Old Town of Lody

Part of my family heritage

Time to rewind and see what I can remember. A lack of reliable Wi-Fi and computers in our hostels has made it difficult to post. I was in Warsaw as far back as three weeks ago. That's not a very long time typically but Phil and I have been living in hyperspeed. Every day for us could be a normal human's week. We've seen so much that I truly feel like I'm trying to remember something we did months ago.

In the heart of Warsaw's Old Town...

...where fire-spinners, musicians, hawkers, and traditional dancers come out to play.

We took an overnight bus from Berlin to Warsaw. Cheap travel and it meant that we didn't need to purchase a hostel that night. Us budget backpackers are always looking for ways to save. Phil was kinda miserable on the bus, but I sleep well during travel, especially since I can lean my head against the window. Window seats are always best. Still, I admit it wasn't the most fun bus ride. It was stuffy and the seat was uncomfortable. I felt like I was being smuggled across the Mexican border, as we transitioned from Germany to Poland. I remember waking up in the middle of the night unable to breathe because my tongue slipped against my palette and clogged the airway. In my 3am fugue, I panicked. After a few seconds, I remembered I had a nose. It was a really scary few seconds though.

More food pictures for Reagan. Featured here: bigos (foreground) and goulash

Absolutely nobody jaywalks in Warsaw. Seems to have a high frequency of rollerbladers - as in I saw three.

Memorial to Polish Jews

Inside the Museum of the History of Polish Jews

The Polish Jew museum is enormous. It's a storybook walkthrough of thousands of years, with a dark R-rated section for the Holocaust.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Marching guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

And the foooooood. Food was the highlight of the city. My single favorite dish remains the Belgian waterzooi, but for the collection of national dishes, Poland is unrivaled. Strangely, they don't have many restaurants. We went to a place called Zapieçek twice, because it was so delicious the first time and their menu was so expansive. There was no reason to go anywhere else. With six or seven locations just in Warsaw, I wondered if they were like Poland's equivalent of Applebee's and maybe we should be ashamed for eating there. But I don't care, it was a perfect restaurant for budget backpackers. They've got fifty types of pierogies, boiled or fried, savory or sweet; kielbasa; bigos; borscht, etc. We had extravagant, filling meals for the zloty equivalent of $12. The goulash was Phil's favorite food of the trip, I believe. Meanwhile I couldn't get enough of the pierogies. Sorry Mom, but you can't beat their pierogies - whether with meat, raisins, potatoes, or anything else (the raisin and honey ones for dessert were a little weird, but still the potato shell is unrivaled).

Copernicus Monument

Palace of Culture and Science

Skyline featuring the Warsaw Spire

The Royal Palace

Gushing fountains along the waterfront, with a strong refracting light passing along the "tubes" of water

High tech stadium, PGE Narodowy

The most intact remaining segment of the Jewish ghetto wall

The Polish Uprising Museum

You can feel the Polish might when you walk through this museum. They are very proud of the stands they have taken. As futile as the Polish Uprising turned out to be, they were a determined force that required a lot of attention from the Nazis to squash.

The abundance of weapons on display, mostly from WWII, bring me back to my MoHSH glory days

Memorials to the individual dead within the museum

Classic German WWII motorbike

Hustling to catch the bus for our 5am flight to Athens

And now let me give a shoutout to the lody (ice cream). Buck fifty for a scoop with a cone. Can't beat that. It started our lody kick throughout our travels. Europe does lody right. One of the big advantages over America. Lody was one of three MVPs during Phil's and my travels.

Two big travel developments. 

1) I'm with Moob and Ben in Paris, about to go do some touristy things. Moob and I have our train tickets to Basel to see Chris and Switzerland this Saturday. We will remain there about four days.

2) I bought my flight to Japan (and subsequently home)! I'm a little disappointed Mongolia didn't work out, but that is wisely saved for when I can get a Russian visa for my next big travels. I can tie Mongolia in with the Trans-Siberian Railway. I will be getting to JFK on flights DL120 and DL411 on July 26 to unite with family until the end of the month, finally returning to NJ on July 31. A perfect 60-day international vacation.

More sewers! Beneath the Uprising Museum.