Radek's Mongolia

Our friend, Radek, came back from Mongolia with many stories to tell. We spent the first hour listening to the tales and looking at pictures. It sounds like it was an incredible adventure riding yaks, horses camels, sleeping in yurts.

Meanwhile in Poland:

Poland is planning to buy 26 trains capable of traveling at over 300 km/h for its new high-speed rail network, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Piotr Malepszak has said.

The high-speed “Y” rail network, designed for speeds of up to 350 km/h, will link Warsaw with the western cities of Wrocław and Poznań through the city of Sieradz. The 480-kilometer route will travel via the as yet unbuilt Central Transportation Hub, a multi-billion plan to create an integrated plane, train and road network.  

Poland currently has no trains running above 200 km/h, a mark that is often considered as a “high-speed” threshold. 

Tarnowo

 We went back to the Apteka to pick up the medicine they didn't have yesterday.

We drove around the new area where there were once beautiful purple fields of something. Now, there are only dozens of apartment buildings,and 3 major food chain stores, Lidl, Aldi, and Biedronka. After living there for 14 years, it's easy to see the difference.

I thought to take Joan to a new town for coffee and chose Tarnowo Podgorne. It's a town west of us about 20 km. We have never been there so I wanted to have a coffee there. However, surprise! They have no rynek.

I turned my sights back to Poznan and we went to Stary Browar's Sowa where we sat outside by the fountain and had coffee. 

Doctor visit. & Ukraine.

We arrived on time, 10:45, and went right into the doctor's office. I told her I needed a referral for Joan for control of her triglycerides and two medicines.   She wrote them, and we went to the Apteka to fill the prescriptions. They didn't have the complete amount, so I have to go back tomorrow. 

When I looked at the referral, it had an address in Krakow. I wasn't about to drive for 5 hours just to have a blood test taken.

I called back the clinic, told them the problem, but the lady only spoke Polish and used many words I didn't know. So, I called my friend, Michal, and explained the problem, and he called her.

His return call to me informed me that there is a new diagnostic clinic only 3 blocks from the Apteka, and that is where I needed to go. On Monday, we will go there because they are closed on the weekend.

On the way home, we stopped at Solacki Park and spent an hour just sitting on a bench and enjoying the great weather, 78 F.

Meanwhile: Ukraine

>>A Patriot air defense system critically needed to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian ballistic missile strikes is back in action thanks to an elite team of German technicians fixing war damage the American manufacturer said was impossible to repair, the major German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on Thursday.

Keller told FAZ civilian and military technical staff from the German Luftwaffe overhauled the US-made radar unit, working sixteen hours a day from Monday to Saturday. The radar was transported back to Ukraine in July and by early August had been used in a successful intercept of a Russian strike, he said.

>>The Netherlands will buy 500 million euros ($577 million) of US weapons for Ukraine, becoming the first NATO member to fund a full package under a new scheme to speed deliveries from American stockpiles, the defense ministry said.

The Dutch package includes US Patriot missile parts and other systems tailored to Ukraine’s front-line requirements, according to the defense ministry.

>>Ukrainian drones from the Security Service’s (SBU) elite CSO “A” unit struck Russia’s Saky airfield in occupied Crimea overnight, reportedly destroying a combat aircraft and causing millions in damage.

As a result of the Ukrainian strike, a Su-30SM fighter jet was completely destroyed, while another was severely damaged, according to the SBU’s press service on Monday, Aug. 4.

Additionally, three Su-24 bombers were hit. The strike also targeted an ammunition depot located on the base. Source-Kyiv Post

My day

 A second day of a 3-hour break. My thought was to sit in the outdoor cafe in front of Empik and listen again to my Spanish lesson from Tuesday.

Parked underground and was a little surprised to see the price for an hour had risen from 7 to 8 PLN($1.90-2.18). It's not a really big deal, just capitalism at its finest.

I ordered a café latte, 15 PLN ($4), sat down at the front of the café facing Plac Wolności, opened my cell phone, and started listening. A short time after, my latte was delivered to me.

One hour later, the lesson was over, and I headed home.

I stopped at the local gas station to check the air pressure in my tires. added some air to all of them and then vacuumed the car.

When I arrived home, Joan and Paige were halfway through the movie, "Somewhere in Time, one of Joan's favorites.

Paige left about 2:30, and I prepared dinner, Crock Pot Chicken & Potatoes with a salad.

In the evening, we continued on with our series, "Ozark"

Joan went to bed at 9:30, and now here I am writing this blog.

Gas & Ukraine

On my 3 hour break today, I bought gasoline, 157 PLN for 12 liters.,that is 3 1/4 gallons for $43.

When that was done, I made a little trip around the center of town. taking pictures of different locations.  

I spent the last hour sitting in a park listening to the audio version of 'Big Sur" by Jack Kerouac. I read it years ago, but it was nice hearing it read to me. It helps me escape reality for an hour.

Meanwhile in Ukraine:

Thanks to well-organized and sustained funding for decentralized production on a large scale, Ukrainian combat units are constantly receiving new drones of various types, which have become key to Ukraine’s success and a true nightmare for Russian invaders.

Colonel Markus Reisner, head of the Officer Training Institute at the Theresian Military Academy, said this in a comment to Ukrinform’s correspondent, discussing Ukraine’s increased defense spending, including on drone production.

“The key to Ukraine’s success is its ‘drone army.’ Russian invaders are not facing tens of thousands of soldiers but hundreds of thousands of drones operated by military personnel from a safe distance. FPV drones are used at the tactical level, medium-range drones at the operational level, and long-range strike drones at the strategic level. Thanks to consistent funding and decentralized production, Ukrainian forces are continuously supplied with new drones,” Reisner noted.

Return of Radek

Finally, Radek returned from his trek to Mongolia and Riga. The area of Mongolia is 5 times bigger than Poland. 

He arrived today, and we spent the first hour listening to his stories of the visit. I never thought about going to Mongolia, but after listening to him, it sounds very interesting. They traveled 3,200 kilometers around the country. They, Radek and Alina, were with a party of 10 people, and they traveled in 2 Hyundai passenger vans. The capital city was not very interesting, but he was surprised at the marketplaces where you could buy all types of fruit, vegetables, and meat.

The more interesting part of the trip was when they left the capital and started going to small towns and villages. I think he would like to go there again.

The second hour he was here, we returned to our study of Spanish. I've missed the weekly sessions with him.

Again, it was unlike a day in August here, 19 C, gray with light rain most of the day. 

I did the early morning shopping for the week and spent 170 PLN($46).

Garrett & Ukraine

Yesterday, we met with our friend, Garrett. He had good news about his situation in Poland. His permit to live in Poland was to expire in December. However, he has been working at home for an international company for the last 6 months, and doing so well, they gave him a promotion to a full-time employee. Along with that, they said they would help him get a permanent residency card. To accomplish that, they asked him to come to their main office in Warsaw.

Last Monday, he did that, and now his application has been filed.

He made a decision that it would be a good time to move to Gdañsk. h will be moving there at the end of this month. He friends there and wanted to be closer to the Baltic Sea. Actually, his new flat will be in one of the three cities that make up Tri-Miasto, Gydnia. His flat has a partial view of the Sea so it is close to it. 

We are happy for him and will make a trip next month to visit his new location.

Meanwhile in Ukraine,

WASHINGTON DC – Retired Gen. David Petraeus, who commanded US and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Monday that a ceasefire in Ukraine is unlikely until Western aid allows Kyiv to dramatically shift the battlefield dynamic.

His comments came as President Donald Trump announced a drastically shortened deadline for Russia to agree to a truce. Speaking at a Hudson Institute event in Washington DC, Petraeus, also a former CIA director, emphasized that Ukraine needs substantial assistance to make Russian President Vladimir Putin realize he cannot achieve further gains at an acceptable cost.

“I don’t foresee a ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine until the US, European and other Western countries provide so much assistance to Ukraine that they can change the dynamic on the battlefield,” said Petraeus, now a chairman of the KKR Global Institute.

August 1?

August 1st, and it's 19 C outside. Supposedly, the hottest month of the year, and it's 19, cloudy most of the day with intermittent rain/ Holy Cow!

I started slowly converting my saved blogs since 2006 into a more readable format. At the current rate, it will take approximately 4 months. It will all be in the English language. In the end, I hope to have a printable copy.

Tonight, a group I am a member of, The People's Sick Day, will be interviewed, live, on the Joy Reid show on YouTube at 7PM(EST). For me, that's 1 AM, so I will be staying up late to see it. I believe it will be recorded and made available on YouTube later. The group has a completely different approach stopping the current administration. I'm doing what I can to help it succeed.