Peaceful in Poland
It’s crazy to think that I’m writing this entry from Poland. I’m in Krakow tonight and then going on a day trip to Auschwitz tomorrow morning.
I took the train from Prague to Krakow. There is a stopover and because our train broke down and caused a two hour delay, I was required to share a van cab with a Canadian, a couple from Singapore and a guy from Vienna. It was one of those side trip random adventures that I’ve always thought only happened in movies. While we were driving through Poland, I couldn’t help but note that a year ago I never would have expected to be driving through Eastern Europe – Poland even. I’m happily surprised; I like not being able to predict what great adventures await me.
So far I’ve been to: Madrid, Barcelona, Prague and now Krakow. I’m headed back to Prague on Sunday, I’m going to try and take the night train. However, someone told me that it’s a bit unsafe in standard 2nd class on the night train, so I’m probably going to either upgrade to 1st class or just take the day train. I’m going to have to make my way to the train station tomorrow and figure it out.
Barcelona was beautiful, but it really does have a sketchy feel. Matt and I were constantly being offered drugs. I also didn’t like the feeling that I always had to be worried about my wallet being stolen – in fact what I did was wear my passport neck wallet underneath my shirt – but that just made my shirts look weird. See below.
Somehow Matt and I survived Las Ramblas (the main tourist street in the old part of Barcelona), and neither of us had anything stolen.
Prague was fun the two days I was there, but I didn’t really get a chance to sightsee. I was mainly hanging out with Matt before his trip, he leaves tomorrow. When I get back Sarah and I are going to be starting our journey together and we will have a very packed itinerary in Prague and everywhere else.
Right now I am happy to have a really nice room (I’ve never had such a nice room in a hostel) and am ready to catch up on some sleep debt that I’ve accumulated these nights of fun.
Tonight I had some real Polish pierogies. They were potato cheesy deliciousness- especially since they were SO cheap. I love Eastern European prices, love them. I am 25% Polish and my Great Aunt, whom I was extremely close with was 100% Polish and was very proud of her heritage. She would be really happy to hear that I am visiting where the Gabriel family first started. It’s so crazy to be in the country where your name originates, not that I am meeting anyone from the family or anything; it’s just warming to be in your family’s homeland. No one else in my family has been back here, so it’s also cool to know that even though I am one of the youngest, I am still interested in remembering our roots.
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:39 am
Wow – what a great adventure you are having. Bill’s ancestors were from Eastern Europe. Let me know if you run into anyone with the name Kappustinski or Kappushinsky.
I know exactly how you feel about “returning” to the land of your roots. All of my family came from Italy. Afew years ago I had the opportunity to travel to the hometown of my grandmother and grandfather. To walk around the same town that they did was amazing! Someday I will tell you more about it. The most incredible experience was to see an old oil painting that had once hung in the church where my great-grandmother died during an earthquake. The painting was the only thing that wasn’t completely destroyed. I can’t help but wonder how many times she and my grandmother had looked at it while attending mass.
May 22nd, 2010 at 10:40 am
PS – you need to update your blog header