Great Blog

Quick note to talk about a blog I just heard about that is written by some English students in Poland, there to check out the country before the EURO Cup in 2012:
http://misja21.blox.pl

Blog Description:
"Gazeta Wyborcza", the country's leading daily, has invited journalism students from City University London to visit 21 biggest cities in Poland and determine whether they are ready to host the UEFA EURO 2012 championships. What is it like for foreigners to meet Polish people? Are any of the common stereotypes actually true? Here is our editorial project, Mission 21.

I think this is a fantastic resource because of how expansive it is; I did not have a chance to visit many of the cities that these bloggers have gone to, such as Opole and Szczecin. And there is a lot of great information on food, activities, and sites to see around the country.

Polish Favorites: Tourism around Poland

First, I will give general information of cities I would recommend seeing before giving more detailed thoughts on Warsaw, where I spent the most time and saw more tourist spots.

Other than Warsaw
1. Tri-City (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot)
This area was a big favorite with many others on my program. Gdansk has a lot to see and to do: Solidarity Museum, the famous shipyards, Old Town area, and historic sites (meeting halls, monuments/statues, churches, etc.). Gdynia is a very green-looking area and has more famous places and monuments, important to WWII history of the area. Sopot is just a very pretty, yet sometimes expensive, seaside town. It reminded me of resort towns/cities in the US, such as Atlantic City. It has a beautiful boardwalk and a bustling little area on the shore with hotels, shops, and restaurants. It was nice to come here to see the great Baltic Sea.

2. Wroclaw
I swear, whenever I mentioned going to or having been in Wroclaw, the Polish people I would be talking to would not stop praising the city as their favorite or somewhere they were dying to visit. The Americans on my program tended to overlook this city - except for one girl who may have visited after the program ended and the students who would ask me about my thoughts on Wroclaw when I spoke of it - but anyone I knew who was Polish or had a chance to go were only positive about it (which was uncommon for most places, since there were usually good and bad comments about anywhere from Warsaw to Krakow). Not exactly sure what I recommend most, except maybe the Panorama Raclawicka (http://www.panoramaraclawicka.pl/en/what_to_see.html) and walking around the city and over its many bridges (especially seeing Old Town and the Rynek). I also hear the zoo is pretty great.

3. Krakow (Nearby: Auschwitz & Wieliczka Salt Mine)
Visiting Krakow is not a one-day event; it really does need a few days to see a better amount of the city and some sites nearby. Krakow has its Old Town with the amazing Rynek, which houses the famous Sukiennice, churches, and tons of stores and cafes/restaurants. There is also Wawel (cathedral with royal tombs and castle), the newly-opened Schindler Factory Museum, Nowa Huta (for Social-Realist architecture), other churches, Kazimierz (former Jewish district that now has synagogues, hip galleries and cafes, plus the best zapiekanki in town - so I've heard), Jagiellonian University (such as the library and Collegium Maius), monuments (Battle of Grunwald Monument and Kosciuszko's Mound), St. Florian's Gate, the Planty (park with walkway around Old Town), and many other museums (I heard the Ethnography Museum is good).  For trips outside the city that are not too far of a bus or car ride away, my main recommendations are Auschwitz in Oswiecim [http://en.auschwitz.org.pl/m/] and Wieliczka Salt Mine (very popular with the other American students, who licked everything, which is allowed) [http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?id_language=2].

4. Honorable Mentions
For a few hours or if there is a lot of time to visit around Poland: Lodz (I recommend Manufaktura [http://www.manufaktura.com/EN/HomePage/Default.aspx] and walking along Piotrkowksa Street), Poznan (did not have much time there, but the Stary Browar [http://www.starybrowar5050.com/en/miejsce/idea] and Old Town's Rynek are great), Torun (see the birthplace of Copernicus and the university named in his honor, plus walk around the pretty brick Old Town, see the leaning tower, and maybe try some fresh piernik (gingerbread) - there is even a museum for it where visitors can make their own; I also walked the bridge connecting one side of the city to the other, not by choice but it was still a nice way to say "hello" and "goodbye"), Lublin, Legnica, Malbork Castle (on the way to or from the Tri-City area)

5. Places I would go
Some places I would see if I had more time (and may see in the future one day): Rzeszow, Bialystok, more of the Baltic Coast, more of Poznan, Białowieża National Park, Zakopane/Tatra Mountain Region, Zamosc, Gniezno

Be Our Guest: Polish Food Favorities

Thought I would give some information about some restaurants and foods I liked while in Poland... It's my extended "Best Thing I Ever Ate..." in Poland edition.

FYI: ** Means I like it a lot. :)

1. Chains (Polish or International)

-Dessert: Ice cream, sorbet, chocolate, etc.

• Grycan: this is all over Poland, so should not be too difficult to find in a big city; I prefer sorbet because I like fruit and the displays for all of the ice creams and sorbets are always so pretty here. http://www.grycan.pl/
  
• E. Wedel: there are candies sold all over and then there are the special E. Wedel cafes (pijalnie czekolady - named because they are meant to be places for drinking the chocolate, but foods are also offered at them); thick hot chocolate, chocolate fondues, and other desserts - made right in Warsaw at the Wedel factory in the Praga district.
  http://www.wedel.pl/

-Vegan, vegetarian, salads...

• Salad Story: decent chain of quick-service salads; the menu is decently large and varied; I've had a smoked salmon salad ("Rybaka") there and a few others looked pretty good as well. The prices are inexpensive and this is a fast meal when on the road or at a mall. http://saladstory.pl/
• **Green Way: great VEGETARIAN chain in Poland, yes, a POLISH chain that is meatless. The USA cannot exactly claim its own and Poland beat the US to it. :-P This place has a set menu and daily specials (meals and soups of the day). I have been to several of these in Poland (Toruń, Łódź, ate at two of the three in Warsaw) and know they are cute, fast, tasty, and inexpensive. I LOVE soup and this place had a lot of great soups, many of them being famous Polish soups (sometimes with the same recipe, but with any meat removed if the directions call for it). Some of the best foods I had in Poland were here: zupa grochowka (split pea soup) and krupnik soup. http://greenway.pl/
• **Loving Hut: the only FULLY vegan place in the city, it is part of an international chain of places serving only vegan foods. I strongly recommend the Heavenly Salad; this place is cute, quick, and inexpensive. Plus, it is healthy, animal-product-free, and mostly Asian-inspired dishes. http://lovinghut.waw.pl/

-And there is always Pizza Hut... at least it's much nicer outside the US: http://www.pizzahut.pl/ ;)

2. Non Chains

-Warsaw

• **Malinova: considered the BEST ice cream in Warsaw. The shop is adorable and the place is close to where I lived and my spring semester school. There are rotating flavors and I tend to hear they are either good or amazing, so it seems that anyone wins with whatever is chosen. :) As with Grycan, personally, I go for non-dairy/sorbet and fruity. This place was a favorite among me and my fellow American abroad students.
• **VEGA: not easy to find, but really inexpensive, fast, and tasty. This is another "bar" or quick service lunch spot. I think the soups are pretty good and all of the salads and sides that were made always tasted great (I love me some shredded beets and other "surowki" - sides/salads). http://www.vega-warszawa.pl/index.php
• POLKA: one of the two Magda Gessler restaurants I ended up dining at while in Warsaw. I liked the salad with grilled cheese and tomato sauce. http://www.restauracjapolka.pl/
• **Jumbo Salad: another place that is not so easy to find (it's in an apartment complex neighborhood area, not exactly close to the beaten path since VEGA is at least directly off of a major street), but worth the trouble (sadly, I only went once, but it was pretty close to my area). This is another adorable place with good, fast, inexpensive food. I had a salad with crab meat and vegetables, which was tasty. I wish I had gone again, but I am glad I went at least one time. http://www.jumbosalad.com/
• Giovanni Rubino: I did not go to too many Italian places while in Warsaw, but this is a good choice near Old Town. http://www.giovanni.pl/
• **Literatka: another good choice near Old Town, but this one is mainly Polish food. The outdoor sitting area is very nice when the weather allows (but the inside of the restaurant looks really pretty as well). I really enjoyed the dishes I had on my visit there: fish soup and a salad with sun-dried tomatoes and grilled salmon. http://www.literatka.com.pl/
• **Pod Czerwonym Wieprzem: this is another Polish/Eastern European/Russian restaurant that was well-reviewed by me and others I know who have gone there. It has a neat newspaper menu and the Communist theme is interesting (I loved their website and name-dropped the place a lot before ever going...). I had a tasty meal there of borscht and seasonal salad with grilled chicken and strawberries. This place seems to be pretty memorable and eating outside is recommended if possible. http://www.czerwonywieprz.pl/
• Salad House: another salad bar place with a good-sized menu. This one is similar to Salad Story and Jumbo Salad, but its location is close to city center and the Swietokrzyska Metro station.

-Gdańsk

• Velevetka: This place has dishes that are regional for near the Baltic Sea area and this city in particular. I remember the pickles served to the table were a great combination of sweet and sour. I had a regional (Kashubian) fish soup that had large pieces of salmon in it and was quite tasty. http://www.velevetka.pl/
• **Kresowa: more Polish/Eastern European/Russian cuisine. I drank some clear barszcz (one of the best I had in Poland) and I REALLY liked my main dish: white fish (cannot remember what kind) with cooked, shredded beets on top. Unfortunately, I was with a large group on a busy Restaurant Deal Weekend in the area, so our service was not amazing and we waited a lot, but the food was delicious.

-Kraków

• Da Pietro: good Italian cuisine near the main rynek. I remember having another good fish soup here as well. http://www.dapietro.pl/
• Wesele and Miód Malina: two good Polish restaurants near the rynek (Wesele is in the rynek, but Miód Malina is not too far from it). At Wesele I had a salad with duck meat and was quite surprised at the way duck meat looks and tastes; it was almost as if it were red meat... http://www.weselerestauracja.pl/ and http://www.miodmalina.pl/
• **MOMO: along with many of my favorites in Warsaw, this place is vegetarian/vegan-friendly, with a lot of organic and healthy foods. Plus, it is in a cute little location with great prices, fast service, and a varied (somewhat daily) menu. I had some tasty miso and vegetable soup. Also, I remember having as part of my main dish some zucchini and broccoli in a sauce that was GREAT.
• Horoscope: [http://www.restauracja-horoscope.pl/horoskop.html] I did not eat at the actual restaurant, but ordered my first ever zapiekanka at their to-go window. It was delicious, plus hot and fresh from the oven. Kraków seems to be THE place for zapiekanki, as I also saw (but did not try, though my friends were eating them and offered to give me a bit) a well-known and strongly recommended place called "U Endziora" at Plac Nowy in the Kazimierz district of Kraków. This place may be a little kitchen with a window in a market square, but it also may serve the best zapiekanki in Poland... My friends raved about them as they ate, but they also were a bit under the influence and it was late at night (in Polish, but good pictures: http://prowincjalnawioska.blox.pl/2008/08/Bylam-U-Endziora.html). I encourage the use of garlic sauce, spinach, mushrooms, and chives (but there also could be chicken, bacon, ham, salami, peppers, onions, ketchup, mayonnaise, and other toppings).

-Lublin

• **Mandragora: this is a Jewish restaurant in the main area of Lublin. It was here that I had another fantastic soup, this time a great cabbage soup. Also, I finished off with a warm Israeli drink that had cinnamon and bits of apple. Yum. http://www.mandragora.lublin.pl/

-On the road

• Brovaria (Poznań): great location in the main rynek. I really liked my lunch here: a grilled tuna salad with fruit slices and vegetables. http://www.brovaria.pl/EN-H28.html
• Random food/milk bars (Legnica & road): Now, milk bars are a mixed bag... some are nicer than others in looks and some are better than others in dishes, while at one place alone there could be both great and inedible foods. The price is so cheap that you may be given what you pay for, but it is an experience whether your food turns out well or not... at least the price was not so high that it would be a complete waste of money and time. Give them a chance and they could surprise... and maybe even give a second chance if the first time does not turn out so well. I am a fan of borscht (well, I am a soup lover in general), especially Ukrainian borscht, which I had at a bar on the road and at a restaurant in Legnica. Both were great.
• **Don Giovanni (Legnica): good Italian food in the rynek. I had a grilled salmon salad that was really good and the entire menu looked great. http://www.dongiovanni.legnica.pl/
• **Krotoszyce Palace (near Legnica): gorgeous palace and grounds, commonly used for weddings and other important events. The restaurant is great with a wonderful menu. I really liked my lunch main dish of a green bean salad with sun-dried tomatoes and sliced turkey (usually served with grilled tuna, but the waitress said they were out of tuna or some issue and asked if I could replace it with turkey) http://www.palackrotoszyce.pl/

3. Products

-Eko chipsy: dried apple chips

http://www.bioavena.pl/

-Cisowianka: lekko gazowana (lightly carbonated water)

-Whomus: Hummus

http://www.whomus.pl/

-Sonko: rice cakes/waffles and other crisps

-piernik/gingerbread

4. Street food

-gofry: freshly made waffles with or without toppings. Warm with strawberry jam, that's how I did it. I also would have tried with other jams or with fruit (not really into whipped cream or other syrups and sauces).

-zapiekanki: PLEASE do not eat any ho-hum zapiekanka. Seek quality, which may mean waiting in a line and/or for a fresh zapiekanka to be made for you on REAL baguette bread, toasted in an oven with your toppings of choice (cheese, mushrooms, chicken, etc), with sauce(s) (ketchup, mayonnaise, garlic sauce), and seasoning (chives). I trust certain fresh ones made in Kraków. Go for the real deal, a big and fresh one over the sad wannabes at any gas station or stand.

-kebabs: I am not much of an expert and they are everywhere. It seems there are a lot of good places to go for these and they are common in any city with at least a few people (from big cities to smaller towns). If there is a line waiting for them, then that might be a good indication for taste. I wish I could say more, but I went to a pretty good one in Kraków and I heard of many good ones in Warsaw. I just do not eat much meat, so I had to wait to find a vegetarian version, which means I was not a good judge of where to eat them. Sadly, there are probably a lot more bad or mediocre ones than good ones, but that goes for anything.

-pączki: I am not really a fan of these Polish baked goods (I find it difficult to call them donuts), but this is another item where I stress looking for freshness and quality. Please go to a good, known place where they are warm, soft, and delicious. It does not matter too much about large selection versus no selection over fillings, but what does matter is quality. I know, based on recommendations and Fat Thursday/Pączki Day, that A. Blikle is good (only one filling, but this place is a chain considered to sell the best pączki in Poland) [http://www.blikle.pl/] and Cukiernia Pawłowicz (MANY filling choices from rose jam to chocolate and cherries) in a stand on Chmielna Street in Warsaw.

-cupcakes: recently popular in the US, now becoming very popular in Poland. My first-hand recommendations: Cupcake Corner in Kraków [http://cupcakecorner.pl/], Lola’s Cupcakes in Warsaw [http://www.lolascupcakes.pl/], and Goodies in Warsaw [http://www.goodies.pl/]. All have interesting flavors, fillings, and toppings in cute, little shops.

Polish Favorites: Bookstores

1. Traffic Club, Warsaw (there is at least one other in Wroclaw, but the Warsaw store is pretty epic)

http://www.traffic-club.pl/

Over 4 levels of merchandise

Basement has music and movies, ground has cafe, periodicals, gift items/cards, and some top sellers of music, books, and movies, next two floors have books, and the top floor had a birthday party when I was there once. This place has materials in both Polish and English (the amount of English is not too much, but still very good).

2. Empik, all over Poland (I particularly like the Megastore in Krakow's rynek)
http://www.empik.com/

Ahh, the memory of walking in here and stumbling into the Sephora 5 years ago...

Empik is basically a good Barnes & Noble or Borders (since I think Borders beats BN in the free rewards program and the media area - music and movies - but BN seems better in atmosphere, cafe, and ties for overall and books). However, Empik also advertises and sells tickets for concerts in Poland and offers classes in foreign languages (I know people who take English lessons offered).

3. Massolit, Krakow
http://www.massolit.com/

Want books only in English? Then this place is great. It offers a good selection of Polish authored books translated into English, plus a wide variety of genres (poetry to specific area studies to general literature). I was saddened to leave empty handed, but my list of books to buy did grow. And, yes, there are comfy seats, couches, and a cafe in this two-level store.

4. American Bookstore, all over Poland
http://www.americanbookstore.pl/

Again, only in English. BUT, this one is a chain! There is one on Nowy Swiat in Warsaw, plus several in many malls across the country. Helping English-reading expats and travelers (or those fluent enough in English looking to improve their reading skills) find books easily.

5. Museum Bookstores/Gift shops
Many museums, especially art ones, have great bookstores/gift shops. I was surprised that many had English-language books as well. I remember some cool books at the Zacheta National Art Gallery and the Center for Contemporary Art.

There are definitely many other bookstores that I did not have a chance to see or did not know about. There were also many cities that I visited and did not stop at bookstores. But these are some definite good ones if in need of a book, in Polish or in English. If another language is needed, well... that depends.

Source Code

Have not written since Tuesday, so I have some bits to fill in from the last few days in Krakow. On Wednesday, we went on a trip around Wawel Castle - the royal tombs, rooms full of weaponry (I was pretty interested in the weapons, especially the swords...), the castle itself (where, in one room, people wore period clothes and sang or used archaic instruments to perform a song), and the cathedral. It was really nice, but sadly no pictures were allowed of most of it. :-/ After the tour, I had my first Krakowian pretzel (obwarzanek; it had a mixture of seeds and such on it) and a vegetarian kebab (basically a regular kebab without meat or cheese or falafel - so lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, tahini-like sauce in a roll). I walked around the city a bit (including going back to a famous store for my family - a deli in the rynek that has candies on one wall and alcohol on the other). For dinner, I went to a place called MOMO (it is an eco vegetarian bar), where I had a miso soup with mixed vegetables and a plate with rice, beans and onions in a sauce, spinach and tofu, and zucchini and broccoli in a sauce (the best of the three; I liked it a lot). After dinner, we all met up for a string concert at a church near the hotel. The music included pieces by Handel, Vivaldi, Chopin, and Mozart. It was really nice. On Thursday, I went out for a walk and saw a monument for a famous Polish battle and then walked a bit at a mall and around the city before taking our group bus to Oswiecim/Auschwitz. This second time at the death camp, for me, was interesting since last time I did not watch the video shown to tourists. We also had two great guides - the one from the museum and our program director (who had previously worked as a guide at the camp years ago as a summer job when still at university). I learned a lot more and had another chance to look at the camp. I did not mind going again to experience it with different people and to learn some new or additional information. Thursday night included a little going out at night to dance and to see the city when it's dark. :-P On Friday, we went on a tour of Kazimierz, the Jewish area of Krakow. The tour included a few synagogues and a cemetery (I also saw a more recent Jewish cemetery later on after I went to the nearby mall). After the mall, we all met up at the restaurant at our hotel (http://www.podwawelem.eu/), where I had some barszcz with dumplings and an oriental salad with shrimp, before catching a train ride back to Warsaw. Since then I have been relaxing since I have more "travel lag" with fatigue and aching muscles. This has led to 24 hours of nothing. I have some schoolwork to accomplish and I am in the middle of catching up on TV shows and movies I have been meaning to see or missed recently. The weather today and tomorrow are not the best for going outside a lot, so at least I do not have to feel very guilty about not leaving much. School starts again on Monday for our final two weeks!

Photos added: http://photobucket.com/kab1221

Young Blood

Happy 3rd of May Constitution Day! :-D Sadly, this meant a lot of places were closed, but not too many. And, it did mean wonderful celebration and decoration with many people and Polish flags around.

Today was the FUN trip to the salt mine. Because of no traffic, the bus ride was really fast and our group had a private English tour (lots of licking, lots of salt...). The mines were amazing. There is so much to see: statues made of salt or wood, several chapels, chandeliers, and all sorts of passages. We spent maybe three hours there and, as visitors, we see only 2%! It was a neat trip and I will show pictures soon. Word of the Day: Krasnoludki (gnomes in Polish; they can be found in the mine ;) )

After that trip, I headed into town and bought my first zapiekanka. I wanted quality (since many sold from gas stations, supermarkets, etc. are not so great). I had to even WAIT since it was that fresh from the oven at a real restaurant that had a to-go window with a shortened menu [http://www.restauracja-horoscope.pl]. It had a proper baguette, cheese, mushrooms, spinach, chives, and garlic sauce (was surprised about the mushrooms, but was hoping for tomato sauce - thought the waiter mentioned ketchup, but maybe he thought I selected only garlic sauce when I heard him ask about that and then ketchup, but I kept just saying yes to it all in Polish... maybe it was forgotten, but I would have wanted tomato sauce over ketchup anyway.) I am glad I did not settle for a junky zapiekanka. When it comes to Polish foods, street ones or not, there still are a few more I have yet to try (of course some I would not try or eat if I had had before ;) :-P ) - kebabs (may sample here since I want a vegetarian one and a place with good kebabs is nearby my hotel and offers them), obwarzanek (sort of a pretzel-bagel hybrid on the streets of Krakow served either plain, with sesame seeds, with salt, or with poppy seeds), nalesniki (other than the vegetable tart I had with nalesniki in it and the one time I had it at someone's home over Easter/Spring Break), potato pancakes, oscypek (smoked cheese that I am uncertain I will try...) meats, non-Polish foods (some Asian, American - hot dogs and hamburgers, some other ethnic etc.). I have had a paczek (singular for paczki) with rose jam filling, a gofra (singular for gofry) with strawberry jam topping, ice cream/sorbet, a zapiekanka with spinach and mushroom and chives, and other dishes (several soups, pierogi, meats, surowki/salads, croquette, vegetable tart, kasza/buckwheat rice, salads, side dishes), candy - toffee Pawelek, vanilla ptasie mleczko, chocolate bar with hazelnuts, princessa waffle bars, one chocolate-covered biscuit candy from a vending machine, paluszki - pretzel-like rods, piernik (gingerbread/cakes), and krowki (caramel candy that I had a while before coming to Poland and not here)...  will have to research the rest to see what I am missing, such as pho that is popular due to the Vietnamese minority. ;) After the zapiekanka, I walked around and it sadly began to rain. I hid in a Coffee Heaven (http://coffeeheaven.pl/) for a bit to read and to have green tea, but ended up heading back to the hotel in the rain for a bit before dinner. At dinner, I had a chicken broth soup with chives, thin noodles, and carrots and a salad with chicken, almond slices, some avocado slices, red peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, and balsamic sauce, with sorbet scoops for dessert. Now I am relaxing before Wawel and other tours tomorrow, with a free time before a concert in the evening. We have dinner alone, but will be reimbursed. I am thinking about what to have: kebab? Vegetarian? [http://vegarestauracja.pl/ may be the place... or my old standby Green Way...] We'll see. I received a lot of good info today about history, culture, books, Poland, and the others on the program. The cold and rainy weather was the main downside of the day.

Time

Some quick info about what my program did on May 2, Polish Flag Day. Yesterday was a neat tour of Krakow. I was especially happy to visit places I had never visited including parts of Jagiellionian University and a couple of really nice churches. After the touring, most of us went to an English-language bookstore. I was very tempted to pick up a couple of books in English by Polish authors... but decided against it to save money and because of future issues with packing. It was after this shop that I headed to Cupcake Corner [http://cupcakecorner.pl/en/] with a few others and I had a carrot cake cupcake. I followed this with some snacks at the room, where I relaxed, did yoga, and went on the Internet for a bit before we all met up to go to dinner at Wesele [http://www.weselerestauracja.pl/]. I had some borscht soup with meat "little ear" dumplings in it, a little of the table bread (not horrible, but not the best of breads), a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, orange slices, duck, pistachios, and dressing, and a bit of two sorbets (lemon and raspberry) with hot tea on the side. After dinner, I hung around with the other students in a room two of them share (we all stayed in the living room area to be together and celebrate "America," as some of them announced, upon hearing news of Osama's demise... even listening to patriotic music, which include "America, F*** Yeah!" that had already been somewhat in my head from the other students talking about the news and their excitement) and then we went to a few clubs. Right now I am preparing for breakfast and then we are off to tour Wieliczka Salt Mine before free time and then dinner (at Miod Malina: http://www.miodmalina.pl/) in the evening. Tomorrow we will be back to touring Krakow when we see different parts of Wawel Castle. (Thursday includes Auschwitz and a performance of classical string music at a church near our hotel; Friday is touring a historically Jewish part of the city before departing).

Lublin Tour has been updated to Friday-Saturday May 13-14. We all visit the Presidential Palace that Monday (May 16).

Photos soon.

Kim i Kraków

Enjoying being back in Kraków. :) Forgot how much I really like it here. Yesterday, we had a train ride that was about 3 hours, so it went by very quickly. We checked in to our hotel (it is very close to the Wawel castle; I am sharing a pretty big room with a sitting area, TV, desk, two double beds, and balcony with view of adjacent walkway. Unfortunately I now smell a weird smell... so my only issue may be my bed. :-P There is also a very awkward "maze" to make it to the rooms and there is construction going on inside the hotel.) Yesterday, we had an Italian dinner at Da Pietro: http://www.dapietro.pl/ I had fish soup, a salad with capers, smoked salmon, hard-boiled eggs, olives, lettuce, and tomatoes, and a dessert of ice cream, strawberry sauce, fruit, and whipped cream (that I tried to skip around :-/ ).

After dinner, I walked around the rynek here (including taking photos or looking at stages, and several other displays and decorations for Constitution day on May 3 and for Pope Jan Pawel's II beatification; a lot of people and celebration here in the city for the long weekend and Pope): some streets, the Sukiennice, and area between the Old Town and the hotel. I went back to my room when the sun went down and hung around my room and other people's rooms before we went out for a bit (dancing and such). Now I am resting before going to breakfast and our first tour session of Collegium Maius (never been), back to the Sukiennice and Main Square (LOVE), and a couple of churches (also never been inside). Later on we have dinner at (I believe) a Polish restaurant named Wesele: http://www.weselerestauracja.pl/

Tomorrow is Wieliczka salt mine. I also started taking pictures yesterday and will take more today, to be added soon to probably Photobucket. :-D Weather is much cooler than what I experienced last week... but still not bad as we welcome MAY. We have a map and a guide to the city, plus free time to go with the scheduled tours. I also have some homework to do: readings for literature class, a couple of final papers to begin (since those are the two with set topics and due dates; any others I lack enough information to work on), possibly watching a movie for a class, and some Polish book and workbook exercises. I know that I have been doing at least some practice and studying of the Polish language in the last week, in preparation for the exam the final week of classes. :-P

On To The Next One

Feeling a bit of travel/train lag today. :-P I need to finishing preparing for my program's trip to Krakow tomorrow midday.

The few days I had in western Poland went by quickly: visiting "Jesus," seeing around Swiebodzin or Lagow or Sieniawa or Legnica or Wroclaw, Easter family visit/meals/gifts, music video channels, bus rides, train rides, watching movies ("Chloe" and "Limitless"), first time at Pizza Hut in Poland (it's fancy here :-P) and first gofry (with strawberry jam), shopping, listening to organ music, learning Polish, and being able to see people who had not seen in a while.

Backyard Garden in Legnica :-D

Now I am resting and preparing for a few days in the Krakow area. :-D I am also looking more at where I will be going in about a year when I finish up in Fairfield. Right now I think I might be interested in pursuing a Masters in International Management/Business. Since I am thinking Europe might be less expensive and more sensical than the US, I am researching schools mainly on this side of the Atlantic... particularly because I am in the process of earning a Polish Passport. This would mean probably going to Warsaw again or to Krakow or to Poznan [I am thinking using English and being able to continue learning more Polish while being close to friends and family again]. Some prospects include:
http://www.kozminski.edu.pl/index.php/en/graduate_ma/abe_international_master_in_mana [mostly in Warsaw, but also time in other parts of the European Union]
-maybe back to the school I am at now (SGH/Warsaw School of Economics)
-maybe the school of economics in Poznan or Wroclaw or Krakow

Spring Break & Tours

Yesterday, after my Polish lesson, our program group had a meeting about our Spring Break plans (since our vacation begins after classes today :-D) and our nearly week-long trip to Kraków that begins right after at the beginning of May. We are leaving midday on Sunday, May 1 and returning (most of us probably) on Friday, May 6. Our hotel is the Royal Hotel: http://www.hotelroyal.com.pl/index_uk.html [which is apparently inexpensive, nice, well-located near downtown, and includes breakfast]. We will arrive in the afternoon to the city and go out to dinner (right now being planned to go to Da Pietro: http://www.dapietro.pl/) before having free time. On Monday, after breakfast at the hotel, we are having a tour guide take us around the city, including Jagiellonian University (particularly the Collegium Maius area: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collegium_Maius), St. Mary's Church, and the SUKIENNICE/Main Square ( <3 love it from last time :) :-D). Later on we head to dinner before having the night free. Tuesday is our trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine: http://www.kopalnia.pl/home.php?urlMain=2,,1,1,,&id_location=1&reloadMenu=true&level=-1&id_site=10000 This is exciting for me because this is one place I have yet to visit. :) Wednesday is the tour of Wawel: http://www.wawel.krakow.pl/en/ the castle, Royal Cathedral, royal rooms, treasury, Sigismundus Bell, and royal tombs. Thursday is our trip to Auschwitz (I have visited and our program directors said we can opt out of any tours we do not want to go on if we have done them already or have personal reasons not to do them, but this is such a significant place; I feel as though going again with my classmates should be an interesting experience). Friday we have a tour of Kazimierz [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazimierz] before heading back to Warsaw (unless we decide to remain in Krakow for the weekend, but I may enjoy the weekend in Warsaw since it is easier to travel back with most of the group than to have to worry about accommodations since our train rides back to Warsaw are given to us included in the overall program cost but not additional nights at a hotel or hostel).

Today is laundry and packing and preparing for my trips over Spring Break (Swiebodzin-Legnica-Wroclaw). I have one class in a couple of hours. The weather is nice, but I am stuck inside for a bit since I am in the middle of laundry. :-/ I have some work to do over break as well, but I am here to go to school and should try to think about that. :-P