Today was a sad return back to winter weather. :-/ It was also quite fickle outside: sun, gray, cold, SNOW (?) - brief blizzards are no fun, "warm," cold wind. I went back to my activity mantra of: "museums and malls."
On my way to Old Town, I had some interesting sights: a parade of people in Centrum (I think it related to Women's Day - Dzien Kobiet - on Tuesday) and more police officers than I have ever seen before by the hotel my parents and grandmother may stay at in May - I think it might be related to football/soccer since there is a field near the hotel... and the officers looked calm (maybe waiting for possible hooligan shenanigans from booze and sports and emotions).
I first decided to go to the Literature Museum since I went yesterday and it was closed. Today, however, I did not have to pay (but admission is only a couple of dollars anyway - that would be reimbursed by Gosia/the program). One floor had a lot of interesting artwork and photography - most of them fairly recent works. The second floor was mainly about the famous Polish Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz. There was a lot of history not only about his life, but also about Poland and other parts of Europe during his lifetime. I saw a lot of portraits of Adam and his friends/acquaintances and his family and other important figures. Plus, there were some of his personal belongings and other pieces (furniture, books, etc.) that would have been present in the period during which he lived. I walked around Old Town a bit - where I saw a lot of tourists (it is now interesting going places and trying to compare people who live here and people who are "just visiting" since I am somewhere in-between the two) and was even approached by a guy outside a church, who handed me a little paper (the same one I took from the Church where Chopin's heart is located) and started giving me some spiel (I remember something about "heart-to-heart") while walking along with me (still in front of the church). Once I said I don't speak Polish very well (after a couple moments of awkward silence), he had had enough of me and took the Jesus pamphlet back so her could move on to others (I think his goal was money). The Old Town area was very busy today (lots of people with cameras). I remember going into one shop - it said it was a "Magic House" shop and seemed mystical from the outside (even having a bilingual sign about being a good shop to stop by in Old Town according to some guide), but was more "antique-y" inside - where someone who works there mentioned a lot of people coming by today. I saw some pins from different Polish cities, but not really of any places I was especially drawn to buying (I had visited only maybe Krakow among them).
After Old Town, I decided to see another "mall." On my way to the Metro, I walked around a few streets and saw more of downtown. I looked for one place recommended by a "local's guide" map, but did not find it at the address... I will have to research that. I also walked by a cafe from that map and a Burberry store and briefly saw another restaurant that I had read about in a Warsaw Insider magazine. I had to ride a bus with a SHRIEKING and CRYING little girl. Every time I have an internal monologue complaining about kids who act this way I begin to wonder if my children will be the types to make scenes in public. It would be a punishment for complaining about it, but I do tend to keep it inside until the family is out of earshot if I say anything aloud at all... I could still hear the kid from the sidewalk when I left the bus.
I saw on a map that one "mall" is very close to one of the Metro stops. It was a strange mall with not that much to it and was almost an updated Hala Mirowska. :-P It had a Vietnamese restaurant that could be good and a Rossman (Walgreens/Rite-Aid - almost said Eckerd...) among its small selection (seemed mostly personally-owned shops and a couple cafes). So, since I was closer to Kabaty (the last Metro stop south), I decided to check out TESCO (right next to this stop) because I had probably been the only one in my group who had not already seen it. It was similar to Wal-Mart and Tops or Stop-N-Shop and the Auchan I went to in Legnica, Poland (not as good as Whole Foods or Wegmans). It had a grocery store similar to any in the US and also had some extra shops in the front - an Empik store, an Empik Outlet (which looked interesting with many marked-down goods), the market/food court area that is present in a lot of grocery stores, and some other small services and shops. I seem to have become a store/mall/grocery critic lately. :-P I guess some positives about this store include free carts, free plastic bags, and decent selection of items. Negatives include not having anything special that would make me come to this specific store since a lot of items I could find at small stores and Carrefour closer to me and the lack of self-checkout (I'm an addict). Oh, and there's the fact that some creepy, dirty, bloody guy came up to me and said something about bread (from what I could understand of his Polish mumbling). I looked at him, saw the blood and his face in genral, and eased away without saying a word. I see blood, I go. There were a lot of people around me and also the liquor section nearby, which this fellow headed into and then began talking to some guy inside (maybe this time wanting something else...). Not sure I would go back here, even for free carts and bags. :-P
Also, just had my first Skype session since coming to Poland. :-D Too bad the Internet has been strange lately... it goes in and out sometimes and can be tricky with reloading or restarting or putting in passwords several times. :-/ We had to switch to phone more than once. I also have a recent knack for losing mittens, the same as the three little kittens except they found theirs and I am not sure I will have such luck. :-P Back to the weird pair for a couple of days.
Today's pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60142466@N03/sets/72157626210981580/
No comments:
Post a Comment