raining and pouring

Wow, the deep freeze finally ended.

Temps rose above 0 C for the first time since before Xmas, I think, and it's made Warsaw a big, slippery, slushy mess. Riding was easier in pure snow than this stuff. Yuck.

On the positive side, an old student, Renata, returned for a reliable 2 classes per week at school, and I picked up another young, recently engaged couple who ventured to Venezuela this fall and had a heck of a trip. They're getting married in one of Warsaw's oldest churches in May, the one famous for the statue of Christ carrying the cross, along Nowy Swiat and featured in Roman Polanski's excellent film, The Pianist. The church is also famous for being home to Frederic Chopin's heart, literally, as it was his wish, and the rest of him is in France. I wonder who delivered it and how smoothly that trip went! They're nice people, Ula and Slawek, and perhaps we'll get invited to our second Polish wedding (first was Pawel and Magda's on New Year's Day, 2005, in the oldest, surviving church in Warsaw. That was nice!)

Starting the 18th, Jill and ASW have their winter break. We're likely off to Slovakia to Jasne, Mala Fatra and hopefully to do some ice climbing in Slovensky Raj (Slovakian Paradise)... but Jill's chompin' at the bit to board some huge, Alpy slopes in Austria, so who knows where we'll end up.

Hope everyone's well!
Ciao!