Out of the Salt Mines

Tomorrow is my last day of work for the next 9 months or so.  Not sure that has really sunk in yet, but am keen to see how long it takes me to stop instinctively fumbling around for my blackberry as soon as I wake up.  What I won’t be missing are the random calls from India in the middle of the night or 6:30 Friday afternoon calls from Canada*.  But it all ends on a fitting note as just back from my last business trip (Krakow, Poland, this time).  In addition to the usual meetings, we had a tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine.  After a few hours at 150 meters below the surface, you can imagine how good it felt to breath in the cool, fresh air again when the elevator door finally opened. 

 

Of course, one cannot pass through Poland without at least sampling the Vodka on offer.  There’s the premium, well-known brands such as Belvedere, the bison grass flavored version, Zubrowka, (which, as an aside, my freshman year college roommate - who was Polish and proud… as his sweatshirt attested - once accused me of stealing from him.), and then there was the 1950s stuff in the cardboard TV that Danny couldn’t stop ordering.  Don’t know exactly what it was, but after we got through the two bottles the bar had in stock, I am pretty sure I don’t want to see it (or any other Vodka) again for some time.  Then again, I guess it is less then a month till we get to our first CIS country, so maybe I should just think of it as training.

 

*And before any of my Tata friends get any ideas, as of 5:30 tomorrow, the going rate for consultancy service is $150/hour ($250 if your name is Gaurav).  Payment requested in advance.