How To Get Lost.

Trying to be clever, I have entitled this post 'Get Lost'. Why? Well, this is a rant about my bank called Getin Bank. Very clever, eh?

After listening to people for far too long expressing their fears that we will basically all be screwed when we retire because of the predicted pitiful pension funds, I decided to set up my own pension fund. My plan was to open a savings bank account and set up a monthly direct transfer of an affordable sum of money from one account to another, the second of which, I planned to not touch until retirement or in the case of a really, really, extreme, extreme situation, which does not include holidays, music gear or anything like that.

So, I went to the bank, where I was well assisted and returned home ready to begin this sensible operation, but when I logged in, I could not see this new account.

The next day, I went back to the bank and was informed that perhaps my online banking system needed to be updated. The guy told me he had done something to make it work but that I should go home and check it and return the next day if nothing had changed.

Guess what? I had to return the next day. This time I had to sign some forms in order to change my account to a more modern version that I was informed was much easier to use than the old one. It all sounded great so I returned home once again and logged into my new account ready to set up my pension savings scheme. When I logged in, I now saw that my account had become an empty corpse. My balance had been erased and there was no information that this account was alive and well except that which told me where it is I live.

Since then I have been in correspondance with my bank by email and have been informed on a daily basis that everything will be fixed soon. It has been over one week since I began, what I believed would be a very easy, straightforward process but instead of beginning a very mature and sensible scheme, I now have no money in my online account, no account number, no record of any transactions but at least I know where I live.

The Lost Weekend - From Krakow to ... Wrocław

The plan was simple - go from Kraków to Berlin to see two friends, one studying there and the other who was doing an album launch.

In the past there was a direct train from Kraków to Berlin but this has been replaced by a bus, which is better as it takes two hours less than the train used to take. An eight-hour journey still seemed to long, so my friend and I decided to get to Wrocław early in the morning and then hitch a ride into Germany. We thought that by getting there so early, we would have plenty of time to make it, and even if hitch-hiking proved to be ineffective, there would still be enough time to catch a train or a bus and make it to Berlin in the evening.

Everything started out fine. We took the bus at 7:40 in the morning and arrived in Wrocław at 9:20. Since my friend had never seen the city, we took a walk into the centre with the aim of taking a quick stroll around, take in the impressive Market Square and then get out of town and onto a road leading towards Germany.

We had a coffee, walked around a bit and then set about finding a way to get to the edge of town. Two girls at tourist information helped us out. It seemed unfortunate that a friend of one of the girls was actually driving to Berlin that day and could have given us a lift but it just wasn't to be. A little bit of bad luck but we didn't think too much of it.

Getting to the edge of town can be difficult but we managed to do it after a few setbacks. Then we had to find a suitable place to stand in the typical hitch-hiking pose with our sign and hope that a good soul would help us out. Despite waiting for three hours in pretty cold temperatures, breathing in car fumes, hoping that one of the hundreds if not thousands of cars that went past us, only one person stopped but she was going in the opposite direction.

With cold feet and hands and deflated hopes, we retreated into a shopping centre to think about another course of action. With the help of my friend's fiancee, we got the number of a guy from a car sharing website (www.blablacar.pl) who was going to Berlin. We called him and he said he was leaving at 5pm and was going to arrive in Berlin at 10pm. It was a bit late for us but seemed like the only option, so we agreed to go with him. A Thirty-minute delay became one hour. Add another half an hour onto that and our patience was running low. This guy was driving a bus but was not registered and was using a car pooling website to basically run an illegal service so we decided to scrap that plan and go back into the centre and check the train connections. We knew there was an early morning train thanks once again to my friend's fiancee but we had no idea how complicated it would be to buy a ticket for it. We could buy a ticket to the town across the border to Gorlitz but not from Kottbus to Berlin. We couldn't understand why. Surely in the European Union there is communication between train companies to allow for the smooth movement of people from country to country. Evidently not, judging by the problems we had at the train station. The cashier was very helpful and even phoned a colleague to try to get us a ticket. The major problem was that there was so little time between connections that there was no way we would have had time to buy the ticket and make the train. She did manage to work something out for us despite the overly-complicated system but it all seemed too complicate and expensive so we decided to get a hostel for the night and review our options.

The first hostel we went to had no free beds.  The people working there almost seemed surprised by this fact and it seemed that normally it was not a problem to book a bed for the night. For us, it was just another slap in the face. They did help us to find another hostel, which had two free beds, was wonderful and located above a nice bar in an interesting area in Wrocław.

Having checked in, I went online and found another guy from the car pooling agency who was leaving the next day and could take us. With this in mind, we went out and enjoyed a few drinks in Wrocław before going to bed knowing that the next day we would finally make it to Berlin.

At 5am, my alarm went off for some strange reason. I had set it for that time the previous day but not that night. I turned it off and got a text that our driver cancelled his trip and was not going to Berlin. I responded by writing 'szkoda' and he responded back. According to him, the reasons were beyond his control and he was really sorry but I was wondering what he was doing awake at 5am and found it hard to believe the reason was out of his control.

The next day, I got up early and did some more research but there was nothing affordable going to Berlin so we decided just to give up and accept that fate was against us. It was nice to spend time in Wrocław but we both felt defeated. We were having coffee when the driver called again and said he had changed his mind. Perhaps he was sober then and this had influenced his decision. I don't know but by then we had already booked a ticket back to Krakow and had given up on Berlin.

What came out of this whole trip are three main things:

1. that hitch-hiking is not so easy in Poland
2. car sharing has many flaws especially when people are so unreliable
3. sometimes it is better just to buy a ticket with the assurance that you will get to your destination

A New Idea - A Travel Community Blog

I have had this blog for some time now. In fact, the first post was way back in 2005.  A lot has happened since then and I guess I have recorded some of this in songs, some in stories and some here.

The point of this entry is to let you know that I have set up another blog that has nothing to do with my life, but the lives of others and especially the experiences that other people have had living in a different country.

It's called 'Home Is Where I Write'. I chose the name because I think we have have a number of different homes. Writing is also something that grounds me and gives me a sense of having a home. I can find a home in the words I use or the thoughts I would like to share.

Anyway, here's a link to the blog http://homeiswhereiwrite.wordpress.com/author/homeiswhereiwrite/

The idea is to share the experiences of others who have lived in another country. You can write a song, a poem, a rant, an article, share an anecdote ... the format is up to you.

There's not too much up there now but if you are interested, get in touch.

Brown Bread

Above you can see my first solo attempt to bake bread. It was a very proud moment for me to slowly take the bread tray out of the oven and inhale the wonderful aroma signifying the completion of my efforts. Baking bread has been something that I have felt I should do for such a long time and I don't know what has stopped me from doing so.

What surprised me was how long it took to prepare but the satisfaction of slicing it and eating it for breakfast (it wasn't savoured unfortunately as I slept in and was nearly late for work) the following day was worth it. In the recipe, it said 20 minutes preparation time, and this was true but I missed the information giving the whole time needed. It was so long that my private lessons had to be interrupted slightly while I moved onto the next stage of the process much to the interest of my private students.

Why was it such a proud moment? Well, for me bread is a staple part of my diet. It is literally the foundation for so many of the things I eat - mainly toast and sandwiches and the different combinations that I put on top of them

So as for the preparation; getting the ingredients was pretty easy, kneading the bread for about 10 minutes was not so smooth on the wrists or on my patience especially given the limited space in my kitchen. As a whole the major requirement was patience, patience to do it correctly and to regularly check the recipe I found online. It is not a great virtue of mine but given the fact that I didn't literally have to wait and watch it slowly rise, it was not a problem.

So now that I have broken my baking bread virginity, I have promised myself not to go back to buying cheap, poor quality bread in the shop. That would be far too easy. This will involve a lot of planning in advance but if forced to have the option of bread or no bread, I know which one I will choose.

For those who are interested - Brown Bread Recipe

Biking in Poland from Kraków to Toruń (Summary of experiences from last year's adventure)

On 25th of September last year I finally set out to do something I had been scheming to do all summer while I was cooped up working at a summer school, go biking from Kraków to … Well, the initial aim was to follow the Amber Trail (Bursztynowe Szlak) all the way to Gdańsk but this proved difficult from the outset due to the lack of physical maps available and the shortage of information online. There was a website which promised much at first glance but failed to deliver. When I wrote an email to the contact address asking if there was a map available or more information, I didn’t receive a reply. With the aid of a road map of Poland, I traced out my own version of the route by circling each place of significance on it with the hope that everything would be clearer once I was actually there. I was hoping that there would be signs on the route as there was information on the website that this was the case. Another worry was that I also wasn’t sure if my borrowed bicycle was suitable for such a long trip. It had previously been ridden from Berlin to Kraków by its real owner so this reassured me a little.

Off The Beaten Track

In the past I have visited some Polish cities as well as countryside areas but this trip gave me the chance to really feel the country and in particular explore remote villages that are inaccessible for someone like me who can’t drive a car. What I found interesting is that it was hard to not be around any signs of civilization. Polish villages are usually quite spread out with houses not so close together. It is often hard to see the division between villages as there is often no clear border between them. This is unlike in Ireland where you can travel for a long time without seeing any sign of human activity. Many villages were not very prosperous in appearance with rather grey buildings lining narrow roads. This was not true all the time and some villages were quite well maintained but in general there was not much to make me want to stay in these places. Dogs regularly barked as I passed by with a heavy load, some threatened to add a bite to their bark. There were lots of chickens spread out on both sides of the road or frequently wandering around in drainage ditches. In some villages, there were no roads only dirt tracks but this wasn’t the case very often with some roads perfect for riding on. Seeing cabbage, onions and other food growing in the fields was interesting and gave me one reason to feel tempted to stay and work on the land. The most amazing memory I have of the trip was the route to Kazimerz Dolny through apple paradise with trees heavily laden with apples wherever I went. Further on I took a bike path up a steep hill and saw raspberries and other fruit being harvested in one of the most picturesque places I have seen. There was a strong temptation in me to stay there and ask for a job in return for a place to sleep for the night but I stuck to my cycling plan.

 Locals seemed surprised to see me passing through despite the fact that many lampposts had bike route signs on them but I never felt a sense of danger. One man joined me on a part of my trip. He was full of questions about me and told me he had lived in the U.S. for some time. He was keen to talk but cycled dangerously close to passing cars at times. Despite his age, he was faster than me and eventually continued on his own to the next town. The only places I saw signs for the Amber Trail was when I was leaving Nowa Huta in Kraków and in Bałtów, a resort by the Vistula River which was well set up for tourists with a dinosaur theme park one of its main attractions. The help of local people was invaluable. Without their directions, I would have wasted a lot of time going the wrong way. Another thing I must mention is the fact that as I was on my own, I often had to leave my bike unattended while I was shopping for food. Removing the panniers and carrying them and the tent with me was too much so this risk was necessary but not once did I have any problems or have anything stolen.

On The Beaten Track

Arriving into big cities such as Warsaw, Płock and Toruń were highlights especially the former as this really created a sense of achievement. The atmosphere was very different and much more commercial and business-like than in the countryside. Cafes and restaurants were crowded and there was a great sense of wealth and affluence in the capital. There were also a lot of tourists in the city taking photographs and leisurely strolling around especially in Nowy Świat, a busy location not far from the Old Town. It was strange seeing so many people in one place having been in the countryside for long periods. Płock and Toruń were similar with the latter being a place which seemed to be only for tourists. This was easy to understand given the wonderful architecture in the city.

Safety and Accommodation

Safety was an issue on larger roads as it is no place for cyclists. The lanes can be very narrow with the sides of the roads leading into a ditch or loose stones which can’t be cycled upon. I did take some of the main roads at times because they are obviously more direct with less chances of getting lost. This did mean taking more risks with one of the most dangerous parts of the trip, the section of the 757 road to Opatów that I rode on. The wind generated from passing trucks in the other lane nearly knocked me off my bike on multiple occasions. On the other hand, the busy 10 road from Lipno to Toruń was surprisingly comfortable. There was space enough for a cyclist and the road was in very good condition making it one of the easiest parts of the route. On the first night I asked two locals in a small village if I could pitch my tent somewhere and was refused and forced to camp wild.  Finding accommodation was difficult but locals were very helpful when I asked and directed me to places that weren’t well advertised.

To Sum Up

Toruń was the final stop due to the fact that I was planning to meet my parents on a certain date. I mainly travelled on a flat part of the country but passing by villages, towns and cities was a wonderful experience. Seeing food growing on the land was also something that I didn’t take for granted as fresh food is something I value greatly in Poland. I just wish that the route had been better mapped out as it was not so easy to find my way around especially when I was in some rural areas. It’s a shame there are not more campsites around as this would have made things a lot easier. Perhaps there are more campsites than I think but again they are not well signposted. Next on the Amber Trail for me is the route from Kraków to Budapest. At least I have a map for this part of the Amber Trail but I’m thinking about buying a new bike first.

This was written last year and since then I have indeed bought a new bike. More to come on this year's adventure soon.

An Expensive Something To Laugh About

I am questioning the logic of writing this post but there are times when I can't take myself seriously and am glad that I have a good enough sense of humour to laugh at my own expense.

So ... here it goes. I arrived home from England last Monday. Leaving at 2 in the morning to get a flight at 8:30 was not a pleasant journey. By the time I got back to the intense heat in Krakow, all I was fit for, was sleep.

With a flight due the next night, I decided to catch up with some friends in the evening, which was probably not the greatest idea since I was till suffering from a cold, but still it was nice to catch up.

The next day was a day of preparation for my flight to Georgia - a non-event of a day as these days tend to be. It was a case of patiently waiting until it was time to leave. I got out to the airport with plenty of time to spare and contemplated on how best to pass the four hours until the flight was due. Reading, eating, coffee, reading, juice and more reading seemed to work.

I had a look up at the information board just out of curiosity and that's when everything went wrong. I examined it extremely carefully but my flight was not there. I checked the ticket and the date and everything seemed fine - 30th of July but then I realised why it was not on the electronic board, the date was correct but the plane had already left at 00:50 earlier that morning.

This is not the first time something like this has happened to me. I have waited at an airport one day earlier to welcome my cousin, I have confused 6 am with 6 pm while getting a ferry from Dublin to Wales, I once bought 5 train tickets for our group of 4 and I have also booked flights to the wrong airport.

So what did I do? I contemplated getting another flight to anywhere but then decided to retreat back to Krakow. I took a bus to the train station in Katowice and thought again about going somewhere different. The shame of returning to Krakow seemed too great. Wrocław, Warsaw - these were two cities that came to mind but then I decided that it was best to return to the city I had started from and regroup.

All the buses had gone and the queue was enormous. I'm guessing they were in line to get tickets for  a festival as they looked like the type with range of quirky styles from punk to a hippy look that seemed out of place in the modern train station in Katowice. When I finally reached the top of the queue, I bought a ticket for the next train to Krakow, which was due in over 5 hours. Patience was needed once more. I amused myself by reading again and going to an Internet cafe to book another flight for later in the week. There was one option to fly from Warsaw to Georgia the next day but I chose the later one from Krakow, which was half the price.

Patience was the quality, which was once again put to the test on the train journey home. I slept for most of it thankfully.

So I am still going to Georgia but will have to be patient once more. As for these mistakes that prove to be very costly, I feel a bit resigned to the fact that I will make them again but at least they give me a reason to write.

Book Review - Buy This Land by Chi-Dooh Li

The title of this book, 'Buy This Land', is quite a simple yet fitting introduction to the inspiring story of Chi-Dooh Li (nicknamed 'Skip'). It immediately brought to mind the song by Woody Guthrie  'This Land is Your Land' and after just finishing reading the book, I have discovered that this initial association has proved to be an apt one.

Skip was born in India, moved to China but left with his family when the Chinese Communist Revolution began and followed his father who took up various diplomatic posts in Asia, Australia and South America.  By the time he moved to the U.S.A. he was already very well-travelled and could speak Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English. With such a mix of experiences behind him it was obviously difficult for him to answer the question by a Pan American Airways agent who asks him 'What are you, really?', which is referred to in the introduction to the book.

Despite helping Chinese Cambodian refugees gain asylum to the United States, it was being present at a sermon delivered by Juan Carlos that was to really change his life and lay the foundations for the new way of thinking that Skip was to base his thoughts on, which was to radically change his life and the lives of others.

From this moment on, he dedicated himself to aiding those living in impoverished conditions by setting up Agros. The concept of Agros is a simple but powerful one - help farmers to buy and use land effectively in order to encourage self-suffiency. From their troubled beginnings in Guatemala, Agros has since helped establish 42 villages in five different countries and has helped over 24,000 people. What is interesting is that Agros doesn't give handouts but gives people the means and encouragement to work towards a better future and to literally reap the rewards from their hard work and belief. They do so by purchasing land directly from landowners and then offer it back to impoverished families at rates that are realistic for those who have very little.

What made this book a very enjoyable and humbling read is not only the fact the Skip's story is a fascinating one. He does not boast about his achievements or attempt to glorify himself in any way. There is immense gratitude on the part of the author towards his wife and all those who have helped him. Another refreshing element I experienced in the reading of the book is that the organisation does not discriminate against those with different religious beliefs unlike some aid organisations. The fact that he is a religious man and there are many biblical references in the book does not lead to preaching to the reader or any recipients of aid in any way. He simply gives examples of the the way in which his faith helps to inspire him to help others who have less.

The most inspiring thing about this book is that, despite admitting that he had led a comfortable life practicing law, he decided to use his position and knowledge to help other people less fortunate than him. What is very pleasing to know is that the end of the book clearly states that his work with helping poverty-stricken landless people is far from finished and his belief that 'this land was made for you and me' is as strong as ever.


http://www.buythislandbook.com/
http://www.woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/This_Land.htm

Time to Settle Down or Not?

I chanced upon a blog entry today in which the writer received an email from a friend advising him to 

'come on home and get back to an ordinary life, because you don’t want to be out there when you’re old'.

It really got me thinking once more about what it means to 'settle down' and what does it mean to not do so.

I like to think that we have more opportunities nowadays to do more than we had in the past. Age limitations have less of an impact on us and I'm often really inspired by those who go back to university at a later age. When taking part in organised runs in Krakow, what amazes me is the fitness of some contestants who are at least twice my age but still manage to finish way ahead of me. Retired people who travel and are not afraid to rough it also alleviate my fears that old age simply involves waiting around to die.

Back to my main point, what does it mean to 'settle down'. The writer of the blog says that he has chosen an 'extraordinary' life ahead of an 'ordinary' one and this is why he continues to travel and not root himself to one place. I don't feel I can't totally agree that this is an 'extraordinary' life. It certainly is interesting and he is privileged to able to do this. Being in the one place your whole life can also be 'extraordinary'. There are many benefits to this. Stability is one, the chance to build and continuity are others. 

I think we generally have more options and are more fluid because of this. We have more information and more of us don't know where we will be next week never mind next year.
Is there an age when we should settle down and have a family or is there more than one time in which we can do this? I am of the opinion that it is all relative to who you are, who you meet and what you want. I certainly don't want to feel limited by my age in any way and try to maintain an optimistic outlook on where I am currently am and recently have been really trying to look at future changes as new challenges to better myself and not as the means to run from problems. 

This post has been written in Oxford where I am working for a summer school. It has been heavily influenced by meeting people from all over the world. It hasn't been edited or even reread but if you are interested in reading the post that inspired it, click on the link below. 

The Professional Hobo Blog Link

Spamming / Notifying

The reason for writing this is to try to get some ideas about what other people think about this and also to get something out there that has been on my mind.

As I play music quite often in the same city and organise an open mic, I regularly use Facebook as the means to promote these events. I regularly invite many people I know and some I don't really know at all or have never even spoken to but are somehow in my friend's list. In the past, the way to promote an event was to print fliers and posters and go around town sticking them up in various bars and cafes and other public areas, some of which came with the risk of getting fined by the police if caught in the act.

Nowadays, it seems that having many ‘likes’ on Facebook is the most effective way to get events across to people, but is this really the case? With so many acts out there using the same means to advertise their concerts and events, is this the best way to try to encourage people to get interested in your music? Word-of-mouth is obviously one of the more human and personal means to build up your popularity and share your music and indeed, this is the main source for me to find out what people are listening to and who I should go to see next.

So back to spamming. Does it work? A big part of me feels a small sense of guilt that I am annoying people by regularly inviting them to events when I don't know them so well or suspect that they don't want another invite on top of the countless others they have already received and have to filter through to plan their time effectively.  On the other hand, without a manager or promotion agency, if I don't do it, who will?

It would be great to hand all this over to someone else and just focus on playing and working on new material. It would be amazing to know that when I get to the venue everything is prepared and there is no need to worry about anything, but until that happens, it's back to spamming or perhaps I should think of it as simply ‘notifying’ people about upcoming gigs.

Book Review of More or Less by Jeff Shinabarger

More or Less by Jeff Shinabarger

I think most of us don’t think of ourselves as being rich or of having enough money to make our lives more complete. In this book by Jeff Shinabarger, the author challenges this mindset, directly stating that ‘Chances are, if you are reading this book, you are rich’ (2013). By “rich”, he means that we have all we need to live a normal fulfilling life. He challenges us as the reader to look at our own situations carefully and think about all the excess possessions we don’t really need to have. This book is not simply about the author sharing theoretical ideas that we can contemplate, he shows us practical ways how to turn our excess possessions into generosity towards others.

          Shinabarger’s encounter with Clarence, a local homeless man, who welcomes him after he moves into his new house in East Atlanta village is the pivotal moment when the author is forced to change his way of thinking and to ask himself the question ‘what is enough?’ He begins by examining his own comfortable financial and material position and contrasts it with Clarence who is homeless. When Clarence asks for help, he does so and also uncovers other ways to help those who need it.

          Through a series of stories and his own personal anecdotes, the author explains real life examples of the things we can do to help people that we know either personally or not. At the end of each chapter, there is the ‘Enough Talk’ section that offers practical ideas, which the reader is encouraged to undertake. The first task the author himself does is to live for one month on all of the food in his home. Amazingly, he manages to survive on this for about two months (147 meals, 3 meals a days for 7 weeks) proving that there was so much food in his house that he and his wife had kept in storage. This is just the first of many examples he gives to show the excess in his life that many of us have in common in some way.

          Different chapters focus on different areas of our lives that we can look at and change. Clothes, presents and other material possessions are looked at from the point of view that invites the reader to take at look at his / her own life and the excesses we may have. A personal success of the author is Gift Card Giver, a scheme devised to collect unwanted or unused gift cards in order to then donate them to others who are worse off than we are. This has been immensely successful with enormous amounts of money raised to help out people who need this.  This is a prime example of how we can use our excess things of value to help those who need it.

This book is a motivating read for those looking to get some ideas on how to connect with other people and also to have a look at themselves from a different perspective. It offers refreshing ideas on how to make changes in our lives and encourages us to lead by example, which will then have a knock on effect on others. Shinabarger’s book is refreshingly honest as the author admits moments when he felt that things were not quite right in his own life. The most empowering element about this book is that he changed and there are many other examples of how other people also did something positive with their lives. I recommend this book for all those out there who are looking for some practical ideas on how to be more generous and how to be connected with other people in their communities and elsewhere. It is sometimes hard to believe that little gestures can make a big difference but this is something that Shinabarger argues against in this book. Through his examples and suggestions, he challenges us to contemplate what we can do to make a difference, however small that may be. It has certainly made me think about the excess in my life. Now it's time to do something about it.

More or Less, (2013) Jeff Shinabarger, Published by David C. Cook, Canada.

Writing From Experience Or Not?

It seems I haven't written in a long, long time and that is true. The last entry was in November last year. Since writing about the cycling tripI went on, I haven't had any travel adventures besides a trip home for the Christmas period. The lack of travel has brought a question to mind - is it necessary to experience in order to write and in my case, does traveling aid creativity?

A few years ago I took part in a Literature course in Dublin. There was a fantastic professor who had a wonderful knowledge of the subject and the ability to portray this in a very interesting manner. One of the books we looked at was Black List Section H by Francis Stuart, an Irish writer who went to Germany during World War II. He went there to experience the horrific events that were taking place at that time and to write about this. He even took up a post working for the Nazi regime. The professor proceeded to talk about the influence the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche had on Francis Stuart. He explained that the philosopher used the Greek characters, Apollo and Dionysius to show the different ways of gaining inspiration. Apollo is the restrained one and represents creativity emanating from imagination alone whereas, Dionysius is excessive and reckless representing creativity from experience. 

The reaction from my classmates was very crtitical and they the majority stated that this was completely immoral. While I totally agree, I still find it interesting to read about what this Irish writer did in order to gain the experience to then write about it. There are some people with very imaginative minds who can conjure up stories and songs effortlessly but others need something to happen in order to write about it. 

I don't plan to go on any trips to dangerous war-torn countries but perhaps a trip of some sort would give me something to write about.