deluges, I finally caught a break in the weather and was able to sneak out for a hike in my old stomping grounds. It was so amazing to get back up into the mountains that I loved so much and became so intimate with. I swear I can hike most of those trails blindfolded, of course except for all the downed logs that litter the trail every spring. The clouds threatened rain all day, and they even penetrated the forest to create a mysterious landscape, but it never dampened my mood. These mountains were home to my favorite wolf pack in the area, the Grapa pack. When I left, the Grapa pack was only made up of two wolves, a male and a female. They had been unsuccessful in raising pups for two years, but were still keeping the pack alive. I really connected with them and loved hiking in their mountains, hoping to catch a glimpse of them or see some sign of them. However, during my talks with the biologists the other day, they sadly informed me that they have not observed any sign of the Grapas for over a year. There has been a lot of cutting in the forests there and bark beetles have devastated huge stands of trees all over. They suspect the worst, that the Grapas did not survive. That was very hard for me to hear. I absolutely loved the Grapas. I connected with them more than with any other pack in the region. Maybe it was because they were only two, living in the area with probably the most forestry going on and the most intrusions by people. They were surviving against the odds, not receiving the attention that other packs in southern Poland were getting, but persevering nonetheless. I don’t know—maybe somehow I saw myself in those wolves. When I heard that they were no longer in the area, I felt tears coming on. However, there is a chance that they found a better area to move to, where they aren’t disturbed as much and where they can raise pups. It is a decent possibility, and that is what I choose to believe. That’s what I have to believe, since the alternative is just too heartbreaking for me.
Well, back to the hike. It wasn’t too cold, but not warm either. However, it was so nice to retrace some of my steps. I remembered most of the trail, and memories came back to me in certain areas, such as where I once found a few groups of wolf scats in one day, and then where the biologists and I spent a few hours during one night scoping out a badger den (I really froze that night and it was a little miserable for me, especially since I had to lie on rocks, staying still, and never ended up seeing anything). I was also able to find this little cabin located out in the middle of the forest, completely away from any trails, that I had stumbled upon one hike a few years ago, and liked so much that I returned to it often. I always thought that if I ended up living in Poland, I would fix it up and live there, with an incredible deck and view of the entire valley. It hadn’t been used for several years, but it would have been fun fixing it up again, bringing back a little history while making new history.
After 6 hours of hiking, my feet and legs could definitely feel it. I was completely wet and muddy from my knees down, and cleaning my shoes and pants took me at least 45 minutes, but that little rush of adrenaline, excitement, and gratitude that I used to feel after a day of hiking completely overwhelmed me again. I really love this place!
So after a decent day of weather, it returned to being rainy and ugly. I know some of you might like the rain (I do too every now and then), but nobody likes this. As of right now, it has been raining hard, non-stop for something like 80 hours. I have been stuck inside the whole time, drinking tons of coffee and tea, doing a bunch of reading and writing, and just glimpsing out the window every now and then, hoping to find that the sun is finally breaking through. Well, no such luck thus far. I didn’t know southern Poland was turning into a rainforest. I heard some reports that there is massive flooding all around me, but I am oblivious to it all because I am stuck inside. If I had some decent raingear with me, I think that at this point, I would just say screw it and go out for a hike. I don’t mind getting wet, but when you only have two pairs of clothes with you and it takes 2-3 days for clothes to dry here, you might understand my dilemma. I am also finally getting over some crazy mutant cold that my cousin so nicely decided to leave behind for me, and so now that I am feeling better, I really want to be outside. Well, now I must trust that the mountains I love are still there, despite not being able to see them, and suspecting that they might have washed away at this point. Argh, I hate this rain!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Back "Home"
So after a two year hiatus, I arrived in Krakow, and about 40 minutes before landing, the pilot came on the intercom and said that it was 20 degrees Celsius (like 68 degrees F) and partly cloudy in Krakow. Well, after getting there, it was raining like a damn tropical storm. I should have known. Anyway, it was cool just being able to walk straight to the train that takes you to the city center, while all the other tourists were trying to figure out where to go. I must admit, that felt good! So while on the train to the city center, I met a lady from Scotland, and also a girl from Italy, who were both really lost and confused and needed to get to a few hotels. Luckily, I still remembered where everything was and all the streets (amazing), so I offered to escort them to their hotels, which I did in the downpour, and they were both very nice and very grateful. I remember when I first arrived in Krakow, at like midnight and all the tourist offices at the airport were closed, the train wasn’t running, so I had to call a taxi and then have the taxi driver use his mobile to call Renia, and then have her give him directions on how to get to her flat. It was really funny, but I was definitely lost at that time and received some help, and now it was my time to return the favor to another stranger. Isn’t that how life works?
Walking down the streets I knew so well, past the Slowackiego Theater and into Market Square, was very surreal. All these memories flooded my mind like a raging river. I am sure that I had a huge smile on my face the whole walk, but I just couldn’t help it. After escorting the ladies to their hotels, I walked back to Market Square, and then tried my first spoken Polish words in almost two years, when I asked for a telephone card so that I could use the public telephone. Luckily, I was able to do this without too much of a problem. After calling two of my friends who offered to let me stay at their place for as long as I needed (really, really nice!), I had a few hours to kill. I was a little hungry, so I went to the little place just across the street from the American Embassy, where I once had some unbelievable soup. So just like old times, I ordered the Zurek, this awesome Polish soup, the perfect remedy for a cold and a rainy day. I sat out on the covered patio, listening to rain drops pound the cobblestones, enjoying Polish food again, watching people walk by, practicing my Polish with the nice, patient waiter, and reminiscing. What a feeling! I love Poland!
I stopped by the Dominican Church and attended a mass there —another huge, important memory of my time in Poland. It was so good to be back. After wandering around a little while longer, I finally met my friends and we went out for a few drinks and caught up. It was incredible seeing these friends that I said goodbye to two years ago, hoping that I would get a chance to see them again, but not exactly sure if that would happen. I am so happy that we did get this second chance to visit.
I stayed at their place for one night, after a long day of travel, and then caught a bus to southern Poland, where I would spend the next week and change working hard on my thesis and revisiting with friends and wolves down there.
It was raining like absolute mad during the bus ride, and I couldn’t help but be a little discouraged. However, when getting closer to Bielsko-Biala, the landscape started looking familiar and I again had a huge smile on my face. As we passed billboards and other signs, I started to recognize some of my old Polish vocabulary words, and it was really exciting! I would never be able to come up with those words on my own, but after reading them, they totally came back to me and almost transformed me back into time.
We got to the bus station, and I was able to catch a really quick minibus to Lipowa, which was cake and I got out and looked at the mountains that were my home for so long. It was an absolutely incredible feeling! I mean, how many times do we go back to someplace and it isn’t quite the same as the first time. Well, I can say that this was just like the first time, and I was immediately filled with adrenaline and my heart rate picked up ever so slightly.