From Bri guy:
"I just wanted to let you know that I made it back safe and sound from all my travels over the last month. I got in late Thursday night, and went straight to work yesterday morning. No rest for the wicked. . . Anyway, I just wanted to share a little of my trip to Poland with you. It was a fantastic trek. I was there for 10 days. Five of those, I spent at a conference in the southern mountain town of Zakopane, located at the edge of the Tatra mountains. The conference was called Quantum Optics VII (it's been ongoing since 1985 - before Poland was set free from the Iron Curtain).
My grad school advisor, Mike Raymer, was there and has been attending since the early days. It was funny to "run into" him (and a former colleague of mine at Oregon, a current student of Mike's, Cody Leary). I met a lot of people whom I had known of, but not had the pleasure of meeting before. So that was fun. There was a birthday banquet for a longtime friend and collaborator of Mike's - Jan Mostowski (note, w's are pronounced like v's in Polish), which was good fun. 
At the end of the conference I stuck around for an additional half-day to get up early (4AM) to hike from the town, to the top of Poland and climb a few of the highest peaks there. It snow, rained, and shined on my ascent and descent. I hiked for about 8 hours before arriving back to the hotel to pack up and head via taxi-bus-taxi to Krakow, Poland on the Vistula river. It's probably the largest city in southern Poland, and most visited. I spent two and a half days there. It was largely untouched by WWII, so there are many old buildings and historic sites still around. I really enjoyed seeing all the markets, squares, and having tea (herbata) at the cafes! 
I walked all over the city visiting its major sites (Wawel Hill, on which Wawel castle sits, which used to be the thrown of Poland back in the day), Market Square, and the Kazimier district (the old Jewish section of town). It was great to see so many people just enjoying themselves! I also came upon a Jewish wedding ceremony, which was great to see, since after WWII the population dropped to only 5000 in Krakow (from hundreds of thousands!) The second day in Krakow, I actually spent going to the Auschwitz-Birkenau site. It was something I will never forget.
I then made my way by train (8 hours!) to Torun, Poland located in the north central part of Poland also located on the Vistula river. This is the home to the Nicholas Copernicus (the guy who said the Earth goes around the sun, and not the other way around) University. It is rumored that Copernicus was born in Torun and lived there, although my hosts at the University say that it was in a small town nearby that this actually occurred. In any case, it was a delightful town with similar architecture to that of Krakow. Again, this city survived WWII with little damage. I visited the Quantum Optics groups there in Torun for a day and a half, with my evenings free to walk around the city and explore. I was able to enjoy several new foods. I must say I was scared at first having been told by a Polish colleague here in Oxford that Zakopane was famous in Poland for having good "man food," as she described it - lots of potatoes, sausages, and good meats and cheeses.
Well I had no trouble finding plenty of good "vegetarian" options - like fish or chicken (apparently these are not considered meat there). Anyway, I found the perogies to be excellent (filled pasta), and they did a great breakfast spread - bread, cheeses, (and meat for those who like), tomato-cucumber-onion salad, and some kind of pickled vegetable (carrots, kraut, etc...). Anyway, as I said, I made it back to Ox with no major issues. Kelly and I are enjoying a nice weekend together (first in a while) and are just doing our "regular" chores. I hope this note finds you all well and everything good in your lives. Take care and keep in touch!"
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