Tram Surfing

After five days of wandering the city, we have officially mastered the art of taking tram 12 to and from the University/Town Square area. So, yesterday morning, we (I think I started this and Andrea pushed the idea through) got the idea to hop and random tram and see where we would happen to end up. Well, the zero tram takes you right past the Wroclaw train station--a discovery that should prove very useful in the near future. (Thus far, we've already found tickets to Malta for $150--we haven't set a date for that trip yet, but it's gonna happen. I've also convinced Lance and Andrea to accompany me to the Tour of Switzerland cyling race. Switzerland is a little iffy, but we're definately going to Malta. Lance demands beach.) The whole train station seemed to be a haven for every pigeon in the city in need of a hangout spot for the early morning. There were literally little barbs atop all of the signs to keep the pigeons from standing on them.

We rode the number zero to the very edge of town. At this point, there were very few other people riding with us. (There was a guy playing a harmonica, but that's a differant story) This was about the point that "Tram Surfing" was invented. It's all about trying to stand without using the hand rails for support--trust me, it's harder than it looks.

Friday was our very first sunny day in Poland. It was clear, crisp, and really cold. When it was dreary, the cold seemed to be more damp. Yesterday, it was fairly similar to Nebraska winter, and when the wind picked up later in the day, the cold cut right through....

which is why we have all already invested in hats and scarves. One of the first things I noticed about the native people of the city is that everyone wears hats and scarves (and the women wear boots with their pants tucked into them), now I understand why. Now, with our new winter attire, we look more like Poles and less like Americans who can't dress for the weather conditions.

Yesterday, after riding trams for a few hours, we walked along the Odra (pronounced like "oder") River, and through the University to the Town Square. By that time, we were freezing, so we stopped at a little coffee shop on the corner to warm up. This particular establishment reminded me of a place that English ladies would go to have tea. Ironically, there was a group of four older Polish women sitting next to us, and they were passing around pictures of their grand children. Anyway, Andrea and I both got Cappachino of some sort, and Lance ordered hot chocolate, which turned out to literally be melted chocolate mixed with a tiny bit of milk. As he said, "The first six sips were good; the last twelve were disgusting."

Tomorrow, we begin our orrientation, and the language course. I'm getting anxious to be able to say more than "please," "thank you," "hello," and "two tickets please." Thus far, most of the people we have encountered have been very tollerant of the fact that we don't speak Polish--some have even found it laugh-out-loud funny. There have been a few times where the language barriar has been a huge sorce of frustration...but for the most part it's been an enjoyable challenge.

Also, with the beginings of language classes comes lots of new people from all other the world--it's exciting.

(By the Odra River with Cathedral Island in the background--this is just don the street from Olowek where we live.)