I thought a lot today about doing something special to recognize this day full of anniversaries, but I was uncertain as to what seemed best... I guess just being in Poland is a way to recognize how important my Mom and Dziadzi (Polish for grandfather - but a "cutened" version - and mine, sadly, died on this day) are to me.
Today, I met my Polish/Ukranian buddy Natasza at the Metro - she was with her nice friend, Iga. The three of us went to the Warsaw Rising Museum: http://www.1944.pl/en/
It was AMAZING. Maybe one of the best museums I have ever visited. It is free on Sundays, which made it very crowded. There is a 3D video of how destroyed Warsaw was, which cost extra to see, so maybe I will return on another Sunday to watch it. I would easily go back. There is a lot to see and it is a very interactive museum. I loved reading information and seeing artifacts. There is a big plane inside and fake bunkers. I learned a lot and it made me feel proud of all of the people who participated. The sound effects were even surprising; I heard marching, a heart beating, and other sounds throughout the museum. After looking around, the three of us parted ways since my buddy has a lot of work to do and her friend is leaving for a trip around Asia soon - which sounded exciting.
The paper handed out in the printing room & the sticker we are given when entering
Close-up if the paper
The rest of the paper
They have the day calendar sheets for important days of the Uprising. I chose two special days. ;)
September 28th & October 3rd ;)
Close-up of September 28th
The back of September 28th
October 3rd
Back of October 3rd
Some info sheets that are available throughout the museum
I decided just to do more exploration since I was not sure exactly where to go next and thought maybe just to see where my feet took me and what I might see along the way.
... Is it crass if I put this up?
A restaurant that I want to try
It is near a park/garden in a little strip-mall-like building with other small cafes and restaurants
Polish Radio; I also saw Polish Television
Money goose lays golden eggs... Happy Birthday, Mom. ;)
KB
I ended up riding buses to the Galeria Mokotow Mall and back. :-P I tend to end up at the mall when it becomes cold and I don't want to head back just yet.
So... why aren't you here yet, Mom? ;)
This mall has more than one of these bakeries alone (different places/companies)
A neat hamburger (and other food) stand at the mall; there is a "Real People, Real Food" (I think that was it) slogan; reminded me a bit of IKEA food
Hard to see, but this is a Pizza Hut. Yeah.
The grocery store at this mall has the better of the sweet potatoes I have found, plus a direct bus route to my dorm, which is why I tend to end up here. :-P It is a great mall, so I cannot choose between this and the other mall I have been to, but instead I would rather keep going and even check out other shopping places. :)
Now I am relaxing (my buddy even asked me after the museum why I was sad - I guess my face looked that way - and I said oh no, just tired. :-P I practiced some speaking and understanding of Polish with the girls, but I am working on it. They asked me why I came to Warsaw in the winter, but I hear New York and Connecticut were hit more with snow, so maybe I will take my cold and public transport. I had to come to Poland and this is what Fairfield offered. I know now that Spring over Fall Semester was a good choice as well.) I will look more through my "Do It In Warsaw" book since it is becoming dark out already. I hear the weather will stay cold for a bit longer, but while I was out the sun decided to join me. :) I was grateful. It also was not too cold; Friday was the worst recently.
Once again, Sto Lat (100 Years), Mamo (Mom)! :-D I wish you were here. That way you could have nice Polish desserts instead of me being there. :-P
Today I was feeling tired this morning, so I thought the best time to head out would be after a quick lunch around noon. I headed towards city center, with an intent to go to the National Museum and a multimedia store, Traffic Club, as two of the main places to visit. I ended up passing by Traffic first, so I headed inside. http://www.traffic-club.pl/
The store is really cool; the outside I wanted to take pictures of (but did not) because the side I came from had a lot of paintings of people along the wall. The inside has several levels and it is really pretty (colored Church-window-like glass, staircases, lights, music playing, chairs) with tons of books, music, DVDs (I saw Dexter on DVD), and even a cafe. I am pretty sure I heard a Star Wars birthday party on the top floor with a moving R2D2. I found a Warsaw travel book that Gosia has and I thought was neat, so now I have my own copy. :) I REALLY like this store, Empik, and American Bookstore. I am glad books in English are easy to find. This one is in English and Polish and I will be looking at it more in-depth soon:
Looked through it at the store, but decided to just buy it and take it with me instead :-P
I decided to go to the National Museum today (student discount price that will be reimbursed eventually), which was great. It is something I would more recommend for people with longer stays in Warsaw, such as local residents and people who come to the city a lot, or people who really enjoy museums. The reason for this is that it takes some time to see everything inside - which is fairly easy to navigate through, but not an amazing layout since I was always wondering if I missed something or was retracing my steps. All-in-all, there were a lot of amazing artworks and artifacts. I loved the mix of ancient pieces from Egypt with very Christian pieces from Poland and Italy with the more modern works of the 20th Century. It was a great museum and just made me wonder how it would be to live in different time periods. I also saw progress in terms of skill and quality of the pieces. There were paintings that I wish I could climb into or know more about. Several were religious and so many would be amazing to buy and put up somewhere important in your home to look at whenever. It was nice how much care goes into the upkeep of all of the pieces. There was a person in every room to look over the works - probably in case someone tried to steal or damage something. There was a temporary exhibit that had really neat pieces (including not just art, but furniture, silverware, and other items) of mod-art from the 1950s to 1980s. I even saw some classic E. Wedel candy boxes and wrappers. I saw a lot of porcelain China, Polish stoneware and other pottery, gold, silver, elaborate wood pieces and furniture, marble, glass, sculptures/busts, and other items from various time periods. There was a lot themed around Jesus' crucifixion, which I am not sure would be that appropriate for the several young children I saw at the museum. :-/ (I saw a LOT of pregnant women today as well. :-P) It was very quiet and respectful inside the museum, so it did not seem as though photography would be allowed and I chose to simply walk, look, and admire instead. It made me wish I could be a muse, haha. Or hire someone to do a portrait of someone I know as a gift, the way people might have before. A lot of the art was done by Polish artists, which was cool. I saw some 18th century clothes and furniture that were beautiful. I really enjoyed all of the great artwork, some as big as the wall of a room or bigger. The museum also has a cute shop with a lot of art books, both Polish and other artists. I especially liked a painting of Nowy Swiat street and another showing near the Zamek, both from centuries ago. There was a neat section with a mummy and mummy tombs/coffins and hieroglyphics.
Museum: http://www.mnw.art.pl/index.php/en/
The current modern-art exhibit: http://www.mnw.art.pl/index.php/en/temporary_exhibitions/exhibitions/art58.html
After that, I was not sure where to go since it was later in the afternoon. I ended up going to the Arkadia Mall for a bit (saw it when it was dark enough for the lights to come on and it was VERY pretty). I bought some water at Carrefour - it is "lekko gazowana," which means it is lighly carbonated. I headed back after that (since it was darkening out I could see some of the lights on, such as the ones shining on the Palace of Culture & Science - more pretty views ;) ) and now I am resting a bit since I am a quite tired and now that it is dark out, I am sure it is not too warm anymore, but luckily it was warmer than yesterday. The sun was even out. :) Tomorrow will include the Warsaw Rising Museum and other fun. :) Now it is time for relaxing and Polish homework.
So, today I was pretty tired this morning and was very tempted to spend more time sleeping and relaxing, but the sunshine outside my window and the fact that I have Fridays off were encouraging enough to bring me out of bed and into the shower to ready myself for the day. I have so much to see and to do - many of these items jotted down on a list - but I mostly just explored and wandered around today. I saw many monuments and some places I had already seen (a lot of Nowe and Stare Miasto). I went into a church where Chopin used to play music for services. The outside was pretty modest, but the inside? Oh my. It was pretty ornate - chandeliers, rugs, portraits. Roman Catholic Poles know how to make a church. I also saw a violinist by a Metro stop rather than the usual accordian players or the time a guy had some weird machine to make some techno beats. I thought I might go to a museum, but the weather was pretty "warm" for a while... So I ended up just wandering around without using the map much and ended up doing more roaming and observing. I saw the other side of the Krasinski Palace, many church and other building exteriors (University of Warsaw, Zamek Krolewskie, etc.). Just learning about the layout and look of the city in general by foot.
Walked by a French bakery with croissants in the window on a rotating warmer
Mikolaj Kopernik AKA Copernicus
This is near the statue - since it sits in his square. It is also near a KFC, which hurt me.
OK, so I did not want to go all the way down the street, but there is a building in the center where the specific Wedel Chocolate Lounge is that I went to earlier this week (there is more than one); the roof has a man riding a zebra while holding a giant chocolate bar - I pointed it out that night during our walk to the lounge. Yes, weird. ;)
Potato pancake - and other items - stand across from the main post office
Who knows? Maybe he or she can tell me.
I ended up at Goodies after hearing a couple of others from my program had gone before. I checked out the menu beforehand, which has certain cupcakes on certain days, and thought a cinnamon and apple cupcake was something I could be interested in trying (available Monday, Wednesday, Friday).
Display at Goodies
How Goodies looks inside - image from its website
Cinnamon-y cake - with a little filling similar to apple pie filling - and cinnamon-y frosting
Goodies: http://www.goodies.pl/
The experience buying the cupcake was interesting... I said one cinnamon [in Polish] and the guy said something, which I thought was maybe something about wanting more and I said only one and, in English, he said, "I asked if you want a bag." And I replied, "OH, thanks, yes" [in Polish]. Yes, I still feel silly/dumb/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. The only sad excuse I have is the speed at which he asked. Does that mean he was somehow convinced I was Polish or could speak well-enough? :-P Then he told me the price and I attempted to pay in coin, but the cold made my fingers almost unable to bend at that point, so I basically chucked the amount at him and felt bad. I said thank you [in Polish] and left. :-P Later on, I bought some waters at a small store and my fingers were still funny so that giving and taking money was difficult. Plus, bagging was giving me issues. Blah. I hold up lines. :-/ [I actually made that face while typing].
The cake of the cupcake was hearty - similar to a muffin (which Goodies also makes, but more savory styles), which was interesting because I am used to really soft cupcakes, which are not so easy to eat sometimes. So I kind of liked the change. The frosting was very light and fluffy with a cinnamon-y flavor as well, but not too strong and more on the lighter side. It was neat to have my first Polish cupcake. The textures were almost opposite since a lot of cupcakes in the US have soft cake, hard frosting. It also was not very sweet and more about flavor than straight-up sugar.
Polish bakery - for my Mom - since they are all over
Ice cream scoops made of balloons :-P
Too cold for ice cream/sorbet/fro yo today :-/
I usually head out as early as I can - today after lunch - so that I can have the warmest and sunniest part of the day to be outside (plus use public transportation). I then head back inside to the dorms between 3 and 5 PM since being out after dark is easier with other people when you are not the only cold sufferer and there is a specific point to being outside (such as a location or event). I leave wandering for daylight hours. It is the opposite of a vampire schedule. I have been talked at on the street before - I assume about petitions or directions or begging for money/food/etc. - but I tend to say I don't know/understand/speak Polish well. Not knowing the language too strongly helps with avoiding what sometimes should be avoided. :-P
Not sure if I will do anything tonight other than catching up on US TV, homework, reading, and event planning. Right now I know that I may go to the Warsaw Rising Museum with my Polish buddy on Sunday afternoon - when admission is free. I will look over my list some more and decide what else might be fun to do/see the next couple of days. I am glad to see that temperatures should be rising as the week goes along.
Luckily today was not quite as cold, but I still was not up for doing much since I did laundry (took FOREVER) between the library tour and literature class; the teacher is really nice and knowledgeable. It is always admirable to have extremely well-educated teachers; these ones are basically fluent in at least Polish and English, but most know more. Ahh, I wish I were a polyglot. :-P I think I am still not too old to try a bit more language education. ;) My politics professor said he began learning English around the age of thirty, so that gives me a glimmer of hope.
I was wondering when the day would come that at least one of the woman at the front desk would recognize me (there are at least two or three and I've seen a guy) so that I would not have to take out my residence card every time I entered; I think that day has come. The woman I have seen the most nodded in recognition as I took out the card on the way back from class (she had seen me a bit when retrieving the laundry room key several times hours before). Maybe I will not have to take the card out eventually. :-P
Tonight I looked over most of the maps and info booklets I have about Warsaw. I will probably stay here again this weekend, so I made a more coherent list of the TONS of places I have yet to see. My map is looking pretty rough from the amount of usage it has had. I like to think that as others on my program are anxiously booking trips to different places - mostly outside of Poland - I am okay with not going all over Europe this time around. My main focus is being in Poland and as I am in Warsaw, I really want to savor and admire this city more than simply taste it and other locations. I want to make sure that I leave and have done as much as possible and really experienced the city and as much of the country as possible. If I do not have a chance to travel outside of Poland to other important places around Europe very much, then I will not be heartbroken. I see myself as more of a temporary resident of Poland and an admirer of my surroundings than someone who just wants to be a brief tourist in several places. While others I know are jumping around, I think I am gaining more of a feel for the city. I know that opportunities to come to this continent may or may not happen too frequently, but the same goes for this country in particular. Now I just need to work on my Polish a bit more. :-P Of course, I want to go to so many places around the world - it is more where would I NOT go than where would I go. However, I am more dedicated to certain places for these few months and I know that I want to always make traveling an important component in my life. Here's to hoping many returns and many new arrivals.
I like to fancy myself as one who really wants to see a place when she goes. One of the issues I have about cruising is that it spends only a few hours at each port; to me, this does not give quite as much of an opportunity to really explore the location. I like looking at maps and walking/wandering around to see as much as possible. That is why I was glad to come for an entire semester because I felt that the brief two-week period I had here in Poland last time was, sadly, too short.
The weekend has begun; I am now just going over what I plan to do with these three days. :) Some places to visit include the Jewish Historical Institute, the Literary Museum, the National Museum, the Warsaw Uprising Museum, and so much more from which to choose.
FYI: I guess the shot I had last night was part of rounds of Kamikaze shots.
Recent peculiar sightings include an icicle almost the entire length of a building roof-to-ground; might be the longest one I have ever seen and it was quite pointy-looking. I also saw some people who started a fire in what I think was a garbarge can by a Metro stop. I am also a terrible abuser of the express self-checkout at groceries. The DIY registers are more for people with 15 items or fewer, but I quite enjoy scanning my items. I do this in the US, too, but I have only been stopped once when I went shopping last weekend, haha. :-P Lucikly, I was not stopped yesterday. ;)
Last night was a special celebration for someone on the program celebrating her big 21st. It began with a trip to an E. Wedel chocolate lounge (http://www.wedelpijalnie.pl/english/home/204). Some girls bought leis and those ribbon-things you blow at birthday parties; the birthday girl wore a tiara and a bead necklace with a plastic cup on it that said "birthday girl." There also was a wand that was abused (lost at least one plastic gem) - used for "magic," blessing, and spanking. A bit S&M. :-P I had Willy Wonka songs and visions on my way to the lounge, even though we didn't go near the factory (it's on the other side of the river and, like Wonka, does not have tours, just a factory store I have been recommended to go to. This has led me to make numerous "golden ticket" jokes. When that day comes, my Mom will be gifted several Ptasie Mleczko and I may try Pawelek and other Wedel treats. :-P)
This won't embed: :( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ-uV72pQKI
This one does embed: :-D
I learned that I may be the only person on the program who likes water "gazowana" (carbonated) - but I didn't really drink it last time I was in Poland. There were a lot of interesting selections from the menu chosen by the group. Most people ordered the hot drinking chocolates of various varieties and flavors, while others ordered chocolate fondues with dippers; a kid dessert with a cup and spoon made of chocolate while the cup is filled with whipped cream, raspberries, and raspberry syrup; sundaes; turkey sandwiches; fruit-filled chocolate crepes; and I had a scoop of raspberry sorbet with fruit (kiwi, cherries, melon balls), whipped cream, chocolate shavings, a waffle cookie, and a square of chocolate.
My dessert and water, gazowana
"Proof of Love" or "In Evidence of Love"
Vintage! Notice the Ptasie Mleczko and the fact that I turned on my flash. ;)
A bigger shot, for my Mamo :-D
The specific lounge we went to was very cute. It was big and the waiting staff wore Victorian outfits; the girls looked similar to English maids. There were portraits and chandeliers; it was as if we were in a candy shop mixed with a parlor. It has been super cold outside, but nice and warm in there. ;)
We hung out at the lounge for a while and then headed to SGH's student club, PARK: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klub_Park
On the way there, I was nearly eaten by tram doors and could potentially have tumbled down to unknown demise and pain, but landed on my feet with the only harm being my foot was grabbed (not painfully) as the doors were prematurely shut (they were open all of ten seconds... so I was exiting and people with me were trying to exit as well, so it must have been the trams fault). I was so glad that there was no harm done, I crossed myself and was so shocked. The club had free beer (Krolewskie - basically dirty faucet water with no flavor and then not a great one once it does taste of something; it is very watery and people drink it only since it is free and they want to be drunk; people spend money on others drinks or to add raspberry syrup to it). I had some sips of beer since I was pushed to do so and I had one shot of a round someone bought since I didn't have to pay for it (it was actually a pretty color blue, had a light and decent scent, and a pretty good taste). I don't think I have had much alcohol nor have I paid for any really (unless you count the entrance fee to this club). There were a ton of people and a lot of smoking, so I smelled GREAT when I left. :-P It was fun being with some program people and buddies and other students. It was slightly too loud to do too much conversing, which is one of my issues with talking at clubs; if music is loud, dance and drink. Want to chat? I'd rather be elsewhere, thanks. I guess I am not too much of a club person, but it could also be other factors - people, place, music, etc. It is especially tough going out when it is so cold. :-/ I always end up with "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths in my head... if you know the lyrics, then you can figure it out if so desired. It is also fun going back to the dorm after the front door is locked and you have to call in and I asked the woman answerer to please open the door in Polish. By that time my nose was running and my extremities were stinging, which means they were shortly before the point of loss of feeling. :-/
This morning some of the group went on a tour of the library - it is really nice and extensive content-wise. Now I am doing... laundry. :-/ Just one class later then WEEKEND. ;)
Not much going on today. Polish class was informational and interesting as usual and the weather is pretty good since the sky is blue and the sun is out; it seems warmer than the last few days, but maybe the sunshine is playing tricks on me. :-P I even did my first reimbursements today. The assistant director gave me money from buying dorm supplies that I will leave for future CIEE students (mostly kitchen-related) and money from cultural activities - Chopin and Curie museum tickets (the supplies do not count against the 300 or so zloty we are each given to spend on activities and some transportation in Poland).
I only have one longer Polish lesson on Wednesdays, so after class ended I went to Galeria Mokotow because it is one of the malls that has buses traveling from there directly to my dorm. I figured out a tram that goes from my school to the mall and then there are two buses that go from the mall to my dorm. At the mall, I only went to Empik and Carrefour (I might check out TESCO sometime for groceries since my Polish/Ukranian buddy seemed to sound more favorable towards TESCO and has somehow worked at each). At Empik, I bought a CD; I had been nervous about buying certain electronic items because of a fear of compatability - DVDs need a special European player for example - but I now know CDs are safe. :) I purchased Florence + the Machine's "Between Two Lungs" - the name for a 2-CD version of "Lungs" with extra songs and remixes. Currently putting this onto my iTunes playlist. :-D
My sister Jenn and I are pretty addicted right now. :-P Lucky girl is seeing Florence in concert!
Not much else going on other than a birthday party at a chocolate lounge this evening and one more class tomorrow afternoon before weekend commences. :) I might throw in laundry somewhere and begin some homework - which is mostly just Polish exercises right now (Jewish reading assignment should come sooner-or-later). :)
Also, the pub I went to the other night: http://www.podbarylka.pl/index.php?page=1 The bartender is going to be in a flair competition and my buddy said she went last year and is going again this year if I want to watch.
My literature class is off for today (heard as I was on my way out), so I just have my Jewish class at 5:10.
I may begin the research online now and decide if I will need any specific help from my professor that I could email about or ask him about in-person later. I will look over my schedule and decide for a good time to check out the actual institute (http://www.jewishinstitute.org.pl/en/home/index/0.html). I also need to make time to have a second go-around with the laundry room. :-/ Maybe tomorrow I will wash some clothes before the birthday party one of the girls on the program is having tomorrow at an E. Wedel Chocolate Lounge: http://www.wedelpijalnie.pl/english/our_lounges/warszawa_-_staroswiecki_sklep/226
Another Warsawian restaurant to maybe check out when I want Middle Eastern: http://fenicja.com/
I found a leaflet for it when I was waiting in the main building of SGH yesterday.
This comic made me laugh-in-my-head (it is more of a rarity when I actually LOL). Yoga and walking are what I have been doing here because I have not had a chance to look into fitness or sporting facilities offered in my dorm and at the academic buildings. I may check out the pool sometime, but I don't think I will spend money on a yoga class this semester since Tara Stiles has great ones online (http://www.youtube.com/user/TaraStilesYoga), as do other instructors on YouTube and other health websites.
