Mission Poland Hangtags

Mission Possible

Oct. 27 to Nov. 5, 2006

Friday:
On the fateful night of Friday, October 27, 2006 at approximately 23:30 (that’s 11:30pm, for those unfamiliar with military, non-USA, & secret mission time keeping) THE phone call came from Gilbert. Gilbert is the Asian Periscope counterpart to John in the Periscope/Cadmus business venture that initiated our travels to Hong Kong. Gilbert had been informed by one of our customer service persons, who was still in the office (she couldn’t reach John initially because he was on the phone with someone else) that one of our Poland customers had called to inform us that they had received the wrong hangtags!!! (just for those who may not know, hangtags are one of the main things we are producing over here, they are the printed tag that gets attached to a product & contains information such as price, where made & materials made of). So this wrong hangtag was OK on one side, but the printer had put the wrong information on the back side of the tag. So it had the right price on it, but on the back instead of saying “VASE Made in Poland” it said “Elephant Stool Made in Thailand”. Big OOOPS!! So the vase manufacturer needed to have the correct tags to their factory by Tuesday (Oct. 31) or their shipment of vases would be late getting to Target & if they don’t make their ship date they get penalized. Major crises!!

Just for those unfamiliar with the nasty world of product manufacturing, these large stores, like Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, etc……give the manufacturer of their products ship dates & if the manufacturer misses the ship date, then the manufacturer has to the company a penalty. So instead of Target paying for the vases, the vase manufacturer ends up paying Target for being late with the product. It sounds a bit severe, but probably necessary, otherwise nothing would probably get delivered. These companies are very strict about ship dates. So we have to get the tags & UPC labels to the manufacturers in a timely manner, so that they can label the goods & get them to the buyer on time. Thus the crises with the Poland glass factory. It they didn’t get the tags by Tuesday, then they would not make their ship date & it would be our fault (our printers fault really, since they are the ones who messed up the shipment, but ultimately we hired the printer, so we are responsible). To top things off, Sunday & Monday (Oct. 29 & 30) are holidays in China, so none of the delivery services were working. The printer needed Saturday to reprint the item & then it couldn’t ship until Tuesday at the earliest. The Chinese work very hard, but they also take their holidays very seriously, so there was no way the tags would get shipped until Tuesday.

So, as I’m listening to John talk to Gilbert about this crisis, I hear him say, “No problem, I’ll have Becky take them, that’s the only way they’ll get there on time.” Then he looked at me with that sweet, begging look……how could I say no? When he explained the situation to me, I figured what the heck, I’ve never been to Poland. When we started looking at possible flights out, they all went through either Paris or London. So I cut a deal, I’d go to Poland & deliver the precious hangtags if I could spend a few days in London. I have a good friend from high school (Chappaqua, NY; Mike Guralnick) who lives in London). It is kind of funny about Mike, we haven’t seen each other in probably 25 years or more, but keep in touch with Christmas cards & emails. Last summer when Jesse went to London I got in touch with Mike & Jesse ended up staying at his house for 2 weeks (his wife & kids were in the states for the summer, so they had the whole house). Then Mike & his son, Ethan, came to the US last August to do some college visiting & ended up being at Sunnywood the weekend of Aaron & Jen’s wedding. So here I was now asking to stay with him in London.

Saturday:
By Saturday morning I’d gotten in touch with a travel agent who was arranging the flight for that evening & getting to Poland on Monday afternoon & leaving Poland on Tuesday afternoon & staying in London until Friday evening. Since it was the weekend I couldn’t get in touch with anyone at the factory in Poland, so I had to just wing it & plan to be at the factory Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. I had been able to call the factory Friday night (afternoon for them) & found out it was about 100km east of Krakow. I could fly into Krakow & then take a train to Tarnow, then a taxi to the factory in Ladna. It seemed all very secret agent like, making last minutes plans to an Eastern European country. I spent a good part of Saturday trying to make travel arrangements, getting in touch with Mike & Michelle (his wife). I checked the weather & found out is was definitely fall weather in Poland & England. Since we are still in sleeveless shirts & sandals here, I had to take a quick trip to my newest favorite store & get some warmer clothes for my journey. This was after working all day (with everyone else) to check every other product we’d sent out (over 1,000) to make sure there were no other screw ups (we get a sample of every product printed & keep it in the office). It wasn’t a fun day!! Got out of the office at 5:30, to the store & then home by 7 & left for the airport at 8. It was an exhausting day which was good, helped to be tired for the 13 hours flight to London. Left HK at 11:30pm Saturday.

Sunday:
Arrived in London at 4:30am (local time). Had no problems getting through customs. It was actually an advantage to be a non-EU citizen, as the line only had 2 other people in it. If you just go out the “Nothing to Declare” door, nobody bothers you.

Remember the days when they were WAY more concerned with what went out of the airport, then what came in? They always checked your bag with your baggage claim tag & customs was tough? Just interesting how things change!

I followed Mike’s instructions & found my way to the Heathrow Express – 15 minutes non-stop to Paddington Station. Not bad! I got a taxi (they are those wonderful HUGE London taxis, I love them) & it was so different to have a conversation with the driver. And I loved the architecture. It just felt good to be in a western country, more like home. Not that I don’t love Asia, but London just had a familiar look to it.

Got to Mike’s house by about 6am & Mike was already up. We had a great visit & checked out details for my trip to Poland. Mike travels all over the world & he was a great advisor. Mike’s rule #1 – if you are traveling to Eastern Europe, ALWAYS stay in a 4 star or better hotel and even if only one person, spring for the extra $20 for a double room. He says singles can be like closets & less than 4 star, well you just wouldn’t want to stay there. We made a reservation for me at the Hotel Bristol in Tarnow. Found a train schedule after much searching & there seemed to be regular trains from Krakow to Tarnow. So felt ready for my adventure to Poland.

Mike's house was amazing. It is 4 floors & very roomy. I guess I've gotten used to HK living. The bathroom I used is bigger than our bedroom here. It was nice to be in a house & to have teen agers around. I forget how much I miss having a house full of kids. The kitchen is huge & has a large frig & dishwasher. It was very comfortable & a great place to have for homebase while in London.

To adjust to the time change I decided not to nap, but to go out walking. Mike lives very close to Regents Park, so I got a map & ventured out. Found a good organic restaurant for brunch. Spent the rest of the day wandering around the park. It was beautiful & even some fall colors on the trees (nothing like the northeast, but made me happy). Being Sunday, there were lots of people out & about. There was this huge field in part of the park that was covered solid with soccer games. Adults & kids alike. It was great to see, made me feel at home. There are several ponds & gardens in the park, so there was plenty to occupy me. I took a few photos, but my battery went dead, so not many photos of Regents Park. I fell asleep on a bench for about an hour. The weather was wonderful, sunny & probably mid-70’s. Simply Lovely!!

Had dinner with Mike & family, wife, Michelle; Ethan (18), Devon (16), Erin (13). It was so nice to be with a family & have teens around & listen to the usual teen conversation about friends & sporting events & activities. They are very active kids. The girls are on the volleyball team at school & all are on year book committee, so they had lots going on. It was funny to hear about their school trips that go to Paris & Italy & Scandinavia, but then those places are just around the corner for them. I went to be very early.

Monday:
There was quite some discussion between Mike & Michelle as to where I would have the best luck finding a taxi at 7am. I went with Michelle’s suggestion, no offense guys, but the moms’ usually have a better feel for reality when it comes to stuff like this. I got a taxi no problem. Went to Victoria Station & got the Gatwick Express train out to the airport, it took about 35 minutes. The airport already had Christmas decorations up. I had intended to carry on my valuable cargo, but London airports are more strict than others about carry on baggage & they only allow one carry on including a handbag. No way I could fit my purse into the suitcase, so I had to check it. They also search you bags very carefully for any kind of liquid, lotion, toothpaste – everything. The lines through security were huge.

I got through in plenty of time. My flight left at 11:30am.. I’d purchased a good book in London on my walk, so I read that & the flight went quickly. It was only 3 hours to Krakow. To my relief my suitcase made it through – whew!! Krakow airport is pretty small & it was very easy to find the bus to the train station. At the train station, which was nothing more than a tiny platform, I met some 2 Americans & Polish woman. The Americans were teaching English in Poland & were on their way home from a long weekend in Spain. They were young & having a great time. One went to college for finance & the other art history, but they wanted the opportunity to travel. Great idea! The Polish woman spoke excellent English & was very helpful. She helped us figure out the Polish money (zalatney – not the way it’s spelled, but how it is pronounced). The train conductor was very nice as well as we were suppose to have exact change, but didn’t so he gave us change. We arrived at the main downtown station (the airport is about 15km out of town) & there was a train leaving for Tarnow in 5 minutes. My new Polish friend helped me get tickets & get to the platform just in time. I was most thankful.

The train was very full, but I did find a seat. Not far from the station we passed a huge outdoor ice rink that it looked like they were getting ready for the season. I had to smile to myself, it seems I just can’t get away from things to do with hockey (would have been awesome if they were having a game). The original schedule I had looked at showed just 2 stops between Krakow & Tarnow & the trip took just over an hour. I soon realized the train that I was on, must be a local & not the express train. Within the first 30 minutes we had already made about 5 stops. This made me a bit nervous as my plan was to count the stops & I would know I was in Tarnow when we got to the 3rd stop. You learn these things traveling places where you don’t know the language. I noticed that they did not announce the stations at all & there were precious few signs at any of the stations. After about an hour I asked the young people across from me if they spoke English. “Yes, a little” is always the response. I asked when we stop in Tarnow? They said, Tarnow last stop, no problem. I felt much better. When they got off, they told me, nest stop Tarnow, you get off.

Sure enough, almost 2 hours later we came to Tarnow, I only knew this because everyone got off. There were no signs at the station. Fortunately TAXI is the same in every language. I had asked someone about the hotel & they said “easy walk, only 15 minute walk to hotel”. Normally I would walk, but not having a map & having no clue where I was, I decided to be a tourist & take the taxi. I’m sure glad I did. The hotel wasn’t that far, but far enough. The driver was very nice, but didn’t speak much English, although he did know how to say thank you. The hotel was very old world with high ceilings & wide stairway with chandeliers. The desk clerk spoke English & they had my reservation – things were going very well.

It was about 5pm, so I decided to wander around the town. The streets were all cobblestone & the buildings stucco. It was a nice little town & the cold air felt good – well for a while. There was a large cathedral in the center of town that was lit up. The main street around the town square was wide & seemed to be pedestrian only, except for a few delivery trucks. There were a few bars & pizza places & of course the ubiquitous kebab places. After about 2 hours my ears were freezing, so I went back to the hotel. I thought about eating at a little local restaurant, but I didn’t see many women in most of them & most people were smoking & I just don’t like that when I eat. The hotel had a nice restaurant, so I ate there. I ordered 3 things off the menu & had no idea what they were – a soup, a salad & a ravioli dish. The soup turned out to be a thin tomato stock with chunks of tomato & other veggies in it – good. The salad was a plate of 3 salads – potato salad, cabbage salad & a shredded carrots that had vinegar on them – all very good. The main dish as homemade pasta raviolis (very large & puffy) filled with cheese & covered with grilled onions & mushrooms – good but very filling. Of course I had to try the local beer (I even took the bottle, think I’ll start collecting beer bottles from around the world). I was asleep before 9pm, still adjusting to the time change.

Tuesday:
Breakfast was at 7 & I knew the factory opened at 7, so I got an early start. Was first at the breakfast buffet – which was mostly cold cut meats, cheeses, rolls, yogurt, etc…very European breakfast – plenty to fill you up. I asked the desk clerk to call the factory & make sure they were expecting me. She did so & they were ready for me & very glad to know I had made it. Before leaving the hotel I asked the clerk to teach me how to say “hello” in Polish. I’ve learned that people always appreciate it if you at least attempt to try to speak their language. She said it is “jandubre”(again, phonetic). I got a taxi to the factory (practicing my new Polish word the entire way), about 20 minutes outside of town. At the security gate the guard took my bag & walked me into the office building. It was very strange as there were lots of people milling around. The main office was filled with flowers in vases. This is a vase factory, but I can’t even tell you how many flowers there were. I thought someone must have died & they are paying their respects. This turned out not to be the case. I asked about the flowers & was told they always have lots of flowers, the Polish love flowers, also the next day was the owner of the factory’s “name day”. They celebrate birthdays, but they also celebrate names days. Each name has it’s own day & everyone with that name celebrates on that day. They said it can be bigger celebration than your birthday. So there were a few extra flowers for that occasion.

The vases were amazing. They had some vases that were 5 feet high, I knew this because they were as tall as me. The woman I met with was very nice & appreciative of our efforts to get the product to them on time. She also really liked that I greeted her in Polish & understood my “jandubre”. I think that helped break the ice some. Getting the product on Tuesday gave them time to check each vase to make sure they had the right tags on them. I was given tea & we chatted then they arranged for the factory driver to take me back to my hotel. It was a nice visit & I was sure glad to get those tags out of my hands. The driver didn’t speak English, so I just enjoyed the country side.

I checked out of the hotel & the clerk told me the next train was at 10am, which gave me about 1.5 hours to waste. I was glad because I wanted to see the town in day light & get some photos. It was very cold, good solid frost on the ground. One of my first stops was a shop that sold scarves & mittens. I think it was actually a 2nd hand shop, but who cares. I got a nice scarf – nice meaning warm & some mittens. That helped make the walk much more tolerable. After wandering around (I had found a map) I walked to the train station. I managed to get my ticket & find the platform. After the hotel I didn’t meet anyone who spoke English, so it was a bit of a challenge. This time I think I got the express train, as it didn’t make nearly as many stops. We did stop a few times in the middle of the track (no station) & just sit for 10 minutes. I think they must have been waiting for other trains to clear the track. Things in Poland are not nearly as punctual as HK.

I arrived in Krakow around 11:30am & my flight out to London was at 3:30. So this gave me some time to look around Krakow. The train station lets out into a mall so I looked around a little & again had trouble finding the exit. I think this must be a strategy of the designers so that people are trapped & forced to shop OR I’m just stupid!! I found a few souvenirs for the folks back at the office. I did finally find the exit & just walked the streets. I think I was in the main tourist area because there some great looking old buildings & lots of people with cameras. I found a pedestrian street with shops. It was again, very old world looking. I’d like to come back & get to take more time. Knowing the transportation system in Poland was maybe not as reliable as HK & not knowing the language, I decided to give myself plenty of time to get to the airport. I wandered back to the train station & after a little confusion, found the train to the airport. This time I knew to have exact change. I got to the airport with a few hours to spare, so enjoyed my book.

They were extra strict with flights going to the UK. We went through the usual security check, but then for the UK flights you had to go through another check. They took everything out of your carryon bag. They made me turn on my calculator & camera. They did a pat down search also. Again, only one carryon item. It was kind of funny getting out to the plane. The put everyone on a bus – we were packed in like sardines, then the bus took us less than 100 yards & we got off at the plane. We were all laughing that it would have been a lot faster & more comfortable to have just walked to the plane.

The flight was uneventful & I managed the express train back to Victoria Station without problems. I decided to take the underground to get back to Mike’s, maybe not a good idea. It was about 6pm & that is rush hour in London. I got my ticket & found my way through the crowds & onto a train. Got off at the right place – stations were announced & well marked in London. The underground is so much different than in HK though, it feels very small & hot & dirty. I guess being one on the oldest underground systems, it is showing it’s age. HK is so clean & modern, it was a stark contrast. Having been in a train or bus most of the day I just walked from Oxford Circus to Mike’s, it was about 15 minutes. Again I was happy to have my new scarf & mittens. I enjoyed dinner with the family again & again early to bed.

Michelle was apologizing for not being available to take me around, but she had things she needed to do with the kids’ school & previous engagements. She mentioned that she had some theater tickets for the next night. THEATER! I had completely forgotten that London is known for its great theater & it is usually cheap (by NYC standards). I had a mission for the next day, get tickets for a show.


Wednesday:
Michelle told me the half price tickets booth doesn’t open until 10am, so I hung around the house in the morning & enjoyed just being in a house. I even emptied the dish washer, which was a treat! (sounds strange doesn’t it, you never know what you’ll miss doing). I headed out by foot & walked down Regent Street (this is one of the main shopping streets in London, all of the best stores are here, I felt like I was in HK). I found a great toy store, Hembley’s & had fun looking around. It was 5 floors of toys! I got to Piccadilly Circus & noticed a cheap theater ticket booth there (the main one is in Leicester Square). I checked it out & saw that Lion King was playing. I got tickets for that night for about $50. I spent the rest of the day just wandering. I found my way to Trafalgar Square & then to St James Park. It was another lovely day, so I sat in the park for a while & struck up a conversation with a 27year old guy from Nova Scotia who is traveling until April all over Europe & ending up in Turkey. From the park I could see the London Eye (the huge ferris wheel that was constructed for the millennium celebration) so I decided that would be my destination. Passed Big Ben & Parliament on the way & crossed the River Thames. At the London Eye there is a building that has a few museums in it. I decided to go to the Salvador Dali exhibit to get some culture. Dali is way out there, some pretty strange stuff. It was fun though & it felt good to get out of the cold for a few hours. By the time I left, it was just getting dark, so I figured a good time to go up in the Eye before heading to the theater.

The London Eye takes 30 minutes to make the full circle. The night was clear, so we had a fabulous view of the city. Off in the distance we could see a fireworks display over the building tops. I found out later that it was for Guy Faulks day (that is what the Brits celebrate the day after Halloween). I didn’t do a very good job taking night photos, so you if you look at the photos, you have to be patient until I figured out I had to ground the camera to keep it still.

The Eye was only about a 20 minute walk from the theater. I can’t even begin to describe Lion King, it was spectacular. If you haven’t seen it & you ever get the chance, it is a must. The costuming is amazing & so is the dancing. Just a feel good story & performance. It was over at 10:30 and with map in hand, I walked home from the theater. It took about an hour, but I just loved being out in the cold & getting the exercise.

Thursday:
Having seen how many great shows there were in London, I decided I’d have to go to the theater again tonight. I ventured down to Leicester Square this time & waited in a long line & got a ticket for Phantom of the Opera. I’ve never seen it & figured everyone says so much about it I should see it. I’ve seen the movie, so was familiar with the story & music, which I love.

With ticket in hand, my day destination was to St. Paul’s cathedral. Ethan told me that I should climb to the top for a great view of the city. You know if a teenager suggests something, then it must be worth doing. I walked to St Paul’s. This took me along Fleet Street which is the financial & legal district of London. Along the way I happened to wander into a building complex with a court yard. I have no idea what drew me to wander in, but what should I discover but the construction of an ice rink. They do this in large cities, construct outdoor rinks for a few months in the winter (we had one in downtown Charlotte even). I’m just a magnet for ice rinks I guess. St Paul’s was wonderful & I climbed up the many many stairs, but could only go to the lower tower lookout, the upper one was closed for some reason. The view from the lower one was pretty terrific, so I was satisfied. I found a place for lunch & ate & read my book. Very relaxing & my feet were in desperate need of a rest.

I wandered back to Oxford Circus which took all afternoon. A young woman on the street saw me with a map & asked me to help her find a certain street she was looking for. I found it & walked with her a little ways. When I left her I looked up & noticed that I was at the entrance to Chinatown. How amusing to think that I came all the way from Asia to London & end up in Chinatown. It is only about 2 blocks, so I took some photos & walked through Chinatown. It felt like being in HK.

Got some tea & a sweet before the theater. When I decided it was time to head to the theater I realized I was at the wrong Circus, I was supposed to be at Piccadilly Circus, not Oxford – oops. It was 6:30 & I had an hour, so no panic, but when I got around Oxford Circus underground station, the sidewalk was literally impassible with people trying to get into the underground station. I guess they had problems with so many people trying to get on that someone got pushed onto the track by accident. So now they only let a certain number of people into the station & then they close the gates until the platform has cleared. This means the people spill out onto the street, it was like a mob scene. I just went on the street to get where I wanted to go.

I made it to the theater no problem. My seat was on the main level, 10 rows back. This theater wasn’t as angled as the other one, so it was kind of hard to see because of the person’s head in front of me. Phantom was good, but not spectacular. I think it wasn’t a good one to see after Lion King. It was definitely better than the movie & I enjoyed it, but it didn’t WOW me. I’m glad I can take it off my list. Again I walked home after the show. London seems very safe, at least the part where I was walking. There were lots of other people out & about even at 11pm. I wondered if my feet could take one more day of walking. I had acquired a few blisters.

Friday:
One of the main things I wanted to do while in London was to go see the flat that I had lived in when I was in college here back in 1975-76. So this was my day to return to my old haunts. I walked to Marble Arch & through Hyde Park. The open spaces in London parks is wonderful, makes you feel like you are in the country. I walked down King’s Road to Sloane Square (this is the underground station we used). On down King’s Road to Oakley Street (the street I lived on). Nothing looked familiar except for maybe one pub. King’s Road has all the trendy shops. It used to be where the punkers hung out, but no more. Oakley Street looked just the same. I found my flat, #40. As I was waiting for someone to come by so I could ask them to take a photo of my in front, the current resident came out of the door. She was young & very nice & took the photo with pleasure.

I then walked along the route that we would take to get to school. Along the way I happened upon a little pub tucked away among the apartment buildings. I had wanted to eat at a pub at least once during my London trip, but most were crowded & unwelcoming looking. This just looked like a nice neighborhood pub. I found a table, but nobody ever came to serve me. I noticed other people walking in & going to the bar to order, so I went & asked & that is what you have to do. You’d think they would have told me that? Anyway I had a half pint of Amber (in honor of my brother Hubs – that’s another story & another trip) & of course fish & chips. It was great. At one point there were 9 dogs in the pub, some on leashes & some not. Guess it really is for the locals.

I went on down the road & think I saw where the school used to be, but didn’t look like it was there any more. I walked back through Hyde Park & through the neighborhoods. As I was passing the Victoria & Albert – what do you think I saw them constructing in the front courtyard – but of course – an ice rink!!! So I’m gone for less than a week & I see 3 ice rinks. Guess I need to find the one here in HK. I got back to Mike’s in time to say good bye to Michelle, she was off to pick up the kids. I packed & got a taxi to the station for the airport. My flight back to HK left at 8:30pm. I was very glad to be done walking & get to rest for awhile. I had plenty of time which was good because again the security line was huge. The flight back was uneventful. I had an aisle seat again which was good. I slept probably 4 hours. Watched a couple of good movies: Twelve And Holding, Nina’s something- can’t recall the name, but about an Indian family living in Glasgow & they own a restaurant & Nina comes back to take it over after her father dies. Arrived in HK Saturday evening & back to the apartment around 7pm. Good to be home & to see John of course. I went right to bed.

Sunday:
I was still kind of out of it on Sunday, jet lag & all. Sunday afternoon John & I decided to take a trip to the Peak via bus. It is an exciting bus ride – you feel like you are going to fall of the side of the mountain. There is a nice path that encircles the Peak, so we were going to walk that. We got about ¼ around the path & noticed a path running down the mountain towards our part of town. We decided to take it & see where we came out. It was a nice winding path & we event went past a few shrines with incense burning. We ended up at the zoological & botanical gardens that are not far from our house. I’ve wanted to visit them since I got here. I go past on the way to work on the bus. So we strolled through. Saw the jaguar & lots of birds & monkeys. It is always fun here on the weekend in the parks because they are filled with families. It is so wonderful to see parents & kids & grandparents out enjoying each other’s company.

We then walked back towards the escalator & our apartment. We decided to have an early dinner out. We were walking along Elgin Street (the one that is filled with restaurants) trying to decide where to eat, when an Asian woman walks past & says “Hello John, I haven’t seen you in so long. I hope you are going to eat at my restaurant.” She is the manager of one of the restaurants were John had eaten with the other Americans a few times. I guess she has a great memory for names & faces. Of course we went to her restaurant. It was a mixture of food types. John has Caesar Salad & I had fajita – which was delicious. It was a good end to a fun day. I slept very well again & my feet were feeling much better – they needed that day of travel that did NOT involve walking!!!

photos at http://community.webshots.com/user/jbhubbell

The End – finally…..next week (Nov. 15 we go to India, so that will be another long blog. Hopefully it will not take me so long to finish it)