I have to finally admit that I am tired. I thought for awhile that maybe my diet was lacking some vitamins, but the explanation for my current state of fatigue can only be attributed to being road-weary. I had planned to travel more of eastern Europe than just Poland, then follow that with a 6 month working stint in the UK. Not going to happen! I suspect that, after hiking the Swiss Alps with Matthias and Melli, followed by two weeks of travelling with mum, I will shortly thereafter be on a plane back to north America.
I like towers. I always have. So when my father recently told me that he is seriously considering building the tower of my dreams (as a boy, I told him of my fantasy), that was plenty of motivation for me to go there following departure from Europe. It turns out that we probably will not be able to build it this summer, but maybe we can flesh out some of the details and shoot for next summer. Regardless, it has been WAY too long since I have been there (8 years!!) and I can't wait to see them (even if the tower has to wait).
Right, I'm in Krakow now. Lovely city. Unfortunately, I don't seem to have the patience to walk around sightseeing anymore. I think tomorrow I will borrow my host's (Barbara) bicycle and ride out to the nearby countryside.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Getting Hitched
(Written 5/20)
One minute you are climbing over the ruins of a 500 year old castle of the Teutonic Knights, the next you're pants-shopping for a Polish wedding! I don't know if this kind of thing is a regular occurrance for most people, but it was a first for me.
I came to Torun on Tuesday, from Poznan, and got in touch with Monika. She provided a comfortable place to stay her nice (and conveniently located) flat. She must have enjoyed my company as I enjoyed hers, because suddenly I found myself invited to the wedding of her cousin. I had only planned to stay in the city until Friday. It is now Sunday, and I was up until 3am last night celebrating the marital union of two people whom I don't know, but who seem lovely nonetheless. I am told that the wedding was a traditional Polish one, but in all honesty it wasn't much different from the "traditional" American ones that I have been to. The most surprising thing about the whole affair was the food. It just kept coming and coming! We arrived at the hotel for the after party around 6pm, and fresh food was served every 15 minutes to half hour from then until 5am the next morning. Surely the solution to solving the problem of world hunger is to have a Polish wedding. Insane! I love it!
As for Torun, the city is celebrated as the birthplace of the great astronomor Nikolai Copernicus who is credited with observing that the Earth revolves around the Sun and not the other way around. Of course, this blasphemy led to him being excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Silly man, using science to describe the world...
One minute you are climbing over the ruins of a 500 year old castle of the Teutonic Knights, the next you're pants-shopping for a Polish wedding! I don't know if this kind of thing is a regular occurrance for most people, but it was a first for me.
I came to Torun on Tuesday, from Poznan, and got in touch with Monika. She provided a comfortable place to stay her nice (and conveniently located) flat. She must have enjoyed my company as I enjoyed hers, because suddenly I found myself invited to the wedding of her cousin. I had only planned to stay in the city until Friday. It is now Sunday, and I was up until 3am last night celebrating the marital union of two people whom I don't know, but who seem lovely nonetheless. I am told that the wedding was a traditional Polish one, but in all honesty it wasn't much different from the "traditional" American ones that I have been to. The most surprising thing about the whole affair was the food. It just kept coming and coming! We arrived at the hotel for the after party around 6pm, and fresh food was served every 15 minutes to half hour from then until 5am the next morning. Surely the solution to solving the problem of world hunger is to have a Polish wedding. Insane! I love it!
As for Torun, the city is celebrated as the birthplace of the great astronomor Nikolai Copernicus who is credited with observing that the Earth revolves around the Sun and not the other way around. Of course, this blasphemy led to him being excommunicated from the Catholic Church. Silly man, using science to describe the world...
Poland!
(Written 5/12)
I almost had to sleep at McDonald's last night.
After spending four days in Berlin, I arranged to share a ride with a Dutchman from there across the Polish border, and to within a two hour busride from Poznan, my first port of call in the country. This all went according to plan (which is to say, I started in Berlin and wound up somewhere in Poland), after which things became interesting. When I arrived in Poznan, I had the phone number for a local girl who is a member of an online community of travellers and hosts, to which I also belong (www.hospitalityclub.org). It was 4:30pm and I had anticipated being able to call her when I got in, get directions to her house, and then establish a base there for further exploration of the city. She didn't answer her phone. "No problem", I thought. "I will just pop into one of the hostels and get a room for tonight". That's where things went south.
I walked, with my big backpack, for more than two hours all over the city only to find that every hostel is either full or closed. It was after 7pm. Did I mention that it had been raining the entire time, and my rain jacket is borderline useless?
I then decided that I needed to find another host on hospitalityclub in short order, or I was going to be begging to spend the night at the 24 hour McDonald's I had walked by four times. Fortunately, I was able to find internet despite the late hour and wrote down the numbers for three more local members. Then it was back to the convenience store for another phone card (none of the payphones take real money, can you believe that?).
The first person I called did not answer, the second one was out of the city and so could not help, and the third was also out of the city. He, however, must have recognized the desperation in my voice because he went to great lengths to arrange for me to meet his flatmate at the other end of the city to crash on their couch. I tell you, I was never so happy to see a beat up couch in my life!
On the plus side, I have walked around today and been pleasantly surprised by the discovery that this is a very nice city. As always, there is a central square in the heart of the Old Town which is quite beautiful. So far, I am quite glad that I decided to come to Poland, despite the chaotic first day!
I almost had to sleep at McDonald's last night.
After spending four days in Berlin, I arranged to share a ride with a Dutchman from there across the Polish border, and to within a two hour busride from Poznan, my first port of call in the country. This all went according to plan (which is to say, I started in Berlin and wound up somewhere in Poland), after which things became interesting. When I arrived in Poznan, I had the phone number for a local girl who is a member of an online community of travellers and hosts, to which I also belong (www.hospitalityclub.org). It was 4:30pm and I had anticipated being able to call her when I got in, get directions to her house, and then establish a base there for further exploration of the city. She didn't answer her phone. "No problem", I thought. "I will just pop into one of the hostels and get a room for tonight". That's where things went south.
I walked, with my big backpack, for more than two hours all over the city only to find that every hostel is either full or closed. It was after 7pm. Did I mention that it had been raining the entire time, and my rain jacket is borderline useless?
I then decided that I needed to find another host on hospitalityclub in short order, or I was going to be begging to spend the night at the 24 hour McDonald's I had walked by four times. Fortunately, I was able to find internet despite the late hour and wrote down the numbers for three more local members. Then it was back to the convenience store for another phone card (none of the payphones take real money, can you believe that?).
The first person I called did not answer, the second one was out of the city and so could not help, and the third was also out of the city. He, however, must have recognized the desperation in my voice because he went to great lengths to arrange for me to meet his flatmate at the other end of the city to crash on their couch. I tell you, I was never so happy to see a beat up couch in my life!
On the plus side, I have walked around today and been pleasantly surprised by the discovery that this is a very nice city. As always, there is a central square in the heart of the Old Town which is quite beautiful. So far, I am quite glad that I decided to come to Poland, despite the chaotic first day!
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