Regarding Wroclaw and a Time to Rest

Upon arrival in Wroclaw Glowny train station, we headed off to the home of our next host, Pirmo. As we followed his directions for which buses to take, and headed what seemed further and further from where we presumed the center was, Courtney and I began exchanging progressively more comically frantic glances. We passed endless variations on Soviet apartment blocks, albeit with fresh yet garish paint jobs. Finally, after 2 buses and a sweaty hour later, we found Pirmo’s flat and got settled. We considered heading back into the center to check it out, but given the heat of the day, the near lateness of the hour, and our grimy exhaustion, we opted instead to relax by the “lake” nearby. “Lake” is of course a very generous term for what was more like a sad pond, or in Courtney’s words, “a ditch by the roadside.” But there were a number of shirtless, pasty white and beefy Polish men hanging around, with their Solarium-tanned female counterparts so apparently it is considered a suitable watering hole. It is actually very comforting to be in a country where everyone is mostly the same shade of pasty pale as I am, and the height and breadth of the men is rather pleasant in comparison to the weak and flabby Europeans one generally finds.

The next day, after a pleasant lie-in (10 am, whooo!), we headed into the city center. The main square, the Rynek, was cute with lots of pastel buildings, all cleaned up and loads of terraced restaurants and a nice fountain. Hardly exceptional, however. Wandering further out from the Rynek, there wasn’t particularly much, and it wasn’t nearly as attractive either. The university was formidable, and I was incredibly amused by searching for the gnomes of Wroclaw. These teensy statues of amusing gnomes are in commemoration of a 1980’s student group, the Orange Alternative Movement (whose name inspired the name of the Orange Revolution in Ukraine), which protested against the Soviets with such pranks as parading and picketing while dressed as gnomes.

Leninik Gnome


After suitably spending some time, trying Karamellowe (Caramel) or Miodowe (honey) beer at the Spiz brewery, (both too sweet), and finding chlodnik in the milk bar (cold borscht, my favorite!!!), we headed back to Pirmo’s flat with some milk bar takeaway for dinner—pierogie z miesem (meat pierogi’s) and leniwe z cukrem (lazy dumplings with sugar, lazy meaning unfilled). Milk bars are the godsend of fast food: delicious and unreasonably cheap. I may well reminisce about them with starry eyes when I gag at the price of a little batch of frozen pierogi’s in a grocery store back in the U.S.

Some Soviet was thinking of the student, pierogi hound travelers to come


We watched "This is England", did laundry, tried to find the spotty wireless from the balcony and drank some of Pirmo’s home brew when his friends came by at night. Court and I went to sleep early, lame-o’s, I know but don’t care, and Pirmo kindly drove us to the tiny Wroclaw airport where we are now sitting after passing through security in 3 minutes flat. Though, have to say that the camo-pants on beefy polish dudes working security is enough to intimidate me even if the actual security is not so strict. But not nearly as intimidating as toned and tough Israeli’s manning even just the check-in of El Al Airlines.

Note: Again this is being posted almost 2 weeks late. And again, blogger is allowing no formatting-no pictures, no italics,no links. Therefore, you can find photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/Lenav09/PolandWroclawSGnomes

Regarding Krakow and Getting Spoiled by Hosts

As I draft this post, we are on a train from Krakow to Wroclaw, listening to rowdy football fans chant for their team and waving away the smoke from the cigarettes of the people sharing our compartment. I could use a fan, although a tanned acolyte waving a palm branch would work. I kid, I kid. The trains here (and as in Hungary or Romania) are by no means modern. There is a distinct lack of airflow, and while some choose to brave the stuffy compartments, the rest, mostly leather-skinned and grimy men, hang out in the corridors, leaning out the windows and watching the country move past. I would say “fly by” but the speed of the trains is also rather lacking. I do so love train travel though. Honestly, I do.

Krakow was lovely and our time there with our hosts was truly memorable (I predict that I am going to be really cheesy so I will apologize now). Woot for couchsurfing!

The very first night of our arrival, our host Barbara invited us to a BBQ. Hark! the smell of charcoal and grilled meats, fireflies in the night and a starlit sky—I do believe summer is officially upon us. Yes, I recognize that I said that before in regards to some other ‘summer’ sign, but seriously, who gets sick of realizing its summer, again and again?! The BBQ was held in a park/farm where Krakow citizens can rent out small plots for personal gardens, and it was a really nice welcome into the city, preparing shashliks, and chatting with young locals, some of whom were just recently back from the UK where it appears a lot of Polish go to for work.

Barbara and her husband Andrej live in a very attractive flat in a neighborhood with many apartment developments (not of the soviet peeling-paint and chipped concrete variety). They have two other flatmates, the adorable Ela and the ghost Christian (he was never around), and they have been traveling, hosting, couchsurfing, trying various sports (kite surfing) and becoming generally incredible for quite some time.

So the first morning, after breakfast with Barbara and Andrej, we set off into town and did a big loop until we found the shuttle bus the guidebook wrote of, heading to Wielizcka. You know, when you leaf through a guidebook prior to purchasing, you become convinced that it is perfectly adequate and contains all of the possible information you could need for your travels. But I have to ask, why, if the authors Know the location, would they write something as vague as “near the bus and train station?!” That’s rather a lot of ground to cover! Anyways, it did give me the opportunity to practice my polish…nah, who am I kidding, I basically just used Russian throughout, which luckily enough is very similar, at least for many key phrases such as “Where is…?” But it was pretty fun deciphering Polish, and actually communicating, something which is nigh impossible in Hungary.

Statue out of Salt of King Kazimierz, owner of the mines


Wielizcka are salt mines that have been in use in Poland since the 12th century. Sometime in the 19th century they became open for general tourists, but various important visitors have been allowed since the 15th century: Copernicus, Goethe, etc. The tour begins by descending 380 steps into the first level of the mine, from which point we were led by the most deadpan and stolid Polish guide through various rooms carved out of the rock salt with fanciful carvings (also in rock salt), of dwarves, Hungarian princesses, statues of famous visitors and more. I definitely had a feeling of Lord of the Rings as we walked through. There was also a cavernous chapel, a few salt lakes, and some huge rooms not held up with any supports. The furthest we descended was 135 km underground, which I believe was only the 3rd of some 9 levels, and we were only seeing a mere 2% of the full scale of the mines. I think Courtney and I will have to haggle over who will have their wedding in the grand banquet hall underground, a site we have deemed suitably ridiculous yet beautiful and historic. J/k.

Looking down the staircase of 380 steps


Back in town, we wandered quickly through the Stare Miesto (old town) which is very small but cute and absolutely peppered with bars and restaurants. The Rynek Glowny (Main Market aka Center Square) is unfortunately full with flocks of tourists and souvenir stands, but we did submit to temptation and shared a grand dinner of shashlik and Black Pudding. In theory, I always wanted to stay away from black pudding, as congealed blood does not particularly appeal to me, but I was suckered in because this black pudding, ‘kaszanka,’ looked more like kasha than like thick and solid slices of black sausage. But anyways, it wasn’t too bad, though I don’t think I’ll be craving it anytime ever.

Returning to the flat, we spent the evening drinking wine with Barbara. She is such a pleasant and interesting person, and damn but she has traveled everywhere! In a way she actually reminded me of my mom, I think because they have a similar kind of open and curious attitude.

On Friday, the 30th, we visited Auschwitz. I don’t really want to write too much about this, but it was sickening to physically walk through this evil place that I had read so many accounts of. I was never actually brought to tears-- it was such an incongruous day to visit, it seemed, as all the images in my head were of bitter cold and snow and freezing inmates, and here it was a hot day, and the surrounding countryside was green and lush. Also, empty barracks and the sheer numbers of casualties is something hard to comprehend and conceptualize, but the entire visit I did have such an ill and nauseous pit-of-stomach feeling. The exhibits of people’s belongings and the hair, good god, that was just horrific. You can read all you want, but it will never seem truly possible or real, and here it is, this memorial and testament to the terrors humans can inflict on one another. Birkenau, which did not have many exhibits and was only a short part of the visit, actually left more of shocking impression, just because of its sheer size—rows upon rows of barracks, guard towers, barbed wire, in a bleak and flat expanse that stretches on and on.

Well, it was necessary to visit. Not to quote any cliché big-thinkers, but such atrocities must be remembered. Barbara actually mentioned, when Andrej asked us why we chose to visit Poland, that she feels that Auschwitz is the main reason to come, and I found that very interesting and also I am glad that not only American Jews feel that this is an important location. Oh, and while we were there, some 50 Israeli soldiers were going through, in full uniform—kind of a big “F-You, we have guns now and won’t take this s&*t.”

Back in Krakow, we went for dinner with Heena, a British friend of my Budapest Irish friend, who is studying in the city. Along with her friends, they took us around Kazimierz and Krakow by night, where the pubs and terraced bars are absolutely thriving. It didn’t seem so much a ‘clubbing’ city, but more of an atmosphere of ‘have a few drinks and chat,’ which was very charming, though being rather bushed and bummed from the day’s previous activity, we headed home not too late. Heena introduced us to Tatanka, a drink with Zubrowka (buffalo grass vodka) and apple juice, which in combination tastes like cold liquid apple pie. Yum! And, we also tried an actual apple pie, Szarlotka, which to my delight, was exactly like my mom’s, and not the horrid American style excuse for a dessert.

Apple Pie 'Szarlotka'


Following the free beer man on Saturday


On Saturday, the 31st, we finally went all around Krakow by daylight (Wawel Hill, Kazimierz the Jewish Quarter) and we searched for ingredients to fajitas, which we decided to cook for our hosts. Dunno if you recall my earlier posts about grocery shopping frustrations in Budapest, but yea---ingredients can be damn hard to find in an unfamiliar city, especially tortillas! Dinner and wine and conversation with Barbara, Andrej and Ela was loads of fun and truly, this couchsurfing project is bloody great cuz we would never have met them otherwise. If we were just staying at hostels, I think we’d rarely meet people (yes, we can be shy!), let alone locals from the places we visit. And it’s more than just a couch, a thank you and move on—I really, really enjoyed our time staying with Barbara and her flatmates and (cheesy coming on) I would hope that we are actually friends now. Silly cheesy me  They may have spoiled us for future hosts, haha.

And now…onwards to Wroclaw. Do Videnia!

(I am posting this way way late, and unfortunately it hasn't let me add photos the last few times I tried so...here are all the photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/Lenav09/PolandKrakow.

Regarding the popping of our couchsurfing cherry

Of course, no epic journey can begin without some kind of drastic catastrophe (think Kate & Passport of Italy 2006; Courtney & Visa for Edinburgh at the start of this year; and so on). So, complacent and worriless us, are sitting around all day Sunday, packing, cleaning the flat, stopping for food breaks, and thinking we have plenty of time until our train at 22:00. Only, at 20:38, we finally check our tickets, to recognize to our blank shock and horror that the train in fact left at 20:00. Sheer negligence. Utterly depressing and no excuses.

On an interesting note, my facebook Tarot card of the day was the “Fool”: desiring to achieve many things without realizing the effort entailed. Aaaah, if the effort to check the ticket was only made!!!

Moment of silence for recognition of the waste.

But in perspective, it’s better to have had such a stupid mishap occur while we still had a home and were in a familiar location. (Rationalization at work, I realize). Truly though, alertness and organization will now be the orders of the day.

So Monday, the 26^th, we took an 8:35 train to Warsaw, arriving 12 long hours later in Warszawa Centralna. Maciek, our host, was waiting for us, with another couchsurfer, Konrad, from Germany. I guess this is where I fill you in on our brilliant plans for backpacking through Europe on the pitifully low funds that we have: the CouchSurfing Project. Travelers around the world create profiles and offer their couches while they are at home, and request to stay at couches when they go traveling. Hospitality for weary travelers like in the old days, pure and simple. Plus, you are more or less guaranteed to make friends and have interesting encounters and conversations.

Warsaw was our first stop, and so Maciek was our first host, as Konrad and we were his first surfers. Pop goes the couchsurfing cherry, all around! Maciek is the consummate host and has probably set the bar far too high for all future hosts I will encounter—he picked us up from the airport, fed us, drove us into town, showed us around when he could, and arranged for a friend to be our guide when he had to go into the University. Moreover, he and his friend are complete gentlemen and always insisted on helping Courtney and I with our bags, to our American-Independent-Girl embarrassment (and gratitude of course).--Don’t worry, Mom, we were absolutely grateful and brought wine and left a gift.-- Maciek lives with his parents and his sister, and we had some amusing conversations between English, Polish, Russian and German. They had a very cozy and welcoming flat, with lots of plants and flowers, two cats, and his mother’s homemade tea brew. It was a fair bit out of the city center, and was within a block of apartments with their own stores, cinema and nearby Carrefour. Kind of like the area near AMC Cinemas in Naperville, barren and bland but the indoors are always nice.

The Little Insurgent

On Tuesday, May 27^th, after breakfast (Thanks Maciek), we went into town. A 24 hr day pass costs an incredibly cheap 3.60 zl (~$1.70)! We wandered around the Stare Miesto (Old Town) and then went into the Warsaw History Museum where we saw a film on the destruction of Warsaw during WWII. So Stare Miesto---not so Stare, it’s all been entirely reconstructed, with historical accuracy of course. Saw some other sights (check out the photos), and we had lunch at a Bar Mleczny, a milk bar. In communist days, these places had subsidized food and particularly lots of dairy products, hence the name. These also inspired the Milk Bars of Anthony Burgesses’ A Clockwork Orange. Not saying thanks to the reds, but the brilliant thing is that the Bar’s Mleczny still serve incredibly low-priced polish food (5 zl for soup and pierogis = $2.35), to the delight of pierogi-and-barszct fiends like Courtney and myself. Since Germany is going to bankrupt us and doesn’t have particularly enticing food anyway, we plan on eating our fill of Slavic yumminess now. Bar Mleczny, every day baby.

On Wednesday, May 29^th, we saw Konrad off at the train station, and visited Zilienski Park with Maciek and his friend.

Palace on the Water in Zielinski Park

Maciek left us with his friend who continued guiding us and saw us off—he was pretty hilarious, very knowledgeable about pop culture and he dropped more names than I probably could. We dropped into the Ghetto, which mostly has no remnants left of its Jewish history, but we saw the rather underwhelming Jewish Historical Institute. It’s probably a great place for significant research, but the exhibits on the Holocaust and the ghetto uprising left much to be desired.

Overall Warsaw was nice, particularly as any thought I’d given to it previously had dealt with WWII, and it’s been entirely reconstructed since—clean buildings, lots of parks. Still, I didn’t get a sense of a cohesive center, it seemed too big and too industrial (first time I’ve seen skyscrapers in Europe since Milan), and it obviously still had the commie presence with all the aesthetic-lacking apartment blocks.

Now we are on a train for Krakow (2 for 3!) and we’ll be meeting our next host within a few hours. Stay tuned…