Another Travel Update
So I am now in Poland (Katowice). It's one of the larger cities in Poland, quite nice, really. It's kind of interesting in that the city is in the middle of renovation. (The Poles appears to be knocking down all the old Soviet buildings and putting up new ones. Which I don't blame them for. The Soviet buildings are not particularly attractive, supposedly poorly made (can believe it), and are probably a reminder of the last power to take over Poland and harass the Polish people.)
My suitcase is also steadily becoming unmanageable. Everywhere I go, coworkers seem convinced that my life will be incomplete if I do not go home with more treats. Which is nice (esp. as most of the foods aren't exactly all that expensive. I have found the trick. How do you buy local delicacies that aren't crazy expensive? Why you go to the supermarket, just like everyone else.), but is *heavy*. I now have Polish vodka (a specialty - apparently most vodka in the US isn't "real"), mead (almost impossible to get in the US and amazing here), and cherry whine. Polish candies and honey (also you can't get real honey in the US. This is actually true. Apparently there is no pollen in US honey, which means we're probably eating sugar syrup. Polish honey advertises the plants it came from and is cloudy...but really good.) and German beer and brandies.
I'm wondering what my import duties will be?
I also bought an amber rosary for Mom (as why not?) from the chapel that houses the Black Madonna of Jasna Garna (sp?) and a beautiful amber necklace for myself. (Which was not cheap, but was just gorgeous - all chunks of red amber, cut into different shapes but descending sizes...and it's impossible to get amber as cheaply in the US as in Poland).
So lots of goodies.
In addition, I got to see the Black Madonna, who is infamous for having survived a few fires and supposedly routing the Sweeds. She is rather lovely (and probably dates from the 14th century, despite her supposedly being of the actual Mary. My credulity...strained.) What is interesting is that she's regularly dressed up in little outfits that are almost like those of paper dolls. She has a special holder that you slide new "outfits" over her and the baby Jesus, often which are made up of the offerings given by pilgrims. (So she'll have gowns covered in jewelry donated to the monastery. Most are pretty amazing.)
So fun stuff.
Strangely, I'm really enjoying my trip, which is odd, as I'd been dreading it. For whatever reason, the jet lag hasn't been too bad. I've been enjoying learning about new products (actually, I always enjoy this - and plant tours. I'm such a nerd.). And it's been fun being taken out to various restaurants, cultural attractions, etc. by coworkers. And while neither Essen nor Katowice is exactly a major cultural center of their respective countries, there's still some interesting stuff to see in both. (And probably people are friendlier because they're not annoyed to death by tourists.)
It's kind of interesting in that I used to love to travel, then got really, really burnt out, I think. But maybe I've had a long enough break to be able to enjoy it again for all the things I used to love - the ability to see new places, try different foods, meet new people, etc. Only now I have enough money that when I see a gorgeous amber necklace, I can buy it. And I can expense my meals at nice restaurants, stay in decent hotels, etc. Hmmmm...
Of course, I realize that in about 36 hours, I'm going to get on a plane sometime around 6 am local time (which means waking up at 3...yuck) and travel for approximately 36 hours to return home. So...this will not be so good. Because no number of expensed meals can make up for the fact that I'm going to be groggy, grouchy, and hating life in general even mid-way through all of that. But, hey, at least there will be *some* good memories to make up for it all.
My suitcase is also steadily becoming unmanageable. Everywhere I go, coworkers seem convinced that my life will be incomplete if I do not go home with more treats. Which is nice (esp. as most of the foods aren't exactly all that expensive. I have found the trick. How do you buy local delicacies that aren't crazy expensive? Why you go to the supermarket, just like everyone else.), but is *heavy*. I now have Polish vodka (a specialty - apparently most vodka in the US isn't "real"), mead (almost impossible to get in the US and amazing here), and cherry whine. Polish candies and honey (also you can't get real honey in the US. This is actually true. Apparently there is no pollen in US honey, which means we're probably eating sugar syrup. Polish honey advertises the plants it came from and is cloudy...but really good.) and German beer and brandies.
I'm wondering what my import duties will be?
I also bought an amber rosary for Mom (as why not?) from the chapel that houses the Black Madonna of Jasna Garna (sp?) and a beautiful amber necklace for myself. (Which was not cheap, but was just gorgeous - all chunks of red amber, cut into different shapes but descending sizes...and it's impossible to get amber as cheaply in the US as in Poland).
So lots of goodies.
In addition, I got to see the Black Madonna, who is infamous for having survived a few fires and supposedly routing the Sweeds. She is rather lovely (and probably dates from the 14th century, despite her supposedly being of the actual Mary. My credulity...strained.) What is interesting is that she's regularly dressed up in little outfits that are almost like those of paper dolls. She has a special holder that you slide new "outfits" over her and the baby Jesus, often which are made up of the offerings given by pilgrims. (So she'll have gowns covered in jewelry donated to the monastery. Most are pretty amazing.)
So fun stuff.
Strangely, I'm really enjoying my trip, which is odd, as I'd been dreading it. For whatever reason, the jet lag hasn't been too bad. I've been enjoying learning about new products (actually, I always enjoy this - and plant tours. I'm such a nerd.). And it's been fun being taken out to various restaurants, cultural attractions, etc. by coworkers. And while neither Essen nor Katowice is exactly a major cultural center of their respective countries, there's still some interesting stuff to see in both. (And probably people are friendlier because they're not annoyed to death by tourists.)
It's kind of interesting in that I used to love to travel, then got really, really burnt out, I think. But maybe I've had a long enough break to be able to enjoy it again for all the things I used to love - the ability to see new places, try different foods, meet new people, etc. Only now I have enough money that when I see a gorgeous amber necklace, I can buy it. And I can expense my meals at nice restaurants, stay in decent hotels, etc. Hmmmm...
Of course, I realize that in about 36 hours, I'm going to get on a plane sometime around 6 am local time (which means waking up at 3...yuck) and travel for approximately 36 hours to return home. So...this will not be so good. Because no number of expensed meals can make up for the fact that I'm going to be groggy, grouchy, and hating life in general even mid-way through all of that. But, hey, at least there will be *some* good memories to make up for it all.