Getting Acquainted

Today started out with breakfast at our hotel/dorm, where we had a choice of several breads, tomato slices, cottage cheese, luncheon meats and sliced cheeses, cereal, juice, hot tea, and coffee. There was also butter and several jams to go on the breads. I was sure to eat a good breakfast, since we'd been warned that the Polish people don't eat lunch until around 2:00 in the afternoon.

At 10:00 am, two doctoral students, Mateusz (pronounced Mattheus) and Gretchena, came to take us by tram/trolley to the university. There we checked the facilities for the conference and made sure that our program would run on their computers. We also had a leisurely cappuccino at the cafe in the science building while we waited for the lab operator to open the lab. Here, we learned a bit more about their university system and how it greatly differs from ours. There are essentially different campuses around the city for different areas of study, so the science campus is at the edge of the city, while the literature and humanities campus is in the city center. Each "faculty" (department, we would call it) has it's own library, rather than there being a central library for the entire university. Here is a view from the physics building, where the conference will be held at the end of the week. (Sorry for the glare of the flash.)

After setting up the lab, we went to the biology building where we had lunch. We checked our coats (an expectation here in most any public building; we think it helps to keep the buildings cleaner in the winters and is a courtesy since winter wear is often so bulky here), and followed Mateusz and Gretchena to the cafeteria area, where we had a traditional Polish lunch, similar to the dinner I had last night. After lunch, we popped into the biology dept. library to see what it looked like (tons of historic reference books and still using a card catalog) and were on our way to meet the vice rector.

At tea with the vice rector, we discussed our plans and visions for the project and enjoyed a wonderful cheesecake and coffee or tea. The cheesecake was very light and fluffy with a chocolate layer on top. I opted not to take a picture, since we were in the vice rector's private dining room and it seemed too formal of an occasion to play the part of a tourist. He was very interested in the project, and his English was excellent since he had studied some in Britain as a student of English literature. So, it's encouraging to Stan (our Polish university collaborator) that he has the "blessing" of the vice rector.

After tea, Stan and Mateusz took us (in their cars after a short trolley ride) to a small lake, which was beautiful at sunset. We then went to dinner at a perogie restaurant, where Stan ordered a variety of vegetable, meat, and even dessert perogies. The vegetable and meat ones were served with a yogurt sauce with chives, and the dessert ones had a sugary streusel-like topping and were served with a sweetened yogurt sauce. We enjoyed lively dinner conversation and managed to shut the place down, staying until after 8:00 (they closed at 7:00). In typical European fashion, the manager and lone waitress did not hurry us along, but allowed us to take our time. She even brought us a wonderful rose hip biscuit (with a dough and sugar topping much like a tea cake or sand dab) as a thank you for being such a wonderful group to serve for the evening.

Pretty much, that was the day, with an evening meeting at the hotel after dinner for us to plan for tomorrow. It's getting close to midnight here in Poland, and I have to plan for a presentation for doctoral students in the morning, so I'm hitting the sack for tonight. Pictures will come once I get fresh batteries for the camera tomorrow. Leave some love in the comments!