Warsaw

Well, I'm in Warsaw, Poland now. Out the window is a large concrete building and more large concrete buildings, which is basically my first impression of Poland. Large grassy areas and big, project-like apartment complexes all looking exactly the same. Good beer though. I woke up early this morning after a long flight from Seattle (10 hours) to Copenhagen. The flight was nice, but I was too tired to take advantage of the in-flight cameras and movies. Last night wasn't terribly exciting though, a few of the guys and I went to a grocery store to buy some beverages, and I had a "lost in translation" moment when trying to get correct change to the lady. Polish is a pretty interesting language, and despite my best efforts I've still forgotten the correct way of pronouncing "thank you".

The city definately still bears the scars of the soviet occupation. Essentially Warsaw was largely destroyed during World War II by the occupying Germans, and as a result the city is full of wide streets and sidewalks and soviet-style apartment buildings lining the streets. Where we're staying (The Mercure Frederick Chopin) is on one of these streets, surrounded by more modern architecture thanks to foreign capital and investment flowing into the city at the moment. One of the free travel guides promises a decent nightlife, so I'll be sure to get in on that tonight.

The plan for us intrepid choir singers today is to tour the city until this afternoon, when around 6 we have a concert at a large church downtown. Should be alot of fun and an interesting experience. I forgot the name of the church, but it looked pretty cool fromthe bus window. More on that after it happens.

That's all for now. Pretty spartan entry, I know, but it'll improve with time ;-).

Cheers

-Nate