Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Oliwia & Zbyszek



A slow day turned into a busy afternoon and evening. At 2PM I received a call from cousin Oliwia who was coming to Pozna艅 for a visit and wanted to meet. I arranged to pick her up at the train station at 4:30PM but had a 7PM meeting with Zbyszek so we only had 1 hour to spend together. We went to the Cacao Republik for hot chocolate for me and coffee for her. After 45 minutes of talking I drove her to Antoninek to another cousins house where she would spend the night.

Through heavy traffic I finally got home at 6:25PM to change clothes, get Joan and drive to Z's flat to pick him up for supper. It was his birthday today so we wanted to do something special for the occassion and take him to dinner at cousin Maciej and Wioletta's restaurant. We arrived at 7PM, picked him up and drove to the center of Pozna艅. It was his first visit to Bernadino's, my cousins restaurant and to my surprise he chose Hawaiian pizza for his dinner. Joan had penne with asparagus and cherry tomatoes and I had the usual seafood spaghetti. Luckily, Wioletta was still at the restaurant with her children so we had a chance to say hello.

Usually on Wednesday night I spend time at 9PM talking with cousin Andrzej on Instant Messenger but tonight it was not possible. I should have called him earlier to tell him I would not be on tonight but I got lost in the activities and only remembered now when it was too late. If you are reading this Andrzej, we can talk Thursday night at 9PM. Just send me an email or SMS and tell me if it is OK.


Spokojny dzie艅 zamieni艂a si臋 w zaj臋ty po po艂udniu i wieczorem. Przy 2PM otrzyma艂em zaproszenie od kuzyna Oliwia kt贸ry wraca艂 do Poznania na wizyt臋 i chcia艂 spotka膰. U艂o偶y艂em j膮 odebra膰 na dworcu o 4:30 PM ale 7PM spotkanie z Zbyszek wi臋c mia艂 tylko 1godzin臋, aby sp臋dzi膰 razem. Poszli艣my do Cacao Republika na gor膮c膮 czekolad臋 i kaw臋 dla mnie dla niej. Po 45 minutach rozmowy odwioz艂em j膮 do Antoninek do innego domu kuzyn贸w gdzie sp臋dzi艂a noc.

Poprzez intensywny ruch I w ko艅cu do domu przy 625 PM do zmiany ubrania, i dosta膰 Joan Z p艂askim dysku, aby podnie艣膰 go na kolacj臋. To jego urodziny wi臋c chcieli艣my zrobi膰 co艣 specjalnego z tej okazji i zabra膰 go na kolacj臋 do restauracji i kuzyna Maciej Wioletta'S. Przyjechali艣my przy 7PM, podni贸s艂 go i pojechali艣my do centrum Poznania. To by艂a jego pierwsza wizyta w Bernadino, moja restauracja kuzyn贸w i ku mojemu zdziwieniu wybra艂 Hawaiian pizza na obiad. Joan mia艂a penne ze szparagami i pomidorkami cherry i mia艂em zwykle spaghetti z owoc贸w morza. Na szcz臋艣cie Wioletta jeszcze w restauracji z dzie膰mi wi臋c mieli艣my okazj臋 si臋 przywita膰.

Zwykle w 艣rod臋 wieczorem sp臋dzi膰 czas o 9pm rozmowy z kuzynem na Instant Messenger Andrzej ale dzi艣 nie by艂o mo偶liwe. bym o nim wcze艣niej, aby powiedzie膰 mu, 偶e nie b臋dzie dzi艣 wieczorem, ale zgubi艂am si臋 w dzia艂aniach i tylko przypomnie膰 teraz, gdy by艂o ju偶 za p贸藕no. Je偶eli czytasz to Andrzej, mo偶emy m贸wi膰 czwartek w nocy na 9PM. Wy艣lij mi e-mail lub SMS i powiedz mi, czy jest OK.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Festival

On April 17th, an acquaintance of mine is producing a festival of finger-style guitar playing in the Blue Note Jazz club in Pozna艅. It is a style of playing that was made famous by the legendary American guitar player, Chet Atkins. This style is still relatively unknown in Poland and the idea of the festival is to acquaint more people with it. Starting at noon there will be a competition of local talent to find the best amateur player attending. This competition will be judged by several people of which I will be one.

Following the competition will be a work shop and then in the evening a concert will be given by the best players in Poland, including one who is currently living in London. I think it will be a nice event and one to look forward to for me.

W dniu 17 kwietnia znajomy produkuje festiwalu palec stylu gry na gitarze w Blue Note Jazz Club w Poznaniu. To jest styl gry, 偶e sta艂 si臋 s艂awny przez legendarnego gracza American gitara, Chet Atkins. Ten styl jest jeszcze stosunkowo ma艂o znany w Polska i ide膮 festiwalu jest zapoznanie z nim wi臋cej os贸b. Wyj艣cia w po艂udnie odb臋dzie si臋 konkurs lokalnych talent znale藕膰 najlepsze amatorskie gracz uczestniczy. Konkursu b臋d膮 oceniane przez kilka os贸b, z czego b臋d臋 jeden.

Po konkursie b臋dzie sklep pracy, a nast臋pnie wieczorem koncert zostanie podana przez najlepszych graczy w Polska, w tym jeden, kt贸ry obecnie mieszka w Londynie. My艣l臋, 偶e b臋dzie to mi艂e wydarzenie i jedn膮 oczekujemy dla mnie.

Monday, March 29, 2010

Moon




Nice moon last night. From our balcony we watched the procession of the cross moving through our little community and listened to the priest on the loudspeaker at they stopped along the way.

Today it's cold and rainy again and we're tired from staying up late to watch our favorite team, Duke, advance to the Final Four in the the college basketball championship games. Today we slept until 11AM and kind of just laid around all day.

Nice ksi臋偶yca ostatniej nocy. Z naszego balkonu patrzyli艣my procesji krzy偶a przeje偶d偶aj膮ce przez nasz膮 ma艂膮 spo艂eczno艣膰 i s艂ucha艂 ksi膮dz na g艂o艣nik zatrzymali si臋 po drodze.

Dzi艣 jest zimno i deszczowo ponownie i jeste艣my zm臋czeni przebywaj膮cych p贸藕no, aby obejrze膰 nasz膮 ulubion膮 dru偶yn臋, Duke, wcze艣niej Final Four w kolegium mistrzostwa pi艂ka no偶na. Dzi艣 spali艣my do 11AM i rodzaj tylko okre艣lone ca艂y dzie艅.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Rest!

A true day of rest when all I did was study and sit in a chair all day watching the Polish volleyball championship games.

Prawdziwy dzie艅 odpoczynku, gdy wszystkie zrobi艂em by艂o zbadanie i siedzie膰 na krze艣le ca艂y dzie艅 ogl膮da膰 mistrzostwa Polski gry w siatk贸wk臋.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Kornik and Smielow




Unlike yesterday, today was cold, rainy, no sun and not a good day to be outside. Fortunately I had listened to the weather forecast and had already planned for visits to two excellent places for our guest Lori to see.

Being a former woodworker myself, I looked forward to seeing, once again, the fine craftsmanship of floors, tables, chairs, desks, cabinets, doors and entrance ways to the two selected structures. The most striking were the floors. In Kornik they are still in perfect condition and make no sound when you walk on them but in Smielow they do. In Kornik there was a crowd of students but in Smielow we were the only ones there and were allowed to freely roam the entire palace without having a guard accompany us. Entrance into Kornik cost 9zl per person but in Smielow it was free because it is part of the national museum system in Poland and Saturdays it is free of charge.

On the old property, previously connected with the name of the ancient noble G贸rka family, obtained through the heritage in 19 century by an aristocrat Ksawery Dzia艂y艅ski, a neo-gothic, small, romantic castle was built by his son Tytus. Today the K贸rnik castle houses the museum of interiors, a collection of armaments as well as known in Poland and a broad library. The castle’s park (called Arboretum) is an attraction on its own, with the great collection of rhododendrons and azaleas.

History
In the 14 century the castle was built in K贸rnik by the brother of the bishop of the nearby Pozna艅. The medieval defensive castle throughout centuries changed and was rebuilt by the consecutive aristocratic owners, the noble families G贸rka, Na艂臋cz Czarnkowski, Grudzi艅ski and Szo艂drski. Inherited in 1801 by the Dzia艂y艅ski family, the K贸rnik Castle was rebuilt (1843-1861) in the neo-gothic style by the famous architect from not so far away Berlin - Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Death of the owner - Tytus Dzia艂y艅ski interrupted the construction, but just a few years later, his son Jan Kanty Dzia艂y艅ski continued the works. Unfortunately, because of Jan Kanty Dzia艂y艅ski participation in the National Insurrection of 1863, he had to flee the country. He was in 1864 in his absence sentenced to death, and it took him several years to reverse this conviction and the confiscation of the K贸rnik castle. In 1880, the property was inherited by W艂adys艂aw Zamoyski, who before his death gave the castle and the park to the Polish nation. In 1924, a foundation was created called Zak艂ady K贸rnickie, which till today manages the property.
Smielow...
The village belonged to Radomicski, since 1784 to Gorze艅ski, from the late nineteenth century to Che艂kowski. Adam Mickiewicz stayed in 艢mie艂贸w in mid August 1831. U Che艂kowski family hosted many celebrities including: Henryk Sienkiewicz, Wladyslaw Mickiewicz, Ignacy Paderewski, Wojciech Kossak, Ludomir Rozycki, Joseph Haller.

Construction and equipment of the Smielow Classical palace was built in 1797 and designed by Stanislaw Zawadzki. The palace was built in the shape of a horseshoe. Main part of the palace on a rectangular, in front elevation of the great portico of four-order and two side projections. The garden elevation is pentagonal projection, including inside the lounge. On both sides of the main building there are two outbuildings connected to the main body of the semicircular galleries.

Slideshow on right side.

W odr贸偶nieniu od wczoraj, dzi艣 by艂o zimno, deszczowo, brak s艂o艅ca i nie jest dobry dzie艅 na zewn膮trz. Na szcz臋艣cie nie s艂uchali prognozy pogody i ju偶 planowane wizyty dwie doskona艂e miejsca dla naszych go艣ci Lori zobaczy膰.

Jako by艂y Woodworker mnie, oczekuje na spotkanie, po raz kolejny dobrze rzemios艂o pod艂ogi, sto艂y, krzes艂a, biurka, szafy, drzwi i sposoby wej艣cia do dw贸ch wybranych struktur. Najbardziej uderzaj膮ce by艂y pod艂ogi. W K贸rniku s膮 nadal w doskona艂ym stanie i nie daje 偶adnych d藕wi臋k贸w podczas walk na nich, ale w 艢mie艂owie zrobi膰. W K贸rniku by艂 t艂um student贸w, ale w 艢mie艂owie byli艣my jedynymi i nie wolno by艂o si臋 swobodnie porusza膰 ca艂y pa艂ac bez os艂ony nam towarzyszy艂a. Wej艣cie do K贸rnika koszt 9zl za osob臋, ale w 艢mie艂owie, 偶e jest wolny, poniewa偶 jest ona cz臋艣ci膮 krajowego systemu muzeum w Polska i soboty jest bezp艂atny.

Na starym nieruchomo艣ci, wcze艣niej zwi膮zany z nazw膮 starej rodziny szlacheckiej G贸rka, uzyskane poprzez dziedzictwo w 19 wieku przez arystokrat臋 Ksawery Dzia艂y艅ski, neogotycki, ma艂y, romantyczny zamek zosta艂 zbudowany przez jego syna Tytusa. Dzi艣 domy K贸rnik zamku muzeum wn臋trz, kolekcja broni, jak wiadomo, Polska i za granic膮 w bibliotece. Zamek parku (o nazwie Arboretum) jest atrakcj膮 na w艂asn膮 r臋k臋, z wielka kolekcja rododendron贸w i azalii.

Historia
W 14 wieku zamek zosta艂 zbudowany w K贸rniku przez brata biskupa w pobli偶u Poznania. 艢redniowieczny zamek obronny w ci膮gu wiek贸w zmieni艂y si臋 i zosta艂 odbudowany przez kolejnych w艂a艣cicieli arystokratyczne rody G贸rka, Na艂臋cz Czarnkowski, Grudzi艅ski i Szo艂drski. Przej臋te w 1801 r. przez rodzin臋 Dzia艂y艅skich, K贸rnik Zamek zosta艂 odbudowany (1843-1861) w stylu neogotyckim przez s艂ynnego architekta nie tak daleko Berlin - Karl Friedrich Schinkel. 艢mier膰 w艂a艣ciciela - Tytus Dzia艂y艅ski przerwa艂 budow臋, ale kilka lat p贸藕niej, jego syn Jan Kanty Dzia艂y艅ski kontynuowa艂 prace. Niestety, z powodu Jan Kanty Dzia艂y艅ski udzia艂 w Powstaniu Narodowym w 1863 roku musia艂 ucieka膰 z kraju. By艂 w 1864 roku pod jego nieobecno艣膰 skazanych na 艣mier膰, a zaj臋艂o mu kilka lat, aby odwr贸ci膰 ten wyrok i konfiskaty Zamek K贸rnik. W roku 1880 maj膮tek zosta艂 odziedziczony przez W艂adys艂awa Zamoyskiego, kt贸ry przed 艣mierci膮 da艂 zamku i parku do narodu polskiego. W 1924 roku Fundacja powsta艂a nazwie Zak艂ady K贸rnickie, kt贸ra do dzisiaj zarz膮dza nieruchomo艣ci.

艢mie艂贸w ...
Wie艣 nale偶a艂a do Radomicski, od 1784 do Gorze艅ski, z ko艅ca XIX wieku do Che艂kowski. Adam Mickiewicz przebywa艂 w 艢mie艂owie w po艂owie sierpnia 1831 roku. U Che艂kowskich rodziny go艣ci艂o wiele znakomito艣ci takich jak: Henryk Sienkiewicz, W艂adys艂aw Mickiewicz, Ignacy Paderewski, Wojciech Kossak, Ludomir R贸偶ycki, J贸zef Haller.

Budowa i wyposa偶enie pa艂acu Classical 艢mie艂贸w zosta艂 zbudowany w 1797 roku i zaprojektowana przez Stanis艂awa Zawadzkiego. Pa艂ac zosta艂 zbudowany w kszta艂cie podkowy. G艂贸wna cz臋艣膰 pa艂acu na rzucie prostok膮ta, w elewacji frontowej z wielkich portyk z czterech zam贸wienie i dwie boczne prognozy. Elewacji ogrodowej jest pi臋cio projekcji, w tym r贸wnie偶 wn臋trza salonu. Po obu stronach g艂贸wnego budynku znajduj膮 si臋 dwie oficyny po艂膮czone z g艂贸wnym organem p贸艂koliste galerie.

Pokaz po prawej stronie.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Lori's Visit.


Joan and I went to PKP G艂owny(train station) at 3PM to await the arrival of Lori. On platform 2 where the train from Berlin was to arrive I stood at one end and Joan the other. The train arrived at 3:25PM on time and I waited to see a red luggage bag attached to the woman we were to meet. There she was, waiting with another person and I walked up to her, greeted her and then we walked to the other end to find Joan. I carried her bag to the car, we went to the hotel where she would be staying, she checked in and then we went to our house for coffee and a little applebread that Joan had made. After conversing until 7PM we went downtown to cousin Maciej's restaurant for dinner. As usual, dinner was excellent. I had spaghetti with seafood, Joan had ravioli and Lori tagliatoni. For desert they both had tiramisu but I was too full to eat desert so I just had coffee latte. We finished about 9PM and took Lori back to her hotel for a nights rest.

Friday morning we picked Lori up at 10AM and drove to Ostr贸w Tumski to show her the cathedral and the birthplace of Poland. After an hour our next stop was the rynek and it was a beautiful day for walking around and pointing out the places of interest. The church of St. Stanis艂aw was a treat for her because it is so beautiful inside. From there we went to Przemys艂 hill, where the royal castle once stood but only one building remains. Next to it was the Kings church, the Franciscan church so it was our next stop.

Next was a stop in Stary Browar so she could see one of best shopping centers in Pozna艅 and then at 3:30PM we all drove to Kandulski's for our weekly meeting with Zbyszek so Lori could meet him.

Back home at 6:30PM Joan made dinner of chicken with vegetables and cream Italian sauce and after coffee I took Lori back to her hotel for the night.

Slidehow on right side.


Joan i ja poszed艂em do G艂贸wnego PKP (stacja kolejowa) przy 3PM poczeka膰 na przybycie Lori. 2, gdzie na platformie poci膮gu z Berlina do osi膮gni臋cia sta艂em na jednym ko艅cu i Joan innych. Poci膮g przyjecha艂 at 3:25 po po艂udniu w czasie i czeka艂em, aby zobaczy膰 czerwon膮 torb臋 baga偶u do艂膮czone do kobiety byli艣my do spe艂nienia. Tam by艂a, czekaj膮c z inn膮 osob膮 i podszed艂 do niej, przywita艂 j膮, a nast臋pnie poszli艣my na drugi koniec, aby znale藕膰 Joan. Zanios艂em torb臋 do samochodu, pojechali艣my do hotelu, w kt贸rym zostanie ona przebywa ona sprawdzona, a nast臋pnie udali艣my si臋 do naszego domu na kaw臋 i troch臋 applebread 偶e Joan pope艂ni艂a. Po rozmowie a偶 do 7PM centrum poszli艣my do kuzyna Maciej restauracji na obiad. Jak zwykle, kolacja by艂a doskona艂a. Mia艂em spaghetti z owocami morza, Joan mia艂a ravioli i tagliatoni Lori. Na deser tiramisu oni obaj, ale by艂em zbyt pe艂ny je艣膰 pustyni tak w艂a艣nie musia艂em kawy latte. Sko艅czyli艣my o 9pm i wzi膮艂 j膮 z powrotem do Lori hotel dla sen.

Pi膮tek rano wybrali艣my Lori si臋 przy 10AM i pojechali艣my na Ostr贸w Tumski, aby pokaza膰 jej katedry i miejsce urodzenia Polska. Po godzinie Naszym nast臋pnym przystankiem by艂 Rynek i to by艂 pi臋kny dzie艅 dla spaceru wok贸艂 i zwracaj膮c uwag臋 na interesuj膮ce miejsca. 艢w Stanis艂aw by艂a uczta dla niej, bo to jest tak pi臋kny, w 艣rodku. Stamt膮d udali艣my si臋 do Przemys艂a wzg贸rzu, gdzie kiedy艣 sta艂 zamek kr贸lewski, ale pozostaje tylko jeden budynek. Obok by艂 to ko艣ci贸艂 Kings, ko艣ci贸艂 Franciszkan贸w, tak to by艂 nasz nast臋pny przystanek.

Nast臋pny by艂 zatrzymaniem w Stary Browar, aby mog艂a zobaczy膰 jeden z najlepszych centr贸w handlowych w Poznaniu, a nast臋pnie o 3:30 PM wszyscy pojechali do Kandulski dla naszego tygodniowego spotkania z tak Zbyszek Lori mog艂a go spotka膰.
Z powrotem do domu 6:30 pm Joan zrobi艂a obiad z kurczaka z warzywami i sosem 艣mietanowym, w艂oskim i po kaw臋 Lori wzi膮艂em j膮 z powrotem do hotelu na nocleg.

Pokaz slajd贸w na prawa strona.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Nice day.

Beautiful day today, sunny, warm(17c) and clear. Good day to finish washing the windows, do food shopping for the week and finally meet the 9 month old baby that lives next door with her parents. Her name is Zuzanna and she is adorable. We met by chance when we were coming home from shopping and her mother was just bringing her home from an afternoon stroll outside.

Tomorrow Lori arrives from Berlin to spend 3 days in Pozna艅 and we're looking forward to the visit. Tomorrow night we will go to dinner at cousin Maciej and Wioletta's restaurant with Lori after we have coffee at our house. Friday and Saturday will be a busy time showing Lori Pozna艅 and the places of interest.

Friday is the primary election runoff between the two Presidential candidates, Sikorski and Komorowski. The opposing candidate is the current President, Kaczynski, and he has no opposition from his party so he is the likely candidate again.

Pi臋kny dzie艅 dzisiaj, s艂oneczny, ciep艂y (17c) i jasne. Dzie艅 dobry, aby zako艅czy膰 mycie okien, zakupy 偶ywno艣ci na tydzie艅 i wreszcie spotka膰 9 miesi臋cy 偶ycia dziecka, kt贸re mieszka obok z rodzicami. Ma na imi臋 Zuzanna i ona jest godny podziwu. Poznali艣my si臋 przez przypadek, kiedy przyszli do domu z zakup贸w, a matka w艂a艣nie wniesienie jej do domu z popo艂udniowe spacery na zewn膮trz.

Lori jutro przylatuje z Berlina sp臋dzi膰 3 dni w Poznaniu i czekamy na wizyt臋. Jutro wieczorem p贸jdziemy na kolacj臋 do restauracji i kuzyn Maciej Wioletta z Lori Po kaw臋 w naszym domu. Pi膮tek i sobot臋 b臋dzie zaj臋ty pokazano Lori Poznaniu i atrakcji turystycznych.

Pi膮tek jest podstawowym drugiej tury wybor贸w mi臋dzy dwoma kandydatami prezydenta, Sikorski i Komorowski. Kandydata przeciwnej jest obecny prezydent Kaczy艅ski, a nie ma sprzeciwu z jego strony, bo jest prawdopodobnym kandydatem ponownie.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Springtime!!



Springtime folks!!! Already the crocus are popping up at the Rondo and signs of spring are most welcome. Time to put out the balcony furniture, clean the floor and get the plants ready for the outside. 15c today and the forecast is 20c on Friday. That's great news. I spent the morning washing windows and only have two more to finish up tomorrow. It takes longer because the windows are double paned and they open up so you can wash each pane. It's a pain, but gotta be done.

Joan spent time studying her Polish, as usual and really likes this new program we are using. She was in charge of cleaning the bathroom while I did the windows and vacumned the rugs.

Wiosna ludzie! Ju偶 krokusy s膮 pojawia艂y si臋 na Rondo i oznaki wiosny s膮 jak najbardziej mile widziane. Czas po艂o偶y膰 si臋 meble ogrodowe, czyste pod艂ogi i uzyska膰 gotowy do instalacji na zewn膮trz. 15c dzi艣 i prognozy 20c w pi膮tek. That's great news. Sp臋dzi艂em wczoraj mycie okien i tylko dwa wi臋cej, aby zako艅czy膰 jutro. To trwa d艂u偶ej, poniewa偶 okna s膮 podw贸jnie kratk臋 i otwieraj膮 si臋, dzi臋ki czemu mo偶na my膰 ka偶dym z okienek. Jest to b贸l, ale musz臋 to zrobi膰.

Joan sp臋dzony czas studiowania jej polskim, jak zwykle i naprawd臋 lubi to nowy program u偶ywamy. By艂a odpowiedzialna za sprz膮tanie 艂azienki, a ja nie okien i vacumned dywany.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Auto show.








The first day of spring and even though it was gray and cloudy with rain, we just had to go out and do something. We decided to go to Targi to the auto show and see what was new in the automotive world. We've been several times to the auto show in Chicago and it's always interesting to see what designs they have for future cars. Unfortunately, this show didn't have any futuristic cars and it just showed what is on the market now. The most interesting was the Nano, a full electric car. Another curious point was to see which of the girls used with the car companies would have the shortest skirt. I think the one with the Testarosa must have been the winner.

In another part of the exhibittion area halls were the motorcycles and, of course, Harley Davidson was well represented. Those American bikes are everywhere.
We got back home about 4:30PM and Joan started preparing dinner for tonight, fish, potatoes and green beans. At 10:15PM we will use this computer once again to watch the second game of our favorite team, Duke....GO DUKE!!!!

Our young cousin Chiara Bekalarek is in a modeling contest and a little interview was posted by me on the blog. She is speaking in German so you may not know what she is saying but you can see her with her gray cap on.


Pierwszy dzie艅 wiosny, a nawet jakby by艂a szara i Pochmurno z opadami deszczu, po prostu musia艂 wyj艣膰 i co艣 zrobi膰. Zdecydowali艣my si臋 na Targi, aby pokaza膰 auto i zobaczy膰, co nowego w 艣wiecie motoryzacyjnym. Byli艣my kilka razy auto show w Chicago i zawsze interesuj膮ce zobaczy膰, jakie projekty maj膮 dla przysz艂ych samochod贸w. Niestety, nie wykazuj膮 偶adnych futurystycznych samochod贸w i pokaza艂 tylko to, co jest na rynku teraz. Najciekawsze Nano pe艂ny elektryczny samoch贸d. Kolejny ciekawy punkt by艂o zobaczy膰, kt贸re z dziewcz膮t u偶ywane z firm samoch贸d by艂by najkr贸tszy sp贸dnicy. My艣l臋, 偶e jeden z Testarosa musi by膰 zwyci臋zc膮.

W innej cz臋艣ci obszaru exhibittion sale by艂y motocykle i, oczywi艣cie, Harley Davidson by艂 dobrze reprezentowany. Te ameryka艅skie rowery s膮 wsz臋dzie.

Mamy w domu o 4:30 PM i Joan rozpocz膮艂 przygotowania kolacji na dzisiejszy wiecz贸r, ryb, ziemniak贸w i fasolki szparagowej. At 10:15 PM b臋dziemy u偶ywa膰 tego komputera, aby jeszcze raz obejrze膰 druga gra naszego ulubionego zespo艂u, ksi膮偶臋 .... GO Duke!!

Nasz m艂ody kuzyn Chiara Bekalarek w konkursie modelek, a nieco wywiadu zosta艂a wys艂ana przeze mnie na blogu. Ona m贸wi w j臋zyku niemieckim, wi臋c nie mo偶e wiedzie膰, co ona m贸wi, ale mo偶na j膮 zobaczy膰 z ni膮 czapk臋 na szary.

Saturday mass.

Tonight we went to the English mass service in the chapel of the Theological Faculty building. With over 1000 American medical students attending the Medical University here I thought there would be about 25-30 people at the mass. I was wrong.

We entered the chapel and there was one family consisting of a husband, wife and 3 children, Joan and I and 1 medical student. The family had been here before and actually did the work of lighting the altar candles, giving us songs for singing and setting up the altar with microphones. They asked Joan if she would read the first verse during the mass. From the voices they sounded very British and it wasn't until after the mass was over that we learned the wife was actually born in Poland but studied British English at an early age and so she spoke like an Englander. The woman, Alicija, said the mass had been going on for 5 years now but use to be only once a month and only recently changed to every week. With the small attendence I wonder how long it was last on a weekly basis.

The mass was about 50 minutes long. When it was over we talked with the medical student who is in her fourth year(last year) and will return to the U.S. for a year. After that time she plans on moving back to Poland and living here. The family lives in Kierz which is close to where we live and only attends this mass once a month. If that's the case then next week there maybe only Joan, myself and the medical student at the next one.

Dzi艣 wieczorem udali艣my si臋 do angielskiej mszy w kaplicy Wydzia艂u Teologicznego budynku. Z ponad 1000 ameryka艅skich student贸w medycyny Uniwersytetu Medycznego uczestniczy My艣la艂em, 偶e tutaj nie b臋dzie oko艂o 25-30 os贸b na masy. Myli艂em si臋.

Weszli艣my do kaplicy i nie by艂o jednej rodziny sk艂adaj膮cej si臋 z m臋偶a, 偶on臋 i 3 dzieci, Joan i ja i 1 student medycyny. Rodziny by艂y tu wcze艣niej i faktycznie prace o艣wietlenie o艂tarza 艣wiece, daj膮c nam do 艣piewania piosenek i tworzenie o艂tarz z mikrofon贸w. Pytali Joan gdyby czyta艂a pierwszy werset podczas mszy. Z ich g艂osy brzmia艂y bardzo brytyjski i dopiero po masowej dowiedzieli艣my si臋, 偶e 偶ona by艂a w rzeczywisto艣ci urodzi艂 si臋 w Wielkiej Brytanii Polska angielski, ale studiowa艂 w m艂odym wieku i tak m贸wi艂a jak Englander. Kobieta, Alicija, powiedzia艂, 偶e masa mia艂 ju偶 od 5 lat, ale nale偶y u偶ywa膰 tylko raz na miesi膮c i dopiero niedawno zmieniono na ka偶dy tydzie艅. Z ma艂ym udzia艂em Zastanawiam si臋 jak d艂ugo to by艂o ostatni raz w tygodniu.

Masa wynosi艂a oko艂o 50 minut. Kiedy by艂o ju偶 po wszystkim rozmawiali艣my z student medycyny, kt贸ra jest w czwartym roku (ostatni rok) i wr贸ci do USA na rok. Po tym razem plany na przeniesienie z powrotem do 偶ycia tutaj i Polska. Rodzina mieszka w Kierz, kt贸ra jest blisko miejsca, gdzie 偶yjemy, tylko bierze udzia艂 w tej masy raz w miesi膮cu. Je艣li to przypadek to w przysz艂ym tygodniu nie mo偶e by膰 tylko Joan, siebie i student medycyny na nast臋pny.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Good Friday!

Yes, today was a good Friday. Three good things happened today.

First, it was 51F outside, sunny and very spring like. Beautiful day.

Second, after questioning why our gas bill was so high I received information that a mistake had been made and instead of 1,700 zl the bill was actually 1,165 zl.

Third, I received notification in the mail that our TV/Internet provider said we owed an additional 365 zl and the bill had to be paid by March 31st or they would cut off services to us. We have paid our bill on time each month since we began service with this company and have NEVER missed a payment on time or before time. At Kandulski's today I showed the letter to our guardian angel, Zbyszek, and he called the company to see what the problem was. After 3 calls back and forth they told him they had made a mistake, that we owed them nothing additional and our contract was valid with them until July 2011. So, thanks to him, the problem was resolved in our favor.

Actually four good things happened. The fourth one was that the connection worked to watch March Madness basketball games and we watched one complete game on the internet and are looking forward tonight to watching our favorite team, Duke, play tonight at 12:30AM if we can manage to stay up that late.

Tak, dzisiaj by艂 dobry pi膮tek. Trzy dobre rzeczy si臋 dzisiaj.

Najpierw by艂a 51F zewn膮trz, s艂oneczny i bardzo podobnie jak wiosn膮. Pi臋kny dzie艅.

Po drugie, po przes艂uchaniach, dlaczego nasza gaz by艂 tak wysoki, otrzyma艂em informacje, 偶e b艂膮d zosta艂 z艂o偶ony i zamiast 1700 zl ustawy faktycznie 1165 z艂.

Po trzecie, dosta艂em zawiadomienie, 偶e nasza poczta TV / dostawcy Internetu powiedzia艂 nam nale偶ne dodatkowe 365 z艂 i Bill mia艂 by膰 wyp艂acana przez 31 marca i b臋d膮 one odci臋te us艂ug do nas. Musimy zwr贸ci膰 nasz rachunek w terminie miesi膮ca od kiedy rozpocz膮艂 s艂u偶b臋 z tej firmy i nigdy nie brakowa艂o p艂atno艣ci na czas lub przed czasem. Na dzisiejszym Kandulski's pokaza艂em pismo do naszego Anio艂a Str贸偶a, Zbyszek i wezwa艂 sp贸艂k臋, aby zobaczy膰 na czym polega problem. Po 3 po艂膮cze艅 tam iz powrotem, powiedzieli mu, 偶e pope艂ni艂 b艂膮d, 偶e nale偶ne im nic dodatkowych naszej umowy z nimi by艂 wa偶ny do lipca 2011 roku. Tak wi臋c, dzi臋ki niemu, problem zosta艂 rozwi膮zany na nasz膮 korzy艣膰.

W艂a艣ciwie cztery dobre rzeczy. Czwarty by艂 fakt, 偶e po艂膮czenie pracy, aby obejrze膰 gry March Madness koszyk贸wki i patrzyli艣my jeden kompletny gry w Internecie i cieszymy dzisiaj do ogl膮dania naszego ulubionego zespo艂u, ksi膮偶臋, tonight play at 12:30 AM, mo偶e uda nam si臋 zatrzyma膰 si臋, 偶e p贸藕no.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Mass

I found out today from our American Consulate in Pozna艅 that at the Chapel of Theology they have a mass on Saturday night at 8PM in ENGLISH. Joan and I will be going there and it will be nice to once again understand what is being said. I don't know if we will make it a regular habit because I do think going to our local church and hearing the mass in Polish is good for us. At least once in a while we will go to the English one and the priest speaks English also so I can talk with him when I need to. The Consulate lady was the one who instituted the mass in English because of the English speaking people in Pozna艅 and I'm greatful to her for that.

Snow is almost gone again but the gray days remain. Tomorrow starts March Madness in the U.S. and we're hoping to be able to watch a few games via the internet.

Dowiedzia艂em si臋 dzisiaj od naszego ameryka艅skiego konsulatu w Poznaniu, 偶e w kaplicy Teologia ich masy w sobot臋 at 8pm w j臋zyku angielskim. Joan i b臋d臋 si臋 tam i b臋dzie mi艂o po raz kolejny zrozumie膰, co si臋 m贸wi. Nie wiem, czy b臋dziemy je regularnie przyzwyczajenia, poniewa偶 s膮dz臋, b臋dzie naszego lokalnego Ko艣cio艂a i s艂uchu masy w j臋zyku polskim jest dla nas dobre. Przynajmniej raz na jaki艣 czas p贸jdziemy angielski jeden i ksi膮dz m贸wi po angielsku te偶 tak mog臋 porozmawia膰 z nim, kiedy musz臋. Lady Konsulat kt贸ry ustanowi艂 masy w j臋zyku angielskim ze wzgl臋du na ludzi znaj膮cych angielski w Poznaniu i jestem wdzi臋czna za to.

艢nieg prawie odszed艂, ale szare dni pozosta艂o. Jutro zaczyna March Madness w USA i mamy nadziej臋 by膰 w stanie obejrze膰 kilka gier za po艣rednictwem Internetu.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Doctor, 呕urek, Spring.


Anna Dan, a reader of my blog, sent this to me and it so exceptional I wanted to share it with you. Double click on the screen and then click on the four little arrows on the bottom right to get the full screen effect.

I awoke at 7:30AM to prepare for my return trip to the doctors office to make an appointment to see him. I arrived at 8:30AM but he hadn't arrived yet. This time I was prepared for a long waiting period, I took my Polish book to study and make use of the the time. At 8:45AM he arrived, we said hello briefly and he went into his office. An hour and a half passed and still no action so I went to the receptionist to see how much longer. She said he was talking with a colleague and when he was was done he would come out to me. Finally at 11:10AM he came out and I went in to see him. We talked for about 20 minutes and established April 7th at 10AM for the appointment time. Finally I have an appointment and will plan on spending the day waiting to see him then. The best medical plan in Poland is..............don't get sick.

Back at home Joan and I talked about our visit soon from a reader who is in Hungary now on a Fullbright award but will visit us on the 25th of March for two days. I have our days pretty well planned out and we are both looking forward to her visit with us.

呕urek is one of the good things about winter. Yes, you can eat it anytime during the year but it is especially good in winter when it is cold outside. Joan was preparing it today and I was cutting up the smoked bacon that goes in it when I discovered the bacon was not good so I had to make a trip to the store to buy new bacon. It always amazes me how one element left out of a soup can change its taste so much, like the kind of sausage we use in 呕urek. There are many kinds of kie艂basa but the best kind we have found is kabanosy. It's a very small in size kie艂basa but the taste it adds to the 呕urek is very good.

Last night it lightly snowed again but the sun was out today and the snow is mostly gone now. I saw a sign of spring coming home past Rondo Kaponiera. While waiting at a stop light I noticed that the crocus were already starting to bloom. Come on, Spring.

Anna Dan czytelnika mojego bloga, wys艂a艂 do mnie i tak wyj膮tkowych chcia艂em podzieli膰 si臋 nim z wami.

Obudzi艂em si臋 na 7:30 na przygotowanie si臋 do mojej drodze powrotnej do biura lekarzy, aby um贸wi膰 si臋 z nim zobaczy膰. Przyjecha艂em o 8:30 ale jeszcze nie nadesz艂a. Tym razem by艂em przygotowany na d艂ugi okres oczekiwania, wzi膮艂em polska ksi膮偶ka do nauki i wykorzystania czasu. Przy 845: jestem przyby艂, powiedzieli艣my hello kr贸tko i poszed艂 do swojego biura. P贸艂torej godziny min臋艂o i nadal nie ma dzia艂ania, wi臋c uda艂em si臋 do recepcji, aby zobaczy膰, jak d艂ugo. Ona m贸wi, 偶e rozmawia艂 z koleg膮 i kiedy zosta艂o zrobione, 偶e przyjdzie do mnie. W ko艅cu na 11:10 wyszed艂 i uda艂 si臋 do niego. Rozmawiali艣my o 20 minut i ustanowi艂 7 kwietnia na 10AM do czasu powo艂ania. Wreszcie mam powo艂ania i planu wydatk贸w dzie艅 czeka na niego czasu. Najlepszych medycznych planu Polska jest .............. nie choruj膮.

Po powrocie do domu Joan i ja rozmawiali艣my o naszej wizycie tylko od czytelnika, kt贸ry jest na W臋grzech, teraz nagroda Fullbright ale odwiedz膮 nas na 25 marca na dwa dni. Mam naszych czasach do艣膰 dobrze zaplanowane i oboje si臋 doczeka膰 jej wizyty u nas.

呕urek jest jednym z dobrych rzeczy o zimie. Tak, mo偶na go je艣膰 w ka偶dej chwili w ci膮gu roku, ale jest szczeg贸lnie dobre w zimie, kiedy jest zimno. Joan przygotowywa艂 j膮 dzisiaj i jestem rozcinaniu boczek w臋dzony, 偶e idzie w nim, gdy odkry艂em, boczek nie by艂 dobry, wi臋c musia艂em zrobi膰 wycieczk臋 do sklepu w celu zakupu nowych boczku. Zawsze zdumiewa mnie jak jeden element w lewo z zupy mo偶na zmieni膰 jej smak tak du偶o, jak rodzaj kie艂basy, kt贸rych u偶ywamy w 呕urek. Istnieje wiele rodzaj贸w kie艂basy, ale najlepiej rodzaju znale藕li艣my si臋 Kabanosy. Jest to bardzo ma艂y w rozmiar, ale kie艂basa smak poprawia艂 呕urek jest bardzo dobra.

Ubieg艂ej nocy zn贸w lekko 艣nieg, ale s艂o艅ce na dzi艣 i 艣nieg jest g艂贸wnie gone now. Widzia艂em znak wiosny Coming Home przesz艂o艣ci Rondo Kaponiera. Czekaj膮c na 艣wiat艂o stop zauwa偶y艂em, 偶e krokusy ju偶 od rozkwitn膮膰. Come on, Spring.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Waiting game.

Today was the day to make my next appt. with the doctor. I arrived at 10AM, was told by the receptionist I had to go to registration and fill out more papers. Fortunately, it only took 20 minutes to do that and then I returned to the office of the doctor. The receptionist said I had to wait for my file to be brought to her so the doctor could look at my history. I waited, 11AM passed and noon passed and nothing was happening. I sat and waited until 12:45PM, walked up to the receptionist and told her I wouldn't wait any longer not knowing how many more hours would pass before it was my time. I left and will return tomorrow morning for another round of waisting time waiting. I just LOVE this medical system, it's so messed up you can't imagine it unless you experience it. But who's complaining? :-)

Dzisiaj by艂 dzie艅 do mojej nast臋pnej appt. z lekarzem. I przyby艂 10AM, zosta艂 poinformowany przez recepcjonist臋 mia艂em i艣膰 do rejestracji i wype艂ni膰 kilka dokument贸w. Na szcz臋艣cie, tylko bra艂 20 minut do tego i potem wr贸ci艂 do urz臋du z lekarzem. Recepcjonista powiedzia艂, 偶e musia艂 czeka膰 na moje sprawy mog艂y by膰 wprowadzane do niej tak lekarz mo偶e spojrze膰 na histori臋. Czeka艂am, 11AM min臋艂o i po艂udnie min臋艂o i nic si臋 nie dzieje. Siedzia艂em i czeka艂em a偶 12:45, podszed艂 do recepcji i powiedzia艂 jej, 偶e nie b臋dzie ju偶 d艂u偶ej czeka膰 nie wiedz膮c ile jeszcze godzin minie, zanim to by艂 m贸j czas. Wyszed艂em i wr贸ci jutro rano do kolejnej rundy waisting czasu oczekiwania. I just love this system medyczny, it's so messed up nie mo偶na sobie wyobrazi膰 ile nie do艣wiadczenia. Ale kto narzeka? :-)

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Starbucks!!

Ah, we went to Browar today for Joan to buy a few things she needed. It was a cold, rain and snow day, dark, gray and not too nice. However, there was a ray of sunshine for Joan. Last week in Berlin when we were sitting in Starbucks we talked about reading Starbucks was coming to Poland but we saw no evidence of it, no coffee shop yet. Today it changed.

As we were looking at an exhibition of photographs from Glos Wielkapolska(newspaper) Joan got a big smile on her face and pointed to space behind the exhibition. There in big green and white colors were the words, "Starbucks. opening soon in this location". She likes their French Vanilla coffee and while it certainly won't replace our weekly meeting place at Kandulski's I am sure we will make a few visits to this place in the future.

Other than Browar we didn't do much at home other than study, I took a little nap in the afternoon and for dinner we finished off the Cobb salad that she made yesterday.

Ach, poszli艣my do Browaru dzi艣 Joan kupi膰 kilka rzeczy, ona potrzebna. By艂o zimno, deszcz i dzie艅 艣nieg, ciemne, szare i nie jest zbyt mi艂e. Nie by艂o jednak promie艅 s艂o艅ca na Joan. W ubieg艂ym tygodniu w Berlinie, kiedy siedzieli w Starbucks rozmawiali艣my o Starbucks czytanie zbli偶a si臋 Polska, ale widzieli艣my 偶adnych dowod贸w na to, jeszcze nie kawiarnia. Dzisiaj to zmieni膰.

Jak szukali艣my na wystaw臋 fotografii z Glos Wielkapolska (gazeta) Joan dosta艂 u艣miechem na twarzy i wskaza艂 na miejsce za wystaw臋. Istnieje w du偶ych kolor贸w zielonych i bia艂ych by艂y s艂owa: "Starbucks. Otwarcie wkr贸tce w tym miejscu". Lubi ich francuskimi Vanilla kawa i cho膰 z pewno艣ci膮 nie zast膮pi naszego tygodnika miejsce spotka艅 o Kandulski to jestem pewien, do艂o偶ymy kilka wizyt w tym miejscu w przysz艂o艣ci.

Inne ni偶 Browar nie zrobi艂a wiele w domu innym ni偶 nauka, Wzi臋艂am troch臋 drzemk臋 po po艂udniu i kolacji wyka艅czane sa艂atka Cobb, 偶e zrobi艂a wczoraj.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Saturdaze!

Not much going on today. Joan made a cheese cake and is making a Cobb salad for dinner tonight. Of all the types of salads this one seems to be our favorite because of the varieties of things that make it up. We were going to go to Browar today but it's so gloomy outside we decided to stay in. Tonight we'll do a Skype with the kids and grandkids at 5PM so that will be the highlight of our day and then maybe to bed early because we both didn't sleep well last night.

I think I've found a hook up on the internet to get the NCAA March Madness games so that will be a big plus if it works right. It's that time of the year for the college basketball championship march to start and it's one thing we do miss about the U.S.

It's lightly snowing outside now, winter just won't go away this year and we have had enough of it.

Nie wiele si臋 dzieje dzisiaj. Joan si臋 sernik i robi sa艂atka Cobb na kolacj臋 dzi艣 wieczorem. Spo艣r贸d wszystkich rodzaj贸w sa艂atek ten wydaje si臋 by膰 nasz ulubiony powodu odmian rzeczy, kt贸re czyni膮 go. Mieli艣my i艣膰 do Browaru dzi艣, ale jest tak ponury poza zdecydowali艣my si臋 zawiesi膰 in Tonight zrobimy Skype dzieci i wnuki 5pm tak, 偶e b臋dzie punktem naszych czas贸w, to mo偶e spa膰 wcze艣nie, bo jak nie dobrze spa膰 w nocy.

Mysl臋 偶e znale膰 pod艂膮czy膰 do internetu, aby uzyska膰 NCAA March Madness gry tak, 偶e b臋dzie du偶y plus, je艣li dzia艂a dobrze. To, 偶e raz w roku do koszyk贸wki kolegium marca do rozpocz臋cia mistrzostw i jest to jedna rzecz, kt贸r膮 robimy miss o USA

Jest lekko 艣nieg poza teraz, zim膮 po prostu nie odejdzie w tym roku i mieli艣my dosy膰.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Gas bill and house.

Poznan future canoe site.

I went this morning to ul. Grobla 15 to the gas company to find out why we haven't received a bill yet but they had no idea. They said they have mailed two bills out since Feb. 7 and it must be a post office problem. The clerk made a duplicate copy for me while I waited so when I came home Joan paid the bill via internet. Cost for December and January was 1,650 zl ($300 a month). I think that is a high amount but the flat has no exterior insulation so that factors into the reason and it was a cold two months. I can only hope our next bill will be lower.

We have had an interesting offer from a friend of Zbyszeks sons' father-in-law. He would like to know if we would live in a house he owns and take care of it for him. The house is furnished, is a stand alone house with yard and garden. There would be no rent charged and we would just pay the utilities and heating costs each month. He owns another house that he lives in and this house stands empty of people and no one is looking after it so he is looking for a reliable couple to take care of the place. He heard about us from Zbyszeks son, knows who we are and thinks we would be a good match for his caretaker needs. Maybe if we were not so comfortable in this flat, like living in Pozna艅 and the proximity to everything we would do it but the house is about an hours drive from Pozna艅. It's in a village/town near Leszno and so it would be too far from the places and we people we have grown to know in Pozna艅. It would be different if we had just moved to Poland and didn't establish friends and a relationship with Pozna艅.

I read today the stadium in Pozna艅 is almost ready for the EURO 2012 football championship matches and should be completed by June. 4 two-storey stands have been completed so far, although some of them are still lacking seats. Another completed element of the stadium is the roofing structure. At the moment, advanced works are being carried out on the structural elements needed to install the roofing structure – the so-called “membrane”. Filling in of the gaps serving as a passage way for the cranes during installation of the grates, and development of the corners of the stand 2 are at an advanced level. Ultimately, the Poznan stadium will be able to accommodate 40,000 spectators.

Another improvement in Pozna艅 is a pedestrian boulevard with benches, and in the future –a canoe marina and a restaurant–such will be the look of the Warta wharf within the area of Ul. Szel膮gowska in the district of Stare Winogrady.

Posz艂am dzi艣 rano na ul. Grobla 15 do gazowni, aby dowiedzie膰 si臋, dlaczego nie otrzymali jeszcze rachunku, ale nie mieli poj臋cia. M贸wili, 偶e s膮 wysy艂ane dwa projekty ustaw si臋 od 7 lutego i musi to by膰 problem z poczta. Urz臋dnik si臋 duplikat dla mnie, gdy czeka艂em wi臋c gdy wr贸ci艂em do domu, Joan zap艂aci艂 rachunku za po艣rednictwem Internetu. Koszt za grudzie艅 i stycze艅 by艂 1650 z艂 (300 dolar贸w miesi臋cznie). My艣l臋, 偶e jest wysokie kwoty, ale mieszkania nie ma izolacji zewn臋trznej, tak aby czynniki powodu i by艂o zimno dwa miesi膮ce. Mog臋 tylko nadziej臋, 偶e nasz nast臋pny rachunek b臋dzie ni偶szy.

Mieli艣my ciekaw膮 ofert臋 z przyjacielem ojca synowie Zbyszeks "-in-law. Chcia艂by wiedzie膰, czy b臋dziemy 偶y膰 w domu, posiada i b臋dzie o niego dba艂 o niego. Dom jest umeblowany, jest samodzielnym dom z dziedzi艅cem i ogrodem. Nie b臋dzie op艂ata w wysoko艣ci czynszu i b臋dziemy tylko p艂aci膰 u偶yteczno艣ci publicznej i koszty ogrzewania w ka偶dym miesi膮cu. Jest w艂a艣cicielem innego domu, 偶e 偶yje i ten dom stoi pusty os贸b i nikt nie patrzy po wi臋c poszukuje wiarygodnych para dba膰 o to miejsce. Us艂ysza艂 o nas z synem Zbyszeks wie, kim jeste艣my i my艣li, b臋dziemy dobrze dopasowane do jego potrzeb dozorcy. Mo偶e gdyby艣my nie by艂y tak wygodne, w tym mieszkanie, jakby mieszkali w Poznaniu i blisko艣ci wszystko chcemy zrobi膰, ale dom jest oko艂o godziny jazdy od Poznania. It's in wie艣 / miasteczko ko艂o Leszna i tak by艂oby zbyt daleko od miejsca i ludzi, my stali艣my si臋 dowiedzie膰 w Poznaniu. By艂oby inaczej, gdyby艣my po prostu przeni贸s艂 si臋 Polska i nie wykaza艂o przyjaci贸艂mi i relacji z Poznania.

Czyta艂em dzi艣 na stadionie w Poznaniu jest ju偶 prawie gotowa do organizacji EURO 2012w pi艂ce no偶nej na mecze i powinny zosta膰 zako艅czone do czerwca. 4 dwupi臋trowym stoi zosta艂y
zrealizowane do tej pory, mimo 偶e niekt贸re z nich wci膮偶 brakuje miejsc. Kolejnym elementem wype艂niony stadion jest struktura dach贸w. W chwili obecnej zaawansowane prace prowadzone s膮 na elementy konstrukcyjne niezb臋dne do instalacji konstrukcji dachowych - tak zwane "b艂ony". Wype艂nianie luk s艂u偶膮ce jako przej艣cie spos贸b 偶urawie podczas instalacji krat i rozw贸j rogach stoj膮 2 s膮 na zaawansowanym poziomie. Ostatecznie stadion w Poznaniu b臋dzie m贸g艂 pomie艣ci膰 40.000 widz贸w.

Kolejnym ulepszeniem w Poznaniu jest bulwar dla pieszych z 艂awkami, aw przysz艂o艣ci kajak przystani i restauracji taki b臋dzie wygl膮d nabrze偶a Warty w okolicy ul. Szel膮gowska w dzielnicy Stare Winogrady.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Gas bill.

I can't believe I'm still waiting for our gas bill to arrive. They mailed the first one on Feb.7th and we didn't get it. I called the office and they said they would send a duplicate last Friday and here it is, Thursday night, and I still did not receive it. Surely it can't take 5 days to go cross town in the mail. It takes 5 days for a letter to reach the U.S.!! I guess I will have to go to the gas office tomorrow to get the bill. I'm not complaining, I just wish things were more efficient.

Tomorrow is our traditional shopping day/Kandulski's day and I'm looking forward to seeing Zbyszek and telling him all about our trip. I think probably next time he will go with us. We'll also go to Galeria Malta because Joan needs to buy brown sugar and it's the only place we've found that sells brown sugar like in the U.S. There is also a health food store there for Joan to buy a few other things she wants.

Nie mog臋 uwierzy膰, 偶e jeszcze czekam na nasz rachunek za gaz by przyby膰. Oni wys艂ali pierwszy jeden na Feb.7th i nie dostali艣my tego. Nazwa艂em biuro i oni powiedzieli, 偶e oni wy艣l膮 kopii w zesz艂y pi膮tek i tutaj to jest, noc czwartku , i jeszcze nie otrzyma艂em tego. Pewnie to nie mo偶e zaj膮膰 5 dni by p贸j艣膰 poprzeczne miasto w poczcie. To zajmie 5 dni dla listu by osi膮gn膮膰 Stany Zjednoczone!! S膮dz臋, 偶e b臋d臋 musia艂 p贸j艣膰 do jutro biura gazu by dosta膰 rachunek. Nie skar偶臋 si臋, w艂a艣nie pragn臋, 偶eby rzeczy by艂y skuteczniejsze.

Jutro jest nasz tradycyjny robi膮cy zakupy dzie艅/Kandulski dzie艅 i ja oczekuj臋 widzenia Zbyszek i m贸wienie mu wszystko o naszej podr贸偶y. My艣l臋 prawdopodobnie na drugi raz on p贸jdzie z nami. Te偶 pojedziemy do Galeria Malty poniewa偶 potrzeby Joan by kupi膰 cukier nieoczyszczony i to jest jedyne miejsce, kt贸re znale藕li艣my, kt贸rzy sprzedaj膮 cukier nieoczyszczony jak w Stanach Zjednoczonych s膮 te偶 sklep ze zdrow膮 偶ywno艣ci膮 tam dla Joan by kupi膰 kilka inne rzeczy, kt贸rych ona chce.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Wednesday




Nice sunny day today so I went to Carrefour to get some bread and butter, buy a light bulb at Castorama and returned home to do my repetitions on the new software Polish program we are currently using.

Joan spent the afternoon baking cinnamon rolls and preparing the chicken for tonights dinner, chicken style flacki. 呕urek, chicken flacki and potatoe soup seem to be our favorites so far although the white barszcz we had for Christmas was also excellent.

We have a guest coming at the end of the month from Hungary so we are preparing a plan for places to visit while she is here for two days. She is actually from Minnesota but is doing some work in Hungary and coming to Pozna艅 to meet us. Another benefit of writing this blog is meeting people I probably never would have met if they didn't read the blog.

Nice s艂oneczny dzie艅 dzi艣, wi臋c uda艂em si臋 do Carrefour troch臋 chleba i mas艂a, kupi膰 偶ar贸wk臋 w Castorama i wr贸ci艂 do domu do moich powt贸rze艅 na nowe oprogramowanie program Polski jeste艣my aktualnie u偶ywasz.

Joan sp臋dzi艂 popo艂udnie pieczenia rolkach cynamonem i przygotowanie kurczaka na tonights obiad, flacki stylu kurczaka. 呕urek, flacki kurczaka i ziemniak贸w, zupy wydaje si臋 nasze ulubione pory chocia偶 bia艂y barszcz mieli艣my na Bo偶e Narodzenie by艂a doskona艂a.

Mamy go艣ci pochodz膮cych z ko艅cem miesi膮ca od W臋gier tak jeste艣my w trakcie przygotowywania planu miejsc do odwiedzenia podczas gdy ona jest tu na dwa dni. Ona jest faktycznie z Minnesoty, ale robot臋 na W臋grzech i przyje偶d偶a do Poznania na spotkanie z nami. Kolejn膮 korzy艣ci膮 z pisania tego bloga jest spotkanie ludzi, kt贸rych prawdopodobnie nigdy nie by艂by spe艂niony, je偶eli nie czyta膰 bloga.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Heating Crisis.

After a morning of cleaning house, it seemed to be getting a little colder in the house instead of warmer with the sunshine coming in and that's when I discovered our water heater was no longer working and the temperature had dropped from 55 down to 10. Plus the light was flashing on the counter so I knew that wasn't a good thing. I had no idea what that meant and couldn't find the answer in the manual, all I knew was that the water was cold and no heat was coming out of the radiators. I thought maybe the gas company had cut off our gas because we still haven't received the bill for the last two months for payment. I did call them last week and they said they would send a duplicate last Friday but we haven't received it yet. So the next step was to call the landlord to ask for his assistance but he wasn't answering his phone.

On the heater was the phone number to the installer of the unit so I called him. He didn't speak English but I was able to tell him the problem, where we lived and he said he would be here in an hour to look at the unit.

He arrived, looked at the unit and said the flashing light meant that the unit was not getting any water. In the morning it was working well, but in the afternoon it stopped. We didn't do anything to the unit so I don't know why all of a sudden the water stopped flowing. He fixed the problem, wrote me out a bill for 50 zl, which I paid and will give to the landord to take off of next months rent. So the crisis is over and we have heat again.

Po rano sprz膮tanie domu, zdawa艂o si臋 by膰 coraz zimniej troch臋 w domu zamiast ciep艂ych s艂onecznych z najbli偶szych i to gdy odkry艂em naszych podgrzewacz wody ju偶 nie dzia艂a, a temperatura spad艂 z 55 do 10. Plus 艣wiat艂o migaj膮ce na liczniku, wi臋c wiedzia艂em, 偶e nie by艂o dobrze. Nie mia艂em poj臋cia, co to oznacza i nie mo偶e znale藕膰 odpowiedzi w podr臋czniku, Wiedzia艂em to, 偶e woda by艂a zimna i ciep艂a nie wychodzi艂 z grzejnikami. My艣la艂em, 偶e mo偶e gazowni odci膮艂 naszego gazu, bo jeszcze nie otrzyma艂 rachunek za ostatnie dwa miesi膮ce do zap艂aty. Zrobi艂em do nich dzwoni膰 w ubieg艂ym tygodniu i powiedzieli, 偶e oni wys艂a膰 dw贸ch egzemplarzach w ostatni pi膮tek, ale nie otrzymali艣my jeszcze jej. Tak wi臋c nast臋pnym krokiem by艂o po艂膮czenie wynajmuj膮cemu prosi膰 o pomoc, ale nie by艂 w odpowiedzi na jego telefon.

Na grzejnik by艂 numer telefonu do instalatora jednostki wi臋c zadzwoni艂em do niego. On nie m贸wi po angielsku, ale by艂em w stanie powiedzie膰 mu problem, gdzie 偶y艂 i powiedzia艂, 偶e b臋dzie tu godzin patrze膰 na jednostk臋.

Przyjecha艂, popatrzy艂 na jednostki i powiedzia艂, 偶e migaj膮ce 艣wiat艂o oznacza, 偶e jednostka nie otrzymuj臋 偶adnych wody. Rano pracowa艂 dobrze, ale w godzinach popo艂udniowych zosta艂 zatrzymany. Nie robi膰 nic, aby jednostka, wi臋c nie wiem dlaczego nagle woda przesta艂a p艂yn膮膰. Utkwi艂 problem, napisa艂 mi na rachunek za 50 z艂, kt贸re zap艂aci艂em i da landord do startu nast臋pnego czynszu miesi臋cy. Wi臋c kryzys si臋 sko艅czy i mamy ciep艂a ponownie.

Monday, March 08, 2010

Back from Berlin.






We set out on a cloudy and cold day for our trip to Berlin. It would get colder in Berlin and that was the main theme of the weekend..............cold. Despite that, it was a fantastic trip but not one I would repeat again in March of any year in the future. Warm weather will will be the first characteristic of our next trip to Berlin in the future. We froze our little a#@# off when we were outside and walked fast from place to place.

Leaving Poznan and taking the motorway(tollway) the road drives very fast and you can make good time heading west. However, this road ends at Nowy Tomysl and from that point on to the border of Germany it is only a two lane road and so travel is slow. It is a glaring difference between Poland and Germany, the road systems. In Germany, road travel is fast, in Poland it is not most of the time. Yes, there are some newer roads that allow quick travel but it is beyond my comprehension why there is not, at least, a motorway all the way to Warsay, the capitol city.
Anyway, once we reached Germany, travel was quick to our destination and Grzegorz, one of our traveling companions, had his GPS system connected so it was easy to find our destination, the Hotel Nova, on the east side of Berlin in the suburb of Lichtenberg. I must send a thank you here to the reader who recommended it. The hotel was nice, an older hotel and located right across the street from the S-bahn station for easy access to Berlin and the places we wanted to visit. In the hotel is the usual display of pamphlets of places to see as well as maps of both the S-bahn and U-bahn innercity train systems. Also fortunate for us was the discovery by Malgosia, Grzegorz wife, of a Salvador Dali exhibition and since she, Joan and I are huge fans of Dali, it was added to our places to go to.

Our first stop was at Pottsdamer Platz, to view the Sony Center.
In the 1920s Potsdamer Platz was one of the most prominent business districts in Berlin with its department stores, government offices and hotels such as the luxury Grand Hotel Esplanade. Caf茅 Josty used to be a famous location for Berlin’s high society.

As one of the most central places, Potsdamer Platz developed into an important traffic junction with up to 20,000 cars per day. At this location the first traffic light system in Europe was installed in 1924.

During the Second World War main parts of the Potsdamer Platz were destroyed. In 1961the Berlin wall was built, the square was divided into two parts and became stranded between East and West Germany.

On this historic ground, a modern ensemble emerged that opened in June 2000 and that fascinates its visitors by its airiness and transparency. The International star architect Helmut Jahn has created a trend-setting complex of buildings, in which the center the light flooded Forum is located. The open, public space offers a natural atmosphere all year round.

From here the 103 metre tall, glass office tower, the integrated historic Emperor’s Hall (Kaisersaal) and the other buildings are just a few footsteps away. The concept of Helmut Jahn impresses with transparent design, implemented through glass facades, sophisticated light reflections and light refractions.

We were cold by the time we reached the Center so we decided to have coffee and pastries in one of the cafes. Believe it or not, I had ice cream and coffee. It was really good.

From the Center we walked to the national art gallery, housed in a building designed by Mies van der Rohe. The New National Gallery, the famous "temple of light and glass" houses the collection of 20th century European painting and sculpture. Ranging from early modern art to art of the 1960s, the collection includes works by Munch, Kirchner, Picasso, Klee, Feininger, Dix, Kokoschka, and many others. What is unique about this gallery is that it is all underground. When you enter the building the ground floor is completely devoid on anything, it is just one great open space. We only went to this building for it's architectural importance so we didn't go downstairs to see the exhibits. Our goal was the Dali exhibits, several blocks away and a cold walk to get there. Along the way were many interesting new buildings, many different kinds of designs and before we reached it we passed by the infamous Checkpoint Charlie. Joan was there some 40 years ago when the Berlin wall seperated Berlin and remembers her experience going from west Berlin to east Berlin. Of course, now it is just a tourist attraction with some pieces of the wall on display.
It was also interesting to me that the soldiers wearing the American uniforms in the pictures I took were actually Germans.

Leaving the checkpoint we ventured on to the Dali Exhibition. Opening on 5 February 2009, Dali - The Exhibition on Potsdamer Platz is the latest addition to the booming Potsdamer Platz area of Berlin. Around 450 pieces are on show, demonstrating the multi-faceted creations of the eccentric Surrealist artist. Many of the pieces I saw I have never seen before. I think we spent about 2 1/2 hours there. Salvador Dal铆 - one of the most gifted artists of modernity, his works and self-directed in spectacular fashion. "Surrealism for all" - in this sense are now over 400 exhibits from work and life of this dazzling personality permanently in Berlin's center look directly at the Potsdamer Platz. This new institutional culture permits the visitor
probably the most comprehensive insight into Dali's work as a great Masters in almost all the techniques of art. The exhibition mainly drawings, illustrated books, documents and working documents, original graphics and complete portfolios, three-dimensional works, multiple objects and sculptures, as well as time accompanying reports, images and films.

Our last stop for the day was the Jewish Museum. The Jewish Museum Berlin (J眉disches Museum Berlin), In Berlin, Germany, covers two millennia of German Jewish history. It consists of two buildings. One is the old Kollegienhaus, a former courthouse, built in the 18th century. The other, a new addition built specifically for the museum, designed by world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind. This was one of the first buildings in Berlin designed after German reunification. The museum opened to the public in 2001.

Princeton professor W. Michael Blumenthal, who was born near Berlin and was later President Jimmy Carter'S Secretary of the Treasury, has been the director of the museum since December 1997. The museum adjoins the old Berlin Museum and sits on land that was both East and West Berlin before the Berlin Wall fell. The Museum itself, consisting of about 161.000 square feet, is a twisted zig-zag and is accessible only via an underground passage from the Berlin Museum's baroque wing. Its shape is reminiscent of a warped Star of David. A "Void," an empty space about 66feet (20 meters) tall, linearly slices through the entire building. Menashe Kadishman's Shalechet (Fallen leaves) Installation fills the void with 10.000 coarse iron faces. An irregular matrix of windows cuts in all orientations across the building's facade. A thin layer of zinc coats the building's exterior, which will oxidize and turn bluish as it weathers. The floor are rather unique in that they are slanted in different directions and give you a feeling of uneasiness as you walk over them. A second underground tunnel connects the Museum to the proper E.T.A. Hoffmann Garden, or the Garden of Exile, whose foundation is tilted. The Garden's Oleaster grows out of reach, Atop 49 tall pillars.

The final underground tunnel leads from the Museum to the Holocaust Tower, a 79 foot tall empty silo. The bare concrete tower is neither heated nor cooled, and its only light comes from a small slit in its roof.

Similar to Libeskind's first building, the Felix Nussbaum Haus, The museum consists of three spaces. All three of the underground tunnels, or "axes," intersect and may represent the connection between the three realities of Jewish life in Germany, as symbolized by each of the three spaces: "Continuity with German history, Emigration from Germany, and the Holocaust.

The Jewish Museum Berlin was Daniel Libeskind's first major international success.

We walked back to the S-Bahn station in darkeness about 8PM and went back to Lichtenberg. I think we were all somewhat tired from the cold winds and looking forward to a nice dinner somewhere near the hotel. We found Belle Mare, and nice little restaurant, had a good, hot dinner and went back to our hotel for a good nights rest.

Sunday morning we woke at 9AM and prepared to meet Grzegorz and Malgosia in the lobby. We didn't know they had breakfast in their room so after meeting we had to stop at a little delicatessan where Joan and I had kebabs for breafast.

Two block away we boarded the S-Bahn for a trip to the Reichstag building. We didn't know what lay in store for us. Walking up to the building we discovered a lonnnnnnnnnnnng line of people waiting outside to enter the building. We decided to wait in line in turns, first they waited while I walked around the building taking exterior pictures of interest to me and then we replaced Grzegorz while he took pictures he wanted. The wind was blowing, it was cold and the wait was long. I think we stood in line for an hour or more until we were finally able to get inside the building. Inside the building there was another waiting period because they only have one security checkpoint and it took a long time before we were put through the x-ray check point for admittance.

The only thing open to see was was the dome at the top of the building so we waited for the elevator to take us to the top. The Reichstag building itself was gutted by fire, the former home of German democracy was further damaged during Allied bombing of Berlin in World War II. It was left in this run-down state until the 1960s, when it was opened as a conference center. The Reichstag was the site of the German reunification ceremonies at midnight on October 2, 1990.

Foster and Partners won a commission in 1992 to transform the building into the new home for the unified German Parliament. The Foster team's design focuses on making the processes of government more transparent. Foster's dome is a gleaming metal and glass structure with a ramp that spirals up a to a roof terrace with 360-degree views of central Berlin. The dome overlooks the debating chamber for the Bundestag and a central mirrored cone draws light into the plenary chamber. The design also preserves remnants of the building's colorful past, including graffiti left by the Red Army in 1945.

Finshed with the Reichstag building it was getting close to the time to leave back to Poland but we wanted to see the Brandenburg gate yet so we walked there. The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) is a former city gate and one of the main symbols of Berlin and Germany. It is located west of the city center at the junction of Unter den Linden and Ebertstra脽e, immediately west of the Pariser Platz. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which one formerly entered Berlin. One block to the north stands the Reichstag building. The gate is the monumental entry to Unter den Linden, the renowned boulevard of linden trees which formerly led directly to the city palace of the Prussian monarchs. It was commissioned by King Frederick William II of Prussia as a sign of peace and built by Carl Gotthard Langhans from 1788 to 1791. The Brandenburg Gate was restored from 2000 to 2002 by the Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). Today, it is considered one of Europe's most famous landmarks.

There is a Starbuck coffee shop nearby so we stopped in to have coffee and warm up a little before we went back to the S-bahn and back to the hotel. Our bags were already in the car so we got in and returned to Poznan.

To sum it all up, despite the cold weather, we had a wonderful time, enjoyed very much spending the two days with our friends, saw some beautiful places, had a good dinner, nice room, good location and are looking forward to going back to Berlin.

There is a slideshow on the right of our trip. I labelled many of the pictures so you will know what you are looking at.

Ruszyli艣my w dzie艅 pochmurno i zimno do naszego wyjazdu do Berlina. Wydaje si臋 ch艂odniejszy w Berlinie i by艂o g艂贸wnym tematem weekend .............. zimno. Pomimo, 偶e by艂a fantastyczna podr贸偶 nie ale pragn臋 powt贸rzy膰 jeszcze raz marca ka偶dego roku, w przysz艂o艣ci. Ciep艂a pogoda b臋dzie pierwsz膮 cech膮 naszej nast臋pnej podr贸偶y do Berlina w przysz艂o艣ci. Mamy zamrozi艂a naszego ma艂ego # @ # off, kiedy byli艣my na zewn膮trz i podszed艂 szybko z miejsca na miejsce.

Pozostawienie w Poznaniu oraz przy autostradzie (tollway) drogi dysk贸w bardzo szybko i mo偶na zrobi膰 dobry czas pozycj膮 zach贸d. Jednak ta droga ko艅czy si臋 w Nowy Tomy艣l i od tego momentu a偶 do granicy Niemiec jest tylko dw贸ch pasach ruchu, a wi臋c sztuka jest powolna. Jest to ra偶膮ce r贸偶nice mi臋dzy Polska i Niemcami, sieci dr贸g. W Niemczech, jazdy na drogach jest szybki w Polska nie jest przez wi臋kszo艣膰 czasu. Tak, istnieje kilka nowych dr贸g, kt贸re umo偶liwiaj膮 szybk膮 podr贸偶, ale to jest poza moim zrozumieniem, dlaczego nie jest, co najmniej, autostrady a偶 do Warsay, stolicy.
Anyway, po dotarli艣my Niemcy, sztuka szybko do naszego przeznaczenia, a Grzegorz jednego z naszych towarzyszy podr贸偶y, 偶e jego system GPS pod艂膮czony tak 艂atwo by艂o znale藕膰 naszego przeznaczenia, Hotel Nova, na wsch贸d od Berlina, w dzielnicy Lichtenberg. Musz臋 wys艂a膰 dzi臋kuj臋 tutaj, aby czytelnik, kt贸ry jest zalecany. The hotel was nice, starszych i hotel usytuowany naprzeciwko S-Bahn na 艂atwy dost臋p do Berlina i miejsca chcieli艣my odwiedzi膰. W hotelu jest zwyk艂y wy艣wietlacz broszur z miejsc do zobaczenia, jak r贸wnie偶 mapy zar贸wno S-bahn i U-bahn Innercity system贸w kolejowych. R贸wnie偶 szcz臋艣cie dla nas by艂o odkrycie przez Ma艂gosia, 偶ona Grzegorza, z wystawy Salvadora Dali, a od roku, Joan i ja jeste艣my wielkimi fanami Dali, by艂 dodany do naszego, gdzie nale偶y.

Nasz pierwszy przystanek by艂 w Pottsdamer Platz, aby zobaczy膰 Sony Center.
W 1920 Potsdamer Platz by艂 jednym z najwa偶niejszych centr贸w biznesowych w Berlinie z domami handlowymi, urz臋dami i hoteli, takich jak luksusowy Grand Hotel Esplanade. Kawiarnia Josty kiedy艣 s艂ynne miejsce dla wy偶szych sfer Berlina.

W jednym z miejsc najbardziej centralnych, Potsdamer Platz si臋 wa偶nym w臋z艂em ruchu z maksymalnie 20.000 samochod贸w na dob臋. W tym miejscu pierwszym 艣wiat艂ach w Europie system zosta艂 zainstalowany w 1924 roku.

Podczas II wojny 艣wiatowej cz臋艣ci g艂贸wnych Potsdamer Platz zosta艂y zniszczone. W 1961the muru berli艅skiego zosta艂 zbudowany, Plac zosta艂 podzielony na dwie cz臋艣ci i sta艂 si臋 osieroconych mi臋dzy Wschodem i Zachodem w Niemczech.

W tym historycznym terenie, nowoczesny zesp贸艂 okaza艂o si臋, 偶e otwarty w czerwcu 2000 r. i 偶e fascynuje zwiedzaj膮cych przez jego lekko艣膰 i przejrzysto艣膰. International star architekt Helmut Jahn stworzy艂 wyznaczaj膮cych nowe trendy kompleks budynk贸w, w kt贸rych centrum 艣wietle zalane Forum znajduje. Otwarte, przestrzeni publicznej oferty naturalnych atmosferze przez ca艂y rok.

St膮d 103 m wysoko艣ci, wie偶y biurowej szk艂a, zintegrowany historyczne Emperor's Hall (Kaisersaal) i inne budynki, to tylko kilka krok贸w. Poj臋cie Helmut Jahn imponuje przejrzysty projekt, realizowany poprzez szklane fasady, wyrafinowane odbicia 艣wiat艂a i za艂amania 艣wiat艂a.

Byli艣my zimno czasie dotarli艣my do centrum, wi臋c decydujemy si臋 na kaw臋 i ciasto w jednej z kawiarni. Wierzcie lub nie, mia艂em lody i kaw臋. To by艂 naprawd臋 dobry.

Od Centrum poszli艣my do National Gallery sztuki, mie艣ci si臋 w budynku zaprojektowanym przez Miesa van der Rohe. Nowa Galeria Narodowa, s艂ynne "艣wi膮tyni 艣wiat艂a i szk艂a" mie艣ci si臋 biblioteka 20th Century malarstwa europejskiego i rze藕by. Od pocz膮tku sztuki wsp贸艂czesnej sztuce lat 1960, wchodz膮 dzie艂a Muncha, Kirchner, Picassa, Klee, Feininger, Dix, Kokoschka, i wiele innych. Co ciekawe o tej galerii jest to, 偶e wszystkie podziemne. Po wpisaniu budynku na parterze jest ca艂kowicie pozbawiony na niczym, jest to jedna wielka otwarta przestrze艅. Mamy tylko poszed艂 do budynku do architektury to znaczenie, wi臋c nie zej艣膰 na d贸艂, aby zobaczy膰 eksponaty. Naszym celem by艂o wystawy Dalego, kilka przecznic dalej i zimno chodzi膰 tam dosta膰. Po drodze by艂o wiele interesuj膮cych nowych budynk贸w, r贸偶nego rodzaju wzor贸w i zanim osi膮gn臋艂y przesz艂y przez s艂ynny Checkpoint Charlie. Joan by艂o oko艂o 40 lat temu, kiedy to mur berli艅ski oddzielone Berlinie i pami臋ta jej do艣wiadczenie b臋dzie z Berlina Zachodniego do Berlina Wschodniego. Oczywi艣cie, teraz jest tylko atrakcj膮 turystyczn膮 niekt贸re fragmenty muru na wy艣wietlaczu.
By艂 on r贸wnie偶 interesuj膮ce dla mnie, 偶e noszenie ameryka艅skich 偶o艂nierzy w mundurach zdj臋cia bra艂em rzeczywi艣cie Niemc贸w.

Pozostawienie przej艣cia mamy odwa偶y艂 si臋 na Dali targ贸w. Otwarcie w dniu 5 lutego 2009, Dali - Wystawa na Potsdamer Platz to najnowszy dodatek do dynamicznie rozwijaj膮cym si臋 obszarze Potsdamer Platz w Berlinie. Oko艂o 450 sztuk s膮 na show, wykazuj膮c wieloaspektowy tw贸rczo艣膰 ekscentrycznego artysty surrealizmu. Wiele element贸w widzia艂em nigdy nie widzia艂. My艣l臋, 偶e sp臋dzili艣my oko艂o 2 1 / 2 godzin. Salvador Dal铆 - jedna z najbardziej utalentowanych artyst贸w z nowoczesno艣ci膮, jego dzie艂 i w艂asnej re偶yserii w spektakularnym stylu. "Surrealizm dla ka偶dego" - w tym sensie jest teraz ponad 400 eksponat贸w z 偶ycia zawodowego i tego dazzling osobowo艣膰 stale w centrum Berlina patrze膰 bezpo艣rednio na Potsdamer Platz. To nowe instytucjonalne kultury pozwala odwiedzaj膮cym
prawdopodobnie najbardziej wszechstronny wgl膮d w prace Dalego, jak wielkich mistrz贸w, w niemal wszystkich technik sztuki. Wystawa g艂贸wnie rysunki, ilustracje ksi膮偶ek, dokument贸w i dokument贸w roboczych, oryginalne grafiki i pe艂ne portfele, tr贸jwymiarowe dzie艂a, wiele obiekt贸w i rze藕b, a tak偶e czas towarzysz膮cych mu sprawozda艅, zdj臋膰 i film贸w.

Nasz ostatni przystanek na dzie艅 Jewish Museum. Muzeum 呕ydowskie w Berlinie (J眉disches Museum Berlin), Berlin, Niemcy, obejmuje dwa tysi膮ce niemiecko-偶ydowskiej historii. Sk艂ada si臋 z dw贸ch budynk贸w. Jednym z nich jest stary Kollegienhaus, by艂ego s膮du, zbudowany w 18 wieku. Inne, nowy dodatek stworzone specjalnie dla muzeum, zaprojektowane przez 艣wiatowej s艂awy architekta Daniela Libeskinda. By艂 to jeden z pierwszych budynk贸w w Berlinie, zaprojektowane po zjednoczeniu Niemiec. Muzeum otwarto dla publiczno艣ci w 2001 roku.

Princeton profesor W. Michael Blumenthal, kt贸ry urodzi艂 si臋 w okolicach Berlina, a p贸藕niej prezydent Jimmy Carter sekretarz skarbu, by艂 dyrektorem Muzeum od grudnia 1997. Muzeum przylega do starego Berlina Muzeum i siada na ziemi, kt贸ra by艂a zar贸wno Wschodu, jak i Berlina Zachodniego przed upadkiem Muru Berli艅skiego. Muzeum si臋, sk艂adaj膮c膮 si臋 z oko艂o 161.000 metr贸w kwadratowych, jest skr臋cana zygzakowatej i jest dost臋pny tylko poprzez przej艣cie podziemne od baroku skrzyd艂a Berlin Muzeum. Jego kszta艂t przypomina wypaczony gwiazd膮 Dawida. "Void" pusta przestrze艅 o 66feet (20 m) wysoko艣ci, liniowo plastry w ca艂ym budynku. Menashe Kadishman's Shalechet (Fallen leaves) Instalacja wype艂nia niewa偶ne z 10.000 grubej 偶elaza twarze. Nieregularne matrycy okien ci臋膰 we wszystkich kierunkach w ca艂ej elewacji budynku. Cienk膮 warstw膮 pow艂ok cynkowych budynku z zewn膮trz, kt贸re b臋d膮 utlenia膰 i skr臋ci膰 w niebieskawy jak pogod臋. Pod艂oga jest raczej wyj膮tkowy, poniewa偶 s膮 pochylone w r贸偶nych kierunkach i daje uczucie niepokoju podczas spaceru nad nimi. Drugi podziemny tunel 艂膮cz膮cy Muzeum w艂a艣ciwego ETA Hoffmann ogr贸d, czy Ogr贸d uchod藕stwie, kt贸rej podstaw膮 jest nachylony. Garden Oleaster ro艣nie poza zasi臋giem, szczycie 49 wysokich filarach.

Ko艅cowy podziemnego tunelu prowadz膮cego z Muzeum Holocaustu Tower, 79 st贸p wysoko艣ci silosu pusty. Go艂e betonowej wie偶y nie jest ogrzewany, ani ch艂odzenie, i tylko 艣wiat艂o pochodzi z ma艂ych szczelin臋 w dachu.

Podobny do pierwszego budynku Libeskinda, Felix Nussbaum Haus, muzeum sk艂ada si臋 z trzech pomieszcze艅. Wszystkie trzy podziemne tunele, albo "osi", przecinaj膮 i mo偶e stanowi膰 po艂膮czenie mi臋dzy trzema reali贸w 偶ycia 呕yd贸w w Niemczech, symbolizowane przez ka偶dego z trzech pomieszcze艅: "Ci膮g艂o艣膰 z historii Niemiec, emigracja z Niemiec, i Holokau艣cie .

Muzeum 呕ydowskie w Berlinie by艂a pierwsz膮 powa偶n膮 Daniela Libeskinda w mi臋dzynarodowe sukcesy.

Weszli艣my z powrotem do stacji S-Bahn w darkeness o 8PM i wr贸ci艂 do Lichtenberg. My艣l臋, 偶e wszyscy byli艣my troch臋 zm臋czeni od zimnych wiatr贸w i czeka na dobr膮 kolacj臋 gdzie艣 w pobli偶u hotelu. Znale藕li艣my Belle Mare, a nice little restauracja, mia艂 dobr膮, ciep艂膮 kolacj臋 i wr贸ci艂a do hotelu na spokojny sen.

Niedziela rano obudzili艣my si臋 9AM i przygotowane do spe艂nienia Grzegorz i Ma艂gosia w holu. Nie wiedz膮, 偶e zjedli艣my 艣niadanie w pokoju, tak po spotkaniu musieli艣my zatrzyma膰 si臋 nieco delicatessan gdzie Joan i mia艂em kebaby dla breafast.

Dwa block away my wsiedli S-Bahn na wycieczk臋 do budynku Reichstagu. Nie wiedzieli艣my, co ich czeka za nami. Zwiedzanie do budynku odkryli艣my lonnnnnnnnnnnng kolejki na zewn膮trz, aby wej艣膰 do budynku. Zdecydowali艣my si臋 czeka膰 w kolejce na zmian臋, najpierw czekali natomiast chodzi艂 wok贸艂 budynku przy zewn臋trznej zdj臋cia interesuje mnie i wtedy otrzymuje Grzegorz natomiast wzi膮艂 zdj臋cia chcia艂. Wiatr wia艂, by艂o zimno i by艂o d艂ugo czeka膰. My艣l臋, 偶e stali艣my w kolejce do godziny lub wi臋cej, a偶 uda艂o nam si臋 dosta膰 do wn臋trza budynku. Wewn膮trz budynku nie by艂o innego okresu oczekiwania, poniewa偶 tylko jedno zabezpieczenie przej艣cia i d艂ugo trwa艂o zanim zosta艂y wprowadzone poprzez x-litera rentgenowskiego o przyj臋cie.

Jedyn膮 rzecz膮, aby by艂a otwarta zosta艂a kopu艂膮 na szczycie budynku, tak czekali艣my na wind臋, 偶eby nas na g贸r臋. Reichstag sam zosta艂 zniszczony przez po偶ar, dawnego domu niemieckiej demokracji jeszcze bardziej uszkodzony podczas bombardowa艅 alianckich w Berlinie w II wojnie 艣wiatowej. To pozosta艂o w tym zdegradowanych stanie a偶 do 1960, kiedy to zosta艂 otwarty jako centrum konferencyjne. Reichstag by艂 miejscem uroczysto艣ci zjednoczenia Niemiec o p贸艂nocy 2 pa藕dziernika 1990.

Foster and Partners wygra艂 Komisj臋 w 1992 r. w celu przekszta艂cenia budynku w nowym domu jednolity Parlament niemiecki. Zesp贸艂 Foster projekt koncentruje si臋 na procesach rz膮du bardziej przejrzyste. Kopu艂y Foster jest metalem, l艣ni膮ce i struktury szk艂a na ziemi, 偶e spirale si臋 na taras na dachu z 360 ods艂on stopnia w centrum Berlina. Kopu艂y wychodzi debaty izby Bundestagu i centralne odzwierciedlenie sto偶ek czerpie 艣wiat艂o w sali plenarnej. Projekt r贸wnie偶 zachowuje resztki budynku kolorowe przesz艂o艣ci, w tym graffiti pozostawione przez Armi臋 Czerwon膮 w 1945 roku.

FINSHED z Reichstag by艂 zbli偶aj膮 si臋 do czasu opuszczenia powr贸t do Polska, ale chcieli艣my, aby zobaczy膰 Bramy Brandenburskiej, a tak poszli艣my tam. Brama Brandenburska (niem.: Brama Brandenburska), by艂y bramy miasta i jeden z g艂贸wnych symboli Berlina i Niemiec. Jest po艂o偶ony na zach贸d od centrum miasta przy skrzy偶owaniu ulicy Unter den Linden i Ebertstra脽e, bezpo艣rednio na zach贸d od Pariser Platz. Jest to jedyne bramy serii, przez kt贸r膮 wcze艣niej wszed艂 w Berlinie. Jeden blok na p贸艂noc stoi budynek Reichstagu. Bramy monumentalne wej艣cie na Unter den Linden, s艂ynny bulwar z lipy, kt贸re wcze艣niej doprowadzi艂y bezpo艣rednio do pa艂acu miasto kr贸l贸w pruskich. To by艂o na zlecenie King Frederick William II Hohenzollern jako znak pokoju i zbudowany przez Carla Gottharda Langhansa od 1788 by 1791. Brama Brandenburska zosta艂a przywr贸cona od 2000 do 2002 r. przez Stiftung Denkmalschutz Berlin (Berlin Monument Conservation Foundation). Dzi艣 jest uwa偶any za jeden z punkt贸w orientacyjnych w Europie najbardziej znanych.

Nie ma kawiarni Starbuck w pobli偶u wi臋c zatrzymali艣my si臋 na kaw臋 i ogrza膰 troch臋 zanim wr贸cili艣my do S-Bahn i powr贸t do hotelu. Nasze torby ju偶 w samochodzie, wi臋c mamy i wr贸ci艂 do Poznania.

W sumie to wszystko si臋 mimo zimna, mieli艣my wspania艂y czas, cieszy艂 si臋 bardzo du偶o wydatk贸w dw贸ch dni z naszych przyjaci贸艂, zobaczy艂em kilka pi臋knych miejsc, 偶e dobry obiad, nice room, good location, a mog膮 si臋 ju偶 doczeka膰 powrotu do Berlina.

Nie jest pokaz slajd贸w na prawo naszej podr贸偶y. I oznakowane wiele zdj臋膰 wi臋c wiesz czego szukasz w.

Friday, March 05, 2010

Preparation.

Food shopping today......68 zl because we will be gone for the weekend. It started out sunny and clear, clouded over in the afternoon and then the snow began. Furiously it flew onto the ground, covered everything and soon it was a winter wonderland again. It just won't give up and let spring slip in early. That's OK, the scenery was beautiful with the new fallen snow and it will go away quickly. Tomorrow it is suppose to be 4c with light snow in Berlin and Sunday 5c with clear skies and sunny.

Joan's packing our clothes for the trip and then making sandwiches for the drive. Stopped at our favorite little meat market today and bought a pound of szynki domowy (ham) for the sandwiches. I have this from different places but this little shop has the best I have tasted. She is not a big favorite of ham but for this trip she will eat it.

So we're off to Berlin in the morning and won't write this blog again until we return Sunday night. I will put up the pictures I take as soon as I can and tell you about our little trip. Bye for now.

Zakupy spo偶ywcze dzi艣 ...... 68 z艂, poniewa偶 b臋dziemy poszed艂 na weekend. Zacz臋艂o si臋 s艂oneczny i jasny, chmurzy si臋 po po艂udniu i wtedy 艣nieg zacz膮艂. W艣ciekle lecia艂 na ziemi臋, pokryty wszystko i wkr贸tce by艂o winter wonderland ponownie. To po prostu nie da i wypuszcza膰 na pocz膮tku wiosny. That's OK, krajobraz by艂 pi臋kny z nowym 艣nieg spad艂 i zniknie on szybko. Jutro to przypuszcza膰 nale偶y 4c 艣wiat艂em 艣niegu w Berlinie i niedziel臋 5c z jasnego nieba i deszczu.

Joanny pakowania ubra艅 na wyjazd, a nast臋pnie podejmowania kanapki na dysku. Zatrzymane w naszej ulubionej rynku mi臋sa dzisiaj troch臋 i kupi艂 kilo domowy szynki (szynka) do kanapek. Mam to z r贸偶nych miejsc, ale to ma艂y sklep ma najlepsze mam posmakowa膰. Nie du偶a ulubionej szynki, ale dla tej podr贸偶y b臋dzie jej je艣膰.

Wi臋c idziemy do Berlina w godzinach porannych i nie pisa膰 tego bloga ponownie, a偶 wr贸cimy w niedziel臋 wieczorem. B臋d臋 si臋 zdj臋cia bior臋 jak tylko mog臋 i opowiedzie膰 o naszej ma艂ej wycieczki. Na razie.

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Pozna艅 happenings.


A nice day today with sunshine, blue skies and 6c temperature. Not bad.

There is a lot going on in Pozna艅. Two of the highest-class office buildings will be completed in this year in Poznan: the Skalar Office on ul. Hetma艅ska, and another building at the Malta Office Park on Ul. Baraniaka.

Gingerbread hearts, blini, cepelinai and cranberry jelly. All this will be available for tasting during this year’s Kaziuki Fair, a tradition brought to Poznan by
Vilnius’ repatriates. The patron saint of Kaziuki is St. Casimir, Polish prince and Duke of Lithuania, grandson of W艂adys艂aw Jagie艂艂o, one of the greatest Polish kings. Casimir played a special role in the history of Lithuania and later became its patron
saint. This year the Kaziuki Fair is to take place on Sunday, the 7th of March. It will start at 11:15 am with a presentation of the banners Wielkopolskan troops
who took part in the Battle of Grunwald, where the combined might of Poland and Lithuania defeated the Teutonic army and whose 600th anniversary we will be celebrating on the 10th of July.

Mi艂y dzie艅 dzi艣 s艂o艅ce, niebieskie niebo i 6c temperatury. Not bad.

Jest du偶o dzieje Pozna艅. Dwa z najwy偶szych budynk贸w biurowych klasy A zostanie zako艅czona w tym roku Pozna艅: Skalar Urz臋du przy ul. Hetma艅skiej, a innym budynku przy Malta Office Park przy ul. Baraniaka.

Serca Piernik, blini, cepelinai i 偶urawiny galaretk膮. Wszystko to b臋dzie dost臋pne do degustacji podczas tegorocznych Targ贸w Kaziuki, tradycji wniesiona do Poznania
Wilno "repatriant贸w. Kaziuki patronem jest 艣w Kazimierza, ksi臋cia polskiego i ksi臋cia litewskiego, wnuk W艂adys艂awa Jagie艂艂y, jedno z najwi臋kszych polskich kr贸l贸w. Kazimierza odgrywa szczeg贸ln膮 rol臋 w historii Litwy, a p贸藕niej sta艂 si臋 jej patronem
艣wi臋tego. W tym roku Kaziuki Targi ma si臋 odby膰 w niedziel臋, 7 marca. Ceremonia rozpocznie si臋 o 11:15 z prezentacji baner贸w Wielkopolskan wojska
kt贸rzy brali udzia艂 w bitwie pod Grunwald, gdzie po艂膮czone mo偶e z Polska a Litw膮 pokona艂 wojska krzy偶ackie 600-lecia, a kt贸rych b臋dziemy obchodzi膰 w dniu 10 lipca.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Wednesday travels.


Off to the hairdresser at 9:30AM to make an appointment for a haircut. She had an opening at 11AM but I wasn't free then so I made it for 1PM instead. She is only a two minute walk away from the flat so it is easy to get there.

Next it was off to the bank to get Euros for our trip to Berlin. First time I have actually seen this kind of money. I like the zloty better. Hope Poland does not change to the Euro. Why should we, England hasn't? Yes, I know it would be easier if all European countries used the Euro but I like the idea of each country having their own currency that has always been used. If you want to make a change then why not the whole world using one currency?

Back from the bank I went to the parish office to try to sign us up as members. It didn't work. No one spoke English and my Polish was not enough to get them to understand what I wanted. I will have to take someone with me for translation.

1PM I returned to the hairdresser and got a haircut. She was fast, it only took twenty minutes. Cost...25 zl($9) She didn't speak English, only Polish and French so we communicated in Polish and she understood what I wanted.

Back home Joan had just completed baking another apple bread and preparing dinner for tonight, chicken with vegetables in a garlic sauce.


Off do fryzjera na 9:30 AM do um贸wienia si臋 na fryzur臋. Mia艂a otwarcia na 11AM, ale nie by艂 wolny to wi臋c zrobi艂em to za 1PM zamiast. Ona jest tylko dw贸ch minut spacerem od mieszkania tak 艂atwo si臋 tam dosta膰.

Dalej by艂o wy艂膮czy膰 do banku, aby uzyska膰 euro dla naszego wyjazdu do Berlina. Pierwszy raz mam faktycznie widzia艂 takie ceny. Lubi臋 z艂otego lepiej. Hope Polska nie zmienia si臋 w euro. Dlaczego mieliby艣my, Anglia nie ma? Tak, wiem, 偶e by艂oby 艂atwiej, gdyby wszystkie kraje europejskie wykorzystywane euro, ale podoba mi si臋 pomys艂 z ka偶dego pa艅stwa posiadaj膮ce w艂asne waluty, kt贸re zawsze by艂y wykorzystywane. Je艣li chcesz dokona膰 zmian, to dlaczego nie na ca艂ym 艣wiecie za pomoc膮 jednej waluty?

Powr贸t z banku poszed艂em do biura parafialnego, aby spr贸bowa膰 podpisa膰 z nami jako cz艂onkowie. To nie dzia艂a. Nikt nie m贸wi艂 po angielsku, a m贸j polski nie by艂 wystarczaj膮cy, aby przekona膰 ich, by zrozumie膰, co chcia艂em. B臋d臋 musia艂 wzi膮膰 ze sob膮 kogo艣 do t艂umaczenia.

1PM wr贸ci艂em do fryzjera, ale fryzura. By艂a szybka, tylko wzi膮艂 dwadzie艣cia minut. Koszt ... 25 z艂 (9 dolar贸w) Ona nie m贸wi po angielsku, tylko polski i francuski wi臋c przekazywane w j臋zyku polskim i zrozumia艂a, co chcia艂em.

Powr贸t do domu Joanna sko艅czy艂a w艂a艣nie do pieczenia chleba, jab艂ek i innego przygotowania kolacji na dzisiejszy wiecz贸r, kurczaka z warzywami w sosie czosnkowym.