The mysterious bus remained, in fact, enigmatic, and İ cannily negotiated a taxi for a fee of 100 zlotys to the airport. This was accomplished by walking away, deciding İ wasn't going to find the spectral bus, and accepting the cab driver's price. He then showed me the little sign with the fixed fare to Pyrowice İnternational. 100 zlotys. Savvy.
As amusing as the roadside billboards were--among them, adverts for a gentleman's club called 'hot american bikini' [i am not making this up]--they did little to lift my mood. The prior day had begun with a heated conversation regarding President Obama's verbal misstep, usıng the misnomer "Polish death camps." The camps are on Polish soil but decidedly they were established and run by Germans. Not such a big deal, perhaps, to we yanks, but when you're at a hostel an hour away from Auschwitz/Birkenau, you discover that the youth of nowa Polska don't see things the same way. İ found myself in the novel position of right wing patriot, uncomfortably so...but after my vısıt to Auschwitz that same day, my perspective had changed dramatıcally. Linguistic precision carries the weight of its subject matter. The leader of the free world was pretty much Hulk smash on that one. .
But it isn't time to talk about this particular bit of humanity's dark side. Soon, perhaps. For now...after the above dot to dot travel craziness, I stepped out of Ataturk aiport into the Istanbul sun. And the sea smelled like home.
This is the view from the rooftop cafe' at the Metropolis Hostel. That would be Asia in the distance, there. Score one for the bright side.
Look at you, doctor of international mystery.
ReplyDeleteKeep blogging if you can, i love reading your writing!
Oh, the right wing patriot position ( is that sex wrapped in a flag) reminds me of visiting the "museum of american war crimes" in viet nam....very difficult.