Santa comes to town

If it's December 6th, then it must be Mikolaj! Hurrah.... for the biker Santas! On Saturday the Rynek reverberated to the gentle sound of motor bike engines, as the bikers of Krakow roared their way round, let people see, touch and even climb on the bikes, handed out sweets -and then went on their way to the children's home. What a great idea and what fun!

I was told about this event by one of the bikers who I know and I have to say that my main concern was that I wouldn't recognise him in a Santa suit. I was rather depending on recognising his wife. However, he saw me before i spotted him and he even gave us each a choccie bar. Just the ticket to slow down the hunger pangs!

Right now the Rynek has the Christmas market and there is a wonderful atmosphere. I love to wander round and if you are interested then head to the end, near the Nativity stage, where there is the most wonderful stall. It sells cheeses from Zakopane. Smoked cheese that is grilled, and served with blueberry jam. Just out of this world ....sooooo delicious and definitely one of my favourites. Then head back and quench your thirst with a mulled wine.

Alternatively, go to Sw. Marka and look for a rather well-hidden pub called Non-Iron. No, I'm not kidding - that really is its name. It is very small, easy to miss but well worth the search. It serves some tasty beverages, the majority of which are Czech! I sampled a couple of different ones, including one with kolendra in it. That's coriander to you. It was my favourite of the weekend.

And now it's the working week again. Having had a good weekend with a cousin from Poznan, this is now a tad flat - but it's only days to do till we're off to Transylvania for Christmas....so really don't expect anything to appear her for a while now please! Next installment will be from the Christmas break!

All Saint's Day November 2008

Prague collage

First snows!!!

Hurrah - we did have November snow, so I as very happy - at least for three days. But as you can guess, it all disappeared and now it's just yucky damp and rather cold. But November was so quick anyway that we are now starting to pack up. We've rented out the apartment fro when we leave here and there are a few boxes lying around looking pathetic.

We have discovered that the only place to do self-storage is in Warszawa so we are taking the boxes up there en route to family for Sylwester. We'll need a party after the hassles of deciding what to box, what to post and what to take in a suitcase.

I'm dreading the 'move'. I have now decided that this is positively that LAST time I am involved with boxes at Christmas time. NEVER again. From now on we 'move' after Christmas - preferably mid=year!!!!!

This coming weekend one of my cousins is coming to stay - it'll be great fun as the last tme we saw her was at New Year 2007!!!! As I recall that occasion involved apple juice and vodka and ....well it's all a bit hazy!!!! This is the return match! Better late than never.

The Christmas market is up in the Rynek. I love the atmosphere so much. I really get into the spirit of Christmas just wandering round the stalls and looking at all the lovely things on sale. I'll take my camera down this weekend when Aga is here and take piccies. I must also take pics of trams and strangely mundane things like that. Otherwise no-one at home will believe me when I try to describe what I've seen. It's unfortunate that I have to leave my photo albums here - but at least all the pics are on my laptop! Whew!!!!

OK - so look out for photos of markets etc then nothing till after our holiday in Romania, wioth our old pal, Vlad!

If it's November it must be ... Prague!

You know, when you have a long weekend in Poland, the obvious thing is to leave the country! Well, that is when the weekend includes Independence Day! So this year, after experiencing All Saints Day and Independence Day in 2007, we did two things. First, on All Saints Day we went to the biggest cemetery in Krakow. No! We aren't morbid - but it's a very interesting thing to do. You see, families go and lay flowers, and candles at graves - and this particular cemetery also includes the CWGC section, as well as Polish military, Russian and German War Graves. And no-one had been forgotten!

Although all shops were closed, the crowds were enormous. In the cemetery, many people also laid flowers and lights at the late Pope's family grave. Amazing to see. Of course, there were many laid in front of the statue of P-J II!

And after that it was a trip to Prague to try to see more of it than we did in the summer. We went by train. Now... normally this train has a restaurant car so we didn't bother with any food. Result? We had 2 small bottles of water to last us ..... wait for it.... 7hours! Yes - you read right - 7 hours! What on earth possessed them NOT to put on the restaurant car??????????

Despite that we had a great weekend. We stayed in a lovely hotel only 5 minutes from the Metro and trams, and we walked all over as usual. There was a great exhibition on in the Museum Narodny about living in the Czech Republik in 1908, 1928, 1948; there was also an excellent one on Czech Legion in Russia in the First World War and just after.

We avoided the crowds as much as possible although there were far more people than we'd anticipated. Charles Bridge is undergoing repair so is not as attractive as before but no doubt will be safer and last longer.

We went to another cemetary - but this time to see Dvorac's Grave. After all, we also went to a couple of musical recitals in old churches which were very good because of the acoustics.

We also went up the funicular railway to the 'Eiffel Tower' and walked up the steps to the top for a fabulous view of the entire area. Despite a cold day it was at least dry and sunny so we managed to withstand the sway of the tower and NOT fall over the edge - yes here in Europe you are actually still allowed to be responsible for your own actions! And... guess what! We managed to behave and not fall, trip, throw things through the windows that we opened, spit on people below...etc etc.

I found one shop I wanted to go into - because it sold evil looking Santas - choccie ones that is! OK - so I didn't buy a Santa - but I did buy a tin of choccies to eat - sometime........... Plus 6 mini Santas. Prague is definitely good for restaurants - but stay away from the Old Town. Go across the river and you'll find great value for money. And we cannot go further without a mention of Czech beer! I can't start to mention them.

I'm going to stop here for now. We only have a few weeks left and I'll try to put together something with a collage of pics. Then we're off in December for Christmas - to Transylvania!

Warsaw in a weekend and Malbork in a day

A weekend in Warszawa - just what we needed to blow the cobwebs away. After all, there's only so much work a person can do before they need another break! So we left Krakow behind again and had a couple of days in the country's capital.

When you only have that short time, it's really best to decide before you go exactly what you will see. I wanted to make the Warsaw Rising museum my priority as well as walk through the 'old' city. I can't recommend the Museum highly enough. From the entry area with Warsaw's beating heart to the displays and commentary it was a wonderful museum. It's fairly new, and we spent nearly 4 hours there. We lost track of time and it was only because we were hungry that we decided to wander to town to eat - looked at our watches - and 4 hours had gone past!

The displays cover the progress of the Rising in 1944, social commentary, memories and even a film made in 1944, hidden, then re-hidden by the Communists before being put back together again. I did have personal reasons to go here - my Uncle Stefan, his wife and little boy were all murdered in the Rising - and I really wanted to find out more.
Other things to see are Stalin's gift - a truly ugly building the Palace of Culture (??), and the Little Insurgent. This is a little statue to pay tribute to the children of the Rising. It sits just outside the old city walls, is not too easy to find, but is worth searching for.

We finished off our weekend by going to see the cereminail changing of he guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's held every Sunday at 12 noon and is extremely good.

Of course, you have to have a look at the old city. It is very small and quite remarkable considering it was totally destroyed in the Second War. Thanks to old pictures and paintings, it was possible to reconstruct it - and herein lies another story...

After our weekend in Warszawa, we had another couple of weeks before we were off again - this time a long train journey up to Malbork. For a comprehensive history see the website:

http://www.zamek.malbork.pl/en/index.html

It was fantastic - and lucky to still be here! After the end of the war when the good burghers of Warszawa wanted to rebuild, they looked around for the right sort of bricks - and... they turned their gaze to Malbork. They were going to use all the bricks from that ancient castle to rebuild the capital, but luckily, they were stopped. And so Malbork still stands.

It was and is the largest Gothic castle in Europe - the Teutonic Knights held it, and t was never taken by force - ever. However, it was sold once - a Polish King bargained for it and got it. The tour is well put together - our Guide had wonderful stories to tell and we saw a great deal. this was another marathon - 3 hours this time.

Have to say however, that this is only attraction in the town - luckily we only went there for a couple of nights, and as it takes 7 hours to reach it by train we weren't really short of time.

We enjoyed walking around the castle at night as it is floodlit and you can - and should- cross the bridge to the other side of the river to get a good view and appreciate its size. We stayed in the Zamek Hotel - this was originally in the Lower Castle (there are 3 castles too - in one) and was the infirmary for the lower orders. The rooms were... quaint, not too bad, but they need new beds really. We ate out as the restaurant was silly prices!

The autumnal colours were beautiful and warranted photographs and we enjoyed walking along the river and through the wooded areas. However, any longer and we'd have gone crazy without a car!

Apart from that, we now have a long weekend in Praha coming up in November... not All Saint's weekend which is today; next weekend. Next blog after that!

Speak loudly and she'll understand!

Right then. So it's now into October and let's just recap what I've been up to recently. Well, apart from trying to get interested in work again I have done something fun - at least for me.

I went up to a little farm are called Dominikowice, where my family comes from (Yes- I'm half Polish). I wanted to spend time on the farm where my father had been born and grew up - and also I wanted to make myself work on my Polish.

I stayed with one of my cousins who speaks...NO English so that was step one. I had to listen very hard and try to speak. She was terrific. So patient and after a couple of days she was translating from Polish to easy Polish for me whenever we went to see other cousins. Some of them definitely belonged to the "Speak VERY loudly -but just as fast - and she's bound to ndertsnad" school of language. But it was fun listening and trying to answer and talk.

I did things I'd never done before like gathering mushrooms in the forest at 8am - before they went yucky! Then we took them home and I helped prepare them and we ate some too! Delicious. I learned how Barsczt Bialy is made and Polish Tomato soup. I picked plums and rasps and apples from the trees and ate them! Not all of them - just the ones that cried out "Eat MEEEEEE!"

I had fun learning to talk to the dogs in Polish - and the seven cats. I also had a chance to walk to the Warta River - where my father learned to swim, when his father threw him in! He also used to take a ferry across the river to his tutor during the summer holidays - because he wanted to go to Gymnazium. I saw the Kaplica at the end of the road where the names of family members are inscribed - they were killed in the first days of the Second World War.

I also did something excellent. With my cousin's help I went to the local town offices and was allowed to see the entry of my father's birth in the old ledger! 1908 - all in Russian but there it was - his name! Then I got a copy. I wasn't allowed to photograph the original entry - ochrona - security! But at least I saw it. I also heard lots of stories form relatives all about the family -and lo and behold - I understood most of it! Hurrah!!

A couple of times I had a break when younger members of the family came round and I got a chance to clarify points and chat in English.

I had a great week - and I tell you right now - if you are trying to learn a foreign language it's the way to go. From now on in I'll truly understand when students in Oz tell me it's hard living with a host family!

Dave came up for the weekend and then I realised how much I'd taken in in such a short time. It was his turn to look bemused! I want to do this again but I don't have time - we've only got a few weeks left now. Maybe I'll do it when we come back at the start of our next trip here.

Meantime - we have an invitation to another cousin's for Sylvester - look out! And we've been to Warszawa = more later. We have a trip planned to Malbork - biggest Gothic castle in Europe, and also to Prague in November. but wait for it...... we just booked our Christmas holiday - Transylvania in a Count's cottages.

So there'll be lots to read before we leave for Brissie in mid-January!

Around old haunts in 21 days!

Yes! I know I'm way behind but tough! I'll take this opportunity to say that this entry will be rather like a tin of Nestle's milk - condensed!

This is Europe... three weeks in a rather lovely Renault Clio. We wanted to drive through Germany to visit our old haunts from the olden days when we loved in Nordrhein Westfalen -so we did.

The drive nowadays is pretty simple thanks to Europe's open borders. Although we saw border guards, complete with binos, they weren't even vaguely interested in us. We soared through from Poland and went from autostrada which went to old Nazi Tank Road to beautiful Autobahn. There really is very little traffic on the eastern German roads and wew enjoyed the cruising very much.

We stayed in little Gasthauses, ate wonderful food, and generally relaxed into Germany again. On our second morning all plans went awry. We had intended driving inot thje Harz Mountains, but en route we saw a magical sign - one we soimply couldn't ignore> Colditz! Yes folks! THE Colditz. Of course went for a visit and we were especially lucky as one of the group with which we went round was the daughter of a former POW there! She brought stories to the visit and we enjoyed feeling it all come alive. Visit this place if you can! WELL worth it. Unfortunately we wanted to get nearer the Harz so after a very quick snack - good old bockwurst and brot - we headed off.

In the Harz we think we found where we used to stand a look at them looking at us...etc. It's so much nicer now! Overall impressions - everything was very tidy and clean - such a pleasure to walk everywhere without the fear of stepping in something narsty!

Then towards our old stomping grounds - Paderborn, Bad Salzuflen, Herford and Bielefeld. It as magical to visit the street we used to walk when our children were little. Our old quarters were still there, the streets looked pretty much the same, but the areas were bigger of course. And it didn't take us long to find Bratties and Pommes or Kartofel Salat!!! Mmmnnnnn......

We visited Herman's Denkmal, the Frielichtsmuseum, walked in the Teutoburgerwald, had Ice-creams in the old cafe on the ridge at Bielefeld.... it was trip down memory lane! Wonderful. And so after this indulgence we wandered across to Mons to see friends again. A weekend enjoying their company, and seeing some things locally, including Van Goch's house in the swamp, was a real tonic - our livers have recovered!

Next to the Allgau! We lived there for 4 months and we always wanted to go back. It is simply beautiful. So green and pretty and the village of Weitnau where we used to ski and eat was looking terrific. The old gasthaus that we'd rented was gone - flattened and the land turned into discount shops - but we could still see the old road and the place we used to park the vehicles. Ahhhhh memories!

We also met up with very dear friends who live in the area - well, Kempten and Augsburg. We hadn't seen them for about 20 years and it was just like we'd seen them yesterday! a truly lovely time.

Next heading south towards Lorraine and Logie de France! If you haven't used them you really must. Wonderful accommodation and top quality food - MOST times. Our first place was just fabulous. An old chateau in a village with such good food and one that we really should have stayed longer! From here we visited Verdun town and the Salient. Yes - another WW1 trip.

But then - on to Alsace to sample the delights of the Rhein. Not such good Logie, but convenient for touristy things. A visit to a silver mine was the highlight. We donned the helmets, gumboots and rubber coats (!) and headed in with our French speaking guide. It was unlit so our helmet lamps were a necessity. I don't have a problem with this sort of thing, but I wouldn't recommend it if you are at all claustrophobic. It gets very narrow and there are a couple of places where you have to sit down and s-q-u-ee-z-e through very narrow gaps! How the miners could have done it day in, day out I really do not know!

OK - so to finish our trip we went into the Czech Republik. We skirted round Prague (That's for a November visit!) and went onto Kutna Hora. It's a little town that once rivaled Prague and is fascinating. We stayed in a rather good hotel this time, and walked all round the old town. The highlight here was a visit to the chapel - inside totally decorated with ----- bones! Just a tad morbid and ghoulish and we were actaully quite happy to leave!

So then..... we came back to Krakow. We knew when we'd entered Poland as the roads went to rats!

It was a fabulous trip and the next time we do this sort of thing I have only one demand - we get a car with Satnav!! It is very annoying to see one type of road signage on a map only to find it's all different on the ground. Plus.... we never did find those well known places in France Autres routes or the other one Toutes directions. :)

Gallipoli

There are no adequate words to describe a visit to Gallipoli.


The area is designated a National Park and is incredibly well looked after by the Turkish authorities. This is not just because they consider this to be their victory. The Turks, quite rightly, have responsibility for the area. After all, we must never forget that this is their country, not ours, and their battle as well as ours. They are warm and welcoming towards all visitors and while the majority of tour groups are Turkish, we did bump into other nationalities.

We were not there just to look at the Anzac areas, but to get an overall impression of the campaign. Thanks to Major and Mrs Holt's map and also to a battlefield tour guide given to us a by a friend who has guided here, we were able to walk the battles and immerse ourselves in the human as well as military atmosphere.

Some 'purists' might complain that we should have been there on Anzac Day itself - I beg to differ. Anzac Day has become a circus and there is no doubt in my mind that in order to get a feel for the ground and the hardships endured by all combatants, you can visit at any time. And what better time than a boiling hot July day? With far fewer visitors their is time to stand and stare, to feel the atmosphere, to try to understand what it must have been like for the soldiers at Gallipoli.

Experience the 30C+ heat. Just walking along the flat in the blazing sun was hard enough. Try to imagine struggling up a steep slope loaded with your pack, weapon, ammunition and rations.

Struggle through the brushwood in Shrapnel Valley whilst looking up at the Turkish positions; gaze across from Chunuk Bair to the sea, remembering that this was the only glimpse of possible victory the Kiwis saw for, oh, such a brief time; stand on the beach at Anzac Cove and look up at the Sphinx towards more Turkish positions; walk through the remains of trenches trying to understand how on earth sanity prevailed when your enemy was a stone's throw away; stand in The Nek and say you don't feel the ghosts.

Perhaps the most heart rending part is that there are so few gravestones. In each cemetery there are only a token number of stones, as most bodies were either never found or never identified. This is particularly true of The Nek. This hopeless assault on the Turkish position took place in a tennis court sized area - and it is not until you stand in it you realise that the literature was accurate on this fact.

In order to do the peninsula justice you should allow three days. We hired a car and drove to each position. The Turks have built a one-way system which is very efficient and means you follow the battles. All positions are well signed, with the exception of Beach CWGC Cemetery. We finally found it after some deductions. The CWGC sign was hidden by bushes. This is where John Simpson Kirkpatrick "The man with the donkey', is buried.

If you think that places like this must be depressing, you couldn't be more wrong. There is a wonderful feeling of peace, for despite the thousands of names on memorials, and the graves with "Believed to be buried here' or 'Known only unto God' you come away immensely humbled and grateful.

Thanks to the efforts of the CWGC and the local Turkish gardeners, every cemetery is beautifully kept - and this is very difficult in the Turkish terrain. Plants suitable for the area have been planted and whilst the rain drains away quickly, leaving the earth rock hard and in many places devoid of grass, the grounds are still manicured and lovingly cared for.

To reiterate - this is the one blog where words are inadequate. All I can say, is that if you ever have the opportunity, then go! Don't wait for April - go in July, walk the area, visit the cemeteries without the flag-waving crowds. I believe you'll have a far better understanding.

Into the harem

So, after a good day we decided to go on a tour of the Bosphorus. We thought it might help us to see more and to feel more orientated to the city. It is the most amazing waterway, with ferries, small boats, fishing boats, Black Sea ferries and huge tankers trafficking through it.

The Istanbul shoreline seems to be lined with palaces, some old and some older! Many are now hotels or government departments, but they still retain a feeling of grandeur. We spent the entire trip spotting palaces, Turkish flags and mosques. There is no shortage of any of the above. After the trip we decided to go for lunch and at last! We were able to indulge our passion for ... lamb!!! Living in Poland has meant a lack of lamb and we had determined to feast ourselves silly on this delicacy!

And after that, what better way to spend dome of the day than in Topkapi Palace. If you are into Islamic Art and Design - this is a must! The mosaics are truly stunning - too stunning to show well in photographs. Some of the best were in the Harem (entrance below). Each Sultan had designed his own private quarters within the harem and so there are a series of rooms, each more beautiful than the last.

Since the Queen Mother was an incredibly powerful woman (!), her quarters were also stunning. The Harem was guarded by Eunuchs (ouch!) who were able to see everyone coming and going through clever use of mirrors in the reception hallway! There was no way a person could sneak out for a quick kebab and chips, or a person sneak in after a night on the tiles!

I was rather taken with the Sultan's bath - a most impressive piece of marble - one which I quite fancied in my little apartment!! Of course it wouldn't fit into my suitcase. so that was that!

And what does one do after such an exciting day? Isn't it obvious? We repaired to a rather nice hostelry for a Efes beer or two. Turkish beer is quite acceptable in Turkey. Its only bad side is that it seems to be made the American way - with rice, so can leave you with a teensy strange head. If you like American beers you'll like this. We liked it simply because it was local and cheap and fun to try something new.

Next day was a trip to the cistern - underground water system from Byzantine times. Cool and carefully lit, it provides a glimpse of the ancient city's water supply. There is a route which you walk round, gazing into the water where carp swim and the path culminates in two column, each with a Medusa's head at the base. However, one is on its side, and the other is upside down - and no one knows why. No doubt the reason has disappeared into the annals of Istanbul's history. The atmosphere is somehow peaceful and for once this is an escape from the noise and bustle of the old city. A welcome relief indeed.

Another day - another place to see. This time we went to the Asian side of the Bosphorus and enjoyed the more modern sights there. In fact we walked a fair way from Taksim Square (with the usual statue of Ataturk) all the way back down to the Galata Bridge, across it and then back towards the hotel. We did succumb to ice cream - Turkish ice cream is really........ lovely. My favourite is cherry! Soooooooo nice...... Ooooh take me back!

This rather brought our time in Istanbul to a close but we have decided that it is a city well worth visiting. What will we remember? Well, the friendliness and helpfulness of the people; the wonderful Turkish tea and apple tea - given free in every restaurant we went into; the ancient sights; the vibrant colours of Islamic art; the aroma in the Spice Market - preferring it to the Grand Bazaar! And yes! even the hotel because they were so helpful to is and obliging - even if the Internet crashed completely on our second last day and we had to resort to Internet cafes!

So - the next stage of our journey was about to begin - with a hired car and the road to Gelibolu!

Poison for your mother-in law?

So here’s the next instalment of ‘What I did on my holidays’! I guess I have to say that when you are in a city as big as Istanbul, the last thing you can do efficiently is see it. We decided to do a city tour – only a half day, but at least it would give us an idea of what we then wanted to go and see in slow time.

The company is situated right next to Hagia Sophia and they use double Decker buses. Being pushy ‘Poles’ we managed to snaffle the seats right at the front on the top deck. We were given head sets and all we had to do was adjust the speaker to English so that we had a guided tour in our own language. I have to say it was worth it. The bus stopped several times and places of interest were pointed out, with detail such as which day places were shut. Now that was worth knowing and we were able to plan around all that.

We were driven round the Golden Horn, across to Asia (!), up to Taksim Square, round the old city walls and finally back to Hagia Sophia. In all this took about 3 hours, and we were definitely ready for some lunch!!

After braving the inevitable carpet salesmen, we managed to get really good omelets. They were not boring at all – in fact they were extremely tasty. Food is very cheap if you eat locally and try to avoid the touristy places. There’s soooooo much lamb – and after months of living in a lamb-free zone, we were ready for it! YUM!

We decided to go into Hagia Sophia. It’s a real eye opener. It is a combination of Christian, Byzantine and Islamic decoration and is quite incredible. There is a lot of renovation going on but we were able to walk everywhere (it isn’t in formal use any more). When you go to the

Upper level you can look down – and there is even some Byzantine graffiti – the equivalent of Papadopoulos woz ‘ere! The architecture is impressive but what amazed us was that once you were on the upper level the floors there were marble – the effort that must have gone into the construction is mind-boggling.

After that it was back out not the fray….. beating off more carpet sellers…. Well…. Almost!!! Yes, we did succumb. We wanted to buy a small rug or a kilim for our Krakow apartment and he was such a nice man and we were given endless cups of apple tea and then …….. yes we saw the most beautiful carpets and rugs and kilims. Well, after all that we bought a rug and two kilims! BUT! We are only keeping the rug. One kilim has gone to son in Australia and one will go to son in South Korea! Anyway, not content with selling us those things the guys in this shop asked us to look at some silk rugs -and some of those were about one foot square – and, wait for it… are you sitting down? They were worth US$3,000!!!!!!! We nearly choked on our tea. To make us feel truly welcome we were then brought real Turkish tea and baklava and ice-cream! I tell you, carpet buying in Istanbul is a serious affair.

We escaped from the clutches and decided to go for a struggle through the Spice market. It’s the rival to the Grand Bazaar and in my opinion it’s much nicer. The smells and colours are just to inhaled and enjoyed. The crowds wander their way through and we were offered all sorts of things. Carpets – great to be able to say “Got some!”, spices, tea, leather, t-shirts, hats, and lots of Gold. But the highlight came when one lad, not to be put off by our smiling “No thanks”, leant towards David and said in a not-so sotto voce “Poison for you mother-in-law?” Now that had us in stitches. Good on him – that showed quick wit and class! Poor fella – no luck there either as we told him “Nah – she’s already dead!” He took it gracefully – i.e. he laughed with us!

Well, that’s it for today. Next session soon - promise!!!!!

Up, up and away!

11th July - great day for a holiday, folks. A quick trip up to Warsaw courtesy of LOT and then off on Turkish airlines for the 1 hour 35 minute flight to Istanbul! Turkish Airlines were just great - new aircraft, still pretty squeaky clean, and the staff were courteous and helpful. Plus, as this was our first non-budget flight for oooh..... ages.... we enjoyed the lunch ..and the wine!

Arrival in Istanbul was 'interesting'. The first hurdle was the queue for visas. You don't generally need to pre-purchase - just get it on arrival. On European passports we paid 10GBP. (We could have paid 10Euros!!)

It's pretty obvious that Turkey really wants to be in the EC - everything is priced in Euros and Turkish Lira. We worked with Lira as it was fun t deal with yet another currency. We succumbed to a tout for a 'minibus' to our hotel. Reason? Ataturk Airport is well west of the city and we were staying in the centre of the old city! Much too far to be bothered trying to find our own way. After all, it's a city of about 16,000,000!

It took the driver nearly an hour to find the hotel!!!!!!!!!! Boutique Hotel Dedem. Erm, where should I start? OK - with the positives. Number one and NOT to be sniffed at - it really is only a matter of meters from the main attractions. Excellent. We could walk everywhere till we dropped. Second, the staff were very friendly and obliging. They booked a Bosphorus tour for us, they changed our room instantly (more in a mo), they advised on where to hire a car - oh yes we did!

BUT... the room. Number one room. Well, it wasn't so much what didn't work, more what did! NOTHING! I honestly mean NOTHING! No bedside lamps, the shower leaked all over the floor and the door wanted to fall off every time we slid it shut, the toilet ceased to flush, the aircon wasn't really quite as we'd hoped (!) There was no sheet till day 2 - by which time we'd arranged to move rooms. We couldn't get any English TV channels. Now before you get all uppity - it really is nice to come back after a hard day's touristing and just relax a bit - at the very least we thought we'd get BBC World to find out what was happening!

Number 2 room - the shower still leaked but we'd given up on that one and at least it was efficient. We could get BBC Prime, and the bed had a sheet or two. Turks, by the way, don't supply sheets that cover two people. We had one bedside light that worked - hurrah! Once we got a bulb, the second one worked too. Oh joy!

And now you're asking in frustration - why on earth did we not move hotels? Ea - sy. It was cheap and literally we were only 5 minutes from the Blue Mosque, the Cistern, the Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and oooh... 10-15 from the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara! Now would you have wasted your holiday looking for another room? No - I didn't think so. PLUS... I have to say that the breakfast room had a glorious view across the bay. Well, worth it.

Our first evening ended with a meal of real Turkish lentil soup and kebap. Turkish food is wonderful and we ate really well. We were also deeply impressed by the friendliness of the Turks we met on that first evening. They took our refusal to buy carpets very well! More of that later!

Anyway, so ended our arrival in Istanbul and the following days were shaping up to be just terrific. Next installment soon. If any of you are reading this, please do feel free to comment and ask questions!

Edinburgh summer

Yes - I know. This was supposed to be about Turkey, but I wanted to show you that summer does come sometimes to Edinburgh! We just popped across for a few days and for the first time saw my ma-in-law's house in summer!!

One trip we did make was to the Falkirk Wheel. It's the connection between the Union Canal and the Forth and Clyde Canal. Most interesting - specially as all the staff were obviously following safety and health - wearing life jackets everywhere - even in that most flood-prone place - the gift shop!

Anyway, this is just a few pics for those of you who might be interested!

Sto lat, Sto lat!

Well, I suppose I could plead insanity or something - but actually I've been away. I have a fair bit to report on so I'll start with our first ever Polish wedding.

The last weekend in June was not only the end of classes, but we had a trip up to Lodz - definitely not for sightseeing!! My cousin's niece - so my 'sort of' second... or is it third..or second removed... was getting married. Here weddings generally start at about 6:00pm, with the church ceremony, and then are followed by the party.

So what I'll do is describe is as I remember..... My cousin picked us up from our hotel and we drove to the church. There we made slight detour to a florists to buy flowers - very traditional. You buy either one or three - NEVER two! Plus, it seems that it's always the man who carries the flowers! Aussie he-men take note!! We gathered outside the church and spoke to people in our sort-of Polish and English. Meantime the parents of the bride (my cousin and wife) were dashing around talking to everyone. No one was n church at this point. After all, there was a Mass going on!

Just before 6:00pm we wandered into the church and sat anywhere. People who had been at Mass stayed to watch the wedding too. First real surprise - parents have nothing to do with the church side! Father of the bride was sitting with his wife at the front of the church. Normally there is the one priest, but on this occasion there were three - because two of them were Dominican Brothers, friends from Lublin of the bride and groom. The other was the Parish Priest.

Music began and the priests walked up to the door to welcome and invite the couple in - and they walked to the altar, the bride on the groom's arm. The wedding ceremony was interesting. Prayers, no hymns, readings, the bride's sister sang, the priests talked to the couple. Then the actual marriage was quite short. As it was in Polish I hadn't expected to follow it but it was pretty self evident.

At the end the priests walked away, and then when the wedding march began the couple got up and walked out, followed by family then the rest of us. Strangely, the music sped up - but of course there was another ordinary Mass about to start!! So hurry up people - get out!!

I found out afterwards that the couple had probably already signed the legal marriage documents before the ceremony so were in fact married before the church. This can be done up to a month before the actual church ceremony! The couple stood outside church and we all congratulated them, handed over the flowers and presents/money, and then we went to a hotel for the party.

We had to wait for the new husband and wife to arrive - and he had to carry her up the stairs and into the room where we all sang 'Sto lat!" (100 years). great song - see link! It is used for any celebration - E.g. my family sand it to us the first time we visited Poland. http://www.polishamericancenter.org/StoLat.htm

After that it was tuck-in time. There was so much food and drink but no one was drunk! We ate lots then had to dance. The couple had been practising and started it all off with two dances. The first was traditional... but then! They did a wonderful Bollywood feature! Bollywood is really popular here.

OK - so heaps of dancing and Poles can dance! Note to self - dancing lessons when back in Australia!!!!! Even the real oldies were fantastic dancers. Periodically we'd go back to eat more, then sing songs and dance again. This went on till midnight, and just after that there was another ceremony -the throwing off of the veil. First, the bride sat and we sang to her, while her sister removed the veil and she threw it down to show she was no longer an unmarried girl. Then all the unmarried girls walked slowly round her while a song was sung. At the end she took her veil and threw it. The girl who caught it was to be next to get married! Then the process was repeated with the groom. His best man removed his tie and after the men walked round him he threw it. Again whoever caught it would get married next.

But we weren't finished. The parents stood in front of the couple while they spoke to them, a speech in which they thanked their parents for everything they'd done for them. It was a really lovely touch.

By this time it was nearly 01:30!!! We were not the first to leave - by the way - but we left shortly after this. Sometimes the party goes on till 5 or 6am. All in all - a fantastic experience. We spoke to lots of people and everyone had a great time. And after that we fell into our little hotel bed before falling into a train and back to Krakow for one last day's work on the Monday.

I'll stop here 'cos the next installment will tell you all about our Turkish adventures!

What did we do before the post office?

Yes - I know it's nearly the end of June. But I have a list of excuses as long as your arm. First of all, having been to Belgium we came home to Krakow to a sudden uping of pace at work. Yes, that's right. The end of the year is nigh and there were reports to write, tests to think about and then we had the finales.

I wasn't looking forward to them and then guess what? I ended up on a free trip down to Zakopane. Now that was just perfect. We went courtesy of our boss who had an English couple staying. The rain held off until we got to bottom of the gondola but we went above the clouds and I have to say that the view was wonderful. I did my usual - stood with one leg in Polska and the other in Slovakia! We walked along the ridge and I was especially interested as my father has fled Poland in 1939 through the High Tatra Pass. This wasn't it, but I got a clear idea of what it must have been like. There was still snow as you can see, and we started off in wetproofs but went to shirt sleeves!

We also had a weekend in Korbielow (Polska) on the Slovakian border, and did the Zywiec Brewery, and went into Slovakia. Thanks to Schengen, there are no longer borders and we just drove through. Mind you, we had to negotiate our way through the crowds of cars driving up to a Mass on the border! It was Corpus Christi weekend! We wanted to see a particular castle and it was worth the short trip. After avoiding being killed by manic Polish drivers intent on stocking up with cheap Slovakian beer, we arrived at Oravsky Podzamok, built on a precipice. It was a great trip. Not the place for those with no head for heights or for those working for any Health and Safety Unit! Up and down so many steps - I lost count. We also managed to have a lunch and as we were in a bit of a hurry before we joined our Polish tour round the castle, we just chose anything on the menu. Yes.... David got the garlic soup! Y-U-K!!!!!!

And of course we stocked up with beer on the return trip... REAL Bud, not that crappy Yank stuff. This we drank on the balcony of our awful "Edward Gierek Memorial Hotel" real name Hotel Harnas. NEVER stay there. Believe me, it was unreconstructed communism. Bar? Closed. Heating? It comes on at 15:00. Restaurant? You must book your meals 24 hours in advance (and they were measured in grams!) Breakfast? Well, kind of if you like chocolate cereals and strange fish pastes!

So to the post office. I have tried to write a letter to my aunt and uncle in the UK. The trouble is that after I put it in the post I heard that the PO was on strike. Well, funny how the offices were open. Yes true. They were hading out the pensions but NOT accepting letters to post. So here I am sitting with another letter and about to post that when I hear that they went on go-slow but now are back on strike. Three weeks later we suddenly see they are no longer on strike. How did we know? Easy. We got our phone bill!! Oh joy. But now it's hardly worth posting the thing as we're off across to UK and I'd be faster taking it with me!!!! Aarghghgh....................

Yes, semester is days away from being finished and then I have the whole summer to travel and play and try to put posting on this blog! So look out for things from: Scotland, Turkey, Germany, France, Belgium, Czech Republik, Slovakia, and maybe Bulgaria.