WAWEL or VAVEL? W = V

After sleeping in WAY too long,  I woke up to the sound of birds chirping. That has got to mean it's a good day, right? We headed out towards the center of the city, and discovered some beautiful buildings that frame in a bustling market in the square. It was nice to just sit with a coffee and watch the world pass by!

The panorama setting on my camera caught the same guy three times, as he disappears...

As with any city center, there were plenty of people doing all sorts of activities to earn some coins. A juggler painted silver would "accidentally" drop a pin when a little kid was passing by. The child would politely pick it up for him, and he would drop a second pin in order to take the first one from the kid. This would continue as long as the kid would keep picking them up! MaryAnn picked one up for him, so he kissed her on the cheek... Ohh la la!

We walked around until we discovered the Wawel castle. It's enormous and was once used at the President's residency, until the state decided to make it a national museum after World War II. When I read the name, I thought it sounded ridiculous, but then I remembered that W's are pronounced like V's here. They have no V in their alphabet. Vavel still sounds weird... Either way, it was a cool castle!

Guns and Trains - Wild West?

The day began with a trip to the UPS store to mail back some Polish pottery that MaryAnn and I had purchased. In total, it was about 14 pounds, so we knew shipping would be very cheap. What we didn't know, is that it would cost $25 PER POUND! I just stared at the guy for a second, and had no choice but to say, "OK." At that point, it was too late to back out. We can't carry the stuff around with us, so we had to send it. Never again will I buy dishes in another country without first finding out how much shipping costs!

After trading my unborn children for the shipping of the pottery, we headed to The Warsaw Uprising Museum. It was full of WWII artifacts, and showed some video clips that were taken during the uprising. It was interesting to get a new perspective on the war, as I usually only see the American view of everything. Before the war, there were 1.3 million inhabitants of Warsaw. After the war, only 1000 remained. Either they were killed, or they had left the city. Literally, EVERYTHING was completely destroyed. Germany dropped bomb after bomb on the city, until nothing was left.

We grabbed some lunch at a Chinese restaurant (yummy duck!) and headed to the train station. We were there way earlier than we needed to be, so we just sat and waited. After a little while, thunder began shaking the building, and lightning lit up the sky. Each train that arrived was wet, so we knew the rain was coming. Sure enough, it began to pour. Luckily, we didn't have to get wet, although the temperature did drop a good bit. Eventually, our train arrived and we were able to hop on and begin the journey to Krakow. The train had something happen about halfway there, so we just sat out in the middle of nowhere for awhile. We decided to go eat, and had a delicious dinner on the train. The only catch is that my Mountain Dew was a highlighter shade of yellow!!

Fiat Punto

I experienced some very new things today! MaryAnn wanted to see where her grandmother was from, so we rented a car and drove 3 hours out to Bialystok, Poland. It wasn't quite what she expected, but it was still a good experience! Driving in another country was wild... They drive so differently. Rules of the road... What rules?

We stopped at a McDonalds for something to drink, and found out that the car wouldn't go into reverse. After trying for awhile, MaryAnn got out and pushed the car backwards. We missed a turn later, and drove until we could find somewhere to turn around without having to use reverse. After miles and miles of nowhere to turn around, we ended up just stopping and MaryAnn pushed again. After we were already back in Warsaw, we learned that there was a certain thing you had to pull in order for the shifter to slide into reverse. Oh well, lesson learned.

There wasn't much to Bialystok. We were expecting a tiny, quaint, town... but ended up with an industrialized ant farm of a city. We found a really cool church to check out, and had our picnic on the steps leading up to it. It was a nice way to spend part of the afternoon before driving back to Warsaw. 

We met up with our couchsurfer hosts in the Old Town of Warsaw for dinner, and at the end of the meal, the waiter brings a small drink for each person dining. Our waiter brought one for Antonina, Nelson, and MaryAnn... but brought me a lolli-pop. Everyone got a kick out of that but I didn't find it so funny...

We ended the night by walking to the city fountain to enjoy a light show :)

Little Talks

Second day in this new city, and I already know my way around! MaryAnn and I took the subway into the city from our hosts apartment, and decided to explore a bit more. We found the tallest building in Poland (it's the 8th tallest in the EU). Today, it is the Palace of Culture and Science. Across the street, we came across a Hard Rock Cafe and decided to eat breakfast there. I know... how American can I get?

After breakfast, we caught a taxi and went to the Warsaw Zoo. It was interesting trying to figure everything out, as all writing is in Polish. Either way, it was fun to just walk around and explore! On the way to the zoo, my day was MADE. I was talking to MaryAnn, and I faintly heard some music coming from the radio... I tried to ask the taxi driver to turn it up, but he didn't understand. I ended up just pointing to the dial, and pointing to the sky. He figured it out and I discovered... "Little Talks" by the band "Of Monsters and Men" was playing on the radio. They are an Icelandic band that I fell in love with while I was in Iceland! I was freakishly excited to hear this on the radio in Poland!

That Environmental Design degree could come in handy after all...

Our host suggested we visit the Pałac W Wilanowie. Historically, the kings and queens lived in the palace, as well as a number of servants (there was even a room for the architect of the building.) It was a gorgeous residence, full of interesting pieces of history.

 After exploring the palace, we went to the restaurant nearby for some "lunch" and ended up with some delicious dessert instead. So much for trying to eat healthy... During lunch, a horde of bees were attracted to my food (it was that good!) as well as my Coke. Finally, I got ticked off and trapped a few in my glass of Coke. I laughed for a second, but that was cut short as 3 more bees came to see what was up. We finally got up and left the table (yes, I carried my plate with me).

On the way to the palace, MaryAnn had seen this huge balloon that she really wanted to go up in. We had some trouble calling a cab, but after awhile, we were on our way! It was neat being able to see the whole city from that high up. We could pick out different buildings we had seen and been to, as well as just get a better view of how everything was set up, and how it all fit together.

 My love for Madagascar became quite evident when I saw these stairs in the mall in Warsaw... SQUEALED LIKE A... girl.

Nie znam język Polski - I don't know Polish!

Every city has a center. In Warsaw, that center includes cafes, shops, laughing children, and of course, it was bursting with buskers. Fire dancers, guitar players, a guy playing a didgeridoo... All just try to earn a living with some unique talent. They bring life to the area, and attract crowds. MaryAnn and I watched from a distance as we ate lunch in the Old Town of Warsaw. With beautiful buildings surrounding us, we were content to just relax, after being on airplanes or in airports for most of the day. After eating, we were finally ready to explore. 

Old Town, Warsaw Poland

We walked through the Old Town, and into the Church of the Holy Cross. It was gorgeous, and looked very old, but we learned later in the day that it is actually only 60 years old or so. In 1944, Warsaw had an uprising against the Germans who were trying to control them. Instead of sitting still and letting their city be taken, they fought back. This resulted in mass bombing, causing most of the city of Warsaw to be utterly destroyed. It's hard to imagine this city as a pile of rubble!

After leaving the church building, we roamed towards the President's building. We watched as the president's car entered the facility, while soldiers surrounded the car as it entered. Their were soldiers parading outside of the gates as well. Whether they were for security or show, I don't know! In the evening, we went by this building again and saw that the entire thing has been lit up with red lights, and has a symbol on it. When I mentioned the uprising, did I say that tomorrow is the anniversary? Tomorrow, August 1st, is the anniversary of the day Warsaw rose up against Germany. What a perfect time to be here! 

 

We have quickly learned that not many people here speak English. It's a challenge, but it's one that I'll face head on! I have been able to "understand" what someone is trying to say, but I have a hard time getting my point across to them. Telling a taxi driver where you want to go is just impossible, so I think we will stick to the subway and bus system! 

There are many beggars in Warsaw, and they are not shy to interrupt your meal to ask for money. Our hosts showed us around Warsaw a little bit, and we all went to dinner together. During dinner, three different men came up asking for money. That was irritating just because we were in the middle of eating, and conversing. I don't like people stopping me from eating! Either way, the food was delicious. Crepes (or Polish pancakes as MaryAnn calls them) filled with spinach, cheese, and chicken. It was great!

It's hard to believe this was just Day 1 of this adventure.