Summer in Poland

Hi everyone

Yep, you might have had some doubts, but I am still alive. Poland has been warm for more than a month now, but recently the sun has been disturbed by rain. Not like a few drops of a light spring rain, more something like standing under the Niagara falls...

Hmm, 2 months have passed and I have seen much more of Poland. Among other places and things Białystok and Białowieża close to the border of Belarus. I went there with my colleague Karol, and he showed me his homeregion. It is mainly farmland and therefore it reminded me of where I grew up in Denmark :) Except that in DK we don't have these huge bison's roaming the land, only normal cows... All in all a really good trip, where I got to see parts of Poland that I guess not many tourists get to see.

A good percentage of the population in this region is part of the Orthodox Christian church, and for me these churches really stood out in the landscape. The architecture includes cupolas and the churces are often very colorful. In the cities the churces are large structures, and like the roman catholic churces they are heavily decorated, but you can also find small wooden church in the middle of nowhere.

Another trip brought me to Kazimierz Dolny, a small picturesque village south east of Warszawa. Due to various historical reasons, the city has preserved much of it's old buildings and layout and now many people go here for holidays. The village is full of various artists and galleries, which gives the whole place a special touch. From there I went to Lublin but got sick, so unfortunately I didn't really see anything there.

I have been to DK a few times, visiting family and friends. Really, when you are out in the world you somehow appreciate "home" much more, and the prospect of going home is something great! My assignment here is over end of August, and then I will have some weeks in Denmark - I am already looking forward to this. It has nothing to do with Poland - life is great here - but I think everyone who has been in my situation knows this feeling.

My next assignment takes me to Mexico, it has been settled now. I will be in Kolding most of September for some training and to get to know the organisation in my new department. Then, at the end of September I will go to Mexico for about 5 months. I think it will be great being in a country where I will understand at least part of what people say ;)

Like everyone else here, I have been following the European championship (do I have to mention which sport...??), and my god did we find the right winner... que viva España! Finally, after so many years did they manage to grab the gold medals. Finally I can discuss football with spanish people without seeing that eerie, nervous look in their eyes, because they KNOW that at one point the good old story of Spain ALWAYS failing will come. Finally Spain is almost as good as Denmark when it comes to football :P

Another thing is that here in Poland they really took an interest in following their team. It was the first time Poland qualified for the EC so they were really proud, and they played quite well. It was not enough to qualify for the last 16, mainly due to a "surprising" penalty kick for Austria in the dying minutes of their match, which took the air out of the Polish balloon. The day after people were not that talkative at work ;)

Next week I will be in Italy and France for a short holiday. I fly to Milan, and rent a car there. then the trip will go to Turin to pick up a colleague from India, before we head to Lyon for a party. Then we will go back to Turin/Milan/whatever on our way to Bologna for a Metallica concert. The day after Metallica I go back to Poland again, so it is just a short visit in the south. Then after a few days, I will take 1 weeks of vacation in Poland. Most probably I will go to Zakopane in the mountains to the south, but the final plan has not been put together yet.

Then I will have August to wrap up my work here before moving on to new adventures.

Travelling Matt signing off...