The O.S. Addict

We got about 3 hours of sleep on Friday night since we were packing and eyeballing how much weight was in each suitcase. At 2:30 we woke up, got the last of our stuff together, and drove to the airport to give the car back to the rental agency and catch our flight. The Ford Focus had about 4,000 kilometers on it when we rented it. When we returned it the car had about 8,000 kilometers on it if not more, plus mud, grass/wheat on the undercarriage from driving through a wheat field and a forest, the windshield had a collection of bugs, and the cab of the car had crumbs from all kinds of snack food. We thoroughly used it. The flight from Warszawa to Amsterdam was one hour and 40 minutes. We learned that when going to USA through Amsterdam or through Zurich the passengers can not take any liquids on board, but any other airport and that is not a problem, so if you have some bottle of water you bought in Warszawa that you were hopping to drink in Amsterdam and on the plane to Seattle you might as well chug it in Amsterdam before getting through security. Yes, you go though security again in Amsterdam even thought you are only transferring to go further and you already went through security in Warszawa and were already thoroughly patted down and discovered that the wires in your bra set off the metal detector. So, we went through security again and entertained Nicholas for an hour in the waiting area as he gave a concert to all of the passengers waiting with us for the plane to Seattle with the lyrics being “Ba, Ba, Ba”.
The plane from Warszawa to Amsterdam was operated and owned by KLM. The flight attendants were very nice, once again giving us a special seat belt for Nicholas, it was awesome the care they extended to us and to our baby. We would fly KLM again but it appears they are limited on their operations on the west coast of the US. The plane from Amsterdam to Seattle was 10 hours and 10 minutes. Nicholas slept 2 or 3 times in between socializing with his neighbor, the 21 month old Eliot. We were in the bulk head this time which was great, the two toddlers could easily walk and crawl around under our careful supervision and we were also comfortable. We did not get the bassinet because as it turns out it can only contain a 9 kilogram baby and Nicholas is 10.5 kilograms and he is too long for it. The bassinet I was told tends to accommodate babies 6 months or under. The trip went overall well. As I write this I am in Seattle, we arrived at 11 something today and I am falling asleep at the computer. It was a tiring day. I’ll write more tomorrow.

Thursday afternoon we arrived in Lodz, the city where I called home till I was 10. I have not been to certain parts of this city since childhood. Jason, Nicholas, and I parked at my old elementary school, painted since the last time I saw it. The old store and office complex next door has aged significantly, but the post office from which I would call my Mom after school was there, and so was Stokrotka – the little restaurant where I would sometimes go for potato dumplings. I could see the 13 story building where I lived on the 10th floor (we don’t count the first floor in Poland since that is 0, so in Polish its 12 stories, and I lived on 9th). The highlight of walking around in this old neighborhood was the forest where my parents would take me for walks, to the giant sandbox near the play area, or a play day in the forest with school. There are many paths in the forest and its not the kind of wild forest where animals live and you can’t see other people’s feet in front of you because its not thick at all. This is the kind of forest that was most likely planted about 50 years or os (my guess only) because the vegetation is thin on the ground, it was a great place to play and not get lost.
The next day we walked down Piotroska street, a little shopping, a large mid day meal in a traditional Polish food restaurant and of course ice cream at the “Hort Cafe”, where I use to go with my parents to celebrate birthdays. The ice cream sundays where incredible. Will upload pictures soon. And that was the last day in Poland. On Friday evening we drove to Warszawa, packed and then woke up at 2:30 am on Saturday for our 6 am flight home.