A simple day, and some thoughts on Poland.
Day 3
It was indeed simple. A whirlwind couchsurfing night later, I was ready to leave Warsaw. Saw bits of it and had a great conversation with Dominika. 5th year student of physio therapy. Man I almost wanted to get a massage, but apparently they don't do such things.
Warsaw was 70% destroyed during the war, which was unfortunate. It was a lovely day however, and weather does affect mood. Realized that in Warsaw most bars are within the courtyards with a small entrance towards the main street. Rent is cheaper there apparently. Walked also into a plaza that used to be a Jewish cemetery. All flat and burned and rebuilt. And then there was a story about how a father had to pay dowry, but wanted to save money, so he built it right at a corner that still faced the main street, but would pay less for the flat because of the amount of windows it had. And another story records a soldier luring a German tank into a small street and then sets off a bomb. The remains of the tank is now embedded into the wall.
More windows more taxes. This was the phenomenon starting from the Baltics, right from medieval ages. Never understood. One explanation was that it was less controversial than an income tax. England and France apparently among the first ones to implement it. Anyone willing to inform me the true reasons behind a window tax I'll be forever grateful!
Tram into Warsaw you see a lot of Soviet buildings, and in center Warsaw some reconstructed old buildings. Legacy of Eastern Europe that will never change. History is always part of our minds.
And the war is just such a great part of history in this part of the world.
Then there is how Zywiec is my favorite beer of Poland. Dominika was surprised to hear how it's sold even in London. Polish pride right there.
Guess where this is.
Warsaw was 70% destroyed during the war, which was unfortunate. It was a lovely day however, and weather does affect mood. Realized that in Warsaw most bars are within the courtyards with a small entrance towards the main street. Rent is cheaper there apparently. Walked also into a plaza that used to be a Jewish cemetery. All flat and burned and rebuilt. And then there was a story about how a father had to pay dowry, but wanted to save money, so he built it right at a corner that still faced the main street, but would pay less for the flat because of the amount of windows it had. And another story records a soldier luring a German tank into a small street and then sets off a bomb. The remains of the tank is now embedded into the wall.
The remains of the tank.
More windows more taxes. This was the phenomenon starting from the Baltics, right from medieval ages. Never understood. One explanation was that it was less controversial than an income tax. England and France apparently among the first ones to implement it. Anyone willing to inform me the true reasons behind a window tax I'll be forever grateful!
Tram into Warsaw you see a lot of Soviet buildings, and in center Warsaw some reconstructed old buildings. Legacy of Eastern Europe that will never change. History is always part of our minds.
And the war is just such a great part of history in this part of the world.
Then there is how Zywiec is my favorite beer of Poland. Dominika was surprised to hear how it's sold even in London. Polish pride right there.
People do tell me how dynamic Polish people are. I was there for four days so whether it is dynamic can't quite tell. But there is something about them, avoiding cliches. This is a country that disappeared three times on the map during Partition and that balance of power crap. Later first Nazis and then Soviets came in and "liberated" the country. But remember this is also the country that stopped Ottomans from going further west in Austria! Imagine how European history would have altered had the Ottomans made it to France. All that Turkey can't join EU bullshit will no have no more ground.
With such a history people get suspicious, and apparently it is hard to make good friends with Poles, so I was told. Some Lithuanian guys told me Poland is hard to hitch, and takes 3 days to cross the country. I didn't find this true. Perhaps Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth history made them a little bitter? From what I had the two truck drivers that picked me up were both talkative and generous people. The pharmaceutical guy almost offered me a place to stay! But I guess these things sink in once you settle in the country.
There is also some sort of special relationship between France and Poland. Once you leave the Baltics you find the main foreign bank you see everywhere is no longer Swedbank but Crédit Agricole. There were some other things that gave me this French connection but can't quite remember. When you think about religion it absolutely makes sense. Some heaviest Jewish concentration in Europe and both of them being Catholics.
Moving on to the hitching. Went down to southern highway, and in 15 minutes I was picked up by a truck all the way down to Krakow. Simple day.
He didn't quite speak English, but gestures are all you need. At a certain point he goes, "Good road, finish!" Quite rightly so. Now you understand why countries this part of the world were so eager to join the EU. This is a highway that links two biggest cities in the country, but infrastructure still not completed. EU funds the project of making the highway a two-lane one. Still somewhere to go.
Passed by many small towns on the way that were quite picturesque. Colors is what you notice, and housing style differs somewhat from Baltic states. Also you notice always there are big churches somewhere in any given city.
Saw Leif my next couchsurfing host. Getting interesting here; this is the third Norwegian I got to know relatively well that has lived in Japan. I don't know what kind of revelation this is. Fougs who trusts me with his shirt exchanged a year in Japan. Martin at LSE now speaks fluent Japanese and will work there next year. And then there is Leif here who lived four years in Japan. Norway and Japan, an impossible connection, linked only perhaps by their shared habit of whale-hunting, and yet here I meet three people at different stages of my life who embody this connection.
Three days of good company good conversations. Excellent omelettes. And discovered my new identity as a Third Culture Kid. Skipped all banalities of introduction and went straight into core. It doesn't make sense for me really to be a TCK, because I was static for 18 years in Hong Kong, only then moved around over the past 5 years. With initial analysis we believed that my upbringing, going to a school of a certain background and going home of another background gave me this unique world view. Naturally I already had to deal with not just speaking Cantonese and English daily, but also completely different modes of communication. But culturally I was moving between two different worlds and attempted to excel in both. I somehow had to be different, or perhaps believed I was different. Such a cliche thing to say.
Krakow wasn't nice to me in terms of weather, but nice company compensated for it. Couchsurfing at its best! Walked around the city in the rain and managed to browse through some nice cafes and charismatic bars. The castle was quite stunning. Auschwitz I saw as well; won't comment on it but the hair room is definitely something memorable. A must go; an important chapter of human history.
From Poland with love. Well, at least spiritually.
With such a history people get suspicious, and apparently it is hard to make good friends with Poles, so I was told. Some Lithuanian guys told me Poland is hard to hitch, and takes 3 days to cross the country. I didn't find this true. Perhaps Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth history made them a little bitter? From what I had the two truck drivers that picked me up were both talkative and generous people. The pharmaceutical guy almost offered me a place to stay! But I guess these things sink in once you settle in the country.
There is also some sort of special relationship between France and Poland. Once you leave the Baltics you find the main foreign bank you see everywhere is no longer Swedbank but Crédit Agricole. There were some other things that gave me this French connection but can't quite remember. When you think about religion it absolutely makes sense. Some heaviest Jewish concentration in Europe and both of them being Catholics.
Moving on to the hitching. Went down to southern highway, and in 15 minutes I was picked up by a truck all the way down to Krakow. Simple day.
He didn't quite speak English, but gestures are all you need. At a certain point he goes, "Good road, finish!" Quite rightly so. Now you understand why countries this part of the world were so eager to join the EU. This is a highway that links two biggest cities in the country, but infrastructure still not completed. EU funds the project of making the highway a two-lane one. Still somewhere to go.
Gift from the EU.
Passed by many small towns on the way that were quite picturesque. Colors is what you notice, and housing style differs somewhat from Baltic states. Also you notice always there are big churches somewhere in any given city.
Saw Leif my next couchsurfing host. Getting interesting here; this is the third Norwegian I got to know relatively well that has lived in Japan. I don't know what kind of revelation this is. Fougs who trusts me with his shirt exchanged a year in Japan. Martin at LSE now speaks fluent Japanese and will work there next year. And then there is Leif here who lived four years in Japan. Norway and Japan, an impossible connection, linked only perhaps by their shared habit of whale-hunting, and yet here I meet three people at different stages of my life who embody this connection.
Three days of good company good conversations. Excellent omelettes. And discovered my new identity as a Third Culture Kid. Skipped all banalities of introduction and went straight into core. It doesn't make sense for me really to be a TCK, because I was static for 18 years in Hong Kong, only then moved around over the past 5 years. With initial analysis we believed that my upbringing, going to a school of a certain background and going home of another background gave me this unique world view. Naturally I already had to deal with not just speaking Cantonese and English daily, but also completely different modes of communication. But culturally I was moving between two different worlds and attempted to excel in both. I somehow had to be different, or perhaps believed I was different. Such a cliche thing to say.
Next time, Krakow, next time.
Krakow wasn't nice to me in terms of weather, but nice company compensated for it. Couchsurfing at its best! Walked around the city in the rain and managed to browse through some nice cafes and charismatic bars. The castle was quite stunning. Auschwitz I saw as well; won't comment on it but the hair room is definitely something memorable. A must go; an important chapter of human history.
From Poland with love. Well, at least spiritually.
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