Home Again

it looks like I had the plane to myself, when really I was just sitting in the last row

I returned to Poznan late yesterday after two months stateside.  It will be interesting to see if posting more frequently will reduce the spam comments on my blogs.  I’ve heard that inactive blogs are often targets.  I want to encourage readers to comment, so I make it very easy – nothing to type to prove that you’re not a machine.  The downside of that is that machines fill up the comment section with gobblety-gook (sometimes obscene) which always ends in “click on this link to visit my page.”  I delete the comments as soon as I see them, but when they’re on a roll, they’re coming every 10 minutes, so you can see where staying on top of it could become a full-time job.

Maybe I shouldn’t say this so soon and jinx myself, but I slept all night.  Only two groups of people get excited about that, new parents and people who’ve crossed many times zones.  OK, I’m willing to add insomniacs to that list.

any visit with less than an hour wait is a good one

It’s early afternoon, and we’ve gotten a lot done today.  We picked up my resident permit – the renewal came in while I was away.  This office will be a familiar sight for all of the foreigners in town.

with Justyna at the Gazeta Cafe

We met with Justyna, a reporter for the Gazeta, a local paper.  Apparently there will be some mention of my thoughts on Easter in Poland in their Saturday edition.  I hope I said enough on that subject to give her something to work with.  I do know that we had a very enjoyable chat – the kind that meanders through many topics.

our newest mall, I had expected it to be an office building

A new mall opened while I was away, Galeria MM, so we took a quick tour.  The outside of this structure is unusual, and I suspect somewhat controversial.   It’s modern architecture is very noticeable among its Old Town neighbors, and I enjoy the juxtaposition.

I know from friends, who moved to Poznan before we did, that 7 or 8 years ago, there were no shopping malls.  Now there are several, and this one is a very short walk from Stary Browar – probably the largest mall.  I wonder if these malls will all still be here in another 7 or 8 years.  Are there enough people spending money in what seem to be very high end shops to keep them all in business?  Only time will tell.

Our outing concluded with a walk through the Stary Rynek.  We saw the scaled down remains of the pre-Easter market in the old square, and since we were there at noon, we got to hear the trumpeter and see the small crowd gathered for the goats butting heads on the Old Town Hal.  These are mechanized goats, Poznan’s version of a cuckoo clock.

I’m trying to remember if this will be my first Easter in Poznan.  Celebrating holidays loses a lot without extended family nearby, so I think we’ve usually been traveling over Easter.  Our usual tradition, at home in Arizona, has been to host a tea party after church for family and friends complete with fancy finger foods and now that our daughters are older, beverages more along the line of champagne cocktails rather than tea.

If I were truly a Polish housewife, I would be gathering up a basket of food with salt, horseradish, eggs, cake, and maybe butter molded into the shape of a lamb.  All over Poland, baskets like this will be taken to church on Saturday to be blessed by the priest.  The foods, which represent parts of the Easter story, will be untouched until Sunday.

I may not be over my jet lag.  In the time it’s taken me to write this, a nap is starting to sound really good. 😉