I never thought I'd say this...
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm quite relieved to be in Poland and out of Prague. After a somewhat horrific ordeal with train tickets, confusing timetables and a few flustered minutes of panic in the impossibly sketchy Prague train station last night, I managed to leave the city at 11.15 this morning. Nevertheless, the Prague train station will stand as a beacon of Eastern European sketchiness in my mind for years and years to come...Something about those nasty orange lights, languages I do not understand and sketchy-ass-looking men drinking beer in public places and shouting at each other just does not sit well with my suburban American (mono-lingual) upbringing.
11.15 depart Prague; 20.15 arrive Warsaw. After 8, no 9 (we were late arriving), hours on a train where I did not say anything to anyone for the entire trip, I finally arrived in Warsaw. And now that I am here, I wish I could stay longer. Or, rather, I wish there weren't so many hostels in these former soviet countries that got such great reviews and had so many ammenities to offer. (I just read the guest book for this hostel and it made me a bit sad I'm not staying here for my entire stay in Warsaw. All the comments made this place sound like a palace hidden away in the heart of Warsaw's vibrant and cosmopolitan metro area.) I also wish I had made it to Krakow, but I think that might have to wait until I have a month (or several weeks) to dedicate to Poland and a bicycle by which to travel the countryside because it looked gorgeous today, and I hear it's a cycler's paradise because it's flat as a pancake.
Everytime I imagine myself having an early night--early to bed and early to rise--I end up staying up later than I planned (and not actually accomplishing what I intended to accomplish). Tonight, I suppose it was the fault of my delayed train, initial wrong turn outside the station and and decision to walk after not being able to make any sense out of the train/tram schedule. I didn't arrive at the hostel (which merits a separate post and proper review at a later date) until 10ish, then I took a few minutes to "settle in" before heading to the kitchen to make a meal with the precious few ingredients in my possession. It turns out, I managed to make a wicked spaghetti with sundried tomato, basil and cheese alfredo-type sauce using a kettle, a ceramic bowl, a small glass plate, some pasta, some cheese spread and some salt, but by the time I sat down to upload photos and start journaling, it was already 23.45 and now it is well past my bedtime.
I might be lame by staying in and going to bed so early on a Friday night, but I haven't run since Wednesday and after the "stress" of last night's travel debacle, desperately need to get out and run around without any baggage whatsoever. (Plus, travel life is totally different from normal life--it doesn't pay heed to weekends vs. weekdays. A day is a day to be enjoyed to its utmost potential--even if that does mean sitting in the [rather luxurious] hostel lounge typing travel notes on a computer while sipping herbal tea and watching an American made-for-TV movie poorly dubbed into Polish.)
NB: Lady is not posting because she is bored. She is posting because she has been lucky with internet access lately. Free wireless is quickly becoming a pre-requisite for making a reservation somewhere.
11.15 depart Prague; 20.15 arrive Warsaw. After 8, no 9 (we were late arriving), hours on a train where I did not say anything to anyone for the entire trip, I finally arrived in Warsaw. And now that I am here, I wish I could stay longer. Or, rather, I wish there weren't so many hostels in these former soviet countries that got such great reviews and had so many ammenities to offer. (I just read the guest book for this hostel and it made me a bit sad I'm not staying here for my entire stay in Warsaw. All the comments made this place sound like a palace hidden away in the heart of Warsaw's vibrant and cosmopolitan metro area.) I also wish I had made it to Krakow, but I think that might have to wait until I have a month (or several weeks) to dedicate to Poland and a bicycle by which to travel the countryside because it looked gorgeous today, and I hear it's a cycler's paradise because it's flat as a pancake.
Everytime I imagine myself having an early night--early to bed and early to rise--I end up staying up later than I planned (and not actually accomplishing what I intended to accomplish). Tonight, I suppose it was the fault of my delayed train, initial wrong turn outside the station and and decision to walk after not being able to make any sense out of the train/tram schedule. I didn't arrive at the hostel (which merits a separate post and proper review at a later date) until 10ish, then I took a few minutes to "settle in" before heading to the kitchen to make a meal with the precious few ingredients in my possession. It turns out, I managed to make a wicked spaghetti with sundried tomato, basil and cheese alfredo-type sauce using a kettle, a ceramic bowl, a small glass plate, some pasta, some cheese spread and some salt, but by the time I sat down to upload photos and start journaling, it was already 23.45 and now it is well past my bedtime.
I might be lame by staying in and going to bed so early on a Friday night, but I haven't run since Wednesday and after the "stress" of last night's travel debacle, desperately need to get out and run around without any baggage whatsoever. (Plus, travel life is totally different from normal life--it doesn't pay heed to weekends vs. weekdays. A day is a day to be enjoyed to its utmost potential--even if that does mean sitting in the [rather luxurious] hostel lounge typing travel notes on a computer while sipping herbal tea and watching an American made-for-TV movie poorly dubbed into Polish.)
NB: Lady is not posting because she is bored. She is posting because she has been lucky with internet access lately. Free wireless is quickly becoming a pre-requisite for making a reservation somewhere.
posted by Elizabeth at 5:22 PM
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