Chopin in the Park

Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014--Poznan to Warsaw

Last night after posting to the blog, we heard drums pounding and people chanting.  A little while later, we started hearing music.  We decided to go out to investigate.  We just followed the sound.  It took us to a park about 4 blocks from our apartment.  It was a rehearsal for a folklife performance called Integration that was to take place tonight.  Wes had read about the performance and was sorry that we were leaving town and couldn't attend.  Well, we stood there for about 1 1/2 hours seeing most of the performance as a rehearsal.  It included groups from Poland, Hungary, Ukraine, Japan, Cypress, and Mexico.  They performed folk music and folk dances.  It was fun to see and a surprise event we didn't expect to get to attend.

This morning, we didn't have to rush, because our train didn't leave until 11:27.  We ate breakfast at the apartment--soft boiled eggs, bread, herb cheese, camembert cheese, and tea.  I made sandwiches for us to have later in the day.  Even though we left at 10:30, the couple who own the apartment were still asleep because of attending a wedding last night.  We felt bad about waking them up, but we needed to give them the key and have them lock the door behind us.

We were in a full compartment in the train--5 guys (including the two of us) and 3 ladies.  For the first 2 hours of the 3 1/2 hour trip Wes and I would occasionally said something to each other, but no one else talked.  I saw that one of the guys, a young one who seemed a bit awkward socially was reading an English manual and had a copy of Newsweek with him.  At one point, when Wes went for the second time to the walkway to stand by the window, the young man jumped up and went out to talk to him.  Later, when one of the women was outside the compartment, I leaned toward the young man and talked to him, too.  His English vocabulary and his structure of his sentences were both perfect, but he was very slow at talking.  He had a more difficult time understanding what we said.  He just seemed to be very slow at processing what he was to say and what he heard.  Our conversation, however, caused others to become involved.  Eventually all 5 of us guys were talking among each other.  One was reading an American book entitled Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life by Larry Winget which he said was very funny.  The other young man is a lawyer.  We talked to him about the importance of English in his job.  All were surprised that we are travelling so long.  The lawyer was surprised that we walk so much--not the reputation for Americans that he had in mind.  And he was very surprised that we already knew about a concert that we hoped to attend this afternoon. 

Our hotel is only 3 blocks from the train station.  Wes booked it, because we couldn't find any apartments except ones far from the center.  It's a Hampton--apparently a new name being used for larger hotels now that Hampton Inns have been bought buy Hilton.  The room is nice, but we could have used a refrigerator.

We arrived at 15:00 at the station and got checked in at the Hampton within 15 minutes.  The weather was not promising for an outdoor concert, so we were just taking our time in the room.  Suddenly, the skies cleared around 15:40, so we rushed to make it to the park taking the sandwiches I had made this morning.  We arrived at 16:10 with piano music by Chopin in the air.  A large crowd was enjoying the sunshine and the concert.  The pianist, Masako Ezaki from Japan, was under a small arched tent cover just beside the beautiful statue of Chopin in the park.  It is a series that occurs every Sunday and goes back to 1959.  We sat on the ground and started eating.  Half-way through our meal, some women left a bench in front of us and we grabbed it. 

After the concert, we walked through the park.  It has a former palace known as the Palace Upon the Water.  And there was a special Chinese festival of lights with lighted lanterns along the walkways, lighted animal figures, lighted lotus blossoms floating in a lake, etc.  People were in boats on the water, wandering through the park, having tea in the garden of a restaurant, singing folk songs, etc.

There are always business matters as part of traveling.  Back in the room, I searched for a place to stay in Krckow and have tried to make a reservation.  I will hear whether it is accepted within 24 hours.  If the owner doesn't respond, I have start again trying to find a place to stay while I am there.

Note:  My phone is working again.  The solution was to update the app for my phone company after updating the software for the phone itself.  I can now make calls and receive voice mails and sms messages again.