Poland
Hi Readers,
Another day and another airport. I left NYC yesterday and flew into Heathrow. The difference in time zones really messes with me, as we left at 8.10 am ( meaning rising at 3.00 to get to JFK) and landed in London at 8.30 pm after a long 6 and a half hour flight.
Some great maths investigations to be had there if I was still teaching!!
I was Mr Discipline with the food on this flight and didn't take a thing. After my flight to NYC I ate what was offered to me on the plane and felt like a big blob for a day afterwards. So now I'm watching what I eat very carefully and sticking to regular meal times no matter how enticing or disgusting the food looks. In fact, the roll that they gave me on the flight to London was pretty industrial to say the least. The only ingredient in it that I could confidently identify was the tomato. And the fact that it was icy cold didn't make it very appetising at all. After I said No each time they came around with food, by the end of the flight they had stopped asking me. Bad luck if I suddenly got hungry!!
Last night I flew into Heathrow, got a taxi to my hotel 10 mins away and bedded down almost immediately. It was up early this morning and back over to the airport where I am now waiting to board a flight to Poland.
Jen and I have been so lucky to have visited many places in Europe, and so many of them we would have loved to visit again. Venice and London have been the only places we have been to more than once. And Vancouver for me. I was nearly thinking of visiting some previous places again, but held back as I just don't know if this will be my last overseas trip. I'll confess that I will be staying at a place next week that Jen and I always hoped to revisit as it was so special to us when we were there, so stay tuned for that post. We never know what might be around the corner, as I unfortunately experienced.
For many years I have wanted to visit Auschwitz in Poland. I know that sounds a bit morbid, it still troubles me a little at what I expect to see, and what what will be unexpected.
The history of the place and the circumstances have always intrigued me, so I planned that on this trip it would be the major focus of the European leg.
And after what I have seen in Warsaw so far only adds to my interest in the history of this place.
This morning I fly into Warsaw, and I'm expecting some challenges with language, reading addresses etc. In the past there was always two of us to work things out, so doing it solo adds to the complexity a bit, but at the same time creates a healthy challenge.
I remember a few years ago when I was in Finland on my own how challenging it was in a place that wasn't mainly English ( and why should it be?) and it was almost a daily conquest if I got to where I needed to be without causing too much angst.
The next few days will be in Warsaw just looking around. Often I don't go for the big tourist attractions as I just like to absorb the locality just like one of the locals. Then it's a train trip to Krakow, a trip that I'm looking forward to as one sees so much more from the train. The next few trips will all be on trains, so I'll be seeing a bit of Europe in the manner that I really enjoy. Much better than flying. Slower yes, but a bit more relaxing.
As I sit here in Heathrow I'm struck by what a melting pot of people it is. Just looking at the flight details on the boards shows just how vast the network of flights from here is.
People watching is so interesting, and hearing all the different accents really makes one aware of how many people are travelling at any one time. And the travel habits of some leave nothing to the imagination. On yesterday's flight I was in an exit row on the wing side of the plane. In the seats in the middle row there was a wall about a metre and a bit from the seats, and these people had extra leg room too. But one bloke took it a bit far for most of the flight. He decided to put his feet up against the wall, as if he was lazing about in his own backyard, causing interference for anyone who needed to walk through, especially the flight attendants. I just wished that he was told to get his bloody shoes off the wall!! Who goes into someone else's place and does that? So why do it on a plane? The bloke near me did the same with his feet going on the side wall of the plane, but at least he took his shoes off. Then again, having his smelly feet on it didn't help that much!!
At the boarding gate where I am there are people around me having to stand, because so many seats are unavailable. Why? Because so many people park themselves on a seat, then park their luggage on the seats around them. There's plenty of room on the floor in front of them for a suitcase!!!
There we are, rant over ! But I could go on and on!!!
A funny moment on the flight yesterday.
As I was in the exit row, it is also right near the toilet.
As the flight was nearing London, there was a constant stream (no pun intended!) of people heading to the loo for a last effort before landing. A rather large bloke joined the queue and eventually made his way in. I was just keeping a mental note of how long he'd been in there as the queue started to grow. A few people were asking if someone actually was in there, so I reassured them that I'd seen him go in. Minutes tick by... then more...then more.
Finally, after nearly 15 mins someone asked an attendant to check. She gave a little toggle of the door handle, then knocked gently and waited with her ear to the door. Then she belted the living daylights out of the door, listened again, gave a wry smile and said the problem was solved.
Within 10 seconds the door opened and this large man emerged, sweating profusely and looking sheepishly at everyone in the now long queue as he made his way back to his seat.
I don't know what was taking him so long, but I managed to hold on for the rest of the flight and not use that toilet!!!
So I have now finished my stay in Warsaw and headed south to Krakow today. More about that in my next post.
Warsaw surprised me somewhat. It was very modern, save for a lot of the big housing towers that dot the city. Maybe I was expecting more of the old town experience, so when I consulted the maps and headed to the old town district, there was basically nothing there that was old!
But something that I discovered during a visit to a museum might explain that.
During World War 2 Warsaw (and all of Poland) suffered immensely, and a walled ghetto was established in Warsaw. Refer to the photos below.
There was a massive uprising in 1944 that the Germans eventually put down with severe consequences. In this museum I watched a 3D movie showing the destruction of Warsaw at the end of the war. In the area I was staying it was totally obliterated. How they managed to rebuild this city after the war, and so many other European cities for that matter is something that I still can't comprehend. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the scale of the destruction then compared to what is here now.
Now some quick observations from strolling the streets of Warsaw...
- Every bloke looks and sounds like the bad guys in a James Bond or Jason Bourne movie!! Anyone who I have asked a question responds in a surly grunt, then a puff on the dart that everyone seems to carry also! Maybe they are just responding naturally to me!!!
Now it seems I might be exaggerating a little, but that's how it appears to me!!
- If you are successful, you buy a mega expensive sports car and just fang it through the streets. I have seen untold numbers of them, and you hear them before you see them. Most just belt it away from the lights, then have to hit the skids just as quick as they are at the next light or have reached the speed limit.
- They have the most coins ever, right down to 1 zloty, which is about the size of an M&M. How do you think I struggle with these with my dodgy eyesight and increasingly arthritic hands🤬
- Traffic lights. You actually get more than enough time to cross the road, even having time to stop and take photos as you are crossing the road!!
- School groups everywhere, and they walk in pairs! Kids in my classes from recent years wouldn't know how to line up, let alone in pairs. I ran a casual shop!!
- Food accidents. I've been having trouble trying to translate some of the food items. Rather than buy a big bottle of milk for my coffee, and considering I was only there for two days, I opted for a smaller bottle of milk. Yogurt in your coffee is not recommended!!! I bought a microwave pack of a curry and rice dish, then thought that the packet of Roti bread in the next shelf would go well with it. It also had some white stuff in it, which I thought was extra flavour and spice. So I zapped them all and loaded up the Roti with a helping of curry and rice. Turns out the "Roti" was actually a crepe with a sweet filling. Doesn't go well with curry and rice🤬🤮🤢
- Bike lanes. They dominate here, and one quickly learns to look both ways before crossing over as they just don't slow down!! And some of their bikes make my motorbike look small!!
Now some random snaps from Warsaw...
A memorial garden that shows part of the ghetto wall.
Where the old meets the new. Part of the old Ghetto Wall at the base of a new building.
Not Sure if this "Outdoor Furniture" shop is selling itself well!!
These towers dominate the city.
Looking out the window from my digs. Appropriate name for a Bottle Shop!!
When parallel parking is beyond you, just do your best!!
The Presidential Palace. How cool are those buses!!!
Table tennis tables set up in a park
A square I stumbled upon.
At peak hour, the trams are are just packed.
Well Readers, a gentle amble through Warsaw, I didn't want it to be a Lonely Planet summary, just a few ramblings from me as I am still in the early parts of this trip.
Today I got into Krakow and the weekend will be good for exploring. I had shorts and t-shirt on today, there is snow predicted in the coming days!!!
Until my next post,
Cheers😁
