378: Monkey business

Monkey business. Mass noun. Informal. It means mischievous or deceitful behaviour.

I chose to have my blog title with the word monkey in it because yesterday evening, on the way to the shops for provisions, I saw a man with a pet monkey on a long lead. The monkey was up a tree eating leaves, as they do. It was just so unexpected. The things you see as you travel the world.

Last weekend I went to Olsztyn, about 2½ hours away by train. It is the beginning of the Polish Masurian lakes and has a big lake of its own. I stayed in a nice 2* hotel called pod zamkiem (under the castle). It had eccentric architecture and decor and they layed a nice table for breakfast. My little room was up in the attic so I had to be careful not to bang my head. I enjoyed Olsztyn very much: the lake, the old town and the new town. Of course many of the old towns in Poland are not old at all, having been razed to the ground by either German or Soviet soldiers. I read that in Olsztyn 40% of the town was destroyed. It's so difficult to imagine, and less than 100 years ago. Unfortunately we can't even say, oh well, that was then and wars don't happen any more. 'cos they do.

And, just to finish.....