matching tracksuits

Packing is never fun. It can hold the promise of coming adventure, but generally it’s tedious.

That being said, it requires a ritual. I always had one: listen to Michael Hedges’ Taproot (AMG) while packing. I packed for almost all my trips for ten years that way.

We didn’t listen to anything packing for this trip. And K did most of the packing. And ironing.

I offered to help. “No — I’m afraid that you might forget something important.”

“Like the Girl?” I think, but then think again.

But all that’s behind us now. This is scheduled to be posted when — theoretically — we’re lifting off the ground on a Lufthansa Airbus, beginning the first (and longest) leg of our journey.

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It almost goes without saying, but it is obviously the main reason we’re going back to Poland.

A death in the family brought about the realization that time spent with family is time best spent.

Only a few hours to go until the reunion.

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There is a swing in K’s folks’ backyard that is more of a pendulum than a swing. The seat hangs by iron rods rather than chains, and as such, it has an arch a little different than what swing enthusiasts are probably used to — if there is a Swing Enthusiast Association of America.

L likes to swing. She also, it turns out, likes to slide.

Yesterday afternoon, we took her to a new park — new for us, at any rate — and she could not get enough of the sliding boards. Nor could she get enough of the small climbing wall leading up to one of the slides:

And of course slides and climbing walls weren’t the only attractions:

In two days, I tell her, we’ll be swinging “u Babci i dziadka.”

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A few weeks ago we kept some friends’ dogs for the week. I realized anew why I prefer cats.

If pets were animals, Bogart would play cats while dogs would be played by Jim Carey.

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In Polska, L will be exposed to a whole new world of music, hopefully. Granted, we do try to expose her to traditional Polish music here in the house, but to hear it live…

Right now, she’s fond of “Gloria in excelsis Deo” from Vivaldi’s Gloria. I play it in the car and she just swings her head back in forth in time with the music. Once the exciting beginning is over, she makes the sign for “More” and says her own special version of the word: ma.

She’s excited during the first part, but the second — “Et in terra pax” calms her down significantly. We played it in the car last night and a minute into the piece, she was looking calmly out the window.

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In America, if a beer has “more than three and two-tenths percent of alcohol by weight,” it’s called “malt liquor.” And “malt liquor” has certain connotations.

The alcohol-by-weight for taxation purposes versus alcohol-by-volume for all other purposes is yet another example of America’s love affair with mixed measure standards. At L’s last check-up, for instance, I noticed that weight was calculated in the English system while head circumference was measured metrically. And surveying, because of software limitations, uses not inches but tenths of feet — the American metric system.

Wikipedia — that bastion of objectivity — writes, “Malt liquor is distinguished from other beers of high alcohol content in that the brewing process is seen by many as targeting high alcohol content and economy rather than quality.” Translation: it’s a seen in American culture today as something of a party and/or ghetto drink. It’s for people who don’t know better, can’t afford better, or just don’t care.

In Poland, there’s just beer. Some beer is called “Mocne” (”powerful” or “strong”) but it’s just called “beer”.

Generally speaking, I don’t like Polish “strong” beers. To get their strength, they add a lot of malt (hence, “malt” liquor) and it produces a sweeter beer than I generally like.

There are some exceptions. Okocim Mocne is drinkable, but still too sweet. Debowe Mocne is less sweet, but there’s just something I don’t care for. My favorite is Tatra Mocne. A review is available here.

I’ve never seen any of these in the States except the Okocim, though I really haven’t looked — just happened to find it at a Russian food store in Asheville.

In four days, though, I won’t have to look far.

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I missed a day yesterday. I’m cheating: I’m back-dating this one just so I’ll have a number “5″ in the list.

Once this trip is over, though, no more daily posting for me.

I’m just glad I’m not a columnist…

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More than almost anything about our trip to Poland, the prospect of seeing friends thrills us most. (”Family?” you ask. I did say “almost anything.”) If we were to take the time to see all our friends, where they live, we’d do nothing else during those two weeks — and we certainly wouldn’t get to see everyone.

Guardian Angel

Warsaw Friends

But the nature of twenty-first century Poland makes it impossible to see everyone, because many — most, when it comes to K’s university friends — have left the country. It’s part of the impressive drop in unemployment.

Many of our friends we’re planning on meeting in Krakow, making those final two days all the more special.

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For many Poles (particularly in the south), Krakow is emotional capital of Poland: the resting place of kings and the location many cultural and academic treasures.

The first time I went to Krakow I was dazzled, as many initial visitors are.

The ancient city wall at the end of ulica Florianska.

There’s a lot to wow: narrow, cobblestone alleys lined with buildings older than our nation; the vast market square, with St. Mary’s at the corner; the royal Wawel castle.

The market square, early morning

Wawel Cathedral

I had a mixed relationship with the city. Because of my civil status, I had to go several times to Krakow to arrange this or that document. Those were long, trying days that began with a two-hour, 5:00 a.m. bus ride to Krakow with a sprint to the appropriate office, often to find a line already formed halfway down the building. As a result, I’m somewhat embarrassed to say that I reached a point that instead of thinking, “Tomorrow I get to go to Krakow!” I began thinking, “Oh, God, tomorrow I have to go to Krakow.”

How sad that such a lovely city could become a chore.

We will be spending two days in Krakow, at the end of our time in Poland, meeting friends (K studied in Krakow) and some family, and just re-aquainting ourselves with this lovely city.

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