filling in between the lines

Ok, so now I finally have the time to sit down and fill in my time in Poland and last days in Germany. I will fill in the details as much as my feeble mind can recall, I might not have all of the specifics, but I still think I remember the impressions. So, the trip to Kutno was about 5 hours, and then it was another hour to Lodz-Kaliska station. The train ride there wasn't too bad, on the to Kutno from berlin, the train compartment was a little crowded, but it was interesting how much you can learn from other people just by observing. There was a little girl (about 3 or 4) with her mom in the car. It was so cute because this little girl would color some pictures, then say the objects in polish, then she would eat some candy, and run up and down the rail call, returning to the cabin every 45 seconds to tell her mom what novel things she just saw out the window...the wonder of a child never ceases to amaze me, I took it as a good omen for my trip. So, I arrived in Kutno, and as mentioned earlier, it was a very stark contrast to all the german train stations so far. It was rather old, unrenovated, but served its purpose quite well. Thinking back, I suppose this was my first impression of poland. So after some confusion, I made my best guess as to what track to meet my next train at. At the track I politely asked, with as much coherent polish as I could muster, whether this was the right track for Lodz. So could tell I obviously was polish and asked if I was german or french...I told her english and she proceded to try to speak in german. But after a few minutes, I think we had communicated and confirmed that I was headed in the right direction. She then pointed to my luggage (thinking that she was saying something important about it, or that it was illegal) but she was trying to point out that it was red and that there were poeple acorss the platform that were wearing red coats and that there weren't polish. So, I thanked her and walked hopefully across the platform, and asked them in polish if they speak english, well they did and it just so happened that they were from finland and were attending the university in Lodz, so we had a good chat about where they're from and where I'm from. Then we arrived at Lodz, and my friend marta was kind enough to meet me and pick me up from the station. How nice it was to see a familiar face, it was the first I met someone on this trip that I knew beforehand. So, that night I met her family and had some polish food and beer.(her mom's jablka I won't soon forget) It was a good time, and as I came to find out more and more is poland, that the best thing about poland isn't really the buildings, the land, or the weather but it's the people. Then, friday turned out to be a shopping day, shopping for shoes (buti)that is. Marta showed me around Lodz a bit, then we went shopping and I made it my mission to buy a cool pair of european shoes....well, let's just say I'm a little picky on my footwear, you see, I only buy 1 or 2 pair of shoes per year, so it's a big deal to me :-) I have to say Marta was very patient throughout the day, and ultimately made it possible to find the pair I had decided on getting (appearantly not all polish shoe stores carry full stock of size 43 shoes) It was a successful day with a tasty and filling lunch courtesy of her mom (we had roast beef, pickled cabbage, red beets, and mashed potatoes)That evening we hung out with some of her friends to celebrate one of her colleagues moving to a new job. I didn't understand much of the conversation, but they were good people and I recognized the music since it was in english. On saturday morning I met up with two friends from Busch Gardens last summer. What a day that was, we walked pretty much the entire length of Piotrkowska(which made me regret my decision to wear my new shoes that day) This street is a large(and long) pedestrian street, one of the longest in europe from what I understand. And there are shops of everykind, banks, hotels, restaurants, schools, bakeries, offices...you name. We decided to catch lunch at a Karczma, which is basically a place where there is music during the night and you can always get good polish food at a good price. So kasia and asia picked out a good represtative of food for me to try..and let me tell you...it was goooood. I had (and kasia or asia correct me if I have the names wrong) barzszc czerwone ousta a red beet soup with little meat pirogies that look like ears, and then some pickles and bread, and then some kind of breaded beef(reminded me a little of wienersnitzel) with some cabbage and I think potatoes. So, I was full, but we were only starting to eat our way through Lodz. After walking a bit, window shopping we stopped at a bakery and got a polish kind of doughnut, very good filled with a rassberry jelly, and not quite as sweet and the american version. Then we stopped a music store, I have to say the trumpet selection was quite scare, and then tried another bakery, I have no idea what it was called but it was like a shortbread with creme cheese in the middle and and honey glazed friut on top, mmmm, mmmm. The rest of the afternoon we checked out a club called Kaliska, caught up on our lives since Busch, checked out the Lodz cathedral, and checked out this cool climbing wall in the middle of an old factory complex. Then the evening was hangout out with marta's brother and his family. Since I love pictures so much, it was great get to see their family pictures too. Ah, and yes, the waffle with cream, and the coffee....is there a reccuring theme if food here? :-) That evenign, my trip to poland changed, it was officially announced that the pope had died. Since the pope was polish, the entire country of poland just melted. This had been their hero, their world ambassador and spiritual leader; never before have I been in the midst of something so sad and universal. I came to poland for friends, culture, and food...these were there, beyond this I saw how a nation mourns. From the most important businessman to the man walking dog, it was there. Most houses and business had polish flags with black streamers on the end of it. These, along with the vatican flag could be seen all around poland. That night, I was up watching the news, trying to understant what I could in polish and what was happening around the countryt and around the world. All 4 television stations in poland had their insignias black in memory of the pope. The next day I attended the memorial church service with marta and her whole family. It was amazing how it seemed like the whole little town of Zgierz was there at the church, for it was most certainly a standing room only service, then that evening we took a mini road trip 2 hours south to Czestechowa to go to the church and shrine there. I didn't understand everything I saw, but I understood why it was there. We made the trek in marta's car with her sister and niece. I have to say one my enduring memories of the trip was that car ride back with Julia. She's about 5 and I had been teaching her english all weekend, well and the trip back she started teaching me more polish, it's somewhat humbling to be taught by young child, but we had the best time. It turns out that we're birthday twins and she has a good ear for "the eentsy weentsy spider" :-) Ok, more tomorrow :-)