July 2, Krakow.

Yesterday we had another day of meetings, and then I decided to take the afternoon off and hung around my room to recharge. Later in the evening, Dzhamilya (from Kazakhstan, at the meeting) and I went to the mall because she had to buy her mom a dress. After we got back from shopping, the two of us went to Roxana's room and hung out for a while. I guess a point of meetings like this is to establish relationships with people. I think I was pretty successful with that this trip, and I'll have another chance in September to see if I remember everyone's names.

Today we packed and checked out, left our luggage in the hotel, and Rox, Judith, and I went to Warsaw proper. The thing about Warsaw is that it was almost totally destroyed in WWII - really, if you see pictures, there were just shells of buildings, and at least every other structure was totally flattened. After the war, Poland decided to rebuild Warsaw in the old style, rebuilding the apartments and stores using old photos and paintings as a guide. So, when you walk down the city center and go into the squares, they look so real, and so old. But knowing that they were all totally destroyed, that it's almost a fake reclaiming of the past, makes looking at the buildings so sad. Judith bought a postcard with pictures of the same building in 1945 and now - it's amazing, and depressing.

I took the train to Krakow, which is about a 2-1/2 ride. It's really, really difficult to feel comfortable with your plans when you don't speak the language. The only reason I knew where to go for the train was because the guy who sold me the ticket was kind enough to write it down. I didn't know that there were assigned seats on the train (it was a REAL train, not a wimpy New Jersey transit one. Now I can say I've actually been on a train!) Then, I thought Krakow was the last (only) stop on the train, but in fact it was the FIRST stop, so I was totally unprepared when the train stopped, and I didn't know how long it was going to sit in the station for, and I was terrified that I'd make it to the doors just in time to see them close and miss my stop. Fortunately, the train sat there for a while and I got off in time. And then, I kept getting accosted by people trying to sell me hostel reservations, but I already had one paid for, so instead I had to ask them to show me the way to this one. They directed me to the "representative" (I don't know what else to call him) from my hostel, and he was very nice - he showed me where the suitcase lockers were, and gave me a map and easy directions.

It was about a 15 minute walk from the train station, and in those 15 minutes I completely fell in love with Krakow. The city itself is so old, and I was walking through the scenic city center (the train station and the hostel are on opposite sides). But the people are so young... I think I only saw three or four people over 40 years old. It seems like it's got a culture all its own, and I wish I were staying here longer so that I could really experience it. Having only one real day to explore means I have to pick between things I want to see, so tomorrow I'll probably stick around Krakow itself instead of going to the Wielika salt mines like I'd planned - it's great in the pictures, but it's a five-or-so hour excursion, and I'd rather stay in the area instead of wasting the travel time.