Sunday, September 25, 2016

It never gets easier...

I have never been an emotional person.  Well, wait- scratch that.  What I mean is I've always been "too cool" to show emotion.  I hate crying in front of people, I don't get too worked up by cute things, I fight back any sort of reaction to the sappiest movies - all for reasons unknown.  I am a confident, independent woman who doesn't need emotion to cripple me - so I rule it out as a feasible option for how to live life.  Sadly, this also trickles into relationships I am in.  I'm not really good in showing that I care about people.  And I am not unaware of this flaw.

Since moving to Warsaw, Karma has reared her ugly head and I've developed into some sort of weird sap that even I am surprised by.  I've meet my Eastern European soulmate in Tamara.  She moved here from Venezuela and there it is routine to greet people with warm long hugs, and I've found that they have the ability to reach your soul.  I don't know if her willingness and need for physical contact and hugs has unleashed something in me or what, but I've become an emotional mess since I got here. It probably started when I left home... again.

You'd think I'd be used to being away from family, but it truly never gets easier to leave them. Particularly my parents. (Boo will get her own post later)

I just had a wonderful opportunity to join my parents on the last leg of their three week Czech Heritage tour.  I'm not sure how many of you are up on your Ancestry.com memberships, but 'Staffa' is neither Czech nor Eastern European.  We aren't Hungarian or Polish either - we have just developed an affinity for this part of the world.  My mom and dad are experienced travelers who are always looking to experience something a bit off the beaten path, which is how they got looped into this opportunity.  Since I am now so close to Prague, my mom thought it would be a fun surprise for me to come here for the last part of their trip - when they had free time in the city.



We had kept if from my dad from hiding the red high heels she packed to bring to me, to communicating through hand written notes over face time that he couldn't see on the screen.  I took a day off of school and arrived in the afternoon to my parents and Jean and Gary coming back from a walk around the Jewish Quarter.  Dad thought he was returning to take a nap and regroup for the evening - but then I showed up.  At the airport in Poland, I stopped and bought a USA Today, as I know my dad is always interested in English newspapers and reading about what's happening while he is gone.  So the above video was the moment I surprised them.  Little did I know that my dad stepped off camera to search the hotel lobby for a USA Today.  Win for Kathy and Carla.

I had a particularly tough week in Poland last week, so this was a relief to have them here in the same room as me - despite the fact that it had only been six weeks since I moved over here.  You see, if you're reading this, you probably know my parents.  Because everyone who knows me, knows we are extremely close and they are an active force in my life - in every aspect of my life.  I wouldn't be the ________________(insert adjective here) person I am today without their influence.

My mom is the one who sent me on my first international trip when I was 16 years old.  Since then, travel has been part of the fiber of our family being, and ultimately how I ended up in Europe - again. So really, they only have themselves to blame that my brother and I live on different continents than they do.  She is one of the smartest people I know - from walking me through how to fix my plumbing via FaceTime to warning me against dating people who she had a gut feeling about long before I did - and she has always been right.  She has a solution for seemingly every problem - and they're not only for me.  She is a beautiful person with a humble generous soul, who gives freely without ever expecting anything in return, always showing her willingness to sacrifice for others first. She has lived a simple, frugal life for years that now allows the two of them to travel the world and really enjoy experiences she never thought possible.

It's amazing what a little mom time can do for someone who is in need of a little extra TLC, even at the ripe age of 39.




And then there's my dad.  Yup, I saw you just chuckle to yourself.  He's a character isn't he?  Let's just say that when I joined their group on Friday, every single person knew my dad, and about his shenanigans.  Whether it be the one about how many seconds in a year, to the magic trick with the red hanky, they knew him and they knew his humor.

Here he is doing a trick in a small Czech village last night.  He's still got it!
He is a sweet soul, with curiosities that I would never have considered.  He wonders things like "why are there two types of cobblestones used when one clearly doesn't stand up as well as the other?"  He prefers to look at buildings, trees and dogs while traveling, and has an innocence about his questions that leaves us always wondering what he'll wonder next. He loves my mom more than anyone has loved a person before and dotes on her like it's their first week of dating.  He wishes for us happiness and adventure in what we do - despite the fact that sometimes those come in contradiction of my mother always knowing what is right and best.



So while I cried as they boarded their bus to head to the airport, I know that I am richer for having had the last 48 hours with them.  They are on the tail end of what proved to be an exhausting trip, and while their spunk is as spicy as ever they are slowing a bit, and it makes me appreciate more and more every second I have with them.  

It never gets easier leaving them.  

So. The moral of this post is, first - if you don't know my parents, you should because they're the greatest people on the face of this planet and I DARE you to find someone who says otherwise. Second, tell the people in your life that you love them and spend time with people who mean something to you.  Life is too damn short to try and care about those who treat you poorly or don't contribute to your life in a positive way.  

And lastly, I love you mom and dad.  I love you more than I have ever said, and I am still crying as I type this post more than an hour and a half after you left.  Thank you for all you have done for me, and continue to do for me.  You are an amazing example of people who love unconditionally and who will sacrifice all you have for others.  



I love you. 

Minnesota, take care of them while I'm gone <3


Sunday, September 4, 2016

Day Trippin'

Last weekend Tamara, Steve and I trekked about two hours away to a cute small town called Kazimierz Dolny.  One of my colleagues recommended it as a good day trip.  We met at the train station to travel together, not really knowing what was in store.  Turns out, Saturday morning is a popular time to get train tickets.  There were no fewer than a dozen ticket sale windows, but I initially started out thinking I'd stop at the info desk and ask questions regarding seat reservations, round trip tickets and timetable options.  I waited in the info line for a solid 10 minutes while one family was being helped, the biggest hiccup was that the train ticket sales lady didn't speak English.  This is the Central Warsaw Train Station.  Why on earth wouldn't the INFORMATION lady speak English? Sidenote: I'm convinced that two thirds of Poles actually speak pretty fair English, they're just timid around native English speakers, or annoyed by them.  Either way, I've seen people switch from Polish to perfect English too many times to believe that the woman behind the counter didn't speak English. Admittedly, I don't readily admit that I speak Hungarian well because it's hard for me to understand much of the language.  It's one of the many reasons I'm itching for my Polish lessons to start.

So, I gave up on the info line - it was 9:05 and our train was to leave at 9:50 - and the ticket line was long.  I thought it a better use of my time to get into the ticket purchase line rather than the info line to actually get something done.  While not all 12 sales booths were occupied, it struck me that the woman at the number 4 window was there, but wasn't helping anyone.  She just didn't look up.  That's the ticket friends, if you don't look up, there isn't actually a line of a bajillion people waiting to be helped.  It's actually brilliant when you think about it.  Finally after a solid 20 minutes in this line, Teresa buzzed that she could help the next person.  And let me tell you, Teresa should have been one of the women not looking up.  She did not love her job, and she did not love that we didn't speak English.  I was a bit nervous this being our first train ride at all - and this town in particular didn't have a direct train there.  We were going to have to do some maneuvering once we got to this OTHER town to get to Kazimierz Dolny.

Being the planner that I am, I had looked up the tickets online prior to just showing up at the train station.  I had thought about traveling to the station the night before to get the tickets as the trip was my idea and I didn't want it to crash and burn since I had invited others with me.  I knew that we wanted the 9:50 train and that it'd arrive in Puławy at 11:38.  When we tried to converse with Teresa, she indicated that we would be arriving at 13:38.  Wait.... that's 1:38.  Why on earth would the ride be double the time?  Teresa, quit playin.  What's the deal? I asked - through Google translate - if there was a faster train (knowing I had seen it online and wanted that train, not one that showed up at 1:38). Luckily for me, Teresa needed her glasses to read what I had typed, and as she fumbled for her cheaters, she did not hide her joy in taking these extra measures to help us out.  **sarcasm

Finally, we gathered that she was going to sell us tickets on the later train because 2nd class was sold out on the earlier one.  We opted for 1st class (a whole two dollars more) and off we went.  It was a pleasant ride along the Polish countryside, it went quickly with good conversation and new surroundings.  When we arrived in the town before the town we were going to  - we got off and were a little skeptical that this was all going to work out.

arrival at the train station

Naturally, the first thing I had to do was use the bathroom when we got off the train, and while I was in the loo, Tamara and Steve went to figure out how we were going to get to our town.  Unfortunately because we didn't rush right off the train, the taxis were all snatched up, and we couldn't make heads or tails of the bus schedule, so we were a bit nervous.  Luckily a taxi rolled up just before I started to panic and we were on our way.  Phew.  

We arrived and promptly set off to eat and celebrate our arrival.  When in doubt, pizza is always a safe bet, so we indulged.  :)  


The town itself was really quite cute.  We walked around for a couple of hours, walked up a bajillion stairs to see some crosses on the top of the hill - turns out you have to pay to actually get on the landing where the crosses are, but they don't tell you that until you're at the top - well played Poland.  We enjoyed the get away from the city and the creative shopping they had there.  



















I think my favorite part of the trip were the souvenirs that Steve came back with.  They are hand carved wooden monks - or hassidic jews - we're not entirely sure.  They were at a flea market in the town and Steve managed to get two for the price of one.  It may prove to be helpful to have a bargain shopper among the ranks as I travel in the future.  <3  

Steve in action

So happy....

At another shop - wondering if he should build the duo to a trio...

Steve telling us how much charm this one has

After stopping for ice cream - well deserved in the heat we faced that day - we wandered a bit more and decided it was time to go back home.  

 When you come across a giant rooster, naturally you hop on for a photo





When we were ready to leave, we meandered back to where we were dropped off by the taxi.  Sadly there were no taxis.  We walked a bit more, and found a sign that read "taxi" and had a number, so naturally we called it.  Sadly, with our lack of Polish language skills, we were unable to communicate where in the town we were.  I tried naming different buildings, telling them the street name, all of the things that normally work when calling a taxi, to no avail.  I wanted to just scream, WE'RE NEXT TO THE SIGN THAT SAYS TAXI AND HAS YOUR NUMBER.  We stopped a Polish guy, gave him the phone and for whatever reason he couldn't communicate where we were either.  It didn't make sense.  I got back on the phone and basically just said "thank you" as politely as I could and hung up.  So - we did the next best thing, tried to get an Uber.  until this happened:  


Nuts and bolts.  We wandered a bit more and finally found a taxi that was a jeep type vehicle riddled with mud up to the windows.  With this we knew one of two things were going to happen.  We were either going to take this vehicle and offroad along side the Visła to get ourselves back to the train station, or we were going on safari.  Luckily, he just drove us back to the train station and we returned to Warsaw without incident.  Day trip #nailedit.