Biking, Swimming, Biking to Swimming (Termy Maltanskie)

After Ed’s second visit to his physical therapist, his PT – the business owner, saw us climbing the stairs outside her office.  She noticed that Ed made it up the steps before I did.  The next time we were there, she suggested that I might benefit from some time with one of her colleagues.  That has helped with my knee and my shoulder (injured on a rough tram ride); it’s also led to a visit with an orthopedic surgeon to see if all was in order.  (On a side note, Poznan has an excellent physical therapy program at AWF, one of the universities.  There are an abundance of well trained PTs in the city; it’s even commonplace for them to make house calls.)

The diagnosis for my knee was arthritis, which has led me to think that I should cut back on long walks, as that seems to bring on pain and swelling.  We’ve been biking a lot, and this week, I began swimming.  I paid my first visit to Termy Maltanskie, the new water park near our home.  I watched this huge complex rise up from the ground during my bike rides around the lake in recent years.  It’s enormus and plays host to swimming and diving competitions.

Key forgotten – it was a 6 mile ride in the rain, just for fun

I rode my bike to Termy Maltanskie twice yesterday, once without the key for my bike lock, a second time with the key.  (UGH!) With all my commuting yesterday, I logged 15 miles on the bike and .25 mile in the pool.  The facility is amazing, I’ve never seen so many pools in one place before, and with a very nice atmosphere even for the indoor pools.

I guess coming from Arizona, where most pools are outdoors, I’ve never been a fan of indoor pools.  I visited an indoor pool in England back in the 70s and that really shaped by opinion of indoor swimming.  The air reeked of chlorine, the pool itself was dark and cold.  It just wasn’t pleasant.  That wasn’t the case at Termy Maltanskie.  I visited the sport pools for laps yesterday and the aqua park.  Although indoors, the space and the water are bright and inviting.

Since I was at the lake, I treated myself to dinner at Taj India, the best India restaurant in town.   It was my plan to take home leftovers – can’t beat fish curry for breakfast.  I sat on the terrace, which isn’t much bigger than the balcony at our flat.  What they lack in size, they make up in view.  The lake was abuzz in the early evening with cyclists, joggers, roller-bladers, and people sitting in the bleachers, just relaxing and taking in the view.  I have to remember to take this kind of evening with me when we return to the states, do something that involves movement, relax and enjoy nature.  It shouldn’t be that hard, should it?

view from Taj India

an even better view from Taj India

Tonight, I biked to Stary Bowar, one of the shopping malls in town.  Since it was getting late, I picked up sushi take-out, grabbed a few groceries at PiP and a chai at Starbucks while my meal was being prepared.  Yes, with enough for left-overs.  Ed’s in the states at the moment, so that’s my excuse for not cooking.  The holiday will have to stop though.  I’m in the process of cooking my way through a Polish cookbook, cover to cover, and all this dining out is slowing my progress.

Not a bad view from the bridge to Stary Browar tonight either

While being on my own is not a new experience for me – ask any military wife about that, there is always something strange about being on my own and so far from any family, 6,000 miles (10000 km).  At the moment, my reason for being in Poland is gone, and this feels just a little bit crazy.  Fortunately, my reason for being here will be home soon.  🙂