cemeteries,
museums,
Palmiry,
Pawiak,
Poland,
Szucha,
Warsaw Uprising
Szucha, Palmiry, and Pawiak
12:04 AMI owe this guy (see link below) a huge thank you for my dinner. Used a spoon, opened that darn can.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE3vMNwj7FQ
Too bad it wasn't that satisfying in terms of taste. You know; the not so great flavor and all. Actually. It was only slightly above the level of "Bad." But I had just worked so hard to open the can! My wrist bruise little red spot that doesn't actually hurt will tell you so.
http://www.zacheta.art.pl/page/view/55/wydarzenia-wyklady-spotkania |
1. Yes lady, I'm giving you 100zł for a 12.55 total. I need to beef up my coin collection. I apologized profusely, and I know you just hate the need to count.
1.a. Keep lots of coins/change on your person.
1.b. Coins are a must.
1.c. Don't be afraid to anger the cashiers once in a while. You need the change.
Gallery,
National Museum,
Night of Museums,
Poland,
Warsaw
Noc Muzeów (and the day that kind of happened)
12:28 AMSaturday in Warsaw was Night of Museums. It's a night when every museum is open free to the public, with special exhibitions, concerts, meetings, etc. It's wonderful, but someone didn't think it through that by offering hundreds of options, many might become overwhelmed with having to choose just a few. Luckily for me, I felt obligated to attend Zachęta, seeing as it's my current employer and I need to be in their good graces, still.
So I haven't really gotten into a good food pattern, my back isn't happy with the bed that has a huge crevice down the middle (basically a couch folded out), and my sleep isn't really normal, either. But things are settling down, and I went for a really nice walk and evening snacks with a girl from work yesterday. Her boyfriend works on a boat that is on the Wisła where you can buy good drinks and delicious, affordable food. It was really nice (until the mosquitos came out from where ever their devilish horde was hiding and attacked my feet).
My good friend Jože came to visit me in Warsaw for the afternoon (I was running to the station because the gallery decided to give me an armful of work just before I needed to leave). He was in Poland with a student group from Slovenia, and took a train up from Kraków for a few hours. We didn't have much time to meet but it was still fun and a nice break. It felt good to speak English at a normal speed, too.
After giving in on Monday night and finishing the bread and ham sandwich, and consequently feeling slightly "icky" for having eaten a tad too much butter (which is already 100% more than the 0% of butter I usually eat) I am determined to find a better easy-food alternative. At least I had the will-power to reserve the jug-sized (I exaggerate, sort of) yogurt for breakfast. (By the way, mom, on the yogurt container zbóż means grain; and the butter was supposed to be lower in fat, I think...) However, I've lost some weight already and my clothes don't really fit (those of you who have traveled with me on the "Lara travel diet" will understand), so I could stand to have a tad bit of unhealthy-ness in my meals right now.
I had the morning free before a meeting, so I planned to go to the Chopin Museum. It seems as though the lobby cleaning process at 8am will be my alarm clock during my stay. At least students seem to (relatively-so) respect the quiet hours policies.
With a free afternoon to myself, I wandered to the two major sights in Warsaw: Łazienki Park and Stare Miasto. I used to think I was good with direction. Not so much anymore. I also got frustrated by a failed attempt to buy a 3-day bus pass. I went through the whole process at a ticket machine. Got it paid for, and got the receipt printed. But. Where's the ticket? Oh, you know, it just didn't PRINT. So I have a receipt but no ticket. I might as well have eaten the $5, as it may have provided more nutrition that way. And the kiosk nearby was closed, probably because it's Sunday, with nobody around to ask for help. So I did what any normal person would do in a frustrated moment, and walked into a used bookstore and bought some books. And a Gofry z bitą śmietaną (aka a waffle with tons of whipped cream).
But anyway, back to the journey, ignoring all the times I got lost.
I've arrived in Warsaw! It's my fourth trip to Poland, and for the first time, I'm going to actually get to know its capitol city! I landed Friday afternoon after a relatively sleepless trip. But I managed to stay awake until 21:30 after eating some decent spaghetti and going for a walk. I haven't yet broken out my nice camera, but I snapped a few pictures on my iPod. So far, the strangest thing is how much like America this city has become. Prices and portions are pretty much the same. It's still odd when I see young people passing and then hear them speaking Polish and not English. In terms of my Polish, it's a smattering right now. I was so exhausted yesterday it came out along the lines of Slavic-word-vomit. I don't think that will stay the case but it might take a while. Luckily, the people I'm staying with for the weekend aren't English-speaking aficionados, so sometimes Polish is the only option!