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Post by kaima on Dec 15, 2007 5:35:11 GMT -7
Hi Folks
Just a quick message to start this thread where I can access it if I am not signed in. Iam in Germany today after a 22 hour transit from Alaska. Phoenix. Charlotte .. Frankfurt. In a few days I will head by train te the Czech Republc to visit and then on to Slovakia for Christmas with family. I hope to keep you up to date on some of the experiences through this thread. My normally poor typing will be complcated by foreign key boards, so if you see keyboards and kezboards, you can take the z as an intende y.
So far the European food has been a treat! This evening promises to be another great time when I get together with my German Goddaughter at a restaurant for some good conversation. So far I am being spoiled with good care, some car keys for the day, and very nice people. Went into Frankfurt to look up a friend I havenät seen for 12 years. He seems to have aged a bit in the meantime!
Kai the <<<<<<<<<tourist
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Post by bescheid on Dec 15, 2007 8:17:01 GMT -7
Hi Folks Just a quick message to start this thread where I can access it if I am not signed in. Iam in Germany today after a 22 hour transit from Alaska. Phoenix. Charlotte .. Frankfurt. In a few days I will head by train te the Czech Republc to visit and then on to Slovakia for Christmas with family. I hope to keep you up to date on some of the experiences through this thread. My normally poor typing will be complcated by foreign key boards, so if you see keyboards and kezboards, you can take the z as an intende y. So far the European food has been a treat! This evening promises to be another great time when I get together with my German Goddaughter at a restaurant for some good conversation. So far I am being spoiled with good care, some car keys for the day, and very nice people. Went into Frankfurt to look up a friend I havenät seen for 12 years. He seems to have aged a bit in the meantime! Kai the <<<<<<<<<tourist kai It is good to see you are well and safe with your travels. Now care to not gain weight! Good visit, good friends, good travel to your home land. {I think it was not so long past of your visit with our computer key boards } Charles
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Post by valpomike on Dec 15, 2007 10:53:22 GMT -7
Kaima,
If you can, make some time for Poland. If you miss it, you will be sorry forever. Even if you need to stay longer, you will be glad you stopped in Poland. A good hotel in Warsaw, with a fair price, is the Noveltell Centurium, downtown. Let us know how each day goes for you.
Michael Dabrowski
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Post by suzanne on Dec 15, 2007 19:32:34 GMT -7
Happy and safe travels, Kai! And a very merry Christmas to you and your family!
Suzanne
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Post by Jaga on Dec 15, 2007 21:29:37 GMT -7
Kai, I am glad you did not forgot us although you have so many other attractions. I hope everything will be well during your stay, the Christmas and the family! Do you feel a weak dollar? I just talked today with my schoolfriend from Poland. She is a medical doctor in CT. Her husband, a Pole, was back in Poland for 2 months. He told her that life and food in America seems to be so much cheaper than in Poland
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Post by kaima on Dec 22, 2007 7:57:20 GMT -7
Hi everyone =
Just arrived in Slovakia after 5 days with family in the Czech Republic on a 15 hour train trip to get from one Aunt to the other. Back in 1970 it took me 22 hours for the same trip, so progress is being made! Obviously CzechoSlovakia was a VERY long countrry.
Reservations long in advance are a must and I stayed longer in CZ than planned and bought my ticket later... and the trains were FULL. The train with no changes was to go to Budapest eventually and I didn't know there was a Budapest car that would be detached from the rest of the train that would traverse northern Slovakia before heading south. Luckily I ran across a Slovak with excellent English skills and getting off a few stops before me. We changed trains in Prague and ended up with standing room only, so 7 of my 15 hours was getting exercise/ I also had what seems now to be about 20 pounds of childrens books from an Alaskan cousin to the Slovak cousins. It seemed to get heavier with each move of the backpack/
The standing room only was along with a LOT of Poles heading home for the holidays. What does a good Pole do in miserable circumstances? Party! We had a heck of a good time consdering the circumstances. I didn't know some people could pack so much pivo in such a small place. Since I was up wind and stuck at the window of the non=s,moking car, I was in charge of ventilation which the smokers enjoyed as much as the rest of us. My packs in the aisle were so covered with cigarette ash that the conductor - many hours later when things thinned to where she could get through the crowd - chewed me out for smoking (I am a non0smoker)
With little in common in language we still had a great time & took good care of each other. They cleared out at Chesky Tesin and headed home.
Well, enough for the report for now.
Kai
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Post by bescheid on Dec 22, 2007 8:28:21 GMT -7
Kai
Our world travller, how so good it is to hear you are well and good. What travell stories of your experiences you have to tell!
Stay safe and enjoy!
Thank you for sharing..
Charles
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Post by valpomike on Dec 22, 2007 9:20:34 GMT -7
Kai,
Enjoy your Christmas with all, and I want to wish you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, and have a great trip, and if you can fit it in, go to Poland, you will love it, I am sure.
Michael Dabrowski
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Post by kaima on Dec 23, 2007 13:22:37 GMT -7
Mike, the Poprad river separating me from Poland will probably be very shallow ... maybe I can follow the path of some of the smugglers to visit. I understand that after january 1 there will be no more border control between the two countries.
We are off to a great start here and I am really enjoying the family and the upcoming kids - they seem to be great kids! An 8 year old Alaska cousin gave me some of her old English books for the kids over here, and two of the three distributions have been made to great receptions. In going over the books with the kids I am improving my Slovak with patient native teachers, so it get no better than that. I did report to them that some of my early lessons were with pivo and vodka and a cousin who spoke better English as we drank, and my Slovak improved with every drink as well. The family still wodners at how well we can communicate in our mish-mash of language. There are some good memories there!
Kai
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Post by Jaga on Dec 23, 2007 16:05:17 GMT -7
The standing room only was along with a LOT of Poles heading home for the holidays. What does a good Pole do in miserable circumstances? Party! We had a heck of a good time consdering the circumstances. I didn't know some people could pack so much pivo in such a small place. Since I was up wind and stuck at the window of the non=s,moking car, I was in charge of ventilation which the smokers enjoyed as much as the rest of us. My packs in the aisle were so covered with cigarette ash that the conductor - many hours later when things thinned to where she could get through the crowd - chewed me out for smoking (I am a non0smoker) With little in common in language we still had a great time & took good care of each other. They cleared out at Chesky Tesin and headed home. Well, enough for the report for now. Kai Kai, I am glad you had a good experience with Poles. I remember returning from Hungary with many Polish blue collar workers in the same train carriage. These people were stuffing the carriage with many things which you could not buy in Poland. They had an extra vodka for the custom-officer to let them go....
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Post by kaima on Dec 24, 2007 8:16:28 GMT -7
Hello to you all -
Given than many Americans have romanticized images of life and culture and folk ways in the Old World, I am trying to keep decent notes on how the family celebrates a traditional holiday in this modern, post-communist day. Some are religious, some not, but traditions carry on and change with time as people and cultures do. The Old World our families left 100 years ago is not the world contemporary family lives in today, even in the villages, so it will be intersting to see what they do. I have the advantage of having spent Christmas here last year, so the routine is not strange to me. As in waiting on this First day of Christmas from breakfast to dinner at 5PM for the dinner, no snack breaks in between. It makes resisting the excellent home made pastries even more difficult.
We spent the mid day driving to three surrounding ski areas. The father learned to ski as a child under communism, but this was an unaffordable luxury as the children grew up in the new free market. Lift tickets are a whopping $20 equivalent, much more than our US $50 to $80 in purchasing power.
Tomorrow I should be headed to the village and my Aunt to celebrate the remaining two days of Christmas.
Wishing you all the best - vesele vianoce!
Kai
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Post by valpomike on Dec 24, 2007 9:17:07 GMT -7
Kai,
Thank you for shareing with us, and I wish I were there. I will be next year, that is in Poland, again, for my month stay, and this time, want to stay longer. I want to again, wish YOU AND YOURS A MERRY CHRISTMAS.
Michael Dabrowski
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Post by livia on Dec 27, 2007 2:45:26 GMT -7
Kai, I read your reports only now. It's great to read them. Please keep posting! The borders between Slovakia and Poland are fully open now. You don't have to wait till January. you can cross in the forest in the field, anywhere. VESELE VIANOCE! ;D ;D ;D
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Post by valpomike on Dec 27, 2007 8:35:32 GMT -7
Kai,
Please keep us posted, and where are you now? How long will you be gone? Where will you be for New Year's Eve?
Michael Dabrowski
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Post by Jaga on Dec 27, 2007 20:42:17 GMT -7
Kai,
what type of food does your family eat for Christmas? We were visiting for two days John's (my husband) family in Texas. Some of them are of Czech origin, also Urbans, but from a different branch, not related.
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