The conferences brings together, including three people who have between them jointly published more than 20 silicoflagellates articles. From left to right are Ric Jordan (U. of Yamagata), myself (U. Maine at Presque Isle) and Jakub Witkowski (University Szczecin).
Amidst the conference, I am asked to visit a local children’s cancer hospital. This is in my apparent role as a “face” for the developing Planet Head Day in Poland. I am no particular fan of hospitals but this one is very nice, with lots of children-painted or themed artwork. I had the opportunity here to interact with Polish leukemia patients, who appreciate pictures of me with a shaved head.
As some of you know, I am a sucker for “real-man” bicycles, and you see a fair amount of these in advertising in Europe. Here is a ad for a bottled water.
Part of this visit is to go to the International Phycological Congress. This brings together about 500 scientists and sci-students from around the world, including a fair number that have been students of mine at the siliceousl organism short course that I teach here every two years. So we have all come together for some pevo at the Cutty Sark – a favorite watering hole near the department. There must be friends from nearly ten countries sitting around the tables here.
One thing I deliver on this trip is a skull (good cast, not real) of a Tyrannosaurus rex that I recently picked up at an auction. To a good home!
Being in Poland again means buying more Polish pottery for our house and friends. I have bought another 37 pieces (so far) with a couple shown here. There are some small soup dishes, in the pattern that we have chosen.
Here is the grave of a Polish soldier who died in Afghanistan, in support of the American work there after 9-11.
Have visited my old neighbors, and that means another visit to the cemetery. Poles LOVE cemeteries, and they are pretty sites to visit, since there are flowers everywhere. No grave – except the German – goes unadorned. I think these cemeteries tie the Poles to their personal and collective histories. The first two pictures here show Polish graves from the Battle of Szczecin, along with the monument that celebrates the liberation (well, sort of, this was then a German city being taken over by the Russians and Poles; note the date (April 26th) – this battle was being fought concurrently with the Battle of Berlin. A great many people dies so that Hitler could have a few more days of life.
The third pictures is a monument dedicated to the Poles who died in concentration camps – gulags – in Russia. This picture is of part of that monument, off to the right is a long, long list of such camps.
We can see the concert from large screens and very good (and must be immense) speakers. At the venue, there are several dozen cameras that show the concert from every angle, all very well blended into a live video, including backdrops of the tall ships, the lights of the amusement rides, and the cathedraled cityscape of Szczecin.
One my first night here – me very tired from the long trip here – my Rotary friend Alex and his Brazilian buddy Roger have taken me to an evening concert at these races. We find ourselves in the midst of a huge party, surrounded by tall ships and amusement rides that are of gargantuan scales. There must be several hundred thousand people here, I have no idea exactly where the concert is but this must nearby, perhaps most of a kilometer away. There are people bungee-jumping from cranes that must be most of 100 meters above the ground, with Ferris wheels and other rides of similar sizes. The second picture (fuzzy, sorry) is of the bungee jumped who had just jumped out of the vat near the top of the crane.