Kevin's Photoblog

Wrought iron work on a fence, with Adama Mickiewicza in the background.

Some more pictures of the Old Town area in Warsaw.  The second picture is of the Herberta Clarka Hoovera Square.  President Hoover is not too well remembered in the US, as his presidency included the beginning of the Great Depression, but he is deeply appreciated in Poland.  Hoover did humanitarian  work in Eastern Europe during the early 1920s, then locked into a serious famine.  He is one of those Presidents who was successful at everything he ever did except the Presidency.

Kate arrives for five days in Warsaw and Gdańsk.  First stop is at the pottery shop to pick out some more tableware items for the B&B in Caribou Maine.  In the second photo, Kate stands in front of the items of our selected pattern.  We are buying about 42 pieces: dinner plates, smaller plates, bowls, platters, larger bowls/casserole dishes plus incidentals (creamer, sugar bowl, teapot, knapkin holder).  These are being shipped to Maine – we will see if they arrive without breakage.

So we have picked a pattern, now we need to choose the other parts of our set, and figure out how we are going to get this back to the US.  We hope everything can make the trip by mail or in our airplane luggage.

One last plate, with a closeup.

More plate patterns.  With each pattern there are matching smaller plates, bowls, platters, tea pots, creamers and on and on.

What follows over the next three days are six pictures of plate patterns.  The pattern we decided on is marked “chosen”

Nighttime at the Stare Miasto (old city).  Am not sure if the Christmas tree is just late coming down and there year-round.

I am at the Pioneer Theater with a colleague.  The Pioneer is the oldest movie theater in the world, first operating in 1907.  This is the original theater room, small, with people sitting at tables.  We watched Jackie”

This is how grades are done in Poland.  Every student has and maintains a little book for each class, that has assignments done and grades given (with each page signed by the professor).  At the end of the semester, students turn in the book to the professor.  This is a stack of such books for one class.  Seems like an inefficient system, as there are a lot of things for the prof to sign, and there is the assumption that the students will take their education seriously enough to not lose the book, or try to make any changes to it.  The system apparently works well enough.  I am much impressed with the caliber and knowledge of most students here.