My two favourite felines, Flannery and Small, arrived safely at my apartment yesterday around 5 pm.
They looked a little dazed when I opened their crates, and Small seemed slightly stiff, but I am usually disoriented and stiff after a transatlantic flight too.
After 90 minutes of exploring every nook, cranny and surface of their new pad, they settled down and seemed relatively relaxed.
I think cats might suffer from jet lag - there were no early morning meows for food today, even though it started to get light sometime before 5. I got up around 8 and gave them some food, but even then they weren't that interested in it (a miracle if you know Small), and we all went back to bed for some more shut eye until around 10. Let's hope it takes a while for them to get adjusted to the new time zone. I need my sleep.
Only Flannery and Small know the full extent of their adventures - I heard they were in Prague for a few hours - and they arent' talking.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Constitution Day
Today is a national holiday in Poland. It's Constitution Day, which celebrates the signing of Poland's constitution in 1791. Poland's constitution is the oldest in Europe and the 2nd oldest in the world.
To celebrate the day off, and the continuing beautiful weather, I met a colleague and her 9 month old baby this morning for a walk in the Blonia and Park Jordan. The Blonia is a huge meadow, populated by runners, cyclists, rollerbladers, and people just strolling. I look forward to my rollerblades arriving in Poland next week so I can join them. Rollerblading seems extremely popular here - everyone was skating, as they call it.
They need to rollerblade to work off their morning snack. My colleague treated me to morning coffee and cake shortly after we met, and the cakes were all heavily cream-based (lactose intolerant me had a cookie and herbal tea). Yet, all the Poles are slim - I havent' seen any one who is obviously overweight.
This afternoon I headed back to the mall, for the third time in as many days. I haven't spent this much time at a mall since I was a teenage mall rat hanging out at West Ed. However, it's the only shopping venue open on the national holidays, and I still need things to get settled into the apartment. I look forward to not going to the mall tomorrow.
Flannery and Small are scheduled to arrive in Krakow tomorrow at 1 pm. I hope their cutlture shock will be minimal and that they adjust to their new Polish life quickly.
I promise to post some pictures soon. It's been a bit of blur getting settled here, but I have been taking photos everyday.
To celebrate the day off, and the continuing beautiful weather, I met a colleague and her 9 month old baby this morning for a walk in the Blonia and Park Jordan. The Blonia is a huge meadow, populated by runners, cyclists, rollerbladers, and people just strolling. I look forward to my rollerblades arriving in Poland next week so I can join them. Rollerblading seems extremely popular here - everyone was skating, as they call it.
They need to rollerblade to work off their morning snack. My colleague treated me to morning coffee and cake shortly after we met, and the cakes were all heavily cream-based (lactose intolerant me had a cookie and herbal tea). Yet, all the Poles are slim - I havent' seen any one who is obviously overweight.
This afternoon I headed back to the mall, for the third time in as many days. I haven't spent this much time at a mall since I was a teenage mall rat hanging out at West Ed. However, it's the only shopping venue open on the national holidays, and I still need things to get settled into the apartment. I look forward to not going to the mall tomorrow.
Flannery and Small are scheduled to arrive in Krakow tomorrow at 1 pm. I hope their cutlture shock will be minimal and that they adjust to their new Polish life quickly.
I promise to post some pictures soon. It's been a bit of blur getting settled here, but I have been taking photos everyday.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
More tales from the grocery store
I was at the grocery store (in the big mall) again today. I spent forever searching the cereal section for something that looked like bran. I really need a better Polish/English dictionary.
No bran. My gastro-intestinal specialist will not be pleased.
And although I have seen unrefrigerated milk in tetra paks in Europe before, I'll never get used to it. I also couldn't figure out if any of it was lactose free (yes I am now apparently lactose intolerant - blame the same gastro-intestinal specialist for that diagnosis), so I decided on something called Laciate (or something). I doubt it's lactose free, but I guess I'll find out.
I also put it in the fridge as soon as I got home.
My next shopping trip will probably include eggs. They aren't refrigerated either.
No bran. My gastro-intestinal specialist will not be pleased.
And although I have seen unrefrigerated milk in tetra paks in Europe before, I'll never get used to it. I also couldn't figure out if any of it was lactose free (yes I am now apparently lactose intolerant - blame the same gastro-intestinal specialist for that diagnosis), so I decided on something called Laciate (or something). I doubt it's lactose free, but I guess I'll find out.
I also put it in the fridge as soon as I got home.
My next shopping trip will probably include eggs. They aren't refrigerated either.
5 things you don't see in Canada everyday (if ever)
1. Graffiti murals of Pope John Paul the Second.
2. Lavender scented toilet paper (I thought it was just a lavender pattern . . .)
3. Large groups of habit-clad nuns going for their daily walk.
4. People drinking openly in public parks.
5. Dachshunds (well maybe, but not nearly as many as they have here - apparently Krakow hosts a dachshunds parade)
2. Lavender scented toilet paper (I thought it was just a lavender pattern . . .)
3. Large groups of habit-clad nuns going for their daily walk.
4. People drinking openly in public parks.
5. Dachshunds (well maybe, but not nearly as many as they have here - apparently Krakow hosts a dachshunds parade)
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
The more things change . . .
I moved into my new apartment today - it's beautiful, but more on that in another post.
I spent most of the day doing moving-in related things: setting up my internet connection, figuring out how to work the satellite TV (not sure I still have that figured out), and shopping for various items.
Because European beds are different sizes than Canadian ones, I didn't bring any sheets with me. In order to sleep tonight, I needed to get sheets and a pillow for my bed. In order to eat today, I also needed to purchase food, cutlery and dishes. My relocation agent had checked earlier to see if the mall was open today, as it is a statutory holiday here. Fortunately for me it was.
However, unfortunately for me, none of the shops at the mall carried sheets or pillows (or at least sheets or pillows that would fit my bed, and didn't have cartoon characters on them). So after loading up at the grocery store (yes they have peanut butter in Poland!), and dropping off my groceries, I took a cab to my local Ikea.
Ikea is pretty much the same everywhere. Same meandering layout, same merchandise. I did feel a bit disorientated trying to buy a pillow - I couldn't figure out whether they were firm or soft from the packaging, and they were rolled up tightly. Sadly my Polish phrase book wasn't much help. I guess I'll find out tonight.
I also had a tough time trying to buy sheets. Sheets here are sold by dimension (so 160 cm x 200 cm instead of queen, king etc). I thought I had it figured out, but then realized that's only the size for a fitted sheets. Flat sheets have completely different dimensions, and they don't come in sets. Each sheet is sold separately.
But, I managed to buy a mattress cover, fitted sheet, flat sheet, pillows and pillow cases that all fit my bed (if not match perfectly). And as with every other trip to Ikea, I managed to purchase a whole lot more than I intended.
So that was my day - shopping at a mall, which is just like any North American mall (I even ate at Subway - the most popular food court stop seemed to be KFC), and then shopping at Ikea.
And you all thought Europe would be different. . .
I spent most of the day doing moving-in related things: setting up my internet connection, figuring out how to work the satellite TV (not sure I still have that figured out), and shopping for various items.
Because European beds are different sizes than Canadian ones, I didn't bring any sheets with me. In order to sleep tonight, I needed to get sheets and a pillow for my bed. In order to eat today, I also needed to purchase food, cutlery and dishes. My relocation agent had checked earlier to see if the mall was open today, as it is a statutory holiday here. Fortunately for me it was.
However, unfortunately for me, none of the shops at the mall carried sheets or pillows (or at least sheets or pillows that would fit my bed, and didn't have cartoon characters on them). So after loading up at the grocery store (yes they have peanut butter in Poland!), and dropping off my groceries, I took a cab to my local Ikea.
Ikea is pretty much the same everywhere. Same meandering layout, same merchandise. I did feel a bit disorientated trying to buy a pillow - I couldn't figure out whether they were firm or soft from the packaging, and they were rolled up tightly. Sadly my Polish phrase book wasn't much help. I guess I'll find out tonight.
I also had a tough time trying to buy sheets. Sheets here are sold by dimension (so 160 cm x 200 cm instead of queen, king etc). I thought I had it figured out, but then realized that's only the size for a fitted sheets. Flat sheets have completely different dimensions, and they don't come in sets. Each sheet is sold separately.
But, I managed to buy a mattress cover, fitted sheet, flat sheet, pillows and pillow cases that all fit my bed (if not match perfectly). And as with every other trip to Ikea, I managed to purchase a whole lot more than I intended.
So that was my day - shopping at a mall, which is just like any North American mall (I even ate at Subway - the most popular food court stop seemed to be KFC), and then shopping at Ikea.
And you all thought Europe would be different. . .
Let the adventure begin
After a long but uneventful flight, I arrived in Krakow yesterday at 1 pm.
Spring is in full force here - the lilacs are already in bloom, and soft shades of green dominate. Everything looks fresh and new, and Krakow is even more beautiful then it was in the winter. Strangely, the youth of spring is a jarring contrast to the old buildings here. Somehow, the new foliage seems unexpected in the city, but that's probably just because I saw Krakow twice in the winter, when everything was barren.
I took a long nap yesterday afternoon, and then ventured out around 8 for dinner and a long walk. The daylight was just fading as I started out, and everything seemed even more magical in the twilight. People were out in droves, strolling along the Planty, walking their dogs, eating ice cream, or just enjoying the weather.
I couldn't stop grinning. I can't believe how lucky I am!
Spring is in full force here - the lilacs are already in bloom, and soft shades of green dominate. Everything looks fresh and new, and Krakow is even more beautiful then it was in the winter. Strangely, the youth of spring is a jarring contrast to the old buildings here. Somehow, the new foliage seems unexpected in the city, but that's probably just because I saw Krakow twice in the winter, when everything was barren.
I took a long nap yesterday afternoon, and then ventured out around 8 for dinner and a long walk. The daylight was just fading as I started out, and everything seemed even more magical in the twilight. People were out in droves, strolling along the Planty, walking their dogs, eating ice cream, or just enjoying the weather.
I couldn't stop grinning. I can't believe how lucky I am!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
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