We left early this morning for Warsaw after another lovely night at the Niepolomice Castle and breakfast in the courtyard chamber room. Actually this could be the day we had the castle tour and if it was I apologize for getting mixed up and putting it on yesterday's blog. It has all started to run together for me I am afraid.
Anyway we have a long travel day today to get back to Warsaw, given the condition of traffic in this country. When we were here in 2007 I did part of the driving of the van and I was quite struck by the poor condition of some of the roads. This time every road in Poland seems to be the throas of construction. It will be nice to return one day when the infrastructure has caught up with the needs of the 38 million people and scores of visitors who live here and use these roads.
Naomi insightfully commented one day that visiting Poland was like seeing a culture across three centuries still functioning in all three. She was absolutely correct. I have given that comment serious thought and it is clear from our journey into the mountains that there are enclaves of people in this country still living and working the land under conditions and with farming equipment and implements that were in use three hundred years ago. And yet, when you see the building of the beautiful architectural wonders creating a new and modern skyline in Warsaw you know this is a country moving along at a greet clip into the 21st century. Then when you live, as I do, in a flat built in the 1940's or 1950's under soviet occupation where everyone still hangs their laundry out to dry on the small veranda, few take advantage of the modern appliances we take for granted in the USA and people walk, ride the bus or share cars with their neighbors as easily as you might lend a cup of sugar, you see how locked into the past century these people are culturally. Many people here have cars now but I'll wager that two car families are as rare as Norwegian Racing Ducks. But I digress.
Our journey back to Warsaw was pretty quiet. Half the group was getting over their ailments and the rest of us were just beginning to feel the effects of onset of this nasty cold/throat thing. We arrived at the DeDek Hotel around 3 PM. After unloading and settling into our rooms we made our way over to the restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner. The casual atmosphere in this lovely restaurant provides a very soothing space to take a meal. We were very hungry and ate with enthusiasm. Once sated Mary announced that she was begging off the evenings outing to see Carmen Lunares at the 7th Annual Cross Culture Festival in Warsaw. She went to her room to try and get some rest before her early departure for the airport at 3:15 AM. The rest of us finished up our meal, enjoyed desert and then went to freshen up before we went for one last outing together.
The concert was adjacent to the Palace of Culture and Technology, a gift to the Polish People from the Soviets, built with Polish money and Polish labor. Many Poles appear not to think of this huge edifice as much of a gift. We entered the performance tent and took our seats in great anticipation. Carmen Lunares is a world famous Flamenco Singer and we were anticipating something wonderful. WE also were to hear Barbara Fortuna, which was a barbershop quartet of sorts from Crete. They were fabulous with their acapella voices in perfect harmony but Annie said they weren't her cup of tea. Then Carmen came on and began to sing. When the first song was over about 100 people jumped up and hastily left the building. This continued through the next four songs as well, until the audience had dwindled considerably. We made it to the end but we sent Aneta for the car before the last number. As we gathered under a tree on a street corner waiting for our ride we pondered what we had just heard and witnessed. This woman was the headline performer for this festival and one of us particularly enjoyed her performance. She had a backup singer who was much better and another man from her rhythm section who danced the Flamenco to our collective delight. Carmen, herself, was a colossal disappointment. We felt bad because we know Aneta wanted this last night to be the crowning event of our trip and it fell far short of the mark. We all agreed, however, that Aneta had outdone herself in arranging for guides, entertainment, memorable experiences and excursions that we will remember a lifetime. All in all the tenor of the group seemed to be that the trip was spectacular and this one disappointing performance would not spoil the memory.
Back to the hotel and off to bed. Aneta had to rise at 3 AM along with Mary and Laurie to take them to the airport. She returned and slept for an hour before rising agin to take Joe, Naomi and Annie to the airport at 5:30 AM. Joe and Naomi had opted to extend their visit over the weekend and so stayed behind for a sleep in and late breakfast. I joined them in the breakfast room at around 9 AM and Aneta joined us shortly thereafter. She stayed with our travelers at the airport until they were through security and in the boarding area.
Aftr breakfast Joe, Naomi, Aneta and I went to Wilanow to visit the Royal Palance and gardens there. It is in a suburb of Warsaw and ws quite the nicest surprise any of us could ever have hoped for. The place was stunning in its beauty. Built on the style and floor plan of Versailles, although on a smaller scale, it had the impact of a real royal palace from my fantasy world. Since I am fairly certain I was a queen in a former life I keep hoping I will recognize my palace one of these days! This one came close to my dream palace. I could easily envision living there. Trying to be mindful of the time and Aneta's long drive back to Gliwice, I urged Fran and Dennis to hurry through the gardens so we could get them back to Warsaw and their hotel so we could get on the road. That was more of a challenge than any of us ever imagined it would be. We simply couldn't find any way to get to the parking for their hotel and the traffic was its usual snarled mess. Everyone was getting anxious before we finally just parked in a driveway and unloaded them right onto the sidewalk just a shaort half block from the hotel. Of course a car that wanted to use the driveway came up as soon as we stopped and was quite aggressive about us getting the van out of there. We hastily said our good-byes and Fran gave Aneta a lovely gift of a mug with the SEattle skyline on it and a beautiful Christms `ornament that says Seattle so she will think of them every year when she hangs it up. Aneta was so touched by Fran's thoughtfulness. She also received a nice CD from Mary as a thank-you for the trip and she was equally touched by that gesture. Joe and Naomi invited Aneta to stay with them in their home at the foot of the Olympic Mountains in Western Washington and she is looking forward to a trip to the US so she can take them up on that offer! Fran has also offered her lodging in her part of Washington and Laurie extended an invitation to Colorado. You may all rest assured that one day Aneta will take you up on your generous offers!
Aneta simply fell in love with everyone in this group and can't stop talking about what a wonderful group you all were. She is anxious now to get her next tour planned and is counting on your good will to spread the word to others so she can build her business dream. E talked this week about the words of Steve Jobs, so much in the news, to follow your heart and intuition about how to live your life. Aneta just wants to travel and show people her beloved Poland. We both learned so much on this trip and we hope you did too. We learned a lot about things we need to change or refine for future groups and we so appreciate your patience when things didn't go exactly according to plan. If missing out on the Papal Cream Cake was a real bummer to anyone just let us know. We'll send you a piece! (Just kidding! It takes two weeks for a package to post from Poland to the US and I doubt the cream cake would be edible at that point.) Just plan to come back and make sure you get it the next time!!!
We hope you all had a happy landing and are acclimated to your daily lives again without incident. Life is good here and I will post regularly. Pleae join the blog so it looks like we have more than one member!
Linda
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