Poland

Hi Readers,

Another day and another airport. I left NYC yesterday and flew into Heathrow. The difference in time zones really messes with me, as we left at 8.10 am ( meaning rising at 3.00 to get to JFK) and landed in London at 8.30 pm after a long 6 and a half hour flight.

Some great maths investigations to be had there if I was still teaching!!

I was Mr Discipline with the food on this flight and didn't take a thing. After my flight to NYC I ate what was offered to me on the plane and felt like a big blob for a day afterwards. So now I'm watching what I eat very carefully and sticking to regular meal times no matter how enticing or disgusting the food looks. In fact, the roll that they gave me on the flight to London was pretty industrial to say the least. The only ingredient in it that I could confidently identify was the tomato. And the fact that it was icy cold didn't make it very appetising at all. After I said No each time they came around with food, by the end of the flight they had stopped asking me. Bad luck if I suddenly got hungry!!

Last night I flew into Heathrow, got a taxi to my hotel 10 mins away and bedded down almost immediately. It was up early this morning and back over to the airport where I am now waiting to board a flight to Poland.

Jen and I have been so lucky to have visited many places in Europe, and so many of them we would have loved to visit again. Venice and London have been the only places we have been to more than once. And Vancouver for me. I was nearly thinking of visiting some previous places again, but held back as I just don't know if this will be my last overseas trip. I'll confess that I will be staying at a place next week that Jen and I always hoped to revisit as it was so special to us when we were there, so stay tuned for that post. We never know what might be around the corner, as I unfortunately experienced.

For many years I have wanted to visit Auschwitz in Poland. I know that sounds a bit morbid, it still troubles me a little at what I expect to see, and what what will be unexpected.

The history of the place and the circumstances have always intrigued me, so I planned that on this trip it would be the major focus of the European leg.

And after what I have seen in Warsaw so far only adds to my interest in the history of this place.

This morning I fly into Warsaw, and I'm expecting some challenges with language, reading addresses etc. In the past there was always two of us to work things out, so doing it solo adds to the complexity a bit, but at the same time creates a healthy challenge.

I remember a few years ago when I was in Finland on my own how challenging it was in a place that wasn't mainly English ( and why should it be?) and it was almost a daily conquest if I got to where I needed to be without causing too much angst.

The next few days will be in Warsaw just looking around. Often I don't go for the big tourist attractions as I just like to absorb the locality just like one of the locals. Then it's a train trip to Krakow, a trip that I'm looking forward to as one sees so much more from the train. The next few trips will all be on trains, so I'll be seeing a bit of Europe in the manner that I really enjoy. Much better than flying. Slower yes, but a bit more relaxing.

As I sit here in Heathrow I'm struck by what a melting pot of people it is. Just looking at the flight details on the boards shows just how vast the network of flights from here is.

People watching is so interesting, and hearing all the different accents really makes one aware of how many people are travelling at any one time. And the travel habits of some leave nothing to the imagination. On yesterday's flight I was in an exit row on the wing side of the plane. In the seats in the middle row there was a wall about a metre and a bit from the seats, and these people had extra leg room too. But one bloke took it a bit far for most of the flight. He decided to put his feet up against the wall, as if he was lazing about in his own backyard, causing interference for anyone who needed to walk through, especially the flight attendants. I just wished that he was told to get his bloody shoes off the wall!! Who goes into someone else's place and does that? So why do it on a plane? The bloke near me did the same with his feet going on the side wall of the plane, but at least he took his shoes off. Then again, having his smelly feet on it didn't help that much!!

At the boarding gate where I am there are people around me having to stand, because so many seats are unavailable. Why? Because so many people park themselves on a seat, then park their luggage on the seats around them. There's plenty of room on the floor in front of them for a suitcase!!!

There we are, rant over ! But I could go on and on!!!

 A funny moment on the flight yesterday.

As I was in the exit row, it is also right near the toilet.

As the flight was nearing London, there was a constant stream (no pun intended!) of people heading to the loo for a last effort before landing. A rather large bloke joined the queue and eventually made his way in. I was just keeping a mental note of how long he'd been in there as the queue started to grow. A few people were asking if someone actually was in there, so I reassured them that I'd seen him go in. Minutes tick by... then more...then more.

Finally, after nearly 15 mins someone asked an attendant to check. She gave a little toggle of the door handle, then knocked gently and waited with her ear to the door. Then she belted the living daylights out of the door, listened again, gave a wry smile and said the problem was solved.

Within 10 seconds the door opened and this large man emerged, sweating profusely and looking sheepishly at everyone in the now long queue as he made his way back to his seat.

I don't know what was taking him so long, but I managed to hold on for the rest of the flight and not use that toilet!!!

So I have now finished my stay in Warsaw and headed south to Krakow today. More about that in my next post.

Warsaw surprised me somewhat. It was very modern, save for a lot of the big housing towers that dot the city. Maybe I was expecting more of the old town experience, so when I consulted the maps and headed to the old town district, there was basically nothing there that was old!

But something that I discovered during a visit to a museum might explain that.

During World War 2 Warsaw (and all of Poland) suffered immensely, and a walled ghetto was established in Warsaw. Refer to the photos below.

There was a massive uprising in 1944 that the Germans eventually put down with severe consequences. In this museum I watched a 3D movie showing the destruction of Warsaw at the end of the war. In the area I was staying it was totally obliterated. How they managed to rebuild this city after the war, and so many other European cities for that matter is something that I still can't comprehend. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the scale of the destruction then compared to what is here now.

Now some quick observations from strolling the streets of Warsaw...

• Every bloke looks and sounds  like the bad guys in a James Bond or Jason Bourne movie!! Anyone who I have asked a question responds in a surly grunt, then a puff on the dart that everyone seems to carry also! Maybe they are just responding naturally to me!!!

    

Now it seems I might be exaggerating a little, but that's how it appears to me!!

• If you are successful, you buy a mega expensive sports car and just fang it through the streets. I have seen untold numbers of them, and you hear them before you see them. Most just belt it away from the lights, then have to hit the skids just as quick as they are at the next light or have reached the speed limit.
• They have the most coins ever, right down to 1 zloty, which is about the size of an M&M. How do you think I struggle with these with my dodgy eyesight and increasingly arthritic hands🤬
• Traffic lights. You actually get more than enough time to cross the road, even having time to stop and take photos as you are crossing the road!!
• School groups everywhere, and they walk in pairs! Kids in my classes from recent years wouldn't know how to line up, let alone in pairs. I ran a casual shop!!
• Food accidents. I've been having trouble trying to translate some of the food items. Rather than buy a big bottle of milk for my coffee, and considering I was only there for two days, I opted for a smaller bottle of milk. Yogurt in your coffee is not recommended!!!  I bought a microwave pack of a curry and rice dish, then thought that the packet of Roti bread in the next shelf would go well with it. It also had some white stuff in it, which I thought was extra flavour and spice. So I zapped them all and loaded up the Roti with a helping of curry and rice. Turns out the "Roti" was actually a crepe with a sweet filling. Doesn't go well with curry and rice🤬🤮🤢
• Bike lanes. They dominate here, and one quickly learns to look both ways before crossing over as they just don't slow down!! And some of their bikes make my motorbike look small!!
  
  
  

Now some random snaps from Warsaw...

A memorial garden that shows part of the ghetto wall.

Where the old meets the new. Part of the old Ghetto Wall at the base of a new building.

Not Sure if this "Outdoor Furniture" shop is selling itself well!!

These towers dominate the city.

Looking out the window from my digs. Appropriate name for a Bottle Shop!!

When parallel parking is beyond you, just do your best!!

The Presidential Palace. How cool are those buses!!!

Table tennis tables set up in a park

A square I stumbled upon.

At peak hour, the trams are are just packed.

Well Readers, a gentle amble through Warsaw, I didn't want it to be a Lonely Planet summary, just a few ramblings from me as I am still in the early parts of this trip.

Today I got into Krakow and the weekend will be good for exploring. I had shorts and t-shirt on today, there is snow predicted in the coming days!!!

Until my next post,

Cheers😁

 New York City!

Hi Readers,

A real change from what I usually dish up to you. This is all about my first real big thing that I've done since I retired a few months ago. I was always planning to travel overseas this year, but as one son and his wife and the two grandsons moved over to NYC a few weeks ago, I decided to bring my trip forward and wander over there to see what the the big deal is about The Big Apple.

I must have been in a daze the day I booked my flight to New York. A few options had me changing flights twice, with long layovers. In the end I just opted for a flight that flew via Singapore, 2 hour layover then a hellish 17+ hours to New York. It took me just as long as most other options presented to me, but that long flight was a killer.

What was I thinking!!!!!!!

After about 7 or so hours to Singapore, then a layover I boarded for the next flight to New York. I have done the long haul flight from London to Melbourne a few times, even Vancouver to Melbourne a couple, but this one just seemed to take FOREVER !!

A few times I nodded off and was thinking that when I woke the in flight map would show that we were only a few hours out, or about to land. As If !!

A couple of times I woke up and checked the map only to see that we still had 11 hours to go, then 9. We were only half way! I'm sure that the more I watched the flight map, the slower we went and the longer the trip was becoming. And to make matters worse I was seated in between two other passengers, so I had to lan my toilet visits around when they were going too, as it was too hard to climb over them due to how they had set themselves up. Still, a very pedantic thing to worry about, as I am just so fortunate to be able to do these things.

So I land in New York at Newark Airport, and now I have to find out how to get to my digs in Manhattan. I had absolutely no idea which train line to take, what sort of ticket I needed or where to buy one, but I found an incredibly helpful attendant on the platform who did everything but hold my hand as he organised me with everything. 

"Just keep this ticket in your pocket and wait for the next train in 30mins on Platform A"

There was no way I was going to forget that, and I must have chanted it over in my head a thousand times!

Imagine my surprise when another person came up and asked me a question about the train system. As if I knew anything!

My first view of the NYC skyline from Newark.. If you zoom in you'll see the Empire State Building

After getting off the train in Manhattan, the next challenge was getting out of the station. I had absolutely no idea which exit was best for me so I just took a guess and went the way in which most people were walking. After a few missed turns and walking the wrong way for 10 mins I was soon at my digs, dropped off my bags early and started to find my way to see our son, his wife and the two grandsons.

This was a pretty straightforward trip along 8th Avenue for about 20 mins, then a slight turn at a roundabout and I was there. For the entire walk I was fascinated by the sights, sounds and smells of NYC. I haven't been here before, so to see some buildings that I had only seen on tv or read about was just a treat. Picture one of those rubberneck tourists standing on the corner and just looking around and turning circles, that was me!

Some things I learned quickly.

• Crossing at traffic lights. The lights are just a guide. If no cars are coming and it is red, you just go!

                 

• Escalators. Stick to the right, and leave the left hand side clear for those in a hurry.
• There are just as many of those New York City souvenir shops as there are people in New York. They are everywhere. In one block I saw two side by side and another directly across the street.
• Everyone rides their horn in their cars on the street. No matter if the traffice is blocked and not moving, they'll still honk at the person in front to move, even if they are blocked. The tooting is constant!
• No-one will starve in NYC. If the shop isn't a souvenir shop, it sells food of some sort. If you can't find a slice of pizza here you have not looked at all!
• You are never far away from a policeman/woman. They are everywhere
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                                    Not the biggest of police cars, but I'm sure it gets the job done!

• If you can't handle the smell of marijuana, stay indoors. It is everywhere, probably the most common smell that I have encountered. Not only are there shops that sell it legally, it is openly for sale from sellers on the street. I was at the playground with the kids and even there it was rife. I'm hoping it wasn't the kids using!!

I could go on and on about the multitude of other things that I have noticed, but where would I stop.

A quick digression here Readers.

I'm currently at the airport waiting to board a flight, and the lady beside me has a little dog in a small case. It is obviously going on the plane!

The way that she is pampering it, talking to it etc is driving me nuts. Think of those over the top types who speak to their pooches in baby babble, and she is this plus more. Now the little rat is yapping and snapping at her. Heaven help me if we are placed beside each other on the plane as one of them might not make it off safely!!

And just now a second dog has appeared, a border collie. Be interesting to know where they will be sitting.

The next few days Readers have been just a blur of rushing around this amazing city.

As I was just looking through my photos, although I see quite a few that were taken at various landmarks and tourist attractions, the majority are photos of being with the family. I feel that these attractions will always be there should I want to look at a photo of them, but the memories created can never be created again. Random shots taken in the street, at the playground or in the apartment will bring back memories of the stories behind those shots, whereas shots taken of the Empire State Building or Times Square are just a reminder that I have been there. I know for sure which photos I will keep gong back to look at.

 I hope this clip from Times Square opens!!

Times Square is just always buzzing.

The obligatory shot of the old girl.

The 9/11 Memorial. Seeing the names made it really hit home.

My daily highlight was the time spent with the Grandsons.

Who wouldn't want to live across the road from Central Park, we just had so much to do there.

And some obligatory shots of some attractions...

From the Empire State Building

Empire State Building

Ditto

Grand Central Station

From the Rockefeller Centre

Looking towards Central Park and where the family is staying.

Great tour done here.

Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge

Not the Brooklyn Bridge, but a great shot.

My last night in NYC

Well Readers,

A fantastic week in NYC highlighted each day by the time I was able to spend with my family. While seeing NYC for he first time has been great, seeing them was my main reason for being here, and it gave each day a real focus.

As I sit here at the airport contemplating the next part of my trip which I will be doing on my own, it is starting to feel so different as this will be the first time that I have undertaken such a trip since losing Jen. There will be no-one to do the "Ooohs and Aahs" with, no-one to express reactions to when being amazed by something experienced, and no-one to make sure the bookings and organising is done properly!!!

This is my new reality, and it's just something that I will learn to cope with, I'm sure I won't get lost or deported!!! 

Stay tuned for he next destination Readers, not sure when I will make the time to sit down and write as I'm just too stuffed each night and bomb out at my digs. Lots of train time in the next few legs, hopefully I'll use that time wisely.

And my apologies for not checking for typos!!

Until my next post ,

Cheers😁

 Thank You For Your Service

Hi Readers,

Well this is something that doesn't happen too often, successive posts on successive days!

This morning while doing all my stretches etc I had the tv on and I was watching an episode of 'Shark Tank'

Various entrepreneurs (man, did I have to work on spelling that sucker!!) came and went, some getting deals done while others were quickly sent on their way.

One couple who came out explained their idea for whatever it was, and one of the 'Sharks' asked the bloke to explain his background. 

He then said "I was in the Navy......" and before he could finish his sentence, every shark immediately said "Thank you for your service" and gave a wave or gesture of respect and gratitude. And it looked sincere, not fake.

At this point I still can't remember what his product was, as their response to him having served in the defence forces was far more memorable.

I have seen this happen many times and heard similar accounts from others, and it has been on my mind all morning, hence this post. When I have something bubbling away I find that writing about it clarifies it for me and helps me to understand it better. Before I sat down with my laptop I took off on my motorbike for an hour, my place of peace so that I could churn things over in my mind and figure out how I was going to approach this post.

I have found that one thing that differs us from Americans is the pride and respect that we have in our armed forces, and the title of this post stems from the number of times I have seen and heard it being used whenever Americans encounter their service men and women.

Let me be VERY clear right now, I am not for a moment suggesting that Australians do not respect their armed service people, it's just that we do not really do it so publicly and with as much devotion as we see it being done by Americans. Please disagree with me if you want, but I can honestly say that I have never seen or heard another Australian say the same thing to our service people. We might feel it, but rarely do we say it publicly. There could be a multitude of reasons for this, but that's not my focus today.

So please don't think I'm saying that we have a lack of respect for them, complete opposite!!

I had a friend travelling overseas a few years ago who shared this account with me. 

A couple of servicemen in uniform boarded the plane and headed for their economy, or 'coach' seats as they are referred to in the USA. Immediately, a few people in the Business seats jumped up and beckoned to these servicemen to have their seats instead, all the while saying "Thank you for your service".

I have heard similar accounts of servicemen and women being given coffees or meals for free at establishments for the same reason.

So how can this apply to us?

I'm going to disregard service people now and turn the focus towards anyone that serves us, which is practically everyone we encounter.

Think of the number of people you come across in your day who provide a service of any sort, no matter how major or minor, and how you treated them.

I was in the bank the other day and there was a long line of people waiting to be served by one of the three tellers on duty. There was much grumbling and mumbling coming from quite a few of them, as they could see that although there were about 6 service counters, only three of them were open. I find it quite comical watching people doing this grumbling as they are looking for an audience to interact with them. 

The body language is a riot to watch at times.

A few years ago this would be me, until I heard a discussion on the radio that said that complaining about traffic is pointless, because you are part of the traffic. You are part of the problem, so complaining is pointless. The same applied to standing in this long queue. No point in complaining because I was contributing to the queue!!

A lady in front of me was 10 seconds away from exploding and as she was ranting to no -one in particular, we made eye contact. She was ready to take it to another level but I just smiled at her and said something like "I bet that teller is busting her arse to get this queue moving". She looked shocked at first, then calmed down and sort of agreed with me. She then said that she had a breathing problem and was having trouble standing for so long. There were chairs nearby and she said she wanted to sit down but didn't want to lose her spot in the queue, so I just told her to do it and that I'd save her spot in front of me. As soon as she moved away, I kept her gap open in front of me to show that it was there for her, but I could feel the people behind me shuffling forward and trying to push me further ahead. Also some more huffing and puffing, as if I'd doubled their wait time.

I was so surprised that some of them thought that saving a few minutes for themselves was more important than the health of this woman. After a few minutes she felt a bit better and rejoined the queue just as her 'spot' was next in line to be served. And getting stared down by others as if she was queue jumping!!

As she got to the teller she was much calmer, even smiling and was so respectful to the teller. If she hadn't had that period of rest I think that teller would have had their head bitten off!!

By the time I got to the teller she was a bit flustered, so I just said something like "Tough morning?" She said they were so understaffed and she was really feeling the pressure. When I asked if people were being rude to her she paused, looked at me and nodded slowly and rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault that there was a long line of customers, she was smashing through them, so just by saying "Thank you for how you are managing this" and "I hope your day gets better" made me immediately forget about the time I'd spent waiting in the line, and hopefully made her feel a bit better too. 

If I chose to give her a serve when I got to the front of the line I wouldn't expect her to give me good service, and just by speaking calmly and kindly, she had me sorted in no time at all. I was thankful for her service👏

I pretty much bounced out of the bank and headed to my next appointment, this time at a computer shop where I needed to look at a device.

Readers, when it comes to technology I'm about as useful as a one-armed clown making balloon animals at a kid’s party!!!

I walked into the shop and was greeted by a young salesman ( everyone seems young to me these days!!) I basically told him I was interested in a new laptop, and then he bamboozled me with numbers and terms that I think I've heard before but completely forgot.

I feebly said something like "I just want to write my blog and have my photos, mail etc synced between my devices". And it needs to be sort of compact as I'll be travelling a bit.

To his credit, he gave a knowing nod, and if there was a thought bubble above his head it would have been saying something like "Oh dear, another techno nobody!!"

At the start he was probably thinking I was here...

But pretty soon I convinced him that I was here...

I'll have to admit that I was telling a few little white lies when I said things like "Wow, you are so helpful", and "Thanks for being so patient with me" and pretty soon his help level went through the roof. Rather than trying to get this older person who didn't know much out of the store, he was bending over backwards to ensure that I understood and which device he thought would be the best fit for purpose. And what pleased me most was that he wasn't pushy in chasing a sale (hope his bosses didn't notice) but was more concerned that I knew what I might be buying and what it could do, and what I understood about it. 

While I didn't purchase anything yesterday, the way that he treated me just from being kind and respectful to him means that when I do buy, I'll ask for him to do the sale.

Thanks Callum for your service👌

Readers, you must think that I'm an utter nuffy by going into shops and being as nice as I can when inside I may be feeling the opposite. My experience is that most times it calms me down, and usually it changes the attitude of the person serving me if they are having a crap day. Not always, but usually.

There have been times when the person serving has been really gruff and basically rude that I don't want to waste any kindness on them, but then I walk out angry too🤬

Even during those times when I know they are still rude when I leave, I just cling to that sliver of hope that a polite or cheerful 'Thank you, have a good day' might sit with hem and upon reflection they might be better to the next person, or to themselves.

Better to kill them with kindness than be like them I say.

Or another one I've read about

"Don't kill them with kindness. Kill them with blindness. Act like you don't see how they are acting'

I'm sure that you at times, just like me really don't want to be kind, and just want to give them some of their own medicine, but it's the sour after taste that I can't stand.

And when we think that our little problems are bigger than they really are, take one of these as needed!! (You might need to look at previous posts to see why I refer to these a lot!!)

Readers, these are just a few recent examples where I have been the beneficiary of great service just through the simple act of thanking others for their service. Sure, you could argue "That's their job", but to me it is disrespectful to not acknowledge someone else with respect if they have done something for you. I know we can all be quick to flip off an email to complain about poor service, and I get that that. I do it too, but also try to acknowledge that there might be reasons for it too that I might be unaware of.

In another recent post I spoke about a book that we read to our kids in Gr 5 last year and the year before, "Wonder".

A key theme in it is kindness, and this book has been a big reason why this resonates with me so strongly. It talks about the 'masks' we wear, meaning that we can't often tell how a person is really feeling just by how we read the look on their face.

So when you get the rude treatment by someone serving you, or dealing with someone on the phone, before diving in to get your pound of flesh, perhaps spend a dime and take a few steps down Kindness St with a positive comment, or something that might possibly distract them from whatever shitty thing that might be troubling them.

As I said earlier, it doesn't always work, or we don't give it a chance to work, but I find more often than not, it does.

This post all stems from just a random observation that I saw on tv this morning. I have seen how these 5 words, Thank You For Your Service, mean so much to a nation of people, but can also mean so much to each one of us as we go about our daily routines.

Give it a try, I'd love to hear how you go!

Until my next post,

Cheers😁