Poland, Pierogi and Potato Pancakes
There are days when we go "oh man do I need an adventure or what?" I tend to try make each day an adventure. But some adventures require more than just a walk around the block or a coffee date. Sometimes they require an early morning car trip down south, followed by a day of praise and worship with friends, followed by a station platform coffee and a cheeky train ride to Cambridge, followed by hangs with two friends and your boyfriend involving pizza and tim tams, followed by an airbed snooze, followed by an obscenely early train ride to the airport, followed by Matt going MIA before security when you have to piss-bolt through the departure lounge to make it to your flight in time. But then - THEN - you end up on a train to Poland. And that's not so bad now, is it?
Matt almost kissed the earth upon arriving safely (I have come to learn that Matt doesn't trust anything with wings... I wonder how things would go down if I slipped a sanitary pad in his bag one day...) and we shimmied through border control, onto a train and into Warsaw. The city is an amalgamation of old and new, testament to the incredible history of the last hundred years that it has experienced. Snaking into our hotel and then passing out for a bit, we awoke in time to wander around the city, grab some pierogi and potato pancakes and soup at a Gospoda restaurant and then wander through old town just in time for a sweet desert and some falling snow.
The next morning we high-tailed to the station via McDonalds and made our journey out to the Tatry National Park, snoozing, snoring and sleeping our way from train to bus to old Polish Mama's tiny restaurant. After a winding car trip up to our beautiful cabin-style hostel in the snowy hills, we rugged up for a walk around the trees, Matt threw a snowball at me with dog poo inside it, and we caught on to hunger pangs and headed out to the grocery store. The sun had set and we decided to wander up to the village up the hill, just in time for church bells and an evening wander around its accompanying cemetery - the glass tea light candle holders placed upon graves glistening brilliantly in the evening dark. We were learning that Poland's history is steeped in religion - namely Christianity - and has experienced the best and worst of the application and mis-application of Christ's message to society. But Poland is highly orthodox and Catholic, and the relics laying about the country were a real testament to its endurance today. An honest hope.
Our evening ended in listening to some old Louis Armstrong and a cheeky reading session by the fire in the dark of the lounge room, and our next morning began with the same - this time with a perfect brew of coffee and polish sweets for breakfast by the fire and an exploration of the hillside surrounding the cabin - complete with Reindeers! They were pretty chill, and we were exactly the opposite, turning into a Japanese couple with our cameras out.
We eventually wandered into town again, and after walking through Zakopane Centrum, we ended up climbing a hillside beside an abandoned manor, and caught a glimpse of wind-swept grassy hills and snow-capped mountains. Japanese couple take two.
Krakow was just a couple of hours (and a whole lot of me passing out asleep on Matt's lap on the bus) away, and we had checked into our loft studio before heading into the city in the evening. A trendy little coffee shop open "8:07-8:07" bid us welcome with two flat whites, and we wandered around the city, discovering the river surrounding the Wawel Castle hill. As we walked, the city danced brilliantly with its street lights and moving transport, its flickering reflections on the water. I, as head bird-whisperer in our duo, found myself conversing with a swan. Unbeknownst to me, I was actually summoning a flock of swans - one by one they appeared slowly from the dark foggy background as if recreating Pirates of the Caribbean, slowly but surely coming closer and closer and closer. There were twenty swans eyeing me off, and Matt was eyeing myself and the swan congregation off from afar (fear of things with wings, as noted). No one was keeping minutes, but I'm pretty sure we all came to an agreement that I'm a top chick.
The following morning we left early for another bus to Auschwitz - I cannot even begin to explain the emotion curled up in sickly silence that one experiences from being in that place. Matt and I struggled to say anything to each other the whole trip (not until one of us mentioned we were ranging for some food, anyway). Auschwitz is worth visiting for the sheer fact that it humbles you immensely. It is not a bragging point to say you've been, in fact, it is a horrible reality to face. I urge people visit all the exhibitions within the block buildings - including the Romany/Sinti people exhibition, and the exhibition on Soviets. We forget that Hitler's reign killed overall 20 million people, mostly Russians, and the Jews (though a large target for their assumedly immense power financially in the 20th century) were not the only victims to a philosophy born out of a belief that humans are the supreme beings and only have to answer to themselves. The holocaust teaches us that no matter what a philosopher said in the 19th century, even if it was a simple argument, those who apply themselves to it are bound to take it to any logically connected conclusion. Any conclusion, whether it is morally good or bad, could be accepted - for who decides what is good and bad when humans are the deciders? From Nietzsche to Hitler, though we can agree Hitler was an evil man, his actions fit neatly within the Neitzschean philosophies and ideas. And they continue to be twisted and manipulated for the selfish ego of mankind even today.
Matt smashed together a delicious dinner at home before we had a post-adventure nap and then we headed back out into the city for hot chocolate. This hot chocolate was so thick that upon waking the next morning, it was almost solid chocolate in the cup. No regrets.
A morning tour around the city with Alicja took us around the history of Krakow, and the sad realities resulting from moving the capital from Krakow to Warsaw. It was interesting to learn of European and religious ideas going into the very construction of the main city and its buildings, and how these married together perfectly. We got caught in a snow storm wandering around the oldest Polish university in the country, and up to Wawel castle. Krakow is worthwhile spending more than 2 days in if you have the time - my only wish was to have spent more time there and learnt more about the last hundred years there also. The food is pretty awesome, also.
The adventure in Poland ended with three large sandwiches and a two hour wait at Gate 18 of Krakow airport, followed by Matt getting sweaty palms at UK border control and an entire baked camembert on the wait for the train home to Norwich.
But then again, adventure never ends, does it? Maybe only when you take your shoes off and slide into a familiar bed, with familiar arms cuddling you off to a subconscious adventure instead.
