Feb 8 - Warsaw, Poland - Day 2

Saturday dawned a beautiful day in Warsaw. We once again we had breakfast and were off exploring by 9am.

Our first goal was to get to the Uprising Museum...after a few wrong turns (about 2 miles worth) we finally got there! But on the way, dad covertly posed with Flat T and Pope John Paul II - we couldn't miss that. At the museum, Flat T is in front of the Ghetto Wall (inside). It was pretty surreal to see 9 Rybicki's on the list of those that died during the Uprising! I am glad that we found our way there - I think it was Dad's favorite, historical part of the trip.

After that comes another interesting little trek. Dad had found out that there was a St. Adelbert's Church in Warsaw (that isn't actually what the name looks like in Polish) so, since it was my mom's aunt's church, he wanted to go there and see if he could find a mass card for Aunt Helen. Well...we found the road...and we walked and walked and walked...OMG! We were definitely not in Kansas anymore - or, maybe we were in Kansas by the time we got there! But, the church was locked up tight - so we just have a picture for Aunt Helen...it will have to do, because we weren't walking alllllllll the way back there! :)

Our one sad miss while there was that we went to the Jewish Cemetary on Saturday...not taking into account that Saturday is the Jewish Day of worship and the cemetary was closed. :( We were able to peak through the heavy wood door - and it looked amazing - but that was all we got to see.

I am leaving out a lot of parts - but it was a fabulous trip that I'm glad we made! We ended our Saturday at Patrick's Irish Pub again - it's right next door to the hotel - and then called it quits. If we walked any LESS than 12 miles over the two days, I would be shocked!

I hope you all enjoyed the pics - I've got plenty more where that came from!

Good-night and God-bless,

back in Berlin

Feb 7 - The Motherland, Day 1 (Fri)

Dad and I had an evening train to Warsaw on Thursday night - getting to the hotel around 11:30PM. The Polonia Palace was fabulous!! What it may have lacked in internet services (we could read online as much as we liked, just couldn't upload anything) it made up for in location, comfort (hot showers!!!) and all out service! We had a night cap at the bar downstairs Bojangles...how funny to walk into a bar in Warsaw, Poland and have every picture on the walls be of the Rat Pack!

We got up bright and early on Friday and after a great breakfast, started off across the city with our maps! We walked up to Old Town - which is actually rebuilt to look like what it was, because Warsaw was basically destroyed in WWII. It is a beautiful area with quaint old shops and cafes. We explored there for quite a while, and then headed south to an area of Palaces, the botanical garden and a large park. Oddly enough - we saw a peacock, which is very odd in the middle of snow and cold! Flat Tony posed with a lion outside one of the small buildings on the grounds...never fear, he didn't miss the trip!

We walked and we walked and we walked. My legs ached so badly by the end of the day - that Patricks Irish Pub is the only place dad and I could have possibly ended up! Now, these aren't ALL dad's, but he wanted the picture, so we're going to go ahead and give him credit. :) After our stop off, we went back to the hotel and cleaned up to go to the Polish buffet in the hotel. Just our luck...typically the buffet is 150 PLN per person ($49.00)...well Friday night is was 105 PLN ($34.27) each AND we got a free bottle of wine. The food was great, the wine was great - and the server and F&B manager were completely fabulous! We couldn't have asked for a better experience!

Day 2 coming soon!!

Good-night and God-bless,

from Berlin

Feb 2 - Weekend One with Dad

Dad safely made it to Berlin on Friday and all is well!

Friday afternoon we started out practicing with the trains and walked side to side down Unter den Linden from the Brandenburg Gate to the Berliner Dom. We walked, and we walked, and we walked. We did stop for him to get his picture taken with Marilyn - what man wouldn't want that?! Germany doesn't skimp on salting the sidewalks from the snow...but it was still pretty slippery out there. Once we finished up our Friday sight-seeing, then we came back and ate at the Greek restaurant downstairs. I don't know the name of the licoricey shot...but Dad was a good sport and drank him "ooomp-pah juice".

Saturday was another full day of walking. First Dad played an organ on the side of the road, and then Flat Tony and I took him on another train ride to help him figure out how to get to where his tours start (all three start at the same place, by the Zoo). Then we went to Olympic Park and the East Side Gallery - East Side Gallery was new for me. This picture is of Dad and Buddy bear across the street for the Gallery. We easily walked 6 miles yesterday - and then treated ourselves to some yummy Indian food.

Friday and Saturday were beautiful, but today we woke up to gray and sleety rain. And since we are both sore from all the walking...we did the basics only today. Without any assistance Dad got us back to his tour start point and then we ran by Tempelhof Airport. We walked out to the large field - but it was too darn cold and nasty to stay out there longer -- hopefully he will get back there later this week for better pictures.

Now we are pooped and on to the NCIS mini marathon! We hope this finds you all well. I (personally) am bummed that I'm missing the Super Bowl tonight and the commercials - I won't be waking up to go to a bar to watch the game at 12:30am. :) But since I can't be there to cheer - I want to say Go Broncos!!

Good-night and God-bless,

from Berlin

Jan 26 - Oberursel

Happy Sunday friends!

First thing this morning I was at Tegel Airport for my flight to Frankfurt and taxi ride (40 min +/-) north to Oberursel.

I have to admit, the further we drove from Frankfurt the more worried I got...if for no other reason that, as you get outside a city, you are less and less likely to find people speaking English.

So, I get to the hotel in Oberursel and I accept the fact that I will be eating at the hotel restaurant because I am totally out of my element. I get to the room and unpack, and the little Unflat Tony in the back of my head is telling me to AT LEAST go for a walk! Well those that know him know that he can be a pretty persistent bugger, even if he is only in your head. :) So I bundle back up, and off I go!

I have to say that I am really glad I ventured out! Oberursel is much more my speed (I am not a "big town crowds" kind of girl). Town is about a 10-15 min walk from the hotel and very charming town with a number of restaurants. I chose an Irish pub, Mac Gowans. The pub is run by a super young lady (dad owns it) who is half Irish and half German and spoke wonderful English. She told me that besides Rolls-Royce being in town, there is an International School which is 90% english speaking people - I would say the bar (children included) were probably 50/50 on what language they were speaking. It was a great place, and I ate my first hamburger in months - it was worth every fat gram!!

Now I'm back in my comfort zone (the hotel) and definitely won't be needing to eat dinner! I hope this finds you all well, and enjoying your weekend.

God-bless,

from Oberursel, Germany

Jan 21 - A Day in the Life

Okay folks...here I am again to provide your daily dose of amusement (picture me in full Jester gear for this one)! And Flat Tony is not included in any of the photos (although he was present) because I didn't want to get him muddy, salty, or otherwise yucky.

The day started off fine - I was 10 minutes early to my Regional train, which leaves at 7:41a. The announcement comes across that the train is running 20 minutes late (sounds like "swan-zig spaten"). This isn't a big deal - I have my extra cup of coffee to keep me warm, and the little Bieber boys (they are probably 13 years old, with their perfectly coiffed hair, and run around taking pictures of graffiti on trains) are there for my amusement. So, the train shows up at 8:01 and away we go.

Well, it probably doesn't need to be mentioned...but if a train LEAVES late, then it probably ARRIVES late too, right? Well, that thought never crossed my mind until we arrived at the Dahlewitz platform to watch the bus pulling away and noting (on the sign board) that the next one would be by in 22 minutes! I have failed to mention, to this point, that its lightly snowing and in the low 20's.

Most people take off to walk to work, and I leave with one engineer I know, and two others to do the same. Thank God this was a low boots day. Another side note: it is about a 10-15 minute bus ride to work.

So, we start walking. We walk about 1/3 of the way where we hope to grab the bus. WELLLLLLLL, the bus shows up and is so incredibly full that you could not have squeezed a newborn in there - much less 4 adults with briefcases! So, on we go - down the slippery cobblestone walkways all the way to RR, passing schools, neighborhoods and this cemetary on the way. Amazingly, none of us fell...but each of us slipped more than once...I was ready to do the "Superstar" again, after all of that - but it wasn't needed! Shew. I asked my co-walkers about the distance we walked, and they said at least 5k (~3.2 miles). Definitely NOT the way I wanted to start my day!!

Oh to be back in the States with my own car and only being at the mercy of the parking garage. :)

I hope I've given you all a little amusement for the day - and that yours is better (my toes are finally thawing out!).

God-bless,

from Berlin

Jan 15 - A Country Song

Hello friends! I hope this finds you well on "Hump Day"!

Does anyone know the country song about the guy that wants to go out drinking on Friday night and finds out that one of his pals got a new girlfriend, and one quit drinking? I think I'm living that in Derby! :) I had two good pals that you could always count on for a few "ciders" while in town. Well one had to go back to his home tonight (a few hours away) and the other quit the adult bevies! Geez Louise - I love 'em dearly, but a trip to jolly old England with no cider? Almost doesn't seem worth the airfare. But they did have a photo op with Flat Tony - excuse their off-center ties but I wouldn't let them retake the photo since they were both smiling!!

I did behave like a true tourist tonight and have Fish & Chips for dinner. Since I skipped lunch I figured the calories would even out! :)

On a totally random note...a friend of mine, from Indy (who I haven't seen in years) was actually in Derby today too. Sherry, I am pretty sure your visit to Derby was to Derby College? Well, that is what I look at out my hotel window! Probably the closest we have been in years! I hope you've enjoyed your trip.

I hope this finds you all enjoying mid-week and on the downhill slide.

Good-night and God-bless,

from Jolly Old England

Jan 14 - The Joys of International Travel

Good evening friends!

My travel from Berlin to Derby will provide you with your daily bought of amusement, but I don't have pictures - so you will just have to pretend. And I only have 30 minutes to type it because that is the "free" portion of in room internet!

I noticed this morning that the admin at work only left a 45 minute gap between flight one and flight two. I didn't think much of it...until my Berlin flight took off 30 minutes late! I had forgotten how HUGE of an airport Frankfurt was...and I hauled butt through there in order to make flight #2. Thank God there was no person in the middle seat of our 3 seats because I had sweat dripping down my neck and back!

Then I arrive in Birmingham and had a lovely car driver to Derby (really, he was super sweet). I get to the hotel, and to my room, to start unpacking. I realize that I have forgotten my power cord adapter for my tablet and my computer. UGH. Then I realize that I couldn't have used my adaptor anyways because the UK and Germany have different plugs. OMG! THEN I notice that this room DOESN'T HAVE A HAIR DRYER. So, not only can I not use my curling iron because I don't have an adaptor, I can't even dry my hair? Oh, how awesome I was going to look for all my meetings tomorrow! As you can imagine - I was about 2.5 seconds from full breakdown mode and wanting to take the first flight from Birmingham back to the U.S. (I was even willing to go through dreadful Newark at this point!).

BUT...I saved myself from the meltdown and called the desk. Well, they couldn't help me, but they were looking for chargers for me. I decided to go down there and see where the closest store was (but everything closes super early in Derby, just like Berlin). I was telling my story to the two young kids at the reception desk, and when I described what I had intended to bring - the wonderful young man down there had TWO in the drawer...so he gave me one to use during my stay!! And one better than that - they have 3-4 extra hair dryers down there too!!!

So, I will not scare everyone I work with tomorrow, and I won't be booking an immediate multi-thousand dollar flight to get my spoiled butt back to the U.S. Tragedy averted. :)

I hope this finds everyone well.
Good-night and God-bless,
from Derby, England

Jan 13 - Me Thinks I've Been Had

Hello all! I'm running on less than 4 hours sleep between the last two nights so apologies in advance for any blatent misspellings or randomness. Hopefully, tonight the exhaustion will take over and I'll get some zzzzzz's.

I have officially been in Germany for 4 months now (arrived Sept 14) - which will make this story a little more amusing. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love a good hot bath, and if I've got wine and a book even better! Well, baths aren't an option here - and the amount of time that hot water comes through the shower is extremely limited. As my mom, niece and husband can attest, any shower over five minutes is luke warm at best! Which makes leg shaving, etc., a real pain in the rear! Flat Tony is covering his ears because he's afraid of where this story is going.

So, since I am working from home tomorrow morning before I head to the UK, I decided to send a note to the apartment complex last night asking if someone could stop by tomorrow and show me what I need to do to have a hot water for longer than 5 minutes. I received a response this morning that told me that someone would stop by tomorrow between 9-11am. Oddly enough, the hot water never ran out during my shower tonight??? Really? I waited 4 months to send that email - not wanting to seem like a greedy American - and mysteriously the situation has righted itself the day after I ask the question? Makes me think of the story on CNN the last few days about the landlord in NYC who only turns on the heat when the inspectors come in!

I hope you all got a chuckle out of my MONTHS of cold showers and that your week has started off on a great note!

Good-night and God-bless,

from Berlin

2014 - Return to Berlin

Hello friends! I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas season and start of 2014. My trip home was wonderful - with a lot of family time and relaxation (working from one's couch is MUCH more relaxing than going into an office!). The best part of the trip home was the extremely well timed snow storms in Indianapolis, that got me an extra week at home due to multiple flight cancellations!

We were able to spend time with both Tony's family and mine, as well as lots of time with the kids. I'm attaching a few pictures - one of the whole family from Christmas Eve, and one of Tony and I from Christmas Day. For any parent with teenagers, who thinks that they may not live through those teenage years...I just want to assure you that, it is WELL worth it! I never thought we'd get to this point, but am so thankful that we did. :)

This is going to be a busy 5 weeks until I'm back in Indy, and Flat Tony will have a few adventures! On Tuesday, we (Flat T and I) will be heading to Derby, England for a few days of work with my UK pals; then January 26-27 we will be in Frankfurt giving training; and lastly February 6-9 we will be in Warsaw, Poland with my dad.

I hope this finds you all well, and hope to have many more adventures to keep you amused!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

from Berlin