A Night Out and an Idea for America

Last night, we got to go to a concert with Ala and Nina at their university. It was a man by the name of Grzegorz Turnau and another-guy-whose-name-I-don't-know. Both men sang and Grzegorz played the piano BEAUTIFULLY and G.W.N.I.D.K. played the guitar, equally as BEAUTIFULLY! It was really a great night. Yes, every song was in Polish; yes, they would talk and tell stories between songs that apparently were pretty funny (it's always a weird situation when everyone around you is laughing and you have no idea what's being said!). But, it was still beautiful music--kind of a blend of jazz and folk--and it was just calm and relaxing. It was a great night and I'm so thankful Ala and Nina thought to invite us. If you live in Ohio and are snowed in for the weekend, you can search Grzegorz Turnau on YouTube and hear some of his songs.

Nina, Amber, Ala, and I after the concert. Aren't they cute?!?
Grzegorz is on the left and G.W.N.I.D.K.is, obviously, on the right. Grzegorz played the accordian for a couple of songs as well, which was awesome. I will admit, I really like the accordian!
Ok, here is the other big blog-worthy news. Here in Poland, almost everywhere you go has a room called a "szatnia". It's a room where you check your coat when you go into a building. Now, I know that some places in American have these...namely, theaters. But here, most places offer a szatnia and it is so nice! As I was sitting last at the concert last night, I thought "this is so wonderful! Live, relaxing music, friends, and I'm free to move around in my seat, unhindered by the bulk of a big winter coat, scarf, gloves, and hat! What a great idea!" I was so inspired, I took a picture of my coat-retrieval tag (I'm sure there's a much better Polish word for this thing...heck, I'm sure there's a much better English word for this thing!).
And, here are the hordes of people waiting to retrieve their coats with their coat retrieval tags. I should also add that the coat retrieval process is done with great efficiency here and is highly impressive. America, can we get on that?

So, there's the big news of the weekend from Olsztyn. Well, that and the karaoke event that was held at the KFC downtown today. Yes, that's right. KFC as in Kentucky Fried Chicken. It's Women's Day here in Europe, and what better way to celebrate than karaoke at KFC? Sadly, Amber and I didn't make it into town today. Maybe next time!