Poland

  Included in our study abroad program is a week long excursion. This semester half of the group was going to Munich/Vienna and the other half to Gdansk/Warsaw in Poland. I have already traveled to Munich and have plans to be in Vienna later, so I was ecstatic to be placed in the Poland group. Plus, eastern Europe is not the "top choices" of places to visit in Europe.
   We take a train from Berlin and just across the border of Poland we make a transfer. {Our program director got his wallet stolen during this transfer} The train is crammed, small, old (no joke, probably from WWII), hot, loud, graffitied, and stinky. The compartments were seats of 6 and I crammed my way into one of the last seats. I fortunately sat close to a German guy, so he kept me company for the 5 hour train ride from hell. The country side was beautiful. Like Germany, there were rolling hills, but much more small ponds and trees that accentuated Autumn's colors.  2 stops before we were to arrive in Gdansk, 100+ more people crammed onto the train. Not only were all compartments full, but the hallway as well. When we arrived at our stop, we had to push past the massive hordes of people and luggage. The people refused to move, even after we screamed that we had to get off. We had to resort to a type of crowd surfing to finally get off the train. As we struggled to get off, a Polish guy says "Welcome to Poland." in a sarcastic tone.

Polish, the language with barely any vowels!

We finally get to our hotel, which was actually very schnazzy. Starving and in dire need of a beer, we head into the city.We arrive in the city center, a beautiful plaza that reminded me of Brussels. I exchange my money: 100 Euros got me over 400 Zloty. WIN! We find a restaurant and dive into authenticity: pirogi and polish beer. Before we leave, we all take a shot of the infamous Polish vodka. How was it? Amazing, smooth, delicious.  My esophagus was not on fire as it usually is when I drink vodka. Paz and I head to a bar with several guys from our program. More shots, beer, and another bar. The second bar was more like a rental cabin and had a wooden spiral staircase with couches and a fireplace. There I had heated beer with cloves, I don't remember what it was called but it tasted like apple pie and was FANTASTIC!

Gdansk

As I became more inebriated, I remembered less. But some highlights of the night:
-One friend being challenged to drink a 5th of vodka from a Polish guy...he won the challenge
-not being able to find a bathroom so trying to do business inconspicuously in a parking lot
-being annoyed that the boys peed (and could pee) in the open
-meeting a polish girl and having an intellectual conversation about McDonalds
-shanegins in the hotel parking lot (Christina, you will giggle about this later)

Let me also mention that this whole night: dinner, 2 beers, and 2 double shots, cost you about 9 bucks. FUCK YES!
The next morning we take a walking tour of the historic Gdansk, the same place we were at the night before, and learn about the city's historic survival through WWII and communist ruling. We also visited the Monument to the Shipyard Workers (commemorating the Solidarity movement that helped topple the Communist regime). Later in the afternoon we took a boat tour along the Baltic coast...in a Pirate ship...no joke. We cruise along to Westerplatte, the site where WWII began with German attack on Polish military installations. There were old bunkers, ammunition houses, and watchtowers. There was also a huge monument commemorating all those that served in the war. We arrive back in Gdansk and grab some dinner (I quickly realized that besides pirogis, the food in Poland is not very good).
The next morning we take the oh so beloved train to Malbork, where the Malbork Castle lies, erstwhile headquarters of the Teutonic Knights.

The castle by sunset :)

The castle has faced some crazy shit; cannonballs are still embedded in the walls and bullet holes sprinkle the building. Much of the castle was destroyed in the war, but sections have been rebuilt. The older sections were built with wood, which is rotting with age and sinking below the newer foundation of the castle. Basically, it's got a long way to go. After the tour we check out Malbrok, the small town surrounding the castle. I thought Big Bear was bad...the most exciting thing in this town was the McDonalds. The shopping areas were closed because it was a Sunday. We had to kill time because our train back to Gdansk was not for another 3 hours. We sit in a restaurant during that time. When we arrive back at the train station, our program director met us with annoying news. Some confusing swap was made with our tickets and the train was not actually leaving for another 2 hours. We could not spend anymore time in this place, so we decide to just buy our own tickets back. It still took an hour to get back to Gdansk, but an hour on a train beats another 2 hours in a deserted, small town.
The next morning we hopped on another(much more nice, with reserved seats) train to Warsaw. This was on Halloween day, although it did not feel like it for us Americans being stuck on a train for 6 hours. Once we got to our..let me just say..less than fantastic hotel, we explore the city. We were staying on one side of the Vistula River and crossed the bridge, where the Warsaw Old Town was located. We devoured delicious Indian food then searched for the nightlife...only to be unsuccessful. Halloween night in Warsaw was a bust. The Old Town did not have much to offer. We walked into an Irish pub only to find it grungy and full of old people. We head back near the area of our hotel and find a bar. It was fancy and much more expensive then we had hoped for, but at least it was open. The Polish bartenders were incredibly friendly and made us some classy cocktails with a discount.
The next day we had a tour of the Old Town.Warsaw's Old Town is the oldest historic district of the city.  During the day it was much more lively, as the he heart of the area (Old Town Market Place) bustled with its restaurants, cafés and shops. Surrounding streets feature medieval architecture such as the city walls, the Barbican and St. John's Cathedral.
Warsaw, and essentially all of Poland,...actually most of Europe does not celebrate Halloween because of All Saints Day following. After the tour we visit Cmentarz Wojskowy, one of Warsaw's largest cemeteries. It is tradition to place candles and flowers upon the gravestones for this Catholic holiday. We visited the cemetery and it was spectacular. It was incredibly crowded and candles brightened the whole place. There was not an eerie and creepy feeling at all. Some gravestones of artists and poets drowned in candles. This cemetery also had a memorial that honored those who died in the Warsaw Ghetto. After the cemetery we go to the only open liquor store and buy popular Polish vodka (only $5 for quality stuff might I add).
  Speaking of the Ghetto, that was where our tour was the following day. But before then we visited the Synagoga Nożyków (Jewish Synagogue). This was the only synagogue to survive WWII and communist rule. Before then, I had never been in a synagogue before.We walked through parts of the Jewish Ghetto and saw the Culture Palace. This building is one of the few remaining from the communist era. Many Poles hate it but it was actually too expensive to be torn down. Also, it is used today for concerts, musicals, and other international gatherings. We also saw the William Brandt memorial, the mayor of west Berlin who tried to improve relations with east Berlin and the Soviets. Many monuments scatter the city, and our tour guides were very passionate when speaking about them. Every now and then they would also make snarky remarks about Stalin or Germans. 
To lighten the mood, after the tour we go to "Arcadia", eastern Europe's biggest shopping center. Since Poland has a favorable exchange rate ($1=3.3 Zloty) we decided to finally get those winter sweaters we have been wanting to buy. We also went grocery shopping since we were sick of shitty Polish restaurant food. However, we noticed that many packages in the store were open. We later find out that it is common for people to open something to try it out, then put it back on the shelves. We make it back to the hotel and decide to open the vodka we had bought the previous night. After some drinking games, we venture to another bar close to the hotel. (Not the expensive one I had originally visited). This bar was kick ass!  A small virgin Mary welcomed you to the doorway and inside all the walls were covered with bottle caps and coasters. There were "chandeliers" made of empty

Bottle Cap bar?

bottles. Beer from tap was only 5 Zloty ($1.50). We meet some other Fubis there and start to discuss what we miss about America. This may have developed since the holidays are approaching, and friends putting up pictures of Halloween did not help our homesickness. Things we miss: 
unlimited texting
free refills/unlimited water and chips and salsa or bread at restaurant
stores opened past 8pm
stores open on sunday
coffee creamer
FREE public restrooms
tofu
to go boxes


I realize that most of these pertain to convenience, but I took them for granted. 
Later that night, once we had already gone to sleep, some of the Fubis in the room next to us came home drunk/screaming and started playing music. This hotel, compared to Gdansk if I didn't already mention, had paper thin walls...I can bitch for hours but moral of the story is: I can't stand most of the people in my program.
  Next morning, toured the Royal Castle in Warsaw. It has been restored to look as when the Polish monarchs ruled. Sick of seeing the same sections of Old Town, we finally ventured south to the new section of Warsaw. HERE is where the city was poppin. Bars, clubs, restaurants, museums, science centers, and embassies galore. It is a shame that we found this section of town so late into our stay.We check out the area

Autumn fun!

then venture into one of the many parks. Coming from California, there is a lack of an Autumn season. I never had the "rake leaves into a pile and jump into them experience". Big Bear you raked pine needles, broken bottles, dead squirrels, and heroine needles. In Berkeley there is just ivy and all the leaves our blown off the streets by city management. Europe has had a fascinating and beautiful fall season, and Poland by far has been the best. The park was next to a museum that had WWII aircraft displayed outside. This made me feel a little better since I did not go to any museums in Warsaw because 1. None of them I was interested in, too sad 2. I was museum-ed out. 3. They were probably not going to have English translations. We head back towards the hotel, check out another shopping center close by, then get ready for the Chopin (a Polish composer) concert. We meet with the program at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

My view at the concert recital

A room was set up for us at the Concert Hall of the PWM Library. I was in the back but had an awesome view of the Pianist and watched his hands as they went bonkers over the piano. It was incredibly beautiful, serene, and peaceful (I even saw some people dozing off). After the concert we head back to the the down town area, drink some mulled wine (amazing!), head to the bottle cap bar for one last drink and crash for the night.
Our last day in Poland was completely free, as in we had no scheduled group tours. We all decide to catch up on some work, but that plan soon failed since the hotel's internet was down. 3 of us head to the Copernicus Science Center, similar to the Exploritorium in San Fransisco. I was happy to get my science fix. We then meet up with a Polish girl that Paz met this past summer in Berkeley. She takes us to a basement bar where a local Polish band was playing. They suggested us great beer (honey beer) and we talked European politics, education, and media. It was great talking to younger Poles who did not having lingering resentment from history. They lived in Krakow, which I heard was a beautiful city and I would go back to Poland just to visit this city. After the bar we were incredibly hungry and one Polish guy with us led us to an excellent restaurant. But once we got there, the door was locked. The owner and some friends were inside, opened the door and said they were closed. We asked if he had any suggestions. He looked around and said in Polish "Fuck it, my crew is all here, come on in and we will fix you something." Not only were we overhwhelmed by their hospitality, but the small restaurant itself was spectacular. I ordered Polish pancakes, which besides the pirogis I had in my first night in Gdansk, were the best thing I had eaten the whole trip. Everythign on the menu was eco-friendly, always a favorite for me, and also well priced. They had a bottle of wine open so offered us some free of charge. After we ate our meals we realized the plates were edible!! They were not very tasty but it was made of fiber and granola. The

our edible plates!

concoction of Poles, Polish bands, science center, good Polish beer, and this eco-restaurant was a perfect way to end my stay in Poland. 
 The next morning, we took a 6 hour train ride back to Berlin, safe and sound.

Christina, even though you learned much about the people in your program; how much you dislike some, remember those who you learned to know and enjoy. You try to be tolerant of people, but remember that you do not have to befriend everyone. You are happy to have visited Eastern Europe (especially Poland) because, let's be real, you probably would not have done so voluntarily. Besides, there are more places east on your list. Prague for Thanksgiving and hopefully Budapest after finals!