Getting ready to head to Poland with a bag of clothes and a nearly bigger bag of row2k camera/laptop gear today. Two cameras, a video recorder, and all necessary and sundry items for bringing the Poznan Worlds to the row2k audience are in the bag...I hope. Since the epic Air France/luggage incidents of 2002/2003, I've packed for this trip with a certain sense of fatalism.

As always, the more you plan, the less circumstances cooperate. I was going to get a last row or erg in early this morning, then was up with two feverish children at 5am. Scratch the "high intensity erg for the road." I used the time I gained to register a crew for the HOCR (September 1st deadline!!!), review my checking account ($0.00 is pretty unequivocal, whew), and figure out directions to the hotel in Poznan, train connections, etc.

In doing so, I found this handy-dandy Polish Language Primer on the web, some good stuff in there. In a couple days, you'll find me on the grandstand at the Malta regatta course, glancing out at the race course at crews and muttering "Volno" under my breath.

After a fairly crummy summer of "rowing" on my home waters, I'm looking forward to watching some good folks do this for real. That, and enjoying Kielbasa with a solid Polish Pilsner to wash it down, for sure.

On to Poland!
Oli