april in pieces, #2
More April…
Monday, 16th April. Dad and Pani Marysia are in Warszawa, so they decide to drive me to Łódź. I am train-free, for now.
We stop at a nursery on the way so Pani Marysia can buy something. Magnolia. (Has anyone seen that movie? Insane.)
It was right by an airport, by the way. Something flew overhead every two minutes.
Look at the light on that birch tree.
Driving…
Tuesday, 17th April. I go to work in the morning, come home and it’s so warm I wear shorts for the first time since December.
View from the bus stop in the morning; the terrace back at the house, with Pani Marysia and Babcia sitting around.
More sitting… and clouds.
Worked the rest of the week. Finished a book on the train. Not much happened.
Monday, 23rd April. On Friday the 20th, I headed back to Warszawa. On the Saturday, I visited the house of my mother’s old friends and her family (which I seem to do a lot). Had an utterly perfect evening, great dinner, finished with ice cream and a movie. Relaxed for the first time in a few weeks, which was really nice. Then, on Monday, it was back to Łódź again, by car, again. We went to my Ciocia Kaja’s first, which was tense. And she greeted me very nicely (“Looks like someone’s put on weight!”), without a hello, so hey, I was feeling just fantastic.
View from Ciocia Kaja’s window; Stryjek Sławek and Tata discussing bills.
The drive through the city on the way back to Łódź. Perfect afternoon.
All taken from the car, so sorry if they’re dodgier than usual.
Tuesday, 24th April. We visit my Ciocia Krysia, who I haven’t seen since I was 10. I worry she’s going to be a horrible woman, but when we get to her apartment, I am in awe - she is lovely and I feel completely comfortable. We have dinner, chat, and then head off so I can go to work the next morning. Yay.
View from her balcony; Ciocia Krysia.
Tata; Pani Marysia.
The end of our dessert; group shot. (For the record, Krysia is my father’s cousin: his mother Germana’s brother Tadeusz’s daughter. I would draw a tree, but can’t be bothered.)
The drive back home; a side gate at the house.
You may recall these birch trees…
And this one, too.
And a last four, “for the record” - taken on Friday the 27th. That’s kind of what I look like these days. Sunshine! Fake tan! Yeah. It’s like being in Australia, but not.
Was meant to go to Prague this weekend, but then they cancelled my trip - and as it was the long May weekend (which lasts more or less 9 days this year) everything else was booked up, and honestly? Having some time to calm down after work was good. Very good.
Tomorrow is May the first, a public holiday. There are Polish flags hanging on all the apartment buildings, which is an awesome sight. It’s also a public holiday on the Thursday, so people have work three days this week, or not at all (therefore nine days off). The first is Labour Day, I suppose, and the third is the celebration of the constitution, which was written in… 1791, I think. So yes, Polska!
Mother arrives from Australia on Wednesday, so we’ll be visiting people in Warszawa until Monday and then heading off into the wider world of Poland - Kraków, Oświęcim (Auschwitz), Wrocław… then I have two weeks of work til the end of May, and then in June the crazy Prague, Paris, London, etc stuff starts. With an estimated time of return to Australia planned for mid-July. Oh God, how is all this going to fit?
Entertain me! I’ll try to update.
Monday, 16th April. Dad and Pani Marysia are in Warszawa, so they decide to drive me to Łódź. I am train-free, for now.
We stop at a nursery on the way so Pani Marysia can buy something. Magnolia. (Has anyone seen that movie? Insane.)
It was right by an airport, by the way. Something flew overhead every two minutes.
Look at the light on that birch tree.
Driving…
Tuesday, 17th April. I go to work in the morning, come home and it’s so warm I wear shorts for the first time since December.
View from the bus stop in the morning; the terrace back at the house, with Pani Marysia and Babcia sitting around.
More sitting… and clouds.
Worked the rest of the week. Finished a book on the train. Not much happened.
Monday, 23rd April. On Friday the 20th, I headed back to Warszawa. On the Saturday, I visited the house of my mother’s old friends and her family (which I seem to do a lot). Had an utterly perfect evening, great dinner, finished with ice cream and a movie. Relaxed for the first time in a few weeks, which was really nice. Then, on Monday, it was back to Łódź again, by car, again. We went to my Ciocia Kaja’s first, which was tense. And she greeted me very nicely (“Looks like someone’s put on weight!”), without a hello, so hey, I was feeling just fantastic.
View from Ciocia Kaja’s window; Stryjek Sławek and Tata discussing bills.
The drive through the city on the way back to Łódź. Perfect afternoon.
All taken from the car, so sorry if they’re dodgier than usual.
Tuesday, 24th April. We visit my Ciocia Krysia, who I haven’t seen since I was 10. I worry she’s going to be a horrible woman, but when we get to her apartment, I am in awe - she is lovely and I feel completely comfortable. We have dinner, chat, and then head off so I can go to work the next morning. Yay.
View from her balcony; Ciocia Krysia.
Tata; Pani Marysia.
The end of our dessert; group shot. (For the record, Krysia is my father’s cousin: his mother Germana’s brother Tadeusz’s daughter. I would draw a tree, but can’t be bothered.)
The drive back home; a side gate at the house.
You may recall these birch trees…
And this one, too.
And a last four, “for the record” - taken on Friday the 27th. That’s kind of what I look like these days. Sunshine! Fake tan! Yeah. It’s like being in Australia, but not.
Was meant to go to Prague this weekend, but then they cancelled my trip - and as it was the long May weekend (which lasts more or less 9 days this year) everything else was booked up, and honestly? Having some time to calm down after work was good. Very good.
Tomorrow is May the first, a public holiday. There are Polish flags hanging on all the apartment buildings, which is an awesome sight. It’s also a public holiday on the Thursday, so people have work three days this week, or not at all (therefore nine days off). The first is Labour Day, I suppose, and the third is the celebration of the constitution, which was written in… 1791, I think. So yes, Polska!
Mother arrives from Australia on Wednesday, so we’ll be visiting people in Warszawa until Monday and then heading off into the wider world of Poland - Kraków, Oświęcim (Auschwitz), Wrocław… then I have two weeks of work til the end of May, and then in June the crazy Prague, Paris, London, etc stuff starts. With an estimated time of return to Australia planned for mid-July. Oh God, how is all this going to fit?
Entertain me! I’ll try to update.