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.

The Suburbs

Legnica was fun as usual. :) It was nice to see more of it from my last two visits and to experience the town with family again. We spent some time hanging out with friends of my mother's on Saturday (went to their house, saw a swimming trophy award ceremony and business picnic, and back to their house - including a great soccer match) and Sunday (going to a really nice public park and local palace for lunch [http://www.palackrotoszyce.pl/; I had bullion soup with little meat dumplings and then a salad made of green beans, sliced turkey, and sun-dried tomatoes] before hanging out in their backyard garden for the afternoon/evening (I also played around with a mini golf set with the young daughter)). It was sad to say goodbye, as usual, but there are always possibilities to return sooner for more visits (and maybe even a closer location to western Poland than months in Warsaw).  Sunday afternoon and night I watched my first partial episodes of "The Flintstones" in Polish and Polish "X-Factor," which is basically "American Idol" with some differences. Monday was spent mostly traveling back to Warsaw after hotel breakfast (seeing mostly countryside and small towns after a brief trip through some of Wroclaw early on), with a stop at a fruit stand and a lunch bar along the way (I had red borscht and a sampling of different sides/surowki - shredded beets, shredded carrots, and a little salad). The weather has been lovely the last few days with warm temperatures and sunshine. We now have given up the rented car, collected all of our luggage (including what I stored in Warsaw at school), and arrived at our final hotel near the airport (after some brief issues on the road with traffic and/or construction). Tomorrow is our last full day in Warsaw before an early flight on Wednesday morning. I have some school work to do and a bit of planning for the final day, along with relaxing in the hotel room (such as watching Polish TV).

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

Under Pressure

Watched the movie "It's Kind Of A Funny Story" earlier and now "Under Pressure" is in my head. :-P I watched "Modern Family" from last night and now I am about to catch up with "United States of Tara." I packed and depart for Gdansk tomorrow morning.

A couple of the photos from Wroclaw:

Marcin and I

Pawel, me, and animal statues

I am looking forward to watching Thursday NBC shows sometime after the Gdansk trip. I also have the Spring Break and Krakow area travels that I am excited about coming very soon. :)

Neat travel blog I heard about today: http://anywherethereisanairport.com/

7 Days Entry

Our CIEE program directors asked everyone on my program to make an entry called "Warsaw in 7 Days." We each are assigned one week to describe among our entire time here and this past week was my turn.
Here is my entry:

When people discuss how they chose their location for studying
abroad, numerous reasons come up: cost, distance to other places, culture,
courses, heritage. I have been thinking about studying abroad since I knew that
it even existed and my mind has always thought of Poland. When I finally made
it to college, my desire to study outside of the United States only grew
stronger and my mind was pretty much set on Poland, the country where my mother
was born. I only had the chance to see it once in the summer of 2006 for only
two short weeks and did not see enough of the country and its people to be
satisfied. I also was quite disappointed at how little of the Polish language
that I knew at the time. When I looked through my options for study abroad
locations that my school accepted, I found out that the option I had in Poland
was to study at the Warsaw School of Economics through CIEE; last time I was in
Poland I did not go to Poland's capital city, so I thought if going to Poland
meant only going there, then I would enjoy being in a new city and traveling to
other parts of the country as well.  

One hope for my semester in Poland was to visit family and friends
I had met my first and only time here five years ago. It would mean visiting
other great cities in Poland while reconnecting with old friends in person
rather than only on Facebook. My weekend began with a train trip to Wrocław
(both Warsaw and Wrocław train stations are undergoing major construction,
which only made my journey a bit more colorful). I made it to Wrocław's main
train station in the early evening, where I was met by two brothers - the sons
of my mother's childhood best friend [I met these boys, their parents, and
their sister when I was in Poland before] who are also students at Wrocław
University. They showed me around their great city of Wrocław and even let me
stay at their apartment. I brought gifts with me (American Hershey kisses
chocolates from my Mother forboth boys; a t-shirt and a book - in Polish that I
had read before in English - for one of the brothers who had recently had a
birthday at the beginning of March) and then we went to see the American film
"Sucker Punch" at the nearby cinema. This is my second time going to
the movies in Poland and I am proud to say that I DO look at the Polish
subtitles a bit to see if I can learn something new. :) The movie was OK. After
the movie, we walked around Wrocław's rynek and I saw some of the university's
class buildings that the guys go to regularly or had been to before. We looked
around for a place to hang out and eventually one brother chose a small
cafe/bar where we had mulled beer (served warm with spices, such as cinnamon
sprinkled on top; best beer I have had in Poland so far). We chatted until late
in the night and then went to bed. 

Saturday the weather was a bit chilly and rainy, so we went to the
National Museum in Wrocław (free admission to permanent exhibits, which is
most of the museum, on Saturdays) and then walked around the city some more; I
saw monuments and churches and a really interesting bridge that people put
locks on to symbolize strengthening their romantic relationships. We took some
pictures (not on my camera, so I am a bit anxious to see how they turned out
once I finally see them!) and headed back inside for some coffee at their
apartment after we had a quick lunch at a Polish cafe. That evening we went to
the cinema again for "The King's Speech," called "How to be a
King" (more-or-less) in Polish. Again, I would both watch the movie and
glance at the subtitles for an interesting lesson in the Polish language. ;) We
all liked this movie a lot and had a chat about how movie titles change so much
here. 

Sunday we spent a few hours chatting before my afternoon train
back to Warsaw. I was very sad to go after having such a wonderful time with my
friends. I made it back later in the night and was ready to go to bed for
classes the following day. 

Weekdays spent in Warsaw are always interesting. Mondays and
Tuesdays are my main class days, while the rest of the week only consists of a
longer Polish lesson on Wednesday and one class on Thursday. Coming back to my
home base - our student dorm - meant doing homework, washing dirty clothes,
buying some food at grocery stores or restaurants (such as one of the Warsaw
restaurants I enjoy: a quick and inexpensive vegetarian place called VEGA that
I had lunch at on Monday). There are also some "checks with reality"
when I return to dorm life: emails from school (already almost time for Fall
2011 course registration), notes from family in the US, working on reading
assignments for classes. 

On Wednesday evening, our CIEE group had a great cultural
excursion: we went to see a new ballet ("I PRZEJDĄ DESZCZE..." or
"And The Rain Will Pass") that was great! Our seats were fantastic -
on the floor and only a few rows from the stage. The dancers were amazing and
afterwards everyone in the group was talking about the skills they showed
during the performance. Some of us even tried to replicate the moves. ;) 

The weather lately has been beautiful and, as April begins, it
really feels of Spring. The Spring semester really was a great choice to come
to Poland (I feel this way all the time, especially when I hear about the
weather I am "missing" at school or at home in the US)! The sun is
shining and the sky is blue; the temperature is warmer, to the point of putting
on a lighter coat and grabbing a pair of sunglasses before heading out for a
nice walk around the city - maybe even to the parks or outside decks or roofs.
The beginning of a new weekend, and a new month, means both planning what to do
and enjoying the unexpected that comes. Now I am just sad that my time here is
closer to being over. I may not want to go. :) 

Podoba mi się...

"I like..."

As the previous post notes, I had an amazing time in Wroclaw. Podoba mi się tego miasta. It was my meetup with the sons of my mother's childhood friend in Poland. I left Warsaw on Friday morning for a train trip that was about 6 hours long. I had a very nice ticket clerk fellow who told me that I paid too much for a ticket because it was only reduced by age group and could be even cheaper for student price. He also told me to sit in the pregnant/child/baby cabin again. :-P Because of this, I had an interesting experience with a strange family that spoke Polish and some other weird language. There were two parents and one baby, which called me "Ga" more than once. She even said some "words" that were almost English-sounding words, but only through baby gibberish. She was not so well-behaved and had a bad habit of kicking bags, people, and other objects; she (well, could have been a he...) nearly broke her father's phone more than once. At one point the girl (?) dropped part of the phone under the seat and the father seemed a bit short tempered. It was a strange family to be with during the trip, but it could be worse. I had a seat. There was one man with us for a little while and later two militaristic-looking fellows came in for the remainder of the trip. I received a text from one of the people I was meeting and did not have enough money on my cell phone to reply. I used my "witch powers" to summon my mother to call me, even though I had spoken to her the day before and she said she would not call again until Sunday, and she did! Because of that, she was able to be a conduit of sorts between me and the people I was meeting. I made it to Wroclaw Glowny around 715 (I was supposed to be there at maybe almost 7 :-/). I was called shortly before making it there to hear that my "princes" (my word, not theirs) were waiting for me at the station. This station, similar to the main one in Warsaw from which I had come, is under a lot of construction. This makes finding the right platform difficult. I found my friends waiting for me on the platform and we headed to their apartment. There, I was given a bed to sleep in and gave gifts before we headed to the movie theatre at the nearby mall for "Sucker Punch" (it was OK) and then we walked around Wroclaw some (saw some neat sites: the rynek, some of the university buildings, etc.) before stopping at a little pub/cafe for mulled beer: warm, spiced with cinnamon. When we finished the drinks and chatting, we headed back to their apartment around 2am. The next day we had breakfast and decided to go to the National Museum there since it was raining (original plan was to see the zoo). Most of the museum's exhibits are free on Saturday, so we walked around and saw some great art and treasures. We took some pictures outside the museum and around the city; there were interesting churches, buildings, monuments, and even a bridge that has a romantic tradition: people in relationships can put locks on the bridge as a sign of importance to their relationship. It was cute and very original. We went out to lunch at a cute little cafe/restaurant that one of the guys recommended. I had a salad with chicken, hard-boiled egg, dressing, potato wedges, and assorted salad vegetables (lettuce, tomato, etc.) It was good. The guys had barszcz soup with dumplings and meals that included fried fish for one, fried chicken for the other that came with fries and coleslaw, sliced carrots, and beets. After that, we headed back to their apartment to chat while two of us had coffee. Later on, we went to see "The King's Speech" (it was very good and we agreed Colin Firth deserved his Oscar) and then stopped at a grocery store for some items. We then went off to our rooms for some computer time and then bed. Sunday we pretty much had breakfast and talked until we had to go to the train station around 3:30pm for my 4pm train. It was nice how one of them handled my pulling suitcase (packing with my backpack failed, sadly) on both occasions of going to and from the station and then they both wanted to come on the train to bring my luggage on and find me a seat. It was rushed at the end because the train was about to leave and they both had to hurry off so that they did not end up riding the train for a bit. They waved to me from the window and I was off for a long train ride. I was SO sad to go and I did not expect this strong reaction. Maybe it was lady hormones, who knows. I did not do much on the train other than look out the window and listen to music. I made it back at almost 11pm and took a tram and walk back to my dorm before telling my mother and the guys I made it back to Warsaw okay. Unfortunately, I also came home to an email for a reading assignment. :-/ I also felt the effects of "train lag" (what form of travel does not have it? I have had it from planes, cars, boats...)

Today (weather being sunny and only a bit chilly and windy) I had three classes (stopped by the vegetarian quick service restaurant VEGA for some tomato soup (with other vegetables) and salads (one cabbage with pumpkin and sunflower seeds, one with green beans, red peppers (blah), tofu, peas, chickpeas, and sauce, and a third with red cabbage and raisins) in between Polish and history) and then did some laundry (only had one machine open, so I still have dirty clothes leftover... but as long as I did some I can always do more another day this week). I skyped with my sister and now I have some reading before bed. Ballet on Wednesday! Our Jewish class may take a trip to tour the Jewish cemetery next Tuesday.