Likes:
Pistachio Ice cream, espresso, the nice weather, long scenic walks, the beautiful city, weekend trips, night life, ability to enjoy a glass of red wine with dinner.
Dislikes:
studying for an exam, analyzing 5 trillion variables, developing a paper, and doing homework simultaneously.
Probably the most overwhelming day ever. I'm so ready to be done with the school aspect of this trip. CANNOT wait for Denmark, it should be a relaxful break before having to buckle down and finish my final paper.
Maybe I'll go enjoy a combination of the above "likes"...:-)
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Krakow (crak - roll the r - ov)
We took a 3 hour train ride to krakov. It was a nice view of the country side the whole way there.
We arrived Thursday evening and enjoyed pizza and wine with the whole gang. Afterwards we walked around old town a bit and went back to the hotel for some ZZZZZs.
Friday we traveled to Auschwitz by bus. This ride, I cannot say, was as enjoyable as the last. I was basically overwhelmed by a thickened air of the worst b.o. you can ever imagine. After 2 hours of that, we finally arrived at Auschwitz. It was really strange to actually stand in all the places that I've only read about in books. I definately recommend having such an experience.
Saturday we visited one of the biggest palaces in Europe: wawel (vavel). I asked the tour guide how much the castle itself, and everything in it was worth...but she told me that was private information. I'd guesstimate close to a billion, since everything was ancient and made of gold.
Sunday we ventured to a museum located in Shindler's original factory. IT WAS AWESOME. Since I'm such a visual person, the ability to touch things and look at millions of pictures made it great. Each room had a designed theme as well. This would be another recommendation if you'd ever travel to Poland.
P.S. I know everyone wants pictures...and I will upload them soon.
We arrived Thursday evening and enjoyed pizza and wine with the whole gang. Afterwards we walked around old town a bit and went back to the hotel for some ZZZZZs.
Friday we traveled to Auschwitz by bus. This ride, I cannot say, was as enjoyable as the last. I was basically overwhelmed by a thickened air of the worst b.o. you can ever imagine. After 2 hours of that, we finally arrived at Auschwitz. It was really strange to actually stand in all the places that I've only read about in books. I definately recommend having such an experience.
Saturday we visited one of the biggest palaces in Europe: wawel (vavel). I asked the tour guide how much the castle itself, and everything in it was worth...but she told me that was private information. I'd guesstimate close to a billion, since everything was ancient and made of gold.
Sunday we ventured to a museum located in Shindler's original factory. IT WAS AWESOME. Since I'm such a visual person, the ability to touch things and look at millions of pictures made it great. Each room had a designed theme as well. This would be another recommendation if you'd ever travel to Poland.
P.S. I know everyone wants pictures...and I will upload them soon.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Trip to Lodz (prounounced wooge)
Lodz is pretty dark and gloomy. It is mainly known for being a big industrial city. I'll be going on a tour of a factory and palace tomorrow. Maybe the sun will come out and make it seem a little less blah.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Mission: Grocery Shopping and a Bit More
Megan (roommate and new friend) went to a local market with a few items in mind. The basics - produce, soup, milk etc. Yet, somehow we managed to take about an hour and a half searching the isles and trying to translate some of the labels. It didn't help that noone spoke english and that we only knew 3 phrases in Polish - none of which would help us to inquire about our list of items.
We faced the challenge head on and discovered a few interesting things along the way.
Apparently, soup is all powder form in Poland, well at least in the market we were at in Warsaw. The directions were all in Polish, of course; we decided not to take on the challenge. Luckily our guess about the 2% milk was accurate - Megan was worried. It was like a light at the end of the tunnel when we found hummus and olives and tortilla chips right before checking out! Oh, it was an adventure.
On the way back home, an older woman was walking along the street with a cute, but unleashed dog. Personally, I'd be nervous he'd run into the street, but I guess that attitude doesn't fit with the laid-back European persona I have witnessed thus far. I could tell the woman wanted to talk, since her dog kept coming near us, but I was hesitant since I could tell there was no commanility between languages. After "no Polski" and "no english" were verified by both parties, the woman still attempted to have a conversation. I was thoroughly surprised since in this case most people, myself included, would brush off any attempt to talk. We taught each other phrases in each language and even managed to talk about our families and the city. Although, not alot was said, it was the most meaningful conversation I have had with a Polish native thus far.
We faced the challenge head on and discovered a few interesting things along the way.
Apparently, soup is all powder form in Poland, well at least in the market we were at in Warsaw. The directions were all in Polish, of course; we decided not to take on the challenge. Luckily our guess about the 2% milk was accurate - Megan was worried. It was like a light at the end of the tunnel when we found hummus and olives and tortilla chips right before checking out! Oh, it was an adventure.
On the way back home, an older woman was walking along the street with a cute, but unleashed dog. Personally, I'd be nervous he'd run into the street, but I guess that attitude doesn't fit with the laid-back European persona I have witnessed thus far. I could tell the woman wanted to talk, since her dog kept coming near us, but I was hesitant since I could tell there was no commanility between languages. After "no Polski" and "no english" were verified by both parties, the woman still attempted to have a conversation. I was thoroughly surprised since in this case most people, myself included, would brush off any attempt to talk. We taught each other phrases in each language and even managed to talk about our families and the city. Although, not alot was said, it was the most meaningful conversation I have had with a Polish native thus far.
Monday, June 21, 2010
First Week
Monday June 14th, 2010
2 hour flight delay in Cincinnati due to mechanical issues and lack of captain to fly plane. I missed my connecting flight in Newark, had to twist some Delta arms to get a hotel, yet they couldn't re-book my flight.
We took a walking tour of Warsaw with Margaret the tour guide.
We had a short stay in the town, but I had a chance to see some cool buildings, art galleries, and buy something from the townspeople.
2 hour flight delay in Cincinnati due to mechanical issues and lack of captain to fly plane. I missed my connecting flight in Newark, had to twist some Delta arms to get a hotel, yet they couldn't re-book my flight.
Tuesday June 15th, 2010
Should have been in Warsaw, but instead I was at the airport from 9am to 7pm. Took some tough negotiation, but I finally got it through Delta's thick skulls that it was their job to re-book my flight, contrary to popular belief. Read a book, made friends, memorized the airport, and managed to get upgraded to first class. It turned out to be pretty awesome.
Wednesday June 16th, 2010
FINALLY IN WARSAW! I met everyone during lunch, took a short tour of the city, and finally had a full night of sleep.
Thursday June 17th, 2010
We took a trip to the Warsaw Uprising Museum. The uprising was a time when the Poles were trying to defeat the Nazis in Warsaw.
Friday June 18th, 2010
We took a walking tour of Warsaw with Margaret the tour guide.
We visited many churches, but weren't able to go in according to Margaret because we were wearing shorts. But, we snuck in to the church that housed Chopin's (famous musician) actual heart! He used to play in all of the churches, but he had died in France, so his heart was sent to his hometown of Warsaw. Cool, but kind of a creepy thought.
We also visited several monuments and were able to stand on the same land where Ghettos once existed.
I enjoyed some amazing Pierogis for lunch, then headed back to hotel Hera for some downtime.
Saturday June 19th, 2010
Next destination: Kazimierz! Kazimierz is 3 hours south of Warsaw and was the original capital of Poland. One of Poland's kings had changed the capital to Warsaw because it was closer to his homeland; this turned out to be a good change since Warsaw is the center of the country.
We had a short stay in the town, but I had a chance to see some cool buildings, art galleries, and buy something from the townspeople.
For dinner I tried duck. It was delicious.
Sunday June 20th, 2010
Wilanow Palace was amazing! Sadly, pictures inside of the building were not allowed. Therefore, I'll try to describe it somewhat... We walked through the halls of the palace and looked at the enless art work that decorated it. Each painting represented a significant person of the aristocracy. One of the families repped mohawks...hilarious. There were alot of Latin phrases engraved in the walls as well, which I found awesome, since I could somewhat translate. Apparently, one of the kings who lived in this palace had opened an art gallery inside for civilians to visit; he loved art and wished to share it with the public. I found it odd that the king and Queen slept in different bed chambers. But at least their rooms were, should I say, fit for royalty.
Finally, the group enjoyed dinner with Maciek, Irina and Josh, and their adorable son. I tried pate` and then found out that it is made of liver. That kinda changed things for me... All in all, dinner was amazing as always.
***pictures will be in my next blog***
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