11 Days in Wroclaw

Above - Carp in Lutheran Sauce (for more on the Lutheran approach to cuisine listen to Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" )

Below - Zurek - yummy!



Even more "English" Goulash



Below: Your guess is as good as mine - even my bi-lingual colleage struggled

Racławice Panorama - what a surprise - Avatar for the 1890's

I went to see the Racławice Panorama - it is in a big circular building opposite the Radisson Hotel in Wroclaw - really very well worth seeing.

If you are going to visit - don't follow the link (above) until you have made your visit - and don't look at the shop on your left as you enter the ticket hall.

Totally not what I was expecting...

Which was either a) some form of "Socialist Realism Soviet Style" propaganda, all sweating workers and earnest daughters of the motherland with 6 children and a job making tractors or b) a long long strip of earnest but dull medieval tapestry

So I don't spoil the surprise the picture above is an artists impression (artists are 8 years old) - the actual panorama has fewer happy black and white cows and absolutely no blonde ponies.

A Chilly Weekend in Wrocław

This is the Art Hotel - very swish - Engineers only please!




Rynek - the cultural and literal centre of the city



Normally I go running along the towpath - but at -16C not a good idea



River is nearly frozen

My first visit to Poland in 2010 - They took my company final salary pension away
My second visit to Poland in 2010 - They took my company away*
My third visit to Poland in 2010 - Not looking forward to this one at all!

*Thank you to everyone who has expressed support and offered sympathy but it was not necessary as I now understand that Kraft buying Cadbury was the best thing that could happen to us,  Kraft directorate will effectively leverage their skillbase through the synergistic integration of the partner entities and I am convinced that the combined company will be successful in striving for enhanced profitability going forward.

Seriously - perhaps the Cadbry Culture can really make a good change to Kraft - cross fingers and hope!

I went to Avatar (again) today

Avatar at the Birmingham IMAX - second time around it was even better - because the Pocahontas-remixed storyline was a known - and I could concentrate on the lovely lovely fantastic images - and it all happened in a computer - stunning.

As I walked out someone said "Well, I won't be waiting for the DVD"... and yes there would, frankly, be no point.

If you don't see it in 3D on the biggest screen you can get to - then you will really really really kick yourself when you realise what you missed.

I met a man who owns a Vulcan

While dining in Wroclaw (Art Hotel) I met some folks from Stratford...

This is the owner/manager of Wellsbourne Airfield - there is a Vulcan parked there (XM655) - when the previous owner could not pay to make it flightworthy it was bought for £1 in lieu of 'parking fees'. When the weather gets better - I will be taking a trip down to Stratford for a personal tour



That is XH558 in the background

New "Somerdale" at Skarbimerz

It was colder in the UK though!

This is what the old factory looks like:




Problem is - no way would we ever get permission to build a new-style factory on the site