Poland
Me and my mute girlfriend Felicia went on a cruise from Karlskrona in Sweden to Gdynia in Poland to celebrate our 2 year anniversary. She isn't really mute but this time around she was because she was so sick that she couldn't speak. It was a weird and frustrating feeling not to be able to communicate with her but as soon as we arrived in Poland, she got a bit better at least!
The boat trip wasn't that nice, it felt like a boat that had been left behind from the 80's and maybe not cleaned since then. And drunk Swedish men spoke openly about going to Poland to have sex with prostitutes.
When we arrived in the harbour of Gdynia we were met by a gray fog called Poland. We had just one day to see the three cities of Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk that have grown together as one. We quickly left Gdynia for Sopot by train, and the train was like a time machine to the 90s, with the guys dressing in 90's fashion like bomber jackets and the girls wearing tiny skirts even though they were almost freezing to death in the cold November morning. I don't think gender equality is a big topic in Poland since they are 20 years behind.
On our way down to the boardwalk we saw a crazy building called Krzywy Domek which is a mall but looks like a house from a fairytale.
The boat trip wasn't that nice, it felt like a boat that had been left behind from the 80's and maybe not cleaned since then. And drunk Swedish men spoke openly about going to Poland to have sex with prostitutes.
When we arrived in the harbour of Gdynia we were met by a gray fog called Poland. We had just one day to see the three cities of Gdynia, Sopot and Gdansk that have grown together as one. We quickly left Gdynia for Sopot by train, and the train was like a time machine to the 90s, with the guys dressing in 90's fashion like bomber jackets and the girls wearing tiny skirts even though they were almost freezing to death in the cold November morning. I don't think gender equality is a big topic in Poland since they are 20 years behind.
On our way down to the boardwalk we saw a crazy building called Krzywy Domek which is a mall but looks like a house from a fairytale.
And when we arrived at the beach and the endless boardwalk it looked like a scene from a movie by the Swedish director Roy Andersson.
We went by train again, but this time to the last stop on our journey, Gdansk. It's the biggest city of the three and there was a lot of interesting architecture. The first signs of Christmas had arrived and we were just strolling around the city with no clear direction before we went back to the ferry in Gdynia again. Of these three cities Sopot was my favorite and I felt Poland was a nicer country than I had imagined, it's just unfortunate that it's always covered in a gray fog.
On the ferry home we spent most of our time in the spa and it was amazing. At first I felt sea sick sitting in a hot tub while the boat rocked back and forth, but once I got used to it, it was amazing. We were the only guests for a while so I went skinny dipping but fortunately I got my swimming trunks back on before the other guests arrived shortly after. The spa treated us with some apples and I don't know why, but it was the best apples I have ever eaten, maybe you need some apples after 5 hours of spa. Felicia is allergic to apples so she missed out.
Three years later I asked Felicia where she really wanted to go, and she said Poland. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Poland but I couldn't understand why she chose Poland over all other countries. This time around we went to Warsaw which is the capital and largest city and we arrived by plane from Slovenia which was my choice of destination. I have always been a control freak who checks every detail 3 times before the trip but Felicia had finally made me loosen up and I had stopped worrying so much. Things will fall in place and if they don't, you just take it from there. It was a relief to let go of all the pressure, and the hectic journey that we had been on with visits to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Slovenia would now come to an end in Poland, and everything had been going well. No cancelled flights or trains, no overbooked hotels etc. When we walked into the Metropol Hotel in Warsaw I made a joke that this is where it happens, this is where everything goes wrong. We went up to the desk and they said they had no reservation in our name, I guess I shouldn't have been making a joke about it. It turned out I had booked the right dates but the year after, thanks a lot "no more control freak"-Jim. Since they still had a room available I asked them to just change the reservation to this year but they said they couldn't since we had booked through Hotels.com, so they had to do it. This turned into an hour of trying to get in contact with Hotels.com while the receptionist was angry that we used her phone. She was a complete idiot and said we could go back to Sweden and call Hotels.com and stuff like that, and "you can come next year instead when you have made the reservation". When we finally got a hold of Hotels.com the hotel still didn't want to change the reservation and we had to pay almost the double price to be able to change it. We accepted it in the end just to have somewhere to stay and never again would we ever even look at the staff when we went inside the hotel. The cheap prices for food and other stuff in Poland had to compensate for our double payment for the hotel, and I was very thankful for Felicia being so understanding to my mistake with the reservation.
The gray fog that surrounds Poland was back and it was funny when a palm tree suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the road. It was even marked on the map as a tourist attraction. We went to the Polish Army Museum and the military theme of Warsaw is significant all over the town with monumental statues. Many battles have been fought here, during both World Wars for example, and it's amazing how they still keep on fighting and rebuilding the city every time and never give in.
On the ferry home we spent most of our time in the spa and it was amazing. At first I felt sea sick sitting in a hot tub while the boat rocked back and forth, but once I got used to it, it was amazing. We were the only guests for a while so I went skinny dipping but fortunately I got my swimming trunks back on before the other guests arrived shortly after. The spa treated us with some apples and I don't know why, but it was the best apples I have ever eaten, maybe you need some apples after 5 hours of spa. Felicia is allergic to apples so she missed out.
Three years later I asked Felicia where she really wanted to go, and she said Poland. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Poland but I couldn't understand why she chose Poland over all other countries. This time around we went to Warsaw which is the capital and largest city and we arrived by plane from Slovenia which was my choice of destination. I have always been a control freak who checks every detail 3 times before the trip but Felicia had finally made me loosen up and I had stopped worrying so much. Things will fall in place and if they don't, you just take it from there. It was a relief to let go of all the pressure, and the hectic journey that we had been on with visits to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Slovenia would now come to an end in Poland, and everything had been going well. No cancelled flights or trains, no overbooked hotels etc. When we walked into the Metropol Hotel in Warsaw I made a joke that this is where it happens, this is where everything goes wrong. We went up to the desk and they said they had no reservation in our name, I guess I shouldn't have been making a joke about it. It turned out I had booked the right dates but the year after, thanks a lot "no more control freak"-Jim. Since they still had a room available I asked them to just change the reservation to this year but they said they couldn't since we had booked through Hotels.com, so they had to do it. This turned into an hour of trying to get in contact with Hotels.com while the receptionist was angry that we used her phone. She was a complete idiot and said we could go back to Sweden and call Hotels.com and stuff like that, and "you can come next year instead when you have made the reservation". When we finally got a hold of Hotels.com the hotel still didn't want to change the reservation and we had to pay almost the double price to be able to change it. We accepted it in the end just to have somewhere to stay and never again would we ever even look at the staff when we went inside the hotel. The cheap prices for food and other stuff in Poland had to compensate for our double payment for the hotel, and I was very thankful for Felicia being so understanding to my mistake with the reservation.
The gray fog that surrounds Poland was back and it was funny when a palm tree suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the road. It was even marked on the map as a tourist attraction. We went to the Polish Army Museum and the military theme of Warsaw is significant all over the town with monumental statues. Many battles have been fought here, during both World Wars for example, and it's amazing how they still keep on fighting and rebuilding the city every time and never give in.
The Old Town for example, which is the coziest area if you remove all tourists, was blown up by the German army but has been rebuilt almost brick for brick.
The architecture is amazing which blends castles with charming old houses, statues and market places.
In the center there was an ice rink and it was a very romantic place. My time in Warsaw with Felicia was in fact one of the best times in our relationship, because finally it felt like we were a real couple when we lived together, even if it was briefly in a hotel. We had been living in different cities for almost 2 years against my will, and I was so happy to finally spend some quality time together.
David Bowie made a mostly instrumental song called Warszawa in 1977 about his visit to the city some years earlier. I have never appreciated the song, and even if I still don't enjoy it, it's also a perfect soundtrack to the city of Warsaw, which I understood when I walked in his footsteps. It's gloomy with suspense and you can see the gray fog and the harsh and ugly beauty of Warsaw when you listen to it.
Zlote Tarasy is another architectural example to show that the malls in Poland always gets a special treatment with its wavy glass structure, and oddly enough we found the best vegetarian food in Poland in a sport bar nearby.
To literally finish off the trip on a high we went to the 43rd floor at Hotel InterContinental and enjoyed ourselves at their spa. It was an amazing view when the gray fog wasn't making it all a blur.
It's nice to be in such a relaxing environment as a spa and outside the city looks like a worn down industrial district with cars going by down below, making it look like the first Grand Theft Auto games, because they drive as mad as the people in the game with a view from above. Out there is all the craziness of the world but inside here is all the safe and warm feelings. That was until two Polish youngsters started having sex in the hot tub in front of everybody. I guess they aren't as shy in Poland as in Sweden.
When we were going home from the Chopin Airport, named after the famous composer, I could check off one of my things from my bucket list, I played piano at an airport.
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I went back to the capital six years later since my friend Andreas and I were going to Egypt and the flights were changed and we had to spend some time in Poland for the connecting flights. We went over to the other side of the river this time, to the alternative district of Praga. We became connoisseurs of Polish vodka at the Polish Vodka Museum and I had a drink at the rooftop with a chicken hat on my head because of all the vodka sipping before that.
After Egypt we went back again and it was like going into a time machine and enter an old memory when we spent the night at the same hotel that Felicia and I had stayed at. Andreas was sick so I had a private party on the balcony where I could barely see the city center since they still had a huge commercial poster blocking the view. I drank beer with 12% alcohol in it and ended up having a party in the shower. The next day we went for a morning stroll through the huge parks and visited both some old places from the last trip and some new. Before our late flight back home we went for a small pub crawl and I realized I miss travelling in Europe and I didn't want to leave.
* Best things about Poland – the cheap prices and the old town of Warsaw, and the view from the spa at InterContinental is amazing, when you can see through the fog, every airport should have a piano too, like the one at Chopin Airport, makes the endless waiting more fun, also the spa at the ferry from Gdynia was one of the highlights, it's an odd feeling to be swimming on a boat
* Most mediocre thing about Poland – the gray fog is dull, but it also makes Poland what it is, so it would be a cultural suicide to stop producing so much toxic waste
* Worst things about Poland – the food can be awful and the Metropol Hotel is one of the worst hotels I've ever been too, nothing wrong with the rooms, but the staff made the experience awful
Best countries in the world according to the nerd (will be updated with every post):
1. Croatia
2. Montenegro
3. Andorra
4. Cyprus
5. Greece
6. Italy
7. Monaco
8. Malta
9. Netherlands
10. Iceland
11. Denmark
12. Lithuania
13. Macedonia
14. New Zealand
15. Ireland
16. Belgium
17. Poland
18. Estonia
19. Kosovo
20. Finland
21. Latvia
22. Norway
23. France
24. Bulgaria
25. Luxembourg
26. Liechtenstein
27. China
28. Bosnia And Herzegovina
29. Albania
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