Morning all!!
I'm sat in the train station at Warsaw (kudos to Poland for free WiFi in here), waiting for my next train to Krakow. Of course, I'm far too early but better to be safe than sorry eh?
Yesterday, I had a much needed lie in after a turbulent night's sleep before finally deciding to get out of bed and have a tranquil afternoon at a massive park.
There were loads of peacocks and red squirrels. I'll take this opportunity to say: never open a cereal bar with squirrels around. Squirrels love dem grainz. I had a squirrel climb up my leg. Later on, I did offer some nuts I had in my bag to a few of the squirrels and they ate them right out of my hand.
Spent the afternoon watching peacocks fan out their feathers in an attempt to attract the female peacocks
In the evening, I had a mad dash to the huge shopping centre to find a camera battery charger. Mission accomplished, I sat in the Hard Rock Cafe for a cheeky cosmopolitan before making my way back to the hostel.
Just a little word about the hostel, whilst I'm on the subject. Its a great little place with everything one needs from a hostel, including hairdryers and a lovely kitchen but, unlike my hostel in Berlin, everyone seemed to keep themselves to themselves, leading to a more solitary visit for me, although I did meet a few nice people.
On the way to the station here, there were 3 guys playing a nice piece on an assortment of brass instruments, brassLADS.
Warsaw in a nutshell? Well I'd say its been a pleasant visit and that in a city which initially comes across as grey and square, there's something for everyone here. Parks, the old town, shopping centres. It's just a case of finding it.
Tuesday 30 April 2013
Sunday 28 April 2013
Warsaw in the rain
Good evening blog readers,
So yesterday, I made the 6 hour train journey from Berlin to Warsaw in the rain. It was a pretty journey, but a boring one. As we got closer and closer to Warsaw, it suddenly dawned on me that I know not a single phrase of Polish. This was actually quite a scary thought for me, as a linguist more than anything. Not even capable of saying thank you, or please or sorry, I arrived in Warsaw station, tired and hungry, but excited for the things Poland had to offer me.
When I arrived it has to be said that I was not impressed with the aesthetic properties of Warsaw. Coming out of the subway from the station, tourists are met with a concrete jungle of skyscrapers, roadworks and a ghostbusters-esque Stalin building (the museum of technology). It's fair to say I was disappointed that Warsaw was not the cute, colourful town I was expecting.
After a good half hour walk, I finally made it to the hostel, on the verge of collapse and ventured out quickly for a KFC (just a three minute walk, ideal). After my fill of chicken, I headed straight to my bed.
Today, I began with a tour of the Jewish parts of Warsaw. It's quite cool here, in that there's a company which offers free tours, with the chance to tip if you feel satisfied with what you experienced. We walked for two and a half hours in the rain and explored all of the ghetto areas, the pre-war remnants (the few bits that are left) and monuments to the Polish Jews that died during the Holocaust. I have to say that it was really a worthwhile experience. I would never have found the things that our tour guide showed us.
After that, I made my way to the old town. After being unimpressed with the newer parts of Warsaw, I absolutely loved the old quarter. Full of cobbled streets and beautiful old buildings, I had found the beauty I was expecting from the capital. Afterwards, I walked through the rest of town and soaked up the sights of a much more attractive part of the town.
I then took a trip to a supermarket for dinner (camembert and bread, France, I miss you) and walked back to the hostel. I'll take this opportunity to say that it's probably a miracle that I'm still alive because crossing the road is an absolute nightmare round here. Also, why is McDonald's so good everywhere else but England?
This evening, just chilling with a few beers and getting to know the other inhabitants of my hostel.
So yesterday, I made the 6 hour train journey from Berlin to Warsaw in the rain. It was a pretty journey, but a boring one. As we got closer and closer to Warsaw, it suddenly dawned on me that I know not a single phrase of Polish. This was actually quite a scary thought for me, as a linguist more than anything. Not even capable of saying thank you, or please or sorry, I arrived in Warsaw station, tired and hungry, but excited for the things Poland had to offer me.
When I arrived it has to be said that I was not impressed with the aesthetic properties of Warsaw. Coming out of the subway from the station, tourists are met with a concrete jungle of skyscrapers, roadworks and a ghostbusters-esque Stalin building (the museum of technology). It's fair to say I was disappointed that Warsaw was not the cute, colourful town I was expecting.
After a good half hour walk, I finally made it to the hostel, on the verge of collapse and ventured out quickly for a KFC (just a three minute walk, ideal). After my fill of chicken, I headed straight to my bed.
Today, I began with a tour of the Jewish parts of Warsaw. It's quite cool here, in that there's a company which offers free tours, with the chance to tip if you feel satisfied with what you experienced. We walked for two and a half hours in the rain and explored all of the ghetto areas, the pre-war remnants (the few bits that are left) and monuments to the Polish Jews that died during the Holocaust. I have to say that it was really a worthwhile experience. I would never have found the things that our tour guide showed us.
After that, I made my way to the old town. After being unimpressed with the newer parts of Warsaw, I absolutely loved the old quarter. Full of cobbled streets and beautiful old buildings, I had found the beauty I was expecting from the capital. Afterwards, I walked through the rest of town and soaked up the sights of a much more attractive part of the town.
I then took a trip to a supermarket for dinner (camembert and bread, France, I miss you) and walked back to the hostel. I'll take this opportunity to say that it's probably a miracle that I'm still alive because crossing the road is an absolute nightmare round here. Also, why is McDonald's so good everywhere else but England?
This evening, just chilling with a few beers and getting to know the other inhabitants of my hostel.
Friday 26 April 2013
bye bye Berlin
So it's my last day in Berlin today and tomorrow I shall be off to Warsaw.
I've had a lovely few days here but, as with almost every journey, it seems to end too soon. I had just got into using the trains here, the way the Germans do things and have only today discovered the more alternative parts of Berlin, complete with street art, some pretty quirky places and some delicious smelling food.
So today, I started with a rather sombre visit to the Memorial for the Murdered Jews in Europe. Its basically 2,711 concrete blocks, lined up in various sizes. I was surprised to see that it was surrounded by a fairly busy road and large buildings, rather than nestled in a park, but on entering into the memorial itself, the sound of the traffic cannot be heard. The memorial was designed to make you feel claustrophobic and it's safe to say that, although the memorial looks small from the outside, whilst in between the blocks you feel lost. I was saddened to see that people were playing hide and seek inside. Despite being a lover of this game, even I think that this is more than somewhat disrespectful. Another thing that sickened me was something which I got used to on a few trips to Paris: groups of people pretending to be deaf and dumb, miming at you to sign a petition. Whilst in any normal situation, this is nothing more than a mere annoyance, I felt that inside the memorial was an awful place to try and scam people. And I stand down from my soap box.
Following the memorial, I went into the museum underneath it, which showed final letters from victims of the Holocaust, photos and explained the history.
After a melancholic and reflective morning, I headed down to Checkpoint Charlie in the blazing sunshine and stopped there for my first ever curry wurst. Following this, I decided to walk in completely the wrong direction on my way to the city centre and ended up in a pretty dodgy part of Berlin, where a drunk homeless guy was claiming to be Hitler's cousin and proudly exclaiming he was a Nazi. Perfect. U-Bahn found and quickly taken, I made my way to the East side gallery of the Berlin wall and walked all the way along it. It's covered in some really great graffiti and runs alongside the river so it made for a pleasant walk.
Feet tired and slightly sunburnt, I headed back to the hostel where I am sipping my gin and tonic and writing this blog. How cosmopolitan.
Anyway, with sore fingers I bid adieu from Berlin and I'll write again in Warsaw!
Tschuss!!
I've had a lovely few days here but, as with almost every journey, it seems to end too soon. I had just got into using the trains here, the way the Germans do things and have only today discovered the more alternative parts of Berlin, complete with street art, some pretty quirky places and some delicious smelling food.
So today, I started with a rather sombre visit to the Memorial for the Murdered Jews in Europe. Its basically 2,711 concrete blocks, lined up in various sizes. I was surprised to see that it was surrounded by a fairly busy road and large buildings, rather than nestled in a park, but on entering into the memorial itself, the sound of the traffic cannot be heard. The memorial was designed to make you feel claustrophobic and it's safe to say that, although the memorial looks small from the outside, whilst in between the blocks you feel lost. I was saddened to see that people were playing hide and seek inside. Despite being a lover of this game, even I think that this is more than somewhat disrespectful. Another thing that sickened me was something which I got used to on a few trips to Paris: groups of people pretending to be deaf and dumb, miming at you to sign a petition. Whilst in any normal situation, this is nothing more than a mere annoyance, I felt that inside the memorial was an awful place to try and scam people. And I stand down from my soap box.
Following the memorial, I went into the museum underneath it, which showed final letters from victims of the Holocaust, photos and explained the history.
After a melancholic and reflective morning, I headed down to Checkpoint Charlie in the blazing sunshine and stopped there for my first ever curry wurst. Following this, I decided to walk in completely the wrong direction on my way to the city centre and ended up in a pretty dodgy part of Berlin, where a drunk homeless guy was claiming to be Hitler's cousin and proudly exclaiming he was a Nazi. Perfect. U-Bahn found and quickly taken, I made my way to the East side gallery of the Berlin wall and walked all the way along it. It's covered in some really great graffiti and runs alongside the river so it made for a pleasant walk.
Feet tired and slightly sunburnt, I headed back to the hostel where I am sipping my gin and tonic and writing this blog. How cosmopolitan.
Anyway, with sore fingers I bid adieu from Berlin and I'll write again in Warsaw!
Tschuss!!
Thursday 25 April 2013
Berlin day 1
First official day of inter-railing almost over, I thought I'd take the opportunity to update you all on a rather pleasant day.
Last night, I got but 5 hours sleep, probably due to excitement and perhaps a little dehydration, remedied with a good few litres of water. I started the day by exploring the centre of Berlin, stopping at the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Cathedral and many other things that caught my beady eye.
My first impression of Berlin is that it is so huge and full of buildings. Sounds like a strange thing to say, but as a chick who's just spent 7 months in rural France, it was something of a culture shock. Another thing which occurred to me is how much awesome stuff the Germans can lay claim to. Perusing the vast amount of shops in the city centre just proves this. There's an entire shop devoted to Nivea.
In the afternoon, I had good intentions to do some serious cultural investigations, much like in the morning, and set out on the train. Unfortunaly my straight laced intentions were dashed rather, when I spied with my little eye a zoo, and an elephant casually strolling around in its enclosure. As a lover of all animals, I couldn't resist and popped inside for what I thought would be a fairly quick tour of a few impressive animals. How wrong I was. 6 hours later, I had seen polar bears, brown bears, Canadian wolves, tree frogs, basically any animal you can name and I saw it today. There was even a massive aquarium to look round. Although this may seem like a strange thing to do, I really enjoyed my day and especially appreciated the freedom that the animals were given, as compared to many zoos I have visited. I even treated myself to some tasty noodles and homemade lemonade on the way home.
This evening, I think I will see what's happening in the hostel and surrounding areas before hitting the hay, as a full day in the glorious sunshine looking at animals has really taken it out of me.
Plans for tomorrow are to get myself down to Potsdamer Platz to check out the Holocaust memorial, followed by a trip to Checkpoint Charlie and a visit to some of Berlin's many gardens. To top it all off, I think it would be rude if I didn't finish the day with a wurst and a beer. Next stop, Warsaw!
Last night, I got but 5 hours sleep, probably due to excitement and perhaps a little dehydration, remedied with a good few litres of water. I started the day by exploring the centre of Berlin, stopping at the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin Cathedral and many other things that caught my beady eye.
My first impression of Berlin is that it is so huge and full of buildings. Sounds like a strange thing to say, but as a chick who's just spent 7 months in rural France, it was something of a culture shock. Another thing which occurred to me is how much awesome stuff the Germans can lay claim to. Perusing the vast amount of shops in the city centre just proves this. There's an entire shop devoted to Nivea.
In the afternoon, I had good intentions to do some serious cultural investigations, much like in the morning, and set out on the train. Unfortunaly my straight laced intentions were dashed rather, when I spied with my little eye a zoo, and an elephant casually strolling around in its enclosure. As a lover of all animals, I couldn't resist and popped inside for what I thought would be a fairly quick tour of a few impressive animals. How wrong I was. 6 hours later, I had seen polar bears, brown bears, Canadian wolves, tree frogs, basically any animal you can name and I saw it today. There was even a massive aquarium to look round. Although this may seem like a strange thing to do, I really enjoyed my day and especially appreciated the freedom that the animals were given, as compared to many zoos I have visited. I even treated myself to some tasty noodles and homemade lemonade on the way home.
This evening, I think I will see what's happening in the hostel and surrounding areas before hitting the hay, as a full day in the glorious sunshine looking at animals has really taken it out of me.
Plans for tomorrow are to get myself down to Potsdamer Platz to check out the Holocaust memorial, followed by a trip to Checkpoint Charlie and a visit to some of Berlin's many gardens. To top it all off, I think it would be rude if I didn't finish the day with a wurst and a beer. Next stop, Warsaw!
Wednesday 24 April 2013
Safe and sound
Evening all,
Just thought I would let you all know that I have safely arrived in Berlin, despite a long 8 hour journey, complete with suspicious airport staff who decided that I was worthy of a phone swabbing.
After my plane journey from Luton (aka shithole) to Berlin, I was then greeted by an hour's train ride to arrive at my hostel. Pretty sure I screwed the train ride up because it was only supposed to last a measly 25 minutes. Typical Ms. Wilkinson. I say Ms because it seems so awfully pretentious and I figure that whilst I'm out here, I can pretend to be whoever I like. Game is on to invent the wildest story.
Plans for this evening? A chilled beer and then bed methinks, unless a better offer throws itself my way. Frankly though, I'm exhausted.
Clearly too old for this shit.
Just thought I would let you all know that I have safely arrived in Berlin, despite a long 8 hour journey, complete with suspicious airport staff who decided that I was worthy of a phone swabbing.
After my plane journey from Luton (aka shithole) to Berlin, I was then greeted by an hour's train ride to arrive at my hostel. Pretty sure I screwed the train ride up because it was only supposed to last a measly 25 minutes. Typical Ms. Wilkinson. I say Ms because it seems so awfully pretentious and I figure that whilst I'm out here, I can pretend to be whoever I like. Game is on to invent the wildest story.
Plans for this evening? A chilled beer and then bed methinks, unless a better offer throws itself my way. Frankly though, I'm exhausted.
Clearly too old for this shit.
Tuesday 23 April 2013
Pre-departure nerves
I decided that since I'm having a new adventure, a new blog was in order.
As most of you know, I'm off on a 3 week adventure round Eastern Europe, thanks to my recently purchased inter-rail ticket.
My itinerary is as follows;
Berlin
Warsaw
Krakow
Budapest
Zagreb
Ljubljana
Salzburg
Munich
I feel a bit insane to be leaving the country again, since it was such a relief to hit home soil, but I know that the next 23 days will be an amazing experience for me.
There's not much more to say, except that this little bad boy is going to be my life support for the time that I'm out there;
As most of you know, I'm off on a 3 week adventure round Eastern Europe, thanks to my recently purchased inter-rail ticket.
My itinerary is as follows;
Berlin
Warsaw
Krakow
Budapest
Zagreb
Ljubljana
Salzburg
Munich
I feel a bit insane to be leaving the country again, since it was such a relief to hit home soil, but I know that the next 23 days will be an amazing experience for me.
There's not much more to say, except that this little bad boy is going to be my life support for the time that I'm out there;
So I'll save the next words until I'm out of the country and the fun has begun.
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