Shared a compartment with a priest and an older woman who made a snuffly noise with her nose every time she breathed deeply. Odd. Turns out Poland is flat, like northern Germany, and just looks poorer. By the time I got to Warsaw, the train was running an hour late, so I missed my connecting train to Lublin. I had a horrible time trying to convince the relics behind the counter that I needed another ticket, but finally got one, and settled down with a cappuccino (choice of vanilla or chocolate flavoring….I don’t think we’re in Germany anymore, Toto) to wait.
In Lublin I had arranged to be met by my boss, Tomasz, but because I was three hours late, he didn’t seem to be meeting me after all. I didn’t have his number, and was a little worried, because the Lublin train station isn’t really where you’d hope to spend your first Polish night. Then—hurrah!—he showed up and drove me the hour to Chełm, where we were met at the department by some of my future colleagues (who had done a little shopping for me, so I’d have something to eat for breakfast!).
We left my things in my new apartment—huge, with three bedrooms, a large kitchen, living room, hot and cold running water, and fully functional heaters—and ate dinner in a curious underground restaurant, the terminus of Chełm’s famous chalk tunnels. Then: off to bed, with the promise of lunch and a tour the next day, alone for the first time in an unknown apartment………in as long as I can remember.
Man clearing the snow with an awesomely large shovel
Two views from my apartment
No comments:
Post a Comment