The Tatras

At the end of June I went on a full day hike with many of my colleagues in the Tatra mountains, a few hours south of Krakow.

A full day hike translates into four hours up, and 3 hours down, with a few rest breaks in between.

The Tatras are Poland's highest mountains and are spectacular, even compared with my beloved Rockies.

Here are a few shots of from the few hundred that I took that day:













I'm going on another hiking trip with my team next weekend, in another of the mountain regions. Maybe I'll be able to post those pics a little sooner . . .

Happily ever after . . .

I attended my first Polish wedding yesterday. It shared many similarities with every other wedding I have attended: the bride was beautiful, the groom was very proud, family and friends were joyful.

However, unlike any other wedding I've been to, this one was held in a beautiful 14th century Gothic church. Fittingly several of the lovely hymns, sung by a choir composed of friends of the bride and groom, were also from medieval times. And the bride wore a long flowing dress and a crown of flowers that reminded me of portraits from the middle ages.



And, as my 3 year old friend Mis remarked several times, she was a princess. He was in awe of her, especially when he handed her a rose and she asked him for a kiss.



Before the ceremony my friends and I stopped in the Rynek (the main square) and bought huge bouquets of flowers for the bride. Flowers are extremely popular in Krakow - one corner of the Rynek is dedicated to flower stalls (see the yellow umbrellas in the picture below).



As I witnessed at some of the weddings I stumbled across this summer, everyone brings flowers for the bride. A few lucky friends or relatives are drafted into flower duty. Yesterday there were at least two flower bearers.



My Polish friend told me that there is a complicated system in place for distribution of all of the flowers after the wedding: some are given to the church, others decorate the reception hall, some are given to relatives, and others go home with the bride and groom.

And yes, it was all in Polish, except for a few Latin bits.

Small's long lost sister

Check out my friend M's blog to read about and see pictures of her cat Lola.

I know Lola, yet reading about some of her habits (and seeing her pictures again), made me realize that she and Small must have been separated at birth. They are strikingly similar in both temperament and looks.

And like M, I love Small fiercely (perhaps because not many others do) in spite of all her quirks.

The tram party

I attended my first big party in Krakow on Thursday night.

The party included all of the usual elements - dancing, drinking, lots of new people - with one major twist - it was on a tram (or streetcar for those of you more familiar with the Toronto public transportation system). And not just some old show tram, but a normal part of the Krakow fleet, following a normal route.

So full of anticipation and carrying a bag of unopened alcohol, I waited at a nearby tram stop with a few of my colleagues. Sure enough, a few minutes later, the tram pulled up, lights darkened, music blaring. The conductor jumped off the tram, ushered us on, punched our tickets, presented us with a plastic glass, and a shot of vodka.

Thus the night began.

I quickly discovered that the Poles really only drink vodka, and that they drink it straight, one shot after another. Everyone was so generous, constantly refilling my tiny glass, that at one point I had to start emptying it out the tram window instead of drinking it. Using my Canadian citizenship as an excuse ("I am Canadian, I am not used to drinking shots of vodka straight for hours") didn't seem to work on them, so I had to get even more creative in my non-drinking strategies in order to remain standing for the rest of the night.

Aside from the vodka, the party had many other attractions, including a DJ at the back of the tram, which led to a modified form of dancing in the aisles and on the seats, and some sort of athletic activity that was a cross between dancing and doing chin ups on the hand rails.

And since there were well over a 100 people crammed into the tram, I couldn't help but meet new people. I have no idea who many of them were, and will most likely ever never see most of them again, but all were very friendly.

Several hours later, after driving through areas of Krakow I had never before seen, the tram stopped and we all piled out.

Elections and online shopping

Today I received my voter registration card for the upcoming Ontario election (my Canadian mail is forwarded to me here - just a tip if you ever want to send me a physical letter).

This will be the first election I haven't voted in since I reached the age of majority. Which is a bit of bummer. I did spend a few more minutes seeing if there was an alternate way to vote if you are out of the country, but the registration card didn't mention anything but advance poll dates.

So I guess Ontario's fate will be decided without me.

Coincidentally, Poland is also having an election in October. I have yet to see one sign for a candidate. However, one of my politically astute employees ensures me that there are some, and that there will be more soon.

So to drown my sorrows in not being able to vote in not one but two elections, I indulged in some online shopping. A month or so ago, one of my friends sent me a site that specializes in Canadian food for expats.

And although my grandma tried to talk me out of buying salt and vinegar chips (she told me I didn't need them, which is true), several bags of Miss Vickies will soon be winging their way toward me, accompanied by wine gums, jujubes and Kraft Peanut Butter.

Cabin Fever

I've been fighting the flu since last Thursday, which means I've been shut up in my apartment since Friday night.

It's a lovely apartment, but rotating from the bed to the couch, with occasional stops at my desk, is wearing a bit thin.

On the bright side, the cats are enjoying my constant company. However, they are getting a bit too used to the routine. This morning Flannery meowed at me when I sat at my desk instead of going back to bed.

I can't wait to get out of the house.

Fast food

One of the things I miss most about Canada is being able to stop somewhere on my way home from work to pick up a veggie burger.

Yep, it's sad. I miss fast food. Not that they don't have fast food here in Poland, but most of it (as in Canada) is meat-oriented. Hamburgers are scarce in Poland, and I am pretty certain in asserting that there is not a veggie burger to be found anywhere in the country.


I think this is my 100th post. Could the topic be anymore inane? Wait, don't answer that . . .