Anticipation and angst

I can’t remember a trip when I was quite so angst-ridden.  I do angst very thoroughly, and most trips, unless it’s my beloved Algarve, as the date for departure approaches I lose sleep worrying over the ‘what ifs?’  In my head I’m a control freak, but reality is often far beyond my control.

Lake Czorsztyn in the Pieniny Mountains

I well remember being let loose by the Polish family in the Pieniny Mountains.  A trip river rafting in the Dunajec Gorge was in the offing, but where to catch the bus?  My other half always reads timetables meticulously and was unconvinced either that we were in the right place, or that the bus would turn up.  This despite a visit to Tourist Information to enquire.  ‘You’re the one who speaks Polish!’ he said, accusingly.  If only this were so!  The sun beat down, and we waited.  And waited.  Eventually a tiny minibus pulled to the curb, destination unknown.  We looked at each other.  This one?  Fortunately a good-hearted, English speaking couple had witnessed our confusion.  They were going hiking in the Gorge.  “Come on!  We’ll tell you where to get off.”  Huge relief and, ultimately, one of my best ever days in Poland.

But I digress.  What makes this particular trip so worrisome?  I had always known that I would return to Dad’s homeland one day, even though Dad was no longer with me.  The Polish family were so kind, and so accepting when we walked into their lives after all those years of absence.  Dad was welcomed with open arms.  Here I was, going back alone, and still without the benefit of Polish language, try as I might to make sense of it.

You might recall from My Call to Poland that I have elderly family.  The need to see them is pressing, but I want to cause the least possible inconvenience.  This means not flying into Kraków and expecting to be driven 3 and a half hours north to the family home, which is what always happened when Dad was alive.  A wild notion had occurred to me.  My lovely Australian friend, Meg, was back in Warsaw for 6 weeks.  This might be an opportunity to see her again, however briefly.  It all hinged on whether I could find transport from Warsaw to Bełchatów.  When Gilly leapt, with gay abandon, onto the scene, announcing she had booked 3 days in Warsaw and was going to see Meg, it was just the catalyst I needed.

A sequence of emails took place.  Kind Adam, in Kraków, declared that I was welcome in his home at any time.  Lovely Jadzia in Bełchatów said that my timing was perfect to celebrate her birthday with her.  Meg, more than generously, offered to put me up for the night on my arrival in Warsaw.  I didn’t contact Gilly,  hoping to surprise her.  Now all I had to do was pore over online timetables.  Endless timetables!  Until my head hurt.  It wasn’t simple, but finally I secured a prized bus ticket from a Russian company- the small print indecipherable.

And speaking of language, it was again time to seek out my ‘Colloquial Polish’.  I started a course at a local college about 10 years ago and purchased the required book.  The course was discontinued, due to funding, long before I reached the end of the book, but I did acquire a lasting friendship- another lady with a Polish Dad.  Each time I have visited Poland I have started the book again, with renewed enthusiasm.  Never have I reached the last page, but it has accompanied me proudly on each of my visits, and sat on the table as a declaration of intent.  This time it must stay home as I need to travel light.  A pocket dictionary will have to do.

Transferring from Bełchatów to Kraków is equally problematic.  The train service I relied on has changed providers and disappeared.  Buses go in random directions, sometimes taking as long as 13 hours.  I could reach the Pacific in less time.  Angst heightens.  Meantime, Gilly asks questions about my visit.  Nothing to do but confess and hope she won’t mind my gatecrashing her meeting with Meg.  Assuming I can find them in the teeming metropolis.

And just as I’m about to embark on this journey, I discover that I’ve lost the coach tickets to visit my daughter in Nottingham, scheduled just days after my return from Poland!  I can’t reprint them because I don’t have the ticket number.  Much hunting and an email to the coach company.  It can only get better?  By the time you read this I should know the answer.

Meantime I’m linking to Cathy’s Anticipation & Preparation: Spain and Portugal in 2013 on Wander.essence.  It holds many fond memories for me.

124 comments

  1. I have had a series of mishaps this year beginning with a cancelled trip due to my visa arriving too late and then nearly being offloaded from my Lufthansa flight because I was travelling to the Netherlands on a Malta visa (the one that arrived too late!)! It ended well but my confidence in my planning abilities is badly dented. Glad your trip went off well Jo. Can’t wait to read all about it.

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  2. Pingback: Reminiscences from Poland | restlessjo

      1. Enjoy the Algarve!
        Here, I am having a lazy time in “Fritztown”, with a lot of editing pictures from my recent trip and preparing blog posts – about that and about all the deer in our yard.
        Have a great weekend,
        Pit

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  4. Pingback: anticipation & preparation: buffalo & niagara falls – ~ wander.essence ~

  5. Hope that in spite of the pre trip angst it all went well Jo and also that you sorted out a solution with the coach company for Nottingham! Polish I think is a very difficult language to learn – those accents and the non phonetic pronunciation sound very hard. We have a guy in my German language class who is of Polish descent (both sides) and he is fluent as he only spoke Polish till he was 5. Mind you he reckons German is difficult to learn and I’ve made progress with that so there is hope!! I find I get more stressed now when going away but am always fine once we set off! 🙂

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  6. I can absolutely understand your angst, but judging from the comments here, it looks like you had a fabulous trip. That’s wonderful! There’s a great line from a Tom Petty song–“Everything I worried about didn’t happen anyway.” I am a terrible worrier but Tom’s words help!

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  7. Oh my goodness! I’m glad to read your comment that you were able to reprint the ticket. What stress! I really enjoyed reading the background on your trip to Poland, Jo. What a lovely adventure you had, and there was so much purpose connected. 🙂

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    1. I wasn’t sure if I had time for the walk post this week, Debbie, but I felt somehow that I needed to move on with the story and share some of the joy. It all turned out so very well! 🙂 🙂

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  8. While reading your post, I got nervous with you, Jo. When embarking on a journey like this, anything can happen. Not speaking the language doesn’t make things easier, of course. I remember long ago voyages in SE Asia, with all my phrase books. Nothing phased me then, but these days, nothing ever seems to line up anymore. Winging it seems to be for the “young and innocent”. That being said, even with many moving parts, things do sometimes fall together nicely! I hope you’ve found those bus tickets by now, and that your trip to Poland is/will be a success!

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    1. Hiya, darlin! Back in the UK and had a wonderful time, thanks. Maybe I worried it all out of my system before I went. 🙂 🙂 Yes, I got the coach tickets reprinted and am off to Nottingham on Thursday, and the Algarve next Monday. All systems go!

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    1. The worst part is incomprehension, Elaine. When a close family member looks at you expectantly for a reply and you don’t know how to answer, it’s a horrible feeling. But we got by 🙂 🙂

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  10. I’m very much the same Jo – I ALWAYS worry before every trip about what could go wrong and what I’ve learned over the years is that those episodes that do NOT go as planned are the ones you remember and laugh about later!! So angst or not, I keep hitting the road and have never regretted nor experienced a true disaster yet! I admire your courage traveling alone tho – I think that is just a bit beyond my ability to deal with!!!

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