10 days in Poland.

For many reasons, I rarely (ie: never) sign on for pre-planned, guided group tours. However, this choir tour to Poland presented itself. I had never been to Poland and I had been unable to sing with my regular choir this past season, so I decided to give it a whirl. The singing was wonderful. Many things went well, other things, not so much. But I lived to tell the tale.

We visited Warsaw, Gdansk and Krakow, all cities with fascinating histories. And, unlike my usual digs when I travel, we stayed in 5-star hotels. I’d paid a bit extra for a private room, so I could crash out when I needed to. Breakfast was included and it was a far cry from the usual pre-wrapped pastries and instant coffee you might find at a Motel 6.

Our first concert was at a shopping mall. There was a small performance venue in a sort of balcony area and it had been set up with a piano, sound system and chairs. It was surprisingly well-attended and fun to sing to an appreciative audience.

We were originally going to do a full concert in a church the next day, but it turned out to be a holiday – Corpus Christi – so our guides felt that it would not be well attended. Instead, we got to sing as part of the procession through town. This was quite special and involved many priests, nuns, bands and flowers, along with different symbols of the Church. We sang at one church, and then walked down to a second church and sang again.

I did not anticipate the amount of walking that would be involved…mostly on uneven, cobblestoned paths. Even though I had a stout waking stick, I took a spill walking back to the hotel after lunch. This was actually the second fall I’d had on this trip (the first was when I stepped into an indentation in the pavement in London) and although I wasn’t seriously hurt, it shook me up a bit. I resolved to forgo the scheduled walking tours and take an Uber when needed. This turned out to be a good plan.

I tried many different foods in Poland. My absolute favorite was the traditional “sour rye” soup with sausage and egg. But I also had delicious borscht, some excellent pasta, several varieties of potato pancakes, goulash, fantastic bread and cheese, great beer and incredible pastries. And of course, pierogi!

In Gdansk, we sang in a beautiful old church that had been restored many times. Gdansk was basically blown to smithereens during WWII and the indefatigable Poles rebuilt it, minus the “German” elements and with straighter drain pipes.

I also visited numerous other churches, all with amazing architecture, inside and out.

The Basilica of St Mary in Gdansk had this amazing astronomical clock. I was lucky enough to get there right before noon, when it did its thing. Adam and Eve at the top rang the chimes, 12 apostles marched around in formation and were followed by the inevitable Death (with a scythe!) it was pretty cool.

There were also these two sculptures, one modern, one old, which I found incredibly moving.

In both Gdansk and Krakow, I did a “Golf Cart” tour of the city. These are fun, because they’re a little smaller and more personal than the huge “hop-on, hop-off” bus tours. (In Gdansk, I was the only one, so I really got special treatment.) The history goes back centuries. Both cities were very much affected by WWII and the Holocaust, and they still echo that today. (And sadly, it seems we have not learned much from the past…)

Many more scenes from the cities…

I think I’d like to return – there is so much I didn’t see!

Tomorrow, we all disperse. I’ll miss singing with the group. Most of the choir is heading back to the states, but some of us are staying on. Including me!

This is one of the songs in our repertoire. It was written by Martin Sedek, our director.

Pokój, miłość, piękno, radość
Peace, love, beauty, joy
When all are together
I can hear a song of old
It is in the voice of the birds
In the blanket of the sun
All of life sings out!
Peace, love, beauty, joy!

A trip to Poland and beyond, with a brief stop in Old Blighty!

I was offered the opportunity (through the Worcester Chorus) to participate in a choir tour of three cities in Poland. Having never been to Poland, I jumped at the chance. And then, since I was already going to be “over there” I decided to tack on a train and ferry journey through Scandinavia! Since I hate jet lag, I opted for a couple of days in London to rest up first.

I stayed at the Hotel Alexandra, conveniently near Paddington Station.i had stayed there before…a very basic little hotel, with small, simple rooms, but everything I needed, reasonably priced and spotlessly clean.

I had taken an overnight flight and was feeling rumpled and a bit cranky. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that my room was ready early! I took a hot shower and a long nap…and emerged feeling almost normal.

I had plans to go down to the South Bank, so I got myself a bento box at a place in Paddington Station and then took the Circle Line to Blackfriars Bridge. Paddington is a hub for many lines and has been built up and modernized over the years. But you can still see the old “bones” of the station. In fact, all of London is like that…old bones with new bones on top. Modern buildings next to ancient pubs and houses, tiny alleyways next to 4-lane roads.

The Globe Theater is an almost exact replica of Shakespeare’s original theater on the Thames, just a bit further down the river than the first one. They do amazing productions and I had purchased a ticket for their “Romeo and Juliet” that evening. It was set in the old West, with typical costumes (and cowboy hats) of the time. The words, however, were pure Shakespeare. I especially liked Juliet, who played the character not as a starry-eyed fair and delicate flower, but as an angsty, emo, willful teenager, determined to get her man at all costs.

The next morning, I slept in and had a couple of cups of strong tea while I reviewed the choir music. Then I took myself to a lovely pub right down the road and had a a decent latte and a spectacular lunch….pâté, an incredible warm salad with roasted chicken peas and butternut squash and “affogato” for dessert. (Vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it!) I sat outside under a honeysuckle vine and relaxed.

This Pub had a very cool interior and some elegant rooms upstairs.

There had been some issues with TSA at the gate when I boarded the plane in Boston. Seems my walking stick (which has a large rubber tip at the end) had a metal nub under the rubber tip. Which, if you squinted, could be seen as a “point.” Which, according to the very serious TSA man, could possibly be used to break a window in the plane. I have brought this walking stick on at least half dozen flights and never had a problem. The TSA man told me that they probably “just felt sorry for me” and let me through. I suggested that maybe he could also feel sorry for me. He finally relented, but I decided to see if I could get a proper, classier walking stick with no “point” at the end. I went to James Smith & Sons, a venerable British company that has been in business since 1830. They fixed me right up. After I’d chosen the perfect stick (made of hickory wood) the worker in the shop customized it for me for length and made sure the metal tip under the rubber bottom was blunt. Not pointed.

That evening I met up with some old friends. We sat at a table at Browns near Covent Garden, had some drinks and some nibbles and chatted for several hours! So nice to reconnect.

The next morning, I had to be at Heathrow for a 7:35am flight, so dragged myself to Paddington at the ungodly hour of 4:30am. Slept on the plane and was picked up in Warsaw by one of the tour coordinators. We are staying in a beautiful 5-star hotel right near Old Town and I am so looking forward to singing with the group!

London calling, Yes, I was there, too
And you know what they said? Well, some of it was true
(London calling) At the top of the dial
And after all this, won’t you give me a smile?
London calling…