POLAND

PHOTOS

FRIDAY 8/7: For once we go to breakfast before we shower! Bus to town, then walk to train station, and take 2-hour ride to Krakow (pronounced Kra-kuff). Discover a ticket mishap per the conducter...either we were given the wrong tickets or we're on the wrong train. Luckily, we simply paid for the train we were on and got a refund for the others.

Downtown Krakow is quintessential in what you picture a romantic day in Europe to be. There are horses on carriages (although both Nick and I have issues with that) on the main square. And there are also some weird things going on, like this one really tall man, painted black and he's wearing horns and fur and people are paying him to have their picture taken with me as he growls in their ear. It's really nice (hot/warm) weather. Dinner and beer at patio restaurant (chicken strogonoff for me, which is not what you think, and chicken and rice and peas for Nick). Walk around church and see view of city including a hot air balloon. Train and bus to hotel to get our luggage. Then cab to train station. Leave at 11:50p for an all-night trip to Croatia. We're pleased to find that we have a private cabin with a "couchette" (two bunk beds).

THURSDAY 8/6: Up at 6:00a. Have complimentary breakfast. Bus to Chorzow (pronounced Hor-juff), then train to stadium by 8:00a. Security writes numbers 141 & 142 on our hands. Lots of U2 t-shirts warn by fans. Interesting to hear all the Polish spoken. See some people greeting each other with three kisses. I so love to see the 3-kiss style that exists in Europe. It is a seemingly younger crowd than other cities.

We see Z who was in the second row behind us at A'dam 2. He is in charge of getting the audience to hold red (floor tickets) and white (seats) cards during New Year's Day ("NYD"), a song in part about Poland. He has two phones in his hand when I greet him and cannot believe the amount of calls he is receiving. Later, he runs over to us while we're sitting under a tree to escape the sun and asks if he can borrow us. He says a TV station has interviewed him and now they want to interview foreign fans! Nick and I are interviewed! POLISH NEWS VIDEO (click on second video called U2 Na Stadionie Slaskim to see us--our interview starts around 1 minute, 7 seconds; the first video is our friend Z). The Polish translator drowns out our voices. View the video just below to see the English version :)

We take lots of pix and a few videos of the spirited crowd. Fans and newspaper articles seem to love Bono in particular.

U2 CHO
(Brono #68, Nick #39)
VIDEO of line during day, our news interviews in English, and 2 songs of concert including NYD
VIDEO OF NYD that Nick lured me to Poland with, and it's posted by our new friend Z!

Problems with scanner again but Nick secures front row Adam on the outer rail. I go back out to the Blackberry station to get the free upload of U2's Mobile Album (current one) only to find out it is not available yet, so I have them sign me up online to be notified when it is. On the way back through the tunnel, as more fans are running for their lives, screaming with excitement, I find a bundle of red cards that someone had dropped. I grab it so we can use it during NYD. Meet Grazyna (Regina) and Marcin (Martin) from Warsaw in the front row. There is a full moon during the concert, and the red and white cards held up during NYD make it the most memorable NYD ever.

On the way home we hear U2's Bad blasting from an apartment window with a blue light downtown.

WEDNESDAY 8/5: Fly to Katowice (pronounced Cat-oh-veetz-ay). See smokestacks like in Ireland. Stop at train station to book red-eye train to Croatia for Friday night. Bus to Hotel Campanile. Walk to Town. Beer & dinner. Walk to mall and buy adaptor for laptop. Walk and tram back to hotel. Fall asleep right away.