PICS – what a trip! aka There and back again :-)
Finally, after a covid-caused delay of two years, the catalysis communities of our region, i.e. Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria and Hungary, met in their biannual meeting – 15th Pannonian International Symposium on Catalysis (https://pannonian2020.umcs.eu/), this time organized by the Polish colleagues under the leadership of Janusz Ryczkowski on the Baltic seaside in Jastrzebia Góra. A look at the map of Europe promised quite a ride :-) so we agreed to join forces in the Czech community. As a result, about 20 of us, i.e. more than half of the Czech delegation, were on the Baltic-see-bound train from Ostrava.
For me, the trip started already on Saturday at 2.30 pm. The connecting train in Prague came late and without the coach where our (=the delegation of GreenCats – namely Valeriia, Andrey, Babar, Snehasis and myself) seats were supposed to be. We reached Ostrava with just a one-hour delay at night. Short sleep, great breakfast and, at 9 am on Sunday, meeting the rest of the group and starting in the direction of Gdynia. Great lunch and pleasant company made the journey pass really fast until the moment that the locomotive broke down with us just 30 minutes from Gdynia, our transfer point towards Hel. Luckily for me, there was enough to do – just take the next manuscript I promised to read :-) But seriously, a new locomotive came in under one hour and we managed to be in time for our connecting train to Wladyslawowo. We were to learn more on the popularity of this track on our return journey – for today it was just a full train. The last challenge of the day was to find enough taxis to reach our destination – hotel Astor in Jastrzebia Góra. We succeeded and after 9 pm we joined our colleagues. For me, it was just over 30 hours after starting the journey…
As a refreshment after the lectures, the Baltic seawater with its ca. 17°C was simply excellent ;-) as were the local bars :-) and all the refreshments at the hotel! We had many interesting talks including those of Valeriia and Andrey, poster presentations including those by Babar and Snehasis and, fabulous discussions during coffee breaks, lunches and dinners ;-) I was truly happy to see again real people rather than the PC screen. Just hoping we will be able to stay away from the virtual conferences. I do not want to speak for the others, however, after four intensive days, one gets really tired. Let's go home…
The return journey started on Thursday at 10:50 am after saying goodbyes. The train was on time, but … for a moment I was afraid we (the GreenCat group) will not get on the train. But we managed, though as we say, I was standing on one leg and that was not mine :-D. In Gdynia we stumbled on for me a really emotional monument while going from the railway station to grab a quick lunch – neither the photo nor any words can describe it. If you have the chance, it is worth seeing. Knowing the distance ahead of us, we planned for a sleepover in Katowice which we reached after a ride through a storm at 11 pm. Once again, a short sleep and just after 8 am jumping on the train to Prague. Up to the Czech border, it seemed that this time all is going to be smooth. Then, a security issue on the locomotive was announced, limiting our speed to the maximum of 100 km/h. Inevitably, I was bound to miss my connecting train from Prague home. It was when I started writing these lines :-) Indeed, the delay gradually grew up to 75 minutes and I had to rebook for the last bit of the return journey. Now, I am at home – after some 31 hours, but already looking forward to the next PICS, this time in Austria, but first, the 15th Europacat calls (27.8 – 1.9. 2023)! See you all there! – www.europacat2023.cz
