Poland & Romania
Warsaw (Warszawa) & Bucharest
Editorial: I hope you can find a few spare minutes to read the account of my recent Woodget-micro-adventure (more to come!). As some friend have been known to put it its "Koran Style" or "War and Peace Style" id est, a little on the wordy side. But it is an afforded flow of prose that I found my self relaxing into. So I hope some of that relaxation can find itself through language, silicon, copper and cyberspace to your good self and deposit itself, even if fleetingly, on your soul.
Two more notches on my traveling cane. Romania and Poland. The virtual 26 in my mind pulsated at an increasing beat in brilliant red as the Lot 737 airliner again approached the Earth. As the wheels screamed across tarmac the 26 flicked effortlessly to a 27. I've just had a quick shower, post gym. In the Marriot, Central Warsaw. I mean, literally central. I can see the ancient 'looking' (didn't the Nazi's destroy everything?) 'MAM' building & a dash of sky scrapers from where I sit in the bar sipping a free beer - curtosey of joining the Marriott rewards program.
"I'm sorry sir, we are out of rooms. Unfortunately I will have to put you in a suite." Ola [As her name badge announced] clearly found her mastery of English mildly amusing. And I must say the 40th floor, atop a sky scraper without the mere mention of the word 'upgrade' was indeed worthy of breaking a smile for. Was it my United Mileage Premier card or had I just got lucky? In my experience you never do know. Just enjoy it when its there.
It just so happens that the 40th floor is where the bar I'm sitting in is located. Approximately 30 seconds from my room. I mean suite, and which for the first time I'm experiencing 2 floors in a hotel in my 'room' - see how un-couth I am? I'm not used to using anything else to describe where I stay.
Two days ago I was in England, recovering from what should have manifested as a hangover but reared its head as just a rather unstuck from reality feeling - probably international travel effects (no jet lag so to speak of, thanks to the anti jet lag diet). It had been Steve Donkins stag do. He's engaged to the lovely Donna Hall. He's madly in love with her and it was a shear pleasure to see the old chap off, as such. Sandwiched between her majesties empire and this city which quite frankly is begging me to come back - ok, I like what I see and I want to return - was a visit to a place quite different indeed.
My arrival in the country of Dracula (set the counter form 25 to 26) and the region of Transylvania (read that as "the country containing that region", I wasn't IN that region - and I certainly wasn't in Dracula, and he wasn't in me - teeth people, teeth) was marred by a rather unscrupulous taxi driver who over charged me horrendously by a combination of unpreparedness, hangover (?), and "how many pounds/dollars/euros to this crazy money" left me rather ripped off - as it would happen karma balanced this all out.
Aside. A parable. The man with money who meets a man of experience will leave with experience and the other shall leave with money. My take; Damn it you can get ripped off in a myriad of ways. I wonder if I'm too trusting! A shame! Fear leads to hate and hate is the dark side - yeah, Star Wars... but I was also slightly surprised to find such a quote in a book I'm reading on the adventures of a Taoist! In fact the book alludes to many similar concepts Mr. Lucas must have assimilated! Fair play.
I was to stay in the World Trade Centre Bucharest. In the minuet amount of time I had in the place I managed to get a taxi to tour me around the city so I could at least get a feel for it. Certainly Eastern Europe! Nothing much in Europe can be further east. This land of fairy tales, kings, princes, princesses and demons with the Carpathians and the Black Sea was certainly inspiring. As was the remains of some of the older architecture.
I got the distinct feeling that the rather "rich" communists... the ones running the damn regime made significant changes to the city. Much of it obliterating the history. There was plenty of impressive architecture but most was established by them. As the Romans and Greeks did with Egypt. I assume - try as he did the Taxi driver was only able to convey so much. I did realize what he was talking about when he pointed out the bullet riddled building in the square where their revolution started in 1989.
The highlights (though interest and amusement - in that order) were the Orthodox Cathedral (Amazing inside - eerie, dark and mysterious!) & people randomly crossing themselves religiously in the street and advertising with Dracula/Transylvania slants & the "We make sex better" shop. FYI I was driven past this shop. It wasn't something I wandered into you naughty people - unlike the cathedral :-) Which in fact wasn't a cathedral but the house/church of the Patriarch.
Something that struck me on the flight to Poland (after a frantic "am I going to make it" connection in Vienna [Austria]) was the sheer difference between the "emerging markets" of Eastern Europe and the Dusty out-back like communities in Africa and India or the tiny mountain situated villages in the remote of China or the almost temporary island shacks in Indonesia (yes, all places I've not been too... yet). This was given a new angle as I was driven through Warsaw where there was the cutting edge of modern in buildings, vehicles and bill boards but a bus that looked like it had driven all the way from Moscow. Companies who treat these markets the same will not succeed. And seeing as I'm working for a company trying to treat them differently - sending me here in part to steep me in the culture (as much as you can be saturated in 24 hrs) - I'm getting the kind of impression I need. Now, to take that knowledge and appreciation back to California.
I've had 2 beers now (tiny little things) and am suitably relaxed. And I also feel suitably knowledge transferred to this little work. I do hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
posted by Matthew Woodget @ 11:42 PM
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