Next we went to Poznan in Western Poland to visit another part of Tom’s family and to see the city where Tom went to medical school. The funny thing is that Tom and I both went to medical school in Poland, about 3 hours apart (him in Poznan and me in Warsaw)—we had mutual friends in Poznan, family that lives close by in Poland…………….and yet we didn’t meet until Newfoundland, Canada. Life is funny :P
I had been to Poznan before but for just a few days. I remember I liked it but just never found the time to return. This time I liked it even more. When I mentioned earlier about the whole “revival” vs. “stagnation” of certain places, Poznan just seems to always be in a revival- always growing/changing/improving/attracting. It might be my favourite city in Poland! People have a more positive attitude (which can sometimes be hard to find in Poland or Eastern Europe in general), the city is very multicultural, and it’s a typical lively student city. I felt great there! And Tom’s family there is great too—they are well travelled and interesting to talk to. They live in a great suburb just outside of Poznan called Lubon. We took advantage of some great bike trails on a chilly fall (winter?) day biking through the forest…..it gave me a great sense of calm- riding through the forest covered in yellow leaves on a chilly day. Great exercise and some fresh air –just what I needed after a few weeks of mostly eating :P
In Poznan Tom took me to this great restaurant called ‘Zielona Weranda’ (Green Awning). It’s an artistic type of place with great teas/salads/desserts/etc. It reminded me of the book ‘The Secret Garden’—full of plants and greenery, you sort of feel like you are in a greenhouse. Fantastic atmosphere. From there we went to the Opera House to see “La Boheme” –Puccini’s opera about a pair of lovers in the slums of Paris (I don’t remember what years?). The opera was in Italian with some Polish subtitles. It was a nice way to end the night…
Now I’m sitting on the train back to Warsaw writing….
The plan is to be in Warsaw until Friday when we fly to Africa…
This will be a week of planning, relaxing, preparing…etc. We also plan to visit Siedlce (my Dad’s hometown) to visit my grandma and grandpas graves. I definitely want to see them before we leave Poland. We also plan to go to Otwock (my Mom’s hometown) on All Saints Day (November 1st) to visit my grandmas grave and spend time with family. It will be a nice last family gathering before we leave Europe.
November 3rd we are off to Rome first, before we go to Africa. I am pretty crazy when it comes to finding cheap flights and flight itinerary options. So the way I worked this one out involves us going to Rome from Warsaw using cheap regional airlines, spending a day in Rome, then flying to Tanzania that night (through Ethiopia)—we arrive in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and then we go from there. Dar es Salaam is on the Eastern side of Tanzania, and we need to get to the Northwest coast near Mount Kilimanjaro to get to the Missionary hospital. We plan to do it by bus to see the countryside and get a feel for the place--lots of planning and reading ahead. I am scared but I’m hoping with a bit of reading and awareness we will work it out…..The unfamiliar steps are about to begin….
