“Travels to a Different Time” : 19June1975: Warszawa, Poland: Russian Champagne, Eggs, Babka and Mushrooms and the Shrieking Cleaning Lady

Had 5 hours of sleep woken up by the “secretariat” tapping late sleepers on the shoulder at 10:00 hours. Did morning ablutions then went out to eat with the Norwegians. The cafeteria at the Centrum department store was closed so we bought some bread and cheese and watched the people flow by. I went into Centrum with thoughts of buying a jacket. Full of seedy looking suits. Then went to the Kultur Palace a mini-Empire State Building given by big papa Stalin to the Polish people. We went to the top on an elevator and for 10 cents a great view of the city. We saw “Cabaret” with Liza Minelli and it was much better than I thought it would be. American capitalist films are Ok especially when they criticize the Nazis. We picked up supplies for a feast we prepared in the kitchen. Eggs, fried mushrooms, Russian champagne, babka and strawberries. Our meal was interrupted by a gorilla like cleaning lady shrieking at the top of her lungs. We weren’t the cause of the outburst and she walked on in a bitter argument with some people. We talked with a Norwegian girl who is going to work in Krakow as a geology teaching assistant. Off to bed in the stench of dirty socks.