Banska Stiavnica to Poznan

The train conductor on the way to Banska Stiavnica was a real treat. All of the commuter passengers knew him, and he walked around telling jokes and stories. He called me "Señora", and was nice enough to ask someone to help me carry my luggage from the train "to the asphalt", as he called it. While I waited for Bartek to come pick me up at the station, I enjoyed the first delicacy of smalltown Slovakia: a sixty-cent pint of beer. Bartek arrived and drove me to a house in the country. Next to a castle. A BIG castle. The next couple of days spent with Margaret and Bartek were truly heavenly. Wonderful food, wine, music scenery, people...too amazing to describe with words. I will definitely be returning to this part of the world for a visit soon! I played a very fun show at Klopacka - the crowd was hilarious, and the Borovicka was overflowing! On Sunday I relaxed and was introduced to the standup comedy of Russell Peters. On Monday I took a caught the commuter train at a quarter to six in the morning with Dusan, the same conductor from before. There will soon be a Slovakian Grand Prix train festival, and Dusan was walking around handing out brochures for the festival, saying, "Souvenir! Souvenir!" When he gave me a brochure, I gave him one of my flyers. He was so happy he had me autograph it for him. Then when the train arrived in Hronska Dubrava Dusan stood with me on the platform chatting with me until my next train arrived. Four trains and fourteen hours later I arrived in Olsztyn, Poland. My friend Teo picked me up and drove me around for a little sightseeing. After dinner we went to Alchemia Music Pub and Teo arranged for me to play a concert on Tuesday evening. The next morning was absolutely gorgeous, so I went for a run around the lake. Olsztyn is a very beautiful town, full of trees, water and, of course, old buildings. I ran past the beautiful, but abandoned (at least on one side) Factory Owner's House, which was built in the second half of the 19th century. I visited the Muzeum Warmii i Mazur where Copernicus used to live and saw remnants of his astronomical clock. And for lunch, I had Zurek w jajkiem, traditional Polish sour soup at Świeże Zupy (ul. św. Barbary 1). On Wednesday I took the bus to Warsaw. Marcin picked me up at the bus station and we headed to the venue for dinner and soundcheck. As I was only in town for the evening, the taxi ride to Barakuda served as my tour of Warsaw - thank goodness it wasn't a short ride! I saw the river, the park, and the present from the Soviet Union. Ela Dębska opened the show, and she was great! A beautiful voice, and loads of energy. Everyone was disappointed I wasn't spending more time in Warsaw, but I promised them another visit. On Thursday I went to Gdansk. I had plans to visit Malbork Castle, located about 30 minutes outside of Gdansk, but as soon as I saw Gdansk, I knew I would need all of my time there to explore the city. Ninety percent of the old town was destroyed during WWII, but what is left (and has been restored) is quite charming. The first night Sami and I dined on goose at the Gdanska resturant, and the next day we went crazy at the market and had a cold food banquet. That night we went to St. John's cathedral to hear a lecture on digital music issues by DJ Spooky, which was part of the Festival Kultur Świata. On Saturday visited most of the city's monuments, like the historical museum, the armoury, and the big and small mills. We stopped for red borscht, zurek, sole and kielbasa at Riviera Literacka, a nice little restaurant next to St. Mary's. The food was cheap and cheerful! Then we climbed the 400 steps to the top of St. Mary's cathedral and had a breathtaking view of the city. Afterwards we headed to Balsam Cafe to try warm beer with honey, which is delicious way to induce sleep. Balsam Cafe wins the "Cutest Waiters in Town" award - there seems to be no shortage of stylish young lads there! I enjoyed playing Kafe Delfin that night - the crowd was very attentive and I really liked the jumbotron! The next morning I caught the train to Poznan, the last stop on the tour. I had a nice train ride with four siblings from the States who were researching their family origins in Poland. I ran into them at the restaurant where I was having dinner, and they even came to my concert! I hope they found lots of information about their family. Natasza, Basia, Piotr, Bogusz and everyone else at Klub ZAK made it a memorable tour's end, and I hope to return to play in Poznan next year. Actually, I wouldn't mind visiting all of these places again, but then when would I have time to visit Estonia? One life is not enough!