Wandering About, Messing About - Changing Perspective

When I travel, I find that I become super alert and aware. Everything seems new and different, and I’m more appreciative of everything around me. Travel is a break from regular routine and always engaging. In May, I spent four days in Berlin discovering the historical sites, the stark reminders of fascism, the magnificent public transportation available in European cities, the demeanour of the local residents on the streets, and much more. 

This week I enjoyed some discovery in my home city of Saint John, New Brunswick. It was a simple, refreshing change in perspective.

 

Public Transport 

I had to leave my car at a collision center this week for a superficial repair. This past winter I was at my favorite ski hill Cape Smokey (https://www.capesmokey.ca/).  That day the parking lot was quite full, so I decided to park by backing into a snow bank, into what looked like some soft white snow.  When I did this, I received a funny look from another guy walking through the lot, but I thought nothing of it.  But he heard a crunch, and when I drove to my overnight stay, I noticed my rear bumper had a significant dent. Then I remembered from many previous visits to Smokey that the location I backed into featured a very large decorative boulder, and I had backed into that because it was buried in snow, so I dented my car’s bumper.

The Repair

So, this week I decided to get it fixed.  I drove to a collision center, left the car for the day, and took public transportation back home.  In Saint John, I don’t use public transportation regularly, so when I do the experience seems fresh and new.  It’s a simple break from routine.  Here’s what I noticed.

First, I appreciate the patience of bus drivers. I can learn from observing. Some car drivers make risky left turns into traffic.  I’ve certainly done this. But the bus drivers wait patiently until it's safe to turn into traffic. Imagine.  But they have responsibility for others lives.  Actually, we all do, don't we?

Second, I realize that even in my modest urban environment, a car is a luxury. I could survive without owning a vehicle. I won’t forego the convenience, but I could, and I’d save money.

Third, while sitting and waiting ten minutes for a bus transfer, I became very aware of the growing use of e-bikes and scooters on city streets.  I’m a recreational cyclist in an urban environment, and I’m delighted to see this growing usage. I’m quite happy when I ride a bike.  Usually, I find myself spontaneously whistling a tune.  I don’t see many angry, aggressive, tail-gating, road-raging cyclists or scooter riders. 

Messing About

I offer this simple reflection on changing, or updating, my perspective in my home city.  My experience that day reminded of a statement from Kurt Vonnegut about buying a single envelope during an Interview by David Brancaccio on PBS (7 October 2005);

(talking about when he tells his wife he’s going out to buy an envelope) Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know. The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don’t realize, or they don’t care, is we’re dancing animals.”

― Kurt Vonnegut

 

Conclusion

A change, an update, to your perspective can be quite accessible.

                                                             

 

 

                                                                                                            

 

Comfort Zone – A Visit To Poland November 2024

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” – Terry Pratchett

The Experience 

In early November, my sister and I enjoyed short visits to the Polish cities of Krakow, Gdansk, Warsaw, and Rzeszów, the city from which our grandad left when he immigrated to Sydney, Nova Scotia with his family as a one-year old. 

We’ve never been closely connected to this heritage. My granddad grew up speaking the Polish language, and my dad understood but didn’t have much opportunity to practice it in Sydney or pass it on to us.

I fumble with my attempts to learn French, and regret not learning a second language when I was a kid. I’ve noticed that kids have few fears and little ego when learning language and other skills. I’m convinced that fear and ego impede adult learners, like me.

Here's a brief recap of the itinerary and some highlights of the trip;

Saturday November 2^nd, 2024

Depart Toronto Pearson YYZ one hour late at 11:30p.m. for Frankfurt. A late arrival means its too late to meet the tight connection to Warsaw. Automatically re-booked to a later flight and arrive at Warsaw late afternoon on Sunday.  Stayed at the cool Moxy Warsaw Praga in the Old Praga district. We missed an opportunity to visit the Polish Vodka Museum (https://muzeumpolskiejwodki.pl/en/), but did later sample some local product.

Some of the best memories are stumbled upon, and we found a great restaurant with a variety of eastern European dishes within a very short walk to the corner of the busy street where the hotel was located (https://www.facebook.com/Skamiejka/). Tried an unfamiliar dish, a Georgian soup, Kharcho, made with finely ground beef (or chicken), nuts, and nice spices. Exceptionally good.  

Monday, November 4^th, 2024

 A sunny day that started at 5 degrees Celsius and rose to 10 degrees. A pleasant 30-minute walk from the Marriott Moxy to Warsaw Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We enjoyed stunning views throughout old town on a day with a very blue November sky.

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

A 3-hour, 10:45 a.m. train to Gdansk in the north, on the Baltic Sea. Stayed at a nice hotel on the Motlawa River, in the scenic old town. A gorgeous city where we spent much time wandering admiring and photographing the amazing architecture drinking coffee and eating generous slices of cake. The architectural style in Gdansk (Danzig) differs from other Polish cities, as the city was 90% destroyed after the Nazis began their invasion here in 1939.

Later we enjoyed a very nice meal of halibut at Zafishowani (https://www.zafishowani.pl/menu).

 

 Wednesday, November 6, 2024

Still in Gdansk, I grabbed coffee at 7:00 a.m. (CET), which was 1:00 a.m. (EST) on the east coast of the USA.  The 2024 U.S. election results were being reported.  Spent the morning further exploring the old town and further snacking at coffee shops, then caught a late afternoon train to Krakow. Arriving we were hungry and tired, enjoyed a brief walk and a good, simple Italian meal near the hotel.

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Proceeded on a self-guided walking tour of Krakow, an exceptionally beautiful city with a pleasant 10 degrees Celsius on this day.  The Royal Castle (wawel.krakow.pl/en) sits on a hill overlooking the Vistula River.  Stunning views in all directions. Some vendors promoted their river cruises. Along the river, there were lots of runners, cyclists, dog walkers, chess players and more.  I could spend a lot of time in Krakow eating perogies, borscht, and other cuisines, while meandering along the river.

The site of the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau is a 1.5-hour drive from Krakow. At this site Nazis killed 1.1 million people, mostly Jewish but also Poles, Romani, and Russian.  This felt like a tour we should do (https://krakowdirect.com/auschwitz-tours/), but next on our short itinerary was travel to Rzeszów, the city where our grandad had lived.

As the day wrapped up, we again walked the river as people commuted home from work on bicycles and scooters, or walked or jogged. A young woman tossed a ball to her dog Milka who was very excited with his retrieval duties.  He brought the ball over to me, so I joined in, earning a new friend, and we chatted with Milka’s owner. Publicly eastern Europeans tend to be more reserved than North Americans, but of course very friendly once the ice has been broken.

Later an evening meal at a Ukrainian restaurant. Nice cabbage rolls, breads and beet soup. The owner was a big, beefy gentleman who looked more like a miner than a restauranteur, and likely had been a miner in Dnipro, where he mentioned he and his family had immigrated from. Many Ukrainians have immigrated to Poland since the Russian invasion, and I was curious about his circumstances.  His English was far better than my Polish or Ukrainian, but our conversation was difficult and minimal.

Friday, November 8, 2024

Left the Sheraton Grand Krakow for a train ride to Rzeszów. This morning was cooler, misty and damp.  More traditionally November-like than most of weather we’d experienced.

Arrived in Rzeszów just past noon and immediately bought train tickets back to Warsaw for Saturday, so we’d be sure to be back for our Sunday morning flight. I thought Saturday trains might be busy, and Rzeszów is a smaller city (population 200,000) with fewer services. We had an initial panic when the agent said Saturday capacity was sold out, but we were able to book a 4:00 p.m. Saturday train back to Warsaw.

Tickets in hand, an Uber took us to our hotel, and we set off exploring.  Of interest was the Stary graveyard along the river.  November 2^nd was All Souls Day, when many graves are visited and decorated with flowers, candles, and incense. This Friday in November was very gray, but the remembrances placed were colorful.

We wandered the graveyard, and while it was unacknowledged between us, we looked for the family name. We hadn’t come to Poland to deeply explore the roots, but to spend some time in the city and country where our ancestors had lived. As it turns out, we didn’t see the family name anywhere. I did see something close to a friend’s name at Wolnosci Place (“Freedom” Place).

There were lots of people about on this Friday afternoon, and I couldn’t help thinking that we were just 100 kilometers from the Polish-Ukrainian border, and 200 kilometers from Lviv, Ukraine. Ukrainians were fighting not far from us for their freedom, and their right to exist as an independent, democratic country instead of a colony.

Leaving the graveyard, there was an interesting market with fresh, natural local vegetables, some great coffee and sweet shops.  Later an evening meal on the town square with halibut and French fries, a nice, modest euro-style serving compared with large North American sizes.

Saturday, November 9, 2024

Another cool weather day. Some nice local donuts on the market square. Later had a fantastic chickpea shashuksa at Fisk restaurant on the market square.

After checking out of the hotel at 1:00 p.m., walked down to the area of the train station, and then to the Galeria Rzeszow, with four levels of shops and food, lots of high-end brand names, and international brands as well as local. It was a good place to kill time prior to the 4:32 p.m. train to Warsaw.

On the walk to the Galeria a huge Soviet-era sculpture dominates a traffic circle. The Monument to the Revolutionary Act is quite a sight.  The locals describe it with a crude term.

 

A walk to the train station and back to Warsaw, at the Courtyard Marriott Airport Warsaw, which enabled a short walk from the hotel for our 9:45 a.m. flight Sunday morning to Zurich, then Toronto and back to Atlantic Canada.

 

Reflections

Collect moments, not things.

This was a quick trip to connect somewhat with our Polish heritage, filled with discoveries and memorable moments. It was easy to travel by train around Poland, and we’re lucky as native English speakers that this language is spoken or understood by so many people around the world. I’ve added “Good Day” (Dzień dobry) and “Thank You” (Dziękuję) to my list of international phrases. Google translate helped for some conversations.

This was a short trip covering four beautiful cities.  we’re richer for the experience.

Customer Service – “Put Them in the Freezer”

A couple of years ago I was on a fight from Toronto to Montreal, and then connecting from Montreal to Saint John.  When I stepped off the flight from Toronto, I went to the lounge area for some food.  When I sat down, I glanced at my leg and saw I had something sticky on the right thigh of my pants.  The sticky substance seemed to be gum.  I guess a previous passenger must have conveniently disposed of his gum below the window to the right of the seat. I had presented at a conference in Toronto and I was wearing black dress pants, so the gum was very visible on my pants.  

So, I visited the agent at the lounge with two thoughts in mind. First, would they pay for dry cleaning, and second, they’ll likely want the opportunity to clean that gum so another passenger wouldn’t have my experience.

I approached the lounge host.

Customer Service Expertise

“Hi I just stepped off flight 123 and I have gum on my pants. There must be some gum by the window.  I was in seat 6A.”

“Just put them in the freezer.”

“What??”

“Put your pants in the freezer.  The gum will come right off.”

Putting my pants in the freezer was impractical as I was wearing them. I continued.

“I thought you might want to get the gum cleaned from that seat, and I’d like to know if you’ll pay for the dry cleaning.”

“Oh. I’ll try to let someone know, but for the dry cleaning, you’ll need to see someone in customer service downstairs.” When someone says they’ll ‘try,’ that’s never much of a commitment.  Do, or do not.

I went downstairs to customer service.

“Hi I just arrived on flight 123 and I have gum on my pants. I was in seat 6A and there must be some gum on the side by the window.”

“Just rub an ice cube on them.”

“What??”

“Rub an ice cube on the gum. It’ll come right off.”

These guys were experts at gum removal. Not at preventing future gum stains on pants, but strong on gum removal. 

Customer Service Culture

Later that week dry cleaning removed the sticky gum, at my personal expense. I remain puzzled at the customer service philosophy of this airline. When I identified an easily fixable problem, I received advice, but no compensation. Admittedly it wasn’t a large expense.  And there was no thought to preventing a similar incident with another customer on a next flight.

That service behavior still puzzles me.  The agents were very friendly, and offered advice. They seemed very pleased that they knew how to remove the gum. They knew how to fix my problem, and clean my pants – maybe this is a common occurrence.  However, they displayed no urgency or interest to prevent the next incident with the gum at seat 6A. I have to think it’s pretty easy to share a message for a minor cleanup at a specific seat on a specific plane.

Does company leadership behave in a similar way with employee issues? Are they outwardly friendly and supportive, but without a view to prevention of future issues?

Building Company Culture

Building culture takes time. Hire, train, articulate goals and mission, empower and evolve.

Here’s a good resource on assessing company culture https://www.achievers.com/blog/5-simple-ways-assess-company-culture/

A Recent Article on Winter. Road. Hockey.

A Recent Article on Winter. Road. Hockey. 

Thanks to the folks at Huddle.today for their article about my most recent book Winter. Road. Hockey. You can find the article at https://huddle.today/n-b-businessman-travels-10000-kilometres-to-watch-18-hockey-games-and-writes-a-book-about-it/

This book is about winter driving, cold weather, junior hockey, great food and more. In my experience, there's nothing better than a road trip break out of a comfort zone. 

Some travel highlights include seeing the stunning Saguenay fjord drive in Quebec with its cliffs, mountains and valleys.  Just beautiful scenery. I enjoyed the small city of Sherbrooke in Quebec too.  There are so many highlights.

For food it’s hard to resist poutine in Quebec.  It’s usually quite simple with great French frieds, fresh and chewy cheese curds, and gravy.  There are more elaborate variations but the basic model is just fine.

The long road trip – 9,790 kilometers in 49 days – offered lots of quiet time for reflection.  I find on long drives that I quite quickly leave immediate problems and concerns behind, and my mind clears.  This causes new creative solutions to emerge, and for new ideas to bubble up.  What do you think?  Do you have a similar experience on a long drive? How can we make such experiences more accessible?