O Canada!

August 1, 2009

Its 4 am, we're sitting in the airport. Our flight departs from Warsaw to Frankfurt at 6.30 am then we should be arriving in Montreal at 11.40 ( canada time).

Its sad that we must leave this country, i know i've said it before but i really do feel that way. We met amazing people and not to mention had some great food. I hope to return some day to this country, maybe with some other friends so i can show them how much i know.

Well... can't talk anymore, they're making us board the plane.
I'll miss you Polska!

Back to the capital

July 31,2009

We're on our train going back to Warsaw, and thankfully we're staying at the Intercontinental hotel once again ( we really liked it).

Today we're all going our seperate way. Angelina wants to do some last minute shopping. Cristina wants to visit more museums. And i just wanna eat all the food i can eat. haha! i really enjoyed the cuisine here and im going to try to sneak some on the plane with me ( even though i know i really shouldnt).. i wonder if it will even make it on the plane!

We're very glad we decided to come to this country, it really is one of a kind!
Tonight we plan on pulling an all nighter, we got plenty of time to sleep on the plane tomorrow.

Polish Hollywood

July 30,2009

Alright so we're all energized since yesterday we slept from 7pm and woke up today at 9am.. so much for our slumber party!
Today our day is spilt in two, beginning of the day is sightseeing and the other half is leisure.
To start off we are going to walk along Ogrodowa street .. this street led us to the Old Cemetary .This is a jewish cemetary, it is one of the largest in Europe, it was destroyed in World War II by the germans. Not all of the tombstones were ruined because t'ill this day, like we're doing today, we can walk through the cemetary... It really does give me the chills.

Its the second part of the day, and we're going to have some fun!
Most people probably didnt know this, and neither did we, but Lodz is actually the the artistic epicenter of Poland. We're going to be visiting the Cinematography museum, which shows us the history in Polish cinema along with diffrent exhibitions.

My friends and i are amazed how much we have learned about this countries culture and history over the time spent here.

Lodz

July 29,2009

We really had a great stay in Sopot. The people are amazing, the beach is gorgeous and the nightlife was one of a kind!
Now we're back on the road to Warsaw where we will then take another train to Lodz. Luckily we took the express train to Warsaw which only took 3 hours.
The hotel name is Qubus, its a cute little hotel not to far from all the action.
Our first stop is Palace Poznanski, this is an amazing palace. It is decorated with copulas,pinnacles, and sheilds with the letter P on them. It is also attatched to an amazing garden with many diffrent sculptures. Truly remarkable!Our next two sites are the Karol Scheilber's factory and Kseizy Mlyn Palace.

Today me and my friends are feeling a little tired from all the traveling we've been doing. I think we're going to have a slumber party just like we would back home. We dont feel so bad we still got a few more days to enjoy this eastern european country.

Fun in the sun.

July 26 - 27 - 28, 2009

For the next three days the girls and i will take the time to soak up the sun and really take it all of Poland.

While we're here we plan on visiting St Mary's chuch ( the biggest church built with brick blocks) and the Neptune Fountain.And we'll be travelling with the famous tram!

We'll be going to Sopot for the best beach resort area. It is said that this area is known to be called "the polish riviera", who knew!

I'll catch up with you in a few days,

t'ill then..do widzenia! (goodbye)

Vamos a la playa! Oh wait, that's spanish!

July 25,2009

Finaly,the beach!!

Today is a very special day, we left Wroclaw, hopped on the train and got going to Gdansk.
We've arrive about 1 hour ago and we're getting ready to go out. It was a 7 hour train ride.. yeah pretty long and tireing but very worth it once again.Ou hotel is directly on the Baltic sea, its called Novotel Gdansk Marina.

We're going to the Santorini restaurant for some greek dining in the center of Gdansk, and for the rest of the evening we're just going to explore and see what we can find.

Czy Pan Movi Po Polsku.... Polish 101

July 24,2009

Its day 10 of our trip so we've half way there. My friends and i are enjoying ourselves so much, the culture, the people and the cities are just so diffrent from what we're used to, i love it!
We just finished having breakfast... and we're going to go visit the main square. I find square's in Europe are just the best, everyone meets here and even if your just sitting around on the steps you still can have a good time.

The main square today was filled with young people, maybe because it was a really sunny warm day. We stoped for a beer and continued on our way to see the Town Hall and the Alexander Fredro statue. Actually a 2 young polish men noticed us stairing at the statue trying to figure out who it was, we then got to talking and i guess we sort of became friends for the day. They also taught me a polish line " czy pan movi po polsku?" which means " do you speak english?"... it was what they used to pick us up haha!



Later on that day we went to visit the former Petersdorff department store. We then went to Ostrow Tumski which wasnt very fart from the department store. And there is where we had our first fine dining, at the Cathedral Restaurant.

Wroclaw

July 23,2009

We're checking out of our Hotel Sekwana, and getting on our Train to Wroclaw.. today im restless and im dreading an almost 3 our train ride there. I sure do hope it will pass by quickly!
...

We've arrived to the hotel, this one's got to be my favorite. Its the Radisson SAS hotel, looks really pretty from inside and out and its located near everything from what i saw while in the taxi coming here.

We've put our bags down and we're going to the St John the Baptist Cathedral. On our way there we also the "anonymous pedestrians". We asked some teenagers who spoke english what exactly did these statues represent. They told us they represented the 14 people who disapeared during the introduction to martial law in Poland in 1981 on december 13.

Next we visit The Fountain and then lunch at Pod Papugami right next to The Fountain. These restaurant/cafe was really cool, it reminded me of a Hollywood dinner witch pictures of stars in the walls along with its vibrant atmosphere. It was really crowded but i enjoyed hearing the diffrent languages of the many tourists.

Before going back to the hotel to relax and then go out we have one more stop, its St Mary Magdalene Church a beautiful gothic style church.

Tonight we plan on going out, we're going to do anything to crazy but i did read up on a great bar in Wroclaw called Od Zmierzchu do Switu. They play everything diffrent type of rock from the Beetles to Metallica, the beer is cheap and apparently alot of hot rocker dudes go there. Looks like the girls and i will have a splendid time haha!!

The city of pilgrims...

July 22,2009

As we say goodbye to Krakow, i take my last pictures of the beautiful city. We board the train to Czestochowa ( 2.5 hour train ride) and then we check into our hotel, Hotel Sekwana.

Off we go to visit the city of pilgrims! Our tummies are hungry so we stop at one of the convents around the Jasna Gora sanctuary, here the nuns serve home made meals.



After lunch we got to visit Jasna Gora, here is where we saw the black Madonna. There were so many people at the sanctuary, it was actually quite overwhelming.
We then later on went to visit the Jasna Gora cannons.

It was a calm day of just walking around and taking pictures. We enjoyed have some down time.

Later that day we took a 20 min bus ride to the Olsztyn Castle which is just outside of Czestochowa city.

In a word....Oswiecim

July 21,2009

Today is the day, we're visiting the concentration camps of World War II. We're all really nervous for some reason, we know more or less what to expect, but we dont know how we'll react... well no point waiting here, lets go!
We just got off our train from Krakow to Oswiecim ( it was a 1.5 hour train ride) and now we're getting on our bus to the concentration camps, it should take 10 min.

We've arrived...A local guide is giving us a 15 minute documentary about the liberation camps and now we're going to be entering the museum.As we pass by the gas chambers, i feel quite tense,nervous and emotional. I get images in my brain of people being tortured. The guide is taking us next to the surviving prision blocks and the crematorium.

Wow, what an emotional day really. One of my friends broke into tears for how sorry she felt for those people who went through those horrible times.

Tonight its Krakow By Night. We're getting dolled up and we're going to explore the nightlife and meet new people. Word on the street is club Cocon is a great club, we did some research and they say they have amazing music and 2 dance floors, 3 bars and a summer terrasse. I guess tonight is the night we'll be tasting Poland's famous VODKA!

Communist Krakow

July 20,2009

We woke up today at 9AM had breakfast in our hotel and got dressed. Today is an extra warm day with the beautiful sun shining, oh yeah... today's going to be a good one.

We're headed towards the childgood home of Pope John Paul II. We're all so curious to see how this very important man grew up. His town is a little outside Krakow in a town called Wadowice, we're taking a bus there...
When we entered his home we can see everything from the kitchen to the mountain gear he used to use when going hiking, his writings, letters and childhood and teenage pictures. Mr. Karol Wojtila will always remain an important man for Poland.. my friend's and i were very moved while visiting his old home.

About 2 hours later we were back in Krakow, it was the early afternoon and we decided to get a light snack before our next tour. We were exeptionally excited for this one!
We're waiting in the lobby of the hotel, looking outside, we see the Trabant automobile pulling up.I dont think any of us ever thought we would be riding in one of these cars! Our tour should last about 2 hours, its going to be a tour of the old communist Krakow and later on in the day we will be visiting Nowa Huta.

Big city life KRAKOW

July 19,2009

It is day 5 of our polish adventure and we're going to Krakow. Im so excited, i've heard so much about this city, and im finaly going to see it.
When we checked out of the Intercontinental hotel, we headed towards the tain station and got on the express train to Krakow. It took us about 5 hours to get here, so we had enough time to relax and sleep before beginning our day. Once we arrived in Krakow central station we headed towards our hotel, it is called Hotel Matejko ( not quite sure how its pronounced).

We took a short bus ride and now we are presently enjoying a nice polish meal at Wesele, in the center of Market Square. Let me tell you, Market Square is amazing! Its surrounded by old brick buildings and palaces. All the most importante museums and monumentsare found here, along with chic cafes and restaurants. And like most european squares, pigeons galore!

As we walk along Grodska street, 10 minutes down we see the Wawel castle walls.Where once the wall used to be a defensive wall, today is a place where tourists love to visite. The castle has a gothic look to it, so as your walking in it actually feels like your going back in time..

Last day in Warsaw

July 18,2009

Today is our last day in Warsaw, we got still a few sites to visit and plus its not so bad because we know at the end of our trip we'll be coming back here for one more day before our fight back home haha!

We're starting to tour the Mazovian countryside. We're getting a tour of charming little villages, palaces and manor houses all along the countryside. The battlefield in kampinos national park really does send shivers down my spine. Knowning that so many men lost their lives in these fields really makes one think...

I can't beleive we're visiting the home of Federic Chopin a wonderful pianist and one of the great masters in romantic music, in Zelazowa Wola.

We're eating a late lunch in Nieborow. Our typical polish lunch consists of : a soup known as zurek ( sour rye meal mash ), followed by an appetizer of herring . The main course is breaded pork cutlet with vegetables ( cabbage and carrots) with lemon and sugar dressing and a side dish of potatoes. And finaly for desert, poppy seed cake ( makowiec)... Talk about a hardy meal!! I think the girls and I will be stuffed till tomorrow morning.

Old Town = Fabulous

July 17, 2009

Breakfast in our hotel, no time to waste we got a bunch of sites to see today!
We're visiting Market Square, Old Town and Saxon Gardens.

Today we're going to take it a little easy since yesterday we visited many places on not much sleep. We'll be walking to streets, pickup up souvenirs and taking great photos. I just love Old Town,it is infact the heart of Warsaw it is surrounded by beauty such as medieval architecture, city walls, barbican and renaissance style buildings.

Saxon Gardens is a huge romantic english-style park. We really enjoyed seeing the sandstone satues, gorgeous fountains and the tomb of the unknown soldier for those unknown men who died for their country during the war.

Tonight the girls and i are going out for dinner. We're getting all dressed up and we're heading to U Hopfera in Old Town. Finaly, what we were waiting for so long, the best piergogies in town. This restaurant has been serving its pierogies since 1876, serving 45 diffrent varieties of pierogies. This will be a night to remember!!

Cze's'c Warsaw!

July 16,2009

The girls and i have finaly arrived, i have to say it was a pleasant flight after all. We just finished getting our bags and we're waiting outside for a taxi to bring us to our hotel. The weather is great here, not to hot not to cold its probably around 23degrees. Just by standing at the airport i can see the diffrent faces,some from around the world and most are polish, you can tell by there features, beautiful blue eyes and light coloured hair.

Its a 15 - 20 minute cab ride to our Intercontinental Hotel in Warsaw.This hotel seems just like the ones we have back home in Montreal. .. but honestly i dont care much about the hotel, my friends and i just want to put our luggage in the room and get out there and explore the city. Im so glad we have 3 days here, it gives us enough time to see the most important places.

Alright so our first stop is the St John Cathedral, we decided to take a bus to the Cathedral. As we ride on the bus we can see the beautiful gothic architecture throughout the city including the Cathedral. Next stop is the Royal Caslte square, which is thankfully only minutes away so we're going to take a walk there. This gorgeous square is also known as the Old Town of Warsaw, here's where the girls and I will do some great shopping and we're definintly thinking of stopping at Poland's famous milkbars for something to eat.

Later that day we visited Place of Culture, the tallest building in the EU union and the Wilanow Museum Palace which was only 20 min away from Place of Culture. I really enjoyed seeing the palace, this is where many important Poles lived, it was so rich of art!

Pierogi heaven here we come!

July 15,2009

As i wait with 2 of my best friends in the waiting area at the aiport, minutes from boarding my overnight flight to Warsaw ( it is presently 19:15, our flight departs at 19:55) i start imagining the wonderful views and buildings that i will see. Im super excited and i cant wait to see what this european country will offer!

My friends Angelina and Cristina and I will be flying with Air Canada first to Frankfurt then making a switch and flying to Warsaw. So we will be arriving in Warsaw actually on July 16. . . seems like a its going to be a long flight, but its all worth it im sure!