Polish Basketball & The Gospel to Jazz

November 11, 2013

The bridge between Germany and Poland.
People freely walk between the boarders.

On Saturday eleven ‘loud’ Americans climbed on a train headed for Görlitz, Sachsen. Görlitz is the eastern most city in Germany. It’s sister city, Zgorzelec, Poland is just over a bridge but there is a stark architectural contrast between the two sides of the river. I still don’t feel like I can say I’ve been to Poland. Just like I don’t count my half-day trip to a boarder town Mexico as having seen the country. However, I now have a strong desire to go back to the country and find a plum pierogi. 

Most of our time was spent in Görlitz. Of course, we looked at the local churches and town hall. Eleven people is a lot to coordinate in a democratic group with no set agenda so we naturally split into two groups when lunch time rolled around.

A view into Poland from Germany

The whole group was reunited just before tip off at the professional basketball game in Poland. That’s right. We cheered for the Turow’s and the two Americans #21 and #30 on their team. I enjoyed it a lot, even though I am not usually a sports fan. At halftime two teams of little boys swarmed the court for a quick match. It was adorable. Most of the children couldn’t throw the ball high enough to reach the net, let alone get it inside. So, when one blond-haired boy scored he had every reason to smile and dance around the court.

A street in Görlitz

Unfortunately the combination of a big group, miscommunication, and an absence of my usually compulsive planning meant that four of us had an hour layover in Dresden before we could catch a train to Chemnitz. Monika and I still couldn’t take a train back to Zwickau until 7:32 in the morning (Okay, the first one was at 5:00.) so Hannah graciously let us sleep on her floor for six hours. We both slept surprisingly well. I’m sure waking up at 4:30 the previous morning helped make the hardwood floor padded with sweatshirts feel a little more luxurious.

I arrived back in Zwickau early Sunday morning while Monika stayed in Chemnitz a few more hours to visit her family there. Sunday was a truly wonderful day. The train ride was quite and relaxing. I read and ate the last of my Polish baked goods for breakfast. 

Once back at home I got some writing done before heading over to Tina’s. On the cold walk over rain poured on my umbrella. Perhaps my umbrella will outline my view of the world for the next month until all of the rain turns to snow.

When I arrived at Tina’s snuggly house shoes, warm pumpkin soup, and bread fresh out of the oven greeted me. For dessert we ate the fruit salad I brought and some coffee/hot chocolate. Properly nourished we were ready to get to work on our lanterns. Last weekend we attended a Fakelzauber festival in Mariental together with Marie. Long ago large bonfires would burn at the end of the harvest season to scare away the evil spirits. Today a hundreds and hundreds of adults and children with their lanterns parade to the town square where a small bonfire is carefully controlled by two firefighters and fireworks light up the night sky. We’re not sure we used the proper materials for our lanterns, but I’ll have to let you know later since our papier-mâché balloons are currently dying.

After our arts and crafts Monika joined us for a wonderful concert at Pauluskirche. Maria, the first act, was my favorite. It was the story of Jesus’ life seen through Mary’s eyes with occasional input from Joseph and the “crowd.” It was all in German and in a Jazz style. I wish I could have bought a CD.

Afterwards I went back to Tina’s to use her Internet in order to skype with Ryan. (That’s right, I still don’t have Internet in my apartment. I should have Internet within 10-15 days…but I’ve been told that before.)