Roll Out the Barrel!: Home Again, Home Again!

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

So what if I stayed up last night until midnight and got to sleep around two. Today is a down day and we’ve got all the time in the world to sleep in. Until 3:13. That’s when the cat, Mr. Can’t Shut Up, decides he’s unhappy. He meows continuously and marches in a circle from the front door, through the kitchen, down the hall into my room, and back to the front door! I get up and follow him to see if there’s any way I can make him happy. He really wants me to open the front door. Last night during one of our many forays into the attic we neglected to close the front door and he followed me upstairs. It’s a good thing he also followed me back down! That may have been his first visit up there, and he liked it!

He can’t go upstairs. He can’t go out on the balcony in the middle of the night. He can’t get into his normal room because Marilyn is sleeping in there with the door closed and he can’t get into his second-favorite place, Hanna’s room, because the rats live in there and we got in trouble for leaving the door open. No wonder the poor little guy is so upset. He never even looked at the rats as far as I can tell. He only enjoyed sleeping on her bunk bed over her desk. By four o’clock I can’t take it any more and let him into Hanna’s room. He’s happy as the proverbial and I go back to sleep.

Everything is fine until six, two hours later, when we are both awakened by the most humongous crash!! We have set up the drying rack in the bathroom with a towel underneath, the fan blowing and the window open. Maybe the clothes will dry! Well there is one heck of a windstorm blowing everything around outside and blowing the bathroom window wide open, clearing everything from the window ledge and depositing it in the bathtub. Unfortunately one of those things is a ceramic pitcher, which is now “no more.” There is no power and the skies are quite dark as the rain approaches, so we can’t really estimate other possible damage.

It's REALLY dark and wind is so loud!!

The construction site next door lost lots of pieces of stuff.

The banners across the street were straight out.

The sky is a bit brighter but the wind is still ferocious!

Well, I’m up for the day. Marilyn and I watch the storm for a while and discuss our plans which had included going into town to get our train tickets to Prague. Finally she decides to go back to bed for a nap. I don’t nap well and stay up. The power comes back on, the cat is happier and I clean up the mess in the bathtub so I can use it!

It's interesting to peek in other people's cabinets!
It's not snooping when you are living here!

Eventually the storm passes and we begin our day. Breakfast, a bit of blogging, a bit of planning and then a trip upstairs to see about the rest of our laundry. After more twiddling and button pushing, a miracle occurs and the Bosch Classixx 5 deigns to run another load! Of course it still won’t drain and we bring the clothes downstairs, wring everything out, just like the good old days that everyone thinks were so great, and hang them on the rack.

Eventually we get it in gear and head into town to collect our train tickets to Prague. We know our way to the Ladybug or, as I like to call it, the Bedonkadonk, and onto the tram. First we have to stop and buy another tram ticket each. There is a parking space but it is for taxis. We think we’ll be gone before a cop comes; but as we’re getting out of the car a man stops and warns us that there is a huge fine for parking there. As luck would have it, he is in the only legal spot and he is leaving! We are so protected! I go buy the tickets from the magic machine and Marilyn stays with the car. Amazing! I remember how to do it!

Vans!! (Stu!)

Back I come, and with only a few minutes’ wait we are on our tram and on our way. We get off at our usual stop and find the train station. After a bit of conversation with the ticket with the ticket agent we learn that we have to go somewhere else to collect our tickets. The email is on Marilyn’s phone and it turns out that we only have to go to the post office right next door.

The new Krakow train station.

We've been dying to try one of these bread-ish treats.
They are sold on the sidewalks and smell delicious!
They are called obwarzanki and are a bit like bagels
but larger and with a bigger hole in the middle.
This one is cheese flavored. (We shared!)

On our way to the post office we see a big Pepsi display set up. There is music and two queues of teenagers. As we watch we realize that they are doing a taste taste and receive a pair of sunglasses at the end. I don't know if they have to choose Pepsi to get the glasses!

At the post office Marilyn just shows the lady at the window a Polish sentence in the email and she retrieves our tickets!! Nothing to it!

We’re back on our tram and heading home. We retrieve the car and go to the gas station. This time we just make a u-turn instead of playing pedestrian and I go inside to pay while she pumps. The lady inside asks me something in Polish and from my vacant smile decides that I want my charge to be in dollars! Good call – no extra fundage for the bank! The she asks me to put in my PIN. I’ve never had to use the PIN for this card. I take a stab at remembering what came on the post card a year ago and BINGO!! I got it!!

Gas paid for, we head to the Lidl, the other grocery store to check it out and to get a few things, like salad makings and wine and eggs. We get to the register and have forgotten the eggs so I go back to look for them. Interesting fact, Polish egg cartons only have ten eggs in them!

Do the math on this piece of steak! And remember that
a zloty is roughly twenty-five cents.

Strange color for peppers!

Many kinds of tinned meat spreads - I think!

A bit like Target! This grocery sells clothes and luggage and other stuff!

Aren't they beautiful? They are cheese with various coatings.
One, I know, is pineapple!

The wine and whiskey and sake and scotch are all
mixed together on the same shelves!

These wine prices look pretty normal until
you remember to divide by four!

Groceries bought we get to go home! We open all the windows and try to cool off the flat and give Mr. Chatterbox some outdoor time on the balcony. Mostly he is freaked because the wind keeps blowing various doors shut and making lots of noise. Poor darling.

The wine is chilling and we start dinner. Marilyn’s diet includes some interesting recipes, like frog-in-the-hole made with a red pepper ring instead of bread! We had some ham that Paulina left us to go with it and a big salad, and life is good!

I bought a little candy to find out what it is and I’m surprised to find that it is basically Werther’s Crème du Leche. It’s good but not something unusual as I was hoping. I also bought some cheese that is mild and spreadable but, again, nothing unusual. I finish it anyway. Who’s surprised?

We plan on going to bed early so that we can pack and clean up in the morning before heading to Poznan to meet Marilyn’s cousin!! With luck it will stay cool tonight and the cat will be happy and we can catch up on our sleep before meeting the family!!

Since I have a little time, here are some shots that I took with my iPhone and have just imported. Enjoy!