Warszawa Calling...

It’s that time again. Let me tell you what we’ve been upto in Warsaw…

After countless games of eye spy we arrived in Warsaw at 19.00 on Monday. After a while of wandering around the station trying to find an information point or place to buy bus tickets, I gave in to Pat’s taxi habit so we could get to the office before it closed to pick up keys to our apartment. A grumpy driver took us to the Old Town which was strangely very quiet for a tourist district. Our apartment turned out to be just off the Old Town Square – a top location. We dropped our bags off and went to the local deli to get groceries. Dinner that evening turned out to be a take away from Pizza Hut, which is very unlike me. However, that did include vegetables which was more than the local shops were offering!

The next day we turned the apartment into Widow Twankey’s laundry and popped out for sight-seeing in the afternoon. We wandered around the oldest parts of the city and were really surprised to find out that due to the destruction during WWII this was only 50 years old and was salvaged from other cities. We also saw lots of monuments dedicated to Poles oppressed by the Russians and Germans. So it turns out that the Poles are a religious lot. I couldn’t believe how many churches there were over such a short distance. We saw many nuns and monks walking around and Pat reminded me that the late Pope Jean Paul II was Polish.

Later on we walked down to the university area to an internet café we’d read about. Like many buildings, it looked shabby and dubious from the outside, but was really contemporary and cosy on the inside. We spent a few hours in there checking our emails, facebook and updating the travel blog. The hot chocolate in there was amazing – just like liquid chocolate. I couldn’t help feel sorry for anyone from there who asked for the sorry substitute that the UK calls Hot Chocolate. Afterwards, we wandered ‘home’ passing lots of students and academics on the way. We enjoyed a quiet night in, making the most of the apartment.

The next day we were up early and spent the morning lounging and packing. We made a visit to the Jewish Museum which was very thought provoking. We heard and saw chilling accounts of life in the Warsaw ghetto. Before the war Poland had the greatest Jewish population in Europe, which was wiped out. I spent the rest of the day thinking about what I’d read and seen.

On a happier note, we sent postcards from Warsaw after a quick spot of afternoon tea – not very Polish but never mind. Pat was trying to buy stamps and bus tickets from the post office and the counter staff were giving him the run around, telling him to go to the next counter and closing it before he got there! He got there in the end after a little old lady stepped in to assist.

We got to the station and boarded the train for Moscow at 16:20. We were delighted to find another cosy cabin, not too dissimilar to that of the Frankfurt to Prague train. There were 2 passport checks last night at the Polish/Belarusian border. The Polish check was straight forward, the Belasrusian one was a bit more complex. About 4 Belarusian officers got on the train, took our passports and goods declaration forms, checked Pat wasn’t smuggling anyone beneath his bed and returned our paperwork ten minutes later. All that for just sitting on the train to go through. Soon after that, at Brest, the hour long procedure of moving the train to Russian tracks took place. The whole train as taken into a work shed where engineers conducted the works. Pat was watching what was going on and said it was like taking your car in for an MOT. While all that was going on I was reading about Belarus in the Lonely Planet guide and was, amongst other things, very amused to hear about the fruit loop President Lukashenka who has ultimate say over everything, including international law…..Glad we’re just passing through…

That brings me to today. We’re still on the train and were expecting a Belarusian/Russian border guard visit which hasn’t happened. Not to be caught off guard again, we set the alarm for 5.30am but for nothing. We’ll see what transpires when we get to Moscow in an hour or so……