The rest of the Polish saga

                There was something more that came from Angloville, something unexpected which truly gave me a further appreciation for “Polish hospitality”. One of the participants from the second week’s program lived in Gydnia so rather unlike me I asked if it would be possible to catch a ride with him. As the journey back to Warsaw would be 3 hours then I would have to take the train from there as I was planning to visit Gdansk on my week off. (Gydnia, Sopot & Gdansk are called the tricities because they are all very close together on the Baltic Sea) Not only did I get a ride to Gydnia they also took me in for the entire week. They became my Polish family for a week and “mom” was amazing. She would come home late after working a VERY long day (by Polish standard this is normal) and put out this assortment of meats and cheeses and fish with eye balls. We would drink wine and just spend time together, not just watching tv, (possibly because EVERYTHING is spoken over by one dude in Polish) but chatting. They even tried to teach me Polish! Which they realized is VERY hard, but I have some great notes forever in my journal to help me fake it till I make it.

Sopot - Baltic Sea

          Whilst staying with this lovely family I had lots of time to explore the tricities. Tompers is still complaining that he never did get to see the infamous wild boars or deer that allegedly live in the area. However we did get to go to the beach and we had it all to ourselves, Tompers was hiding in my backpack because he said it was too cold to be at the beach. Silly bear. There was a SUPER adorable spaniel that when running past me in the water with a big stick in his mouth. He looked like the happiest dog in the whole world. This made me miss my little noodle. It’s funny how you can be on the other side of the world and seeing something just brings you right back to memories of home. I went for dinner at this place called Literacka in old town Gdansk, it made me miss my bestie who had she been there we could have tried more of the fabulous menu.

Sad to be leaving

This was my first taste of Polish hospitality. They took care of me like I was one of their children and even drove me to the train station early in the morning when it was time for me & Tompers to leave. It was hard to say goodbye but I know once I am settled we will arrange to have skype wine dates (aka English lessons with the grammar police).

                 

          Our next adventure brought us to Konin, which is in the center of Poland, however that is not where we stayed. We were picked up from the train station in Konin by our friend (I met in the first week of Angloville) and drove literally to the middle of nowhere Poland. There was actually a “pop-up” sawmill on his street! I have never seen the likes of that before. They had a little stove I’m not sure if it was to keep warm or just to burn the scraps or both, but it was in open air and they were milling trees like proper old-school style. It was such a lovely break from what was a rather busy past 4 weeks. There was literally no noise, and it was incredible to sleep in complete silence. Oddly enough we drank Irish whiskey instead of Polish vodka and shot the shit for endless hours.

He also took me to the Thermal Pools, which was the coolest thing ever. It was about 0 degrees that day and we were swimming laps in an outdoor pool. They also had a dizzying array of saunas, that was my first time in a cold sauna and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. #canadian There was also a small cold pool (alternating between extreme heat and cold is really good for your nervous system) it just felt like a lake so that was normal. Much warmer than when we went swimming in the Bug River.

 

Oh right I forgot to tell you at Angloville we got the bright idea that we should go swimming in the Bug River. You know me, I’m always down for going swimming in freezing cold water after multiple shots of vodka. That was COLD, and sobering.

 

                Poland wasn’t all fairy tales and butterflies. There were moments when I felt frustrated and “over-it” because the language really did become a barrier at times, and I not only did not know any Polish I didn’t even have a phrase book which normally I always carry when I travel just to make it easier. I also felt a bit lonely in Poland. Other than one night in Warsaw when I got drunk with a Ukrainian lad, all my hostel experiences were rather lonely. I didn’t meet people to go out with and because of my slightly insane scheduling I didn’t really have nights to go out. So not someone to go with, I just didn’t bother. So how is the nightlife in Poland you ask? I have NO idea! Maybe I should have stayed at more social hostels instead of the cheapest…

 

                

         To finish off my Poland trip I travelled to Krakow for two nights, then spent one more night where it all started. In Wrocław for the Christmas market and mulled wine. Even more fitting I ate at the same restaurant where I ate the first night upon arriving. I even had the same server. Only this time I stepped out of my comfort zone and ordered three different kinds of pyrogie.