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Posts by rybnik  

Joined: 16 Jan 2011 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 2 Nov 2013
Threads: Total: 18 / In This Archive: 14
Posts: Total: 1444 / In This Archive: 1147 		From: new jersey
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 1161 / page 23 of 39
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rybnik   
17 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I retraced my steps back to the banana billboard. Walking past the car wash, Hyundai dealer onto the new wide blue bridge, I quickly found myself opposite the old gas station we Americans used to fill-up at. "There used to be some epic gas lines" I thought to myself. One day the line extended 2/3 of the way to Plac Grunwaldski! That's from the "blue bridge"!

Walking past the stacja benzynowa (gas station) on ul Pasteura I began to feel my heart beat a little faster and harder. I was getting very close to the med school and my autonomic nervous system knew it! Soon I made a right on Chałubinskiego and there it was -Department of Pathology! And there was someone outside in scrubs smoking a cigarette. As I got closer I could see a man outside the delievery entrance in scrubs smoking a cigarette. I introduced myself. Turns out he's been working there since the early '80s. He probably was present during our lectures and undoudtedly prepared the corpses that were to be autopsied.

He agreed to pose for a pic (I told him it might end up on the internet. He took another drag of his cig shrugged his shoulders and said "No to dawaj! Ta jest moja najpiekniejsza strona" [go ahead. this is my best side]. I shook his hand and asked him which way to the Department of Human Anatomy. He said something quickly, I didn't get it but pretended to understand and took off down the road. What I saw was disturbing; many of the buildings were surrounded by scaffolding. There was some serious renovations going on!


  • Autopsy guy

  • med_school_renovatio.jpg

  • renovation_2.jpg

  • renovation_3.jpg
rybnik   
16 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I'm not quite sure why but I needed to spend some time here. This place had been on my mind for many, many years. DS "Blizniak", you see, was the epicenter of American student life in Wroclaw during the 1980's. Here you had your network of informants both American and Polish in one convenient location! It served as our information clearing house. You wanted to buy a car in West Berlin? You came to "Blizniak" and found out how to do it - hassle free. Thinking about marrying your Polish girlfriend but don't want to get taken for a ride or worse? Stop by the dorm and find out what you need to do. Need to get out of Marxist Philosophy and don't have a clue? Wpadnij (drop in) and find out who to talk to and what to bring. Information on every and any transaction conceivable could be garnered if you came to the "temple" and paid homage. All information school-related or not flowed into and out of this building. To enjoy a more or less trouble-free stay while in Wrocław, one needed to visit this dorm regularly and maintain your relationships. A lot of my being was in that structure! I needed to pray at the temple and that's exactly what I did. I wandered the grounds, sat on the benches and reflected. Reflected on how scared I was when I first got here. Reflected on how ecstatic I was after passing my first final in med school - Human Anatomy. And I reflected on how priceless this experience was for me as a person and physician. After an hour I left that place satisfied and in peace.


  • we used to drive over this bridge

  • used to be a shack,now a dental clinic!

  • the all-girl dorm(in my day) next to "blizniak"

  • behind blizniak where we took Latin
rybnik   
16 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

If my memory served me well I would be making a left very soon onto a small street (the name of which I naturally forgot) and this street would take me to DS(Dom Studencki) "Blizniak". Sure enough, just ahead was the street: ul Wojciecha z Brudzewa! And what did I see on the corner? On this same corner where I used to buy my "Klubowe", "Sport" and "Carmen" cigarettes?................This:


  • Hyundai !!

  • bright new sign
rybnik   
16 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I was so excited about having found this spot first time out. I was very worried I'd have to get a taxi to take me or something like that. Looking around one last time I set off for the bridge. Local government had changed my bridge. It appeared different. The bright blue-painted railings for sure was new but there was something else. It was now wider - much wider! Once I got to the other side, I turned around to get a look at the side from whence I had just come. The vista I was looking at was totally alien to me. These buildings were not there in my time:


  • the "golden arches" were definitely not there

  • new apartments
rybnik   
15 Nov 2011
Love / Does your Polish partner suffer from disposophobia [46]

My Filipina wife also hoards. Her logic: "I'm collecting for the my family back home". That's all well and good. The problem lies in the fact she rarely sends anything!
rybnik   
15 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I think he might have been referring to the fact that you can buy bananas in Poland nowadays??

Both actually. The irony has not been lost on me: bananas on billboards!!

Do you, per chance, plan to venture outside Wroclaw, any other cities?

stay tuned

the bridge would look a little different as it was rebuilt a few years ago.

That explains it. I thought it looked a lot wider from what I remember. Also the blue paint is different.
rybnik   
15 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I think I know this place. The longer I looked around the more I realized that indeed I knew this place. I knew it very well! This is the bridge that I crossed every day for six years either to get to the dorm or my apartment. The gas station was the place I filled-up my car before, during and after martial law! I made it. I know where i was. Now, I wanted to go to my old dorm.
rybnik   
15 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I stood in front of that billboard for what seemed minutes! I literally did a 360 turning completely around to see if I had an inkling where the hell I was. At first I hadn't a clue. I felt the adrenalin starting to surge. I was beginning to panic. Just then, when I thought I was going to get back on the tram I saw this:


  • something about this hit a nerve
rybnik   
15 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I found the tram stop and after a very short wait got on the #17. Again I passed the TV and Radio stations, new office buildings, the handsome BMW dealership, Sky Tower, Hotel Wroclaw and the intersection of piłsudskiego/swidnicka. From there my memory started to fade and I realized, that if I continue onward, I will be riding on pure instinct. In other words, I had no idea where I was going! Nothing looked familiar! The tram sign said it goes to Plac Grundwalski but will I recognize it? I hoped so. We passed Ostrow Tumski, some more new apartment buildings under construction, older sections of town were passed and then. And then a feeling so strong grabbed me. "Get out, get out" it was telling me. I quickly looked out the window and recognized nothing! NIC! I hesitated. But, so intense(I literally felt as if a hand/force had grabbed me by the collar and led me out of the tram) was the feeling; so strong the urge that I succumbed and obeyed. I got out. And the first thing I saw was this:


  • Simply BEAUTIFUL! For those who lived under communism will understand my reaction.
rybnik   
15 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I awoke the next morning refreshed and excited about my upcoming adventure. Today I would be re-visiting the medical school I attended among other destinations. I was psyched! And I was hungry. So off I went to the dining room. The breakfast spread was nothing to write home about. It consisted of the usual Central European fare ( I had recently been on a 10-day bus tour around the region and ate the same thing day after day): 2 types of cheeses, fresh bread, cold cuts, cold cereal, coffee (my one gripe vis' a vis my Polish trip was I hadn't had a good cup of coffee - mediocre at best). Luckily, the Wrocław breakfast also offered the hungry traveller yogurt,several soft, spreadable cheeses, and jams (marmalady). I ate my fill, said "Do widzenia" (good-bye) to the pleasant AND polite breakfast ladies and returned to my room. I got my stuff (small backpack,camera and important paper). Out the door I went into the beautiful Lower Silesian autumn!

On my way to the tram stop I passed this school.


  • Interesting.....Colorful too!
rybnik   
14 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

Ive eaten there quite a few times, my only criticism is the amount of garlic they seem to add to everything. Good quality food though with a nice atmosphere. For a relatively small restaurant the choice of food is amazing with Italian, Chinese and Polish - spoiled for choice.

the inside:


  • Marche_428x570.jpg

  • I love all the wood
rybnik   
14 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

After I soaked-up the Rynek vibe I went off towards the river in search of the University. I found it and other stuff too. Again, the buildings shone they were so clean (from what I remember). Also all kinds of bistros, clubs, restaurants tucked away along the narrow winding streets. I also heard many foreign languages being spoken out there (you NEVER EVER heard any language other than Polish).

At day's end I was hungry and beat. I didn't want to eat on the Rynek (I was in the mood for a local joint nothing touristy). So, I began walking back towards the Wrocław Hotel hoping I would find my place to eat....I found it at the major intersection (damn I forgot the names of the streets) I had crossed earlier that day. The name of the place is "Marche". It's sort of a caffeteria-style eatery. The way it works is so PRL-days influenced: as you enter the place a young lady in a regional costume hands you a blank piece of paper (about 1/3 the size of an airline Boarding Pass). You take it with you to the various food stations. Whenever you get something the server stamps your paper. Every dish and beverage has its own specific stamp. eg when you get a beer the girl affixes a stamp in the shape of a beer bottle. When you're done eating you proceed to the register with your "receipt" whereupon the girl adds up your various stamps and calls out the damage. A meal with a cold pilsner went for about 10 USD....That ubiquitous pieczątka!! I got a good laugh. With a full belly and a slight beer buzz I was ready to get back to my hotel. A short walk past the Hotel Wroclaw to the tram stop; 5 minutes or so the #17 arrived.

Back at my hotel I bought 2 very cold Polish beers [unheard of back in the day to get beer, let alone cold!) got to my room, turned on the TV and plopped on the bed. "Life is good" I remember thinking to myself.


  • university

  • unniv_2.jpg

  • univ_3__Copy.jpg

  • flowers for sale
rybnik   
14 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

rybnik,

I am curious. What do your none Polish friends think of Poland when they see your photos ?

Haven't shown them yet.

What a goregous photo

Thanks Beckski. The building looked good. All I did was point and shoot ;)

The pic looks surreal. Reminds me of a pic I had taken of Lublin at night :)

You're right. It just turned out that way ;)
rybnik   
13 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

Walking onto the Rynek was a pleasant surprise. All the buildings are scrubbed and painted pretty pastel colors! It looks real good. Equally pleasant is the lack of car traffic on the square. Back in the day, cars were allowed onto the square. You can imagine the noise and smell. Now it's actually quiet - very nice. There was one thing that distracted from the Rynek experience: the umbrellas. Each and every bistro, eatery and restaurant have them - lots of them! I found them very distacting.


  • rynek

  • pedestrian mall

  • never went inside

  • I was there for the elections
rybnik   
13 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

Once I passed the Hotel Wrocław I, more or less, regained my bearings. I got off at the next stop, a major intersection, and headed toward what I hoped would be the Dworzec Głowny. It was great walking on the city streets again! The smells and sounds were different though. Their absence was palpable. I'm refering to the chain-saw sound of the two-cycle engines and the smell of their burnt fuel. They were gone! And I was very glad about that.

Besides the olfactory and accoustic changes, the horizon, too, had been modified. I'm talking about the construction cranes. There must've been 3 or 4 between the tram stop and the train station! Speaking of which, was closed off from the street. Apparently, it's undergoing a massive make-over. Most likely in preparation for the EURO 2012. Too bad. I wanted to revisit the great hall where I had experienced so many things including having an AK-47 trained on me during martial law.


  • Dworzec

  • Dworzec

  • dworzec_4_570x428.jpg

  • dworzec_570x428.jp.jpg
rybnik   
13 Nov 2011
USA, Canada / Going back to the Old Country of Poland after more than 25 years! (from USA) [249]

I took a look around inside the tram and noticed how clean and new it all appeared. The seats, in particular, were definitely replaced. All being bright, shiny and new-looking. Save for the ticket machine that takes only credit cards, the other bit of technology on this tram was the LED signs flashing what stop is approaching - very cool!

Looking out the window I noticed the TV and Radio stations passing us by. Also stood a "Biedronka", a car dealership (I think it was a BMW), and several new office buildings. The people on the street were all dressed fashionably with a discernable "spring" in their step. [there's a lot of talk on this forum how Poles are surly, never-smiling people. I would use the word "neutral" to describe the Polish expression not angry. Angry was the default facies encountered in the PRL days not now. I saw a remarkable improvement in their demeanor and body language. Overall, they looked to me to be happier]. They also looked healthier. Gone was the pasty skin and greasy hair. And it was good to see that the middle-aged Polkis still fancy themselves sexy and attractive wearing their tight pants and high-heeled shoes! In addition, I saw very few fatties (in Jersey there's an epidemic).

.


  • hotel wroclaw

  • office building

  • sky tower under construction

  • inside tram