I've always been interested in attribution theory. Basically, how do individuals observing an action decide to what to attribute that action? Why is it that two people observing a single person acting a certain way can make differing attributions? When do you make personal attributions to a behavior as opposed to situational attributions (that is, when do you you attribute a behavior to a person's conscious decision to act that way as opposed to a response to an external situation)?
I have always tended to make situational attributions when others make personal attributions.
But when there is a high consistency of behavior across situations, theory suggests that people would make personal attributions.
What do you do when you think someone is trying to make your life miserable? Whenever you tell them what you would like, you find them ensuring that the opposite happens? And that happens over and over again in a variety of different situations?
For some reason, I find it hard to overcome my natural tendency to make situational attributions. Could it be that this person is actively working to undermine me?
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Top Spin
I started taking tennis lessons several months ago and started to really enjoy the game a lot. Then, the coach got busy with his college teams and although I continued to play occasionally, I stopped getting the coaching for several months.
For some strange reason, I really struggled with my forehand and had no trouble with my backhand. For most people, it is the opposite. I was completely unable to manage any top spin with my forehand and continually sliced the ball when returning a forehand shot.
I knew it was something very simple I was doing wrong and longed for a return to the coaching. Amazingly, when we had our first lesson in months this week, I explained my problem and frustration to the coach and he fixed it almost instantly. Essentially, he just asked me to stand with my racket held low to the ground instead of up above my waist. Almost immediately I could see a difference in my swing and the way the ball responded to being hit. I still need to practice this swing to see if the problem really is fixed, but his explanation made sense. More evidence of the importance of having a good teacher!
For some strange reason, I really struggled with my forehand and had no trouble with my backhand. For most people, it is the opposite. I was completely unable to manage any top spin with my forehand and continually sliced the ball when returning a forehand shot.
I knew it was something very simple I was doing wrong and longed for a return to the coaching. Amazingly, when we had our first lesson in months this week, I explained my problem and frustration to the coach and he fixed it almost instantly. Essentially, he just asked me to stand with my racket held low to the ground instead of up above my waist. Almost immediately I could see a difference in my swing and the way the ball responded to being hit. I still need to practice this swing to see if the problem really is fixed, but his explanation made sense. More evidence of the importance of having a good teacher!
Monday, June 18, 2007
An Exercise in Game Theory
My colleague and I who were traveling together from Poland had an experience on Sunday that should serve as an excellent discussion point on game theory. Okay, here's the setup: He and I were able to communicate on the flight in to Detroit and, since we had a VERY short time for a connecting flight, agreed that we would not wait for each other if one of us got their baggage early. We agreed that whoever got their bags would head straight to the gate of the connecting flight and see if there is any chance of getting on.
When we landed (we got our bags at the same time), we were told by the airline representative that we could not make the flight. Instead, we were booked on a later flight through a different city. So, we just decided to go to the gate for the new flight. On getting through security, I happened to look at some flight monitors and noticed that the earlier flight was delayed slightly and there was a very small chance that we could catch it if we rushed straight to the gate for that flight. I whirled around and could not see my colleague anywhere. He did not have a cell phone, so there was no way of contacting him. What would you do?
Well, I assumed that (a) either he also noticed that the flight was delayed and had headed straight to that gate, (b) he was walking towards the gate for the later flight and would notice that the earlier flight was delayed and rush there, or (c) he would never realize that the earlier flight was delayed and he would be comfortably ensconced at the gate for the later flight waiting for me. What would you do in this situation? If you go to the gate for the later flight looking for him, you will almost certainly miss the earlier flight. Perfect game theory situation where you have to respond in anticipation of how someone else will respond without being able to communicate with them!
I went running to the gate for the earlier flight, hoping he would already be there. In two of the three options he would be there. In the third option, neither one of us would make the earlier flight. It would have been foolish to head to the gate for the later flight and I assumed he would realize this and head straight to the gate for the earlier flight. No such luck. I was able to board the flight and get home earlier, never knowing what happened to my colleague (he managed to get another flight home).
I was surprised to find that he seemed upset that I had not come to the gate for the later flight to get him (given the time limitation, that would have been impossible). Amazingly, he seemed to suggest that he had noticed that the earlier flight was delayed but still chose to go to the gate for the later flight assuming I would come there. My own guess of his response was that if he had noticed the flight was delayed, obviously the previous agreement (which was premised on taking any possible chance of one of us managing to catch the earlier flight) would supercede the later decision to head to the gate for the later flight (since this later decision was based on the assumption that it was impossible to catch the earlier flight).
Obvious breakdown of game theory because of some indeterminate differences in our assumptions on how the other person would act. Strange and interesting ...
When we landed (we got our bags at the same time), we were told by the airline representative that we could not make the flight. Instead, we were booked on a later flight through a different city. So, we just decided to go to the gate for the new flight. On getting through security, I happened to look at some flight monitors and noticed that the earlier flight was delayed slightly and there was a very small chance that we could catch it if we rushed straight to the gate for that flight. I whirled around and could not see my colleague anywhere. He did not have a cell phone, so there was no way of contacting him. What would you do?
Well, I assumed that (a) either he also noticed that the flight was delayed and had headed straight to that gate, (b) he was walking towards the gate for the later flight and would notice that the earlier flight was delayed and rush there, or (c) he would never realize that the earlier flight was delayed and he would be comfortably ensconced at the gate for the later flight waiting for me. What would you do in this situation? If you go to the gate for the later flight looking for him, you will almost certainly miss the earlier flight. Perfect game theory situation where you have to respond in anticipation of how someone else will respond without being able to communicate with them!
I went running to the gate for the earlier flight, hoping he would already be there. In two of the three options he would be there. In the third option, neither one of us would make the earlier flight. It would have been foolish to head to the gate for the later flight and I assumed he would realize this and head straight to the gate for the earlier flight. No such luck. I was able to board the flight and get home earlier, never knowing what happened to my colleague (he managed to get another flight home).
I was surprised to find that he seemed upset that I had not come to the gate for the later flight to get him (given the time limitation, that would have been impossible). Amazingly, he seemed to suggest that he had noticed that the earlier flight was delayed but still chose to go to the gate for the later flight assuming I would come there. My own guess of his response was that if he had noticed the flight was delayed, obviously the previous agreement (which was premised on taking any possible chance of one of us managing to catch the earlier flight) would supercede the later decision to head to the gate for the later flight (since this later decision was based on the assumption that it was impossible to catch the earlier flight).
Obvious breakdown of game theory because of some indeterminate differences in our assumptions on how the other person would act. Strange and interesting ...
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Simple Endings Are Never Easy
I was actually hoping to end my blogging about the Poland trip with a simple sentence about an uneventful trip back home on Saturday. Were I only that lucky ...
Early morning on Saturday, one of our hosts, Radek, picked us up at the hotel for the 2.5 hour drive to Warsaw from Olsztyn. Our flight was at 12 noon and everyone suggested that we leave by 6:30 AM to be safe. So we did. The drive to Warsaw airport was quite uneventful and we arrived at the airport very early (by 9:45 AM). After a little confusion about which terminal to go to, we waited around the crowded, disorganized and confused terminal for check in. It's weird. They have a medium-sized hall with a bunch of check-in windows along three sides of the hall. In the middle of this hall, there is a large jumble of people waiting for ther flight check-in to open. Mingled with this shifting mass of people are those who are already in line for their check-in counter. At first glance, it is difficult to see who is standing where and why. Eventually, with the help of an information window, we found put which counters would be open for our flight and just waited around for it to open.
The flight to Amsterdam was smooth and uneventful. Once in Amsterdam, we went through the security check for our flight and were told that it was delayed. We waited around for a few hours (with no additional information update) and then were told that the flight (which was scheduled to leave Amsterdam at 3:30 PM) had been "delayed" until 9 AM the next morning! Even this information we gathered from the mass of people who let out a collective graon. The announcement on what to do was made while some other airport announcements were being made and was basically unintelligible. There was a mass movement of bodies towards the counters as everyone asked everyone else around them what exactly was said. I gathered from the crowd that we were to go to baggage claim #3 to get hotel vouchers for the night.
At passport control, my colleague who was traveling with me got stuck (which I didn't know as he was behind me) because he had an Indian passport and they needed to issue him a visa to enter the Netherlands for the night. Meanwhile, I was issued a hotel voucher and shipped off to a poky hotel with tiny rooms. That started a whole bunch of events including numerous cross-continental calls as I tried to track down my colleague. Realizing that there are only two flights from Detroit to Duluth (one at 12 noon and one at 9:30 PM), I also called Northwest Airlines and had them rebook us on the 8 AM flight from Amsterdam as the 9 AM departure would result in us being unable to catch the 12 noon flight (and the idea of spending many more hours in Detroit at that point was not appealing). After a whole series of communications which are too long and confusing to detail here, I managed to get in touch with my colleague and asked him to get to the airport early. When I got to the airport, I was told that there was no way we could travel on the 8 AM flight since our baggage was loaded on the "delayed to 9 AM" flight. They emphasized that for international travel, the passenger must travel with the bags. After unsuccessfully speaking with many people and getting the same answer, we resigned ourselves to working things out after getting to Detroit.
On our arrival in Detroit, the ticket agent re-routed us through Minneapolis and then to Duluth, getting us in to Duluth at 6:30 PM. I specifically asked her if there was any chance of making the 12 noon flight and she said "No, it's too late for that one" since it was about 11:45 AM at this point. I even answered saying "I know, but I was hoping it was delayed." She shook her head.
Since there was plenty of time, I took my time going through security and sitting on a chair past the security to tie my shoelaces. Then, just for the heck of it, I wandered over to the bank of monitors to find that the 12 noon flight to Duluth had been delayed to (according tot he monitors) 12:17 PM. At this point it was a few minutes to 12 noon. I whirled around to look for my colleague to tell him we should just head to that gate to see if there is even a small chance of getting on the flight, but I could not find him. Assuming that he had walked past me (not having seen me waling over to these monitors), I ran out of the security area and headed to the "C" Terminal for the Duluth flight. I practically ran all the way (of course, it was the furthest terminal from where we were) and got to the gate to find them still boarding the flight. There was no sign of my colleague at the gate. I asked them if I could get on the flight, and after a whole set of nerve-racking phone calls and adjustments (too detailed to go into here), I found myself on the flight without my colleague. He obviously never checked the monitors to find out about the delayed flight and headed straight to the gate for our 3:30 flight to Minneapolis.
I arrived home (a day late) and recently checked to ensure that the 3:30 flight to Minneapolis (on which we were scheduled to fly) was on its way with my colleague and our baggage only to find that the airplane was indefinitely delayed due to mechanical problems that eventually led to an aircraft change. Amazingly, on this entire trip, not a single Northwest plane left on time and two of the four had mechanical problems. Something surely is a problem with this airline.
Early morning on Saturday, one of our hosts, Radek, picked us up at the hotel for the 2.5 hour drive to Warsaw from Olsztyn. Our flight was at 12 noon and everyone suggested that we leave by 6:30 AM to be safe. So we did. The drive to Warsaw airport was quite uneventful and we arrived at the airport very early (by 9:45 AM). After a little confusion about which terminal to go to, we waited around the crowded, disorganized and confused terminal for check in. It's weird. They have a medium-sized hall with a bunch of check-in windows along three sides of the hall. In the middle of this hall, there is a large jumble of people waiting for ther flight check-in to open. Mingled with this shifting mass of people are those who are already in line for their check-in counter. At first glance, it is difficult to see who is standing where and why. Eventually, with the help of an information window, we found put which counters would be open for our flight and just waited around for it to open.
The flight to Amsterdam was smooth and uneventful. Once in Amsterdam, we went through the security check for our flight and were told that it was delayed. We waited around for a few hours (with no additional information update) and then were told that the flight (which was scheduled to leave Amsterdam at 3:30 PM) had been "delayed" until 9 AM the next morning! Even this information we gathered from the mass of people who let out a collective graon. The announcement on what to do was made while some other airport announcements were being made and was basically unintelligible. There was a mass movement of bodies towards the counters as everyone asked everyone else around them what exactly was said. I gathered from the crowd that we were to go to baggage claim #3 to get hotel vouchers for the night.
At passport control, my colleague who was traveling with me got stuck (which I didn't know as he was behind me) because he had an Indian passport and they needed to issue him a visa to enter the Netherlands for the night. Meanwhile, I was issued a hotel voucher and shipped off to a poky hotel with tiny rooms. That started a whole bunch of events including numerous cross-continental calls as I tried to track down my colleague. Realizing that there are only two flights from Detroit to Duluth (one at 12 noon and one at 9:30 PM), I also called Northwest Airlines and had them rebook us on the 8 AM flight from Amsterdam as the 9 AM departure would result in us being unable to catch the 12 noon flight (and the idea of spending many more hours in Detroit at that point was not appealing). After a whole series of communications which are too long and confusing to detail here, I managed to get in touch with my colleague and asked him to get to the airport early. When I got to the airport, I was told that there was no way we could travel on the 8 AM flight since our baggage was loaded on the "delayed to 9 AM" flight. They emphasized that for international travel, the passenger must travel with the bags. After unsuccessfully speaking with many people and getting the same answer, we resigned ourselves to working things out after getting to Detroit.
On our arrival in Detroit, the ticket agent re-routed us through Minneapolis and then to Duluth, getting us in to Duluth at 6:30 PM. I specifically asked her if there was any chance of making the 12 noon flight and she said "No, it's too late for that one" since it was about 11:45 AM at this point. I even answered saying "I know, but I was hoping it was delayed." She shook her head.
Since there was plenty of time, I took my time going through security and sitting on a chair past the security to tie my shoelaces. Then, just for the heck of it, I wandered over to the bank of monitors to find that the 12 noon flight to Duluth had been delayed to (according tot he monitors) 12:17 PM. At this point it was a few minutes to 12 noon. I whirled around to look for my colleague to tell him we should just head to that gate to see if there is even a small chance of getting on the flight, but I could not find him. Assuming that he had walked past me (not having seen me waling over to these monitors), I ran out of the security area and headed to the "C" Terminal for the Duluth flight. I practically ran all the way (of course, it was the furthest terminal from where we were) and got to the gate to find them still boarding the flight. There was no sign of my colleague at the gate. I asked them if I could get on the flight, and after a whole set of nerve-racking phone calls and adjustments (too detailed to go into here), I found myself on the flight without my colleague. He obviously never checked the monitors to find out about the delayed flight and headed straight to the gate for our 3:30 flight to Minneapolis.
I arrived home (a day late) and recently checked to ensure that the 3:30 flight to Minneapolis (on which we were scheduled to fly) was on its way with my colleague and our baggage only to find that the airplane was indefinitely delayed due to mechanical problems that eventually led to an aircraft change. Amazingly, on this entire trip, not a single Northwest plane left on time and two of the four had mechanical problems. Something surely is a problem with this airline.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Retail Stores and Pig's Necks
We started the day with a breakfast meeting with Szeczpan Figiel, who is the Associate Dean for research at the University. He was headed to a conference and wanted to meet with us before he left. As we finished breakfast, Wojciech came in to pick us up for a visit to various retail distribution outlets in the city. I happened to mention that I wished I could have bought more CDs and he said that we would start at Media Markt, which is an electronics “hypermart.” This place was incredible.It is about twice the size of Best Buy and had all the CDs, DVDs, and electronics one could want. I quickly found a few CDs that I was looking for (I’ll be featuring them in my other blog next week) and walked around the store. The CD selection was about as big as a typical Best Buy and I found the same CDs I had purchased the previous day for about half the price. Since our objective was to visit as many different types of retailers during the morning, we couldn’t linger there. I of course could have spent all day there, but I was forced by the others to quickly pick up something and move on. So I did, with great regret.We then visited supermarkets, discount stores, convenience stores, independent kiosks, different styles of furniture stores, and more. It was a whirlwind breathtaking view of a variety of retail outlets available in
We then headed to the University for lunch followed by more meetings with groups of students. This sequence of meetings led directly to our presentation to students and faculty at the college. We had 46 people at the presentation, of which 7 were faculty. So, it was a relatively large group. The room was just steaming hot. I was wearing a full suit (with an undershirt) and so was sweating like a pig. Halfway through my presentation, it started pouring with rain. This was an incredibly heavy downpour. So, they shut the windows, which only raised the heat in the room another notch. Seriously, my entire shirt and suit were soaked in sweat by the time I was done. I must have looked funny, standing in the room spouting sweat like a fountain. Still, I think the presentation went well and was quite well received.
After the presentation, Wojciech was supposed to run us to the hotel to get changed before heading out to a restaurant for a Polish barbecue. Well, the downpour had flooded some roads and the streets were jammed with cars that weren’t going anywhere. After a few futile attempts to find a way around the traffic jams, we gave up and headed straight to the BBQ.
In addition to my ever present beer, I also really enjoyed the delicious kielbasa (commonly known in the
We were dropped back to the hotel at about 9 PM. I just finished packing and we leave at 6:30 tomorrow morning for
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Copernicus Droppings & Virgin Apparitions
We had a slower start today, with one of our hosts picking us up from the hotel at 9:45 AM. We headed into the town of
We then walked around the city and visited the local mall, bought a couple of unique products for use in our classes (you can buy McDonalds brand ketchup here). We also stopped by a music store in the mall (which I was told was the biggest music store in town) and looked for some interesting CDs. This was actually a very small store with a relatively small collection. I found a couple of interesting CDs and found them to be quite expensive. Since I didn’t think I’d get another chance to do any shopping, I went ahead and bought them.
We then headed to a restaurant near an ancient church in the town of
We were back in the hotel only long enough to change and quickly check email before one of our hosts, Wojciech Kozlowski, came by to pick us up for dinner at his apartment. Wojciech and his lovely family (wife who is a lawyer and two kids – a 16-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy) were great. While the young boy was off playing his PS2 during the evening, his pretty daughter, who is quite fluent in English as she is taking classes after school, and the rest of the family entertained us all evening. His wife had made a really spectacular spread for us. There were numerous dishes (I can’t remember all the names, sorry), several desserts, and beer, wine, and vodka. It seemed like she must have spent all day cooking the dishes. There really were more items than we could even sample. The family had just recently moved into this spectacular, modern apartment that was quite dazzling all around. It was clear that the place had been scrubbed and tidied for our visit. It felt like such a pity to waste all the food she had made, but she could have fed 12 people or more with all the food that had been made. To make matters worse, we had lunch only at about 4 PM. Apparently, the typical time for lunch in
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Early Beer and Stomach Lining
I broke a couple of personal records today. First, I had my first glass of beer before 9 AM. Second, for the first time, I digested something that could digest me. Both of these require the explanation that follows.
Today, we had a couple of business visits lined up. We started early in the morning. After a relatively uncomfortable night in a hot, non-a/c room (have I mentioned that we had no air conditioning?), we were up by 5:30 AM and at breakfast by 6:30. I was surprised to find that the room cost us about $200 for the night! Anyway, we left by 7 AM for the first business visit that our hosts had lined up. It happened to be at the Amber Brewery (I swear, I didn’t ask for this!). We arrived at the brewery at 8 AM and had a fascinating tour of the place. This is a very modern brewery (built about 1995 with the latest equipment and computer-controlled systems) that currently brews four primary brands: Zlote Lwy, Amber Red, Kozlak Bock, and their current flagship Piwo Zywe. The last is an all-natural unpasteurized beer that they have actually have achieved some level of success selling this beer in the Polish equivalent of Whole Foods stores. This is considered to be an “organic” and healthy brand of beer. Interestingly, it was also, to my tongue, the tastiest of the three. After the brewery tour, we had not choice but to taste the beers, which led to my pre-9 AM beer consumption. They also export a beer to the US under the “Kopernik” label. Our host at the brewery, Roman, was very friendly, intelligent, and clearly in charge. In addition to being the brew master, he also serves as the general manager of the brewery, responsible for all aspects of its running. A great brewery in a beautiful, rural setting. Make sure you check out their web site.
Next, we headed to the town of Łubiana (remember that Ł is pronounced as a W in Polish) to visit the famous Łubiana porcelain factory there. This was another fascinating tour as we saw the entire process of porcelain making from both the plastecine base as well as the “granulat” base. One is a clay like substance that is pressed into shape using a mold. The “granulat” which is a powdered form of the mixture (basically a mixture of a couple of types of unknown rock and quartz) is pressed into shape using high compression. The factory is amazingly modern and it was interesting to see the rows of robots mechanically performing a series of tasks in the manufacturing process. The actual inspection, buffing, and painting is done manually by hundreds of women who sit in rows and rows on a massive factory floor. Very interesting tour. We also visited the gift shop where I was unable to resist buying some porcelain mugs. If Jerrie had been with me to choose some patterns, I have no doubt that I would have bought some full serving sets and had it shipped home.
We then headed to the spectacular Malbork castle which was home to the Teutonic knights starting the 13th century. Interestingly, the castle went through a major renovation between 1895 and 1906. Given that photography had recently been invented, they photographed most elements of the castle in great detail at that time. We could see the spectacular photos of the castle taken at that time. These photos turned out to be invaluable when the Nazis bombed the place and left it in ruins in 1945. This is truly a spectacular, huge castle that is impressive today. It is almost painful to see the few photos of the castle in 1945 after the war – the place was shattered. A few of the rooms such as the church are still not restored and I constantly was left shaking my head in despair when I compared the broken, ruined room (essentially a pile of bricks) around me with the incredible, lavish pictures of the place from 1906. This place was standing and in use all the way from the 13th or 14th centuries to the early 20th century and in a few years, this war destroyed centuries of history. It is just tragic and if more people got to see how much of this incredible history was destroyed during the war, I am certain they’d ask whether it really is worth it. It was simultaneously sad to see how much of this historic site was ruined by the war and inspiring to see how far they have come in restoring the grandeur of the place in the sixty years since then.
For lunch, we stopped at an open-air restaurant on the castle grounds. As I often like to do, I asked my hosts to order something for me and said that I would be happy to eat anything they were eating. They ordered flaki and szaszlyk for me. Flaki is a stew which they said was beef and the szaszlyk was essentially “Polish barbecue” with cubed pork on a stick that was grilled. The flaki was delicious, but was certainly not beef. The bowl was piled with whitish strips that looked like pure fat on one side and like the surface of my tongue n the other. After eating several mouthfuls, I asked them what it was. “Beef” they replied. “But this is certainly not beef as I know it,” I said. “Yes, it is,” said Woicecz, “Beef stomach.” Believe it or not, I found that exhilarating. Another exotic food that I was actually enjoying! I completely finished off every shred of “beef stomach” in the large bowl. On checking the Internet, I found that Flaki is a common Polish “tripe” soup that is made of strips of the first three chambers of a cow’s stomach. It is cleaned and boiled for several hours. What made it tasty was the fact that it was quite flavorful (with pepper, salt, and other spices) unlike most Polish food I’d tasted. In fact, after the delicious flaki, the szaszlyk was a disappointment. Although they called it “barbecue,” it was quite tasteless pork. It was more “smoked pork” rather than “barbecued pork.” My colleague couldn’t believe I actually finished the large bowl of stomach lining, especially after I found out what it was. I think that part of my enjoyment when I’m traveling is to try things I otherwise wouldn’t try. When I find something I’m eating is particularly exotic to my experience, I actually enjoy it more because now I’m getting something more out of it than just the taste and nourishment – I’m gaining another interesting experience that I can talk about. On the other hand, when I told my wife what I’d eaten, she thought it was quite disgusting. I think I’d mentioned in an earlier post the importance of being open-minded. That’s why I often like to tell people in countries I’m visiting “order anything that you would eat or you would think I’d like.” That way, I’m likely to end up with something I would not have ordered on my own. I certainly don’t think I’d have ordered “cow stomach stew” if I’d seen it on a menu. And I would have missed out on a tasty dish!
On the way back to Olsztyn, we stopped at a beautiful hotel (Hotel Anders) on a lake for a cup of coffee. Very tranquil setting in the city of Jabonski and another one of the hundreds of places that I’d like to return to at some point.
Today, we had a couple of business visits lined up. We started early in the morning. After a relatively uncomfortable night in a hot, non-a/c room (have I mentioned that we had no air conditioning?), we were up by 5:30 AM and at breakfast by 6:30. I was surprised to find that the room cost us about $200 for the night! Anyway, we left by 7 AM for the first business visit that our hosts had lined up. It happened to be at the Amber Brewery (I swear, I didn’t ask for this!). We arrived at the brewery at 8 AM and had a fascinating tour of the place. This is a very modern brewery (built about 1995 with the latest equipment and computer-controlled systems) that currently brews four primary brands: Zlote Lwy, Amber Red, Kozlak Bock, and their current flagship Piwo Zywe. The last is an all-natural unpasteurized beer that they have actually have achieved some level of success selling this beer in the Polish equivalent of Whole Foods stores. This is considered to be an “organic” and healthy brand of beer. Interestingly, it was also, to my tongue, the tastiest of the three. After the brewery tour, we had not choice but to taste the beers, which led to my pre-9 AM beer consumption. They also export a beer to the US under the “Kopernik” label. Our host at the brewery, Roman, was very friendly, intelligent, and clearly in charge. In addition to being the brew master, he also serves as the general manager of the brewery, responsible for all aspects of its running. A great brewery in a beautiful, rural setting. Make sure you check out their web site.
Next, we headed to the town of Łubiana (remember that Ł is pronounced as a W in Polish) to visit the famous Łubiana porcelain factory there. This was another fascinating tour as we saw the entire process of porcelain making from both the plastecine base as well as the “granulat” base. One is a clay like substance that is pressed into shape using a mold. The “granulat” which is a powdered form of the mixture (basically a mixture of a couple of types of unknown rock and quartz) is pressed into shape using high compression. The factory is amazingly modern and it was interesting to see the rows of robots mechanically performing a series of tasks in the manufacturing process. The actual inspection, buffing, and painting is done manually by hundreds of women who sit in rows and rows on a massive factory floor. Very interesting tour. We also visited the gift shop where I was unable to resist buying some porcelain mugs. If Jerrie had been with me to choose some patterns, I have no doubt that I would have bought some full serving sets and had it shipped home.
We then headed to the spectacular Malbork castle which was home to the Teutonic knights starting the 13th century. Interestingly, the castle went through a major renovation between 1895 and 1906. Given that photography had recently been invented, they photographed most elements of the castle in great detail at that time. We could see the spectacular photos of the castle taken at that time. These photos turned out to be invaluable when the Nazis bombed the place and left it in ruins in 1945. This is truly a spectacular, huge castle that is impressive today. It is almost painful to see the few photos of the castle in 1945 after the war – the place was shattered. A few of the rooms such as the church are still not restored and I constantly was left shaking my head in despair when I compared the broken, ruined room (essentially a pile of bricks) around me with the incredible, lavish pictures of the place from 1906. This place was standing and in use all the way from the 13th or 14th centuries to the early 20th century and in a few years, this war destroyed centuries of history. It is just tragic and if more people got to see how much of this incredible history was destroyed during the war, I am certain they’d ask whether it really is worth it. It was simultaneously sad to see how much of this historic site was ruined by the war and inspiring to see how far they have come in restoring the grandeur of the place in the sixty years since then.
For lunch, we stopped at an open-air restaurant on the castle grounds. As I often like to do, I asked my hosts to order something for me and said that I would be happy to eat anything they were eating. They ordered flaki and szaszlyk for me. Flaki is a stew which they said was beef and the szaszlyk was essentially “Polish barbecue” with cubed pork on a stick that was grilled. The flaki was delicious, but was certainly not beef. The bowl was piled with whitish strips that looked like pure fat on one side and like the surface of my tongue n the other. After eating several mouthfuls, I asked them what it was. “Beef” they replied. “But this is certainly not beef as I know it,” I said. “Yes, it is,” said Woicecz, “Beef stomach.” Believe it or not, I found that exhilarating. Another exotic food that I was actually enjoying! I completely finished off every shred of “beef stomach” in the large bowl. On checking the Internet, I found that Flaki is a common Polish “tripe” soup that is made of strips of the first three chambers of a cow’s stomach. It is cleaned and boiled for several hours. What made it tasty was the fact that it was quite flavorful (with pepper, salt, and other spices) unlike most Polish food I’d tasted. In fact, after the delicious flaki, the szaszlyk was a disappointment. Although they called it “barbecue,” it was quite tasteless pork. It was more “smoked pork” rather than “barbecued pork.” My colleague couldn’t believe I actually finished the large bowl of stomach lining, especially after I found out what it was. I think that part of my enjoyment when I’m traveling is to try things I otherwise wouldn’t try. When I find something I’m eating is particularly exotic to my experience, I actually enjoy it more because now I’m getting something more out of it than just the taste and nourishment – I’m gaining another interesting experience that I can talk about. On the other hand, when I told my wife what I’d eaten, she thought it was quite disgusting. I think I’d mentioned in an earlier post the importance of being open-minded. That’s why I often like to tell people in countries I’m visiting “order anything that you would eat or you would think I’d like.” That way, I’m likely to end up with something I would not have ordered on my own. I certainly don’t think I’d have ordered “cow stomach stew” if I’d seen it on a menu. And I would have missed out on a tasty dish!
On the way back to Olsztyn, we stopped at a beautiful hotel (Hotel Anders) on a lake for a cup of coffee. Very tranquil setting in the city of Jabonski and another one of the hundreds of places that I’d like to return to at some point.
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