Poland Day 1 & 2
It took a whole 24 hours from the time we boarded the plane in Singapore to the time we stepped off the plane in Szczecin, Poland. Thankfully, the Singapore-Bangkok-Copenhagen-Warsaw-Szczecin journey wasn't as bad as the typical 24-hour journeys from Singapore to the US via Narita. We left Singapore at 8.40pm on Sunday and arrived in Szczecin at 3.15pm (9.15pm S'pore time).
But of course, Murphy had to accompany us on the trip, so while I kinda half expected it would happen, I still laughed when it actually did - our bags didn't make it to Szczecin with us. I like to think my relaxed response to the realisation kept my two cousins from any negative reactions, but to the airport staff's credit, the bags came first thing the next morning at 8am. Must've been stuck in Warsaw.
Anyhow, the 1-hour trip from the airport in Szczecin to my friend Grzegorz's hometown in Swinoujscie was a welcome departure from the hustle and bustle of Singapore...or from the normal city life for that matter. Nice farmland, short buildings, lovely pace of life... ;-) The highlight was the stopover at a roadside eatery, where I had the most awesome soup and a yummy sashlik pork skewer.
So while Day 1 was essentially spent recovering from travel fatigue, Day 2 was fantastic! Breakfast was a salivating spread of rolls and cold cut meats, with cheeses and all. This was followed by a relaxing walking tour of Uznam, the town in Swinoujscie where Grzegorz lives. I simply loved the town - quaint, pretty, and simply a beautiful retention of the elegance of post-world war II eastern europe. The architecture and buildings were the epitomy of colourful elegance. People kept doing double takes on us, for it is extremely rare for Asians to be seen in this town. The walking tour included a stop at the beach, where we felt the full force of the wind from the Baltic Sea and from Sweden.
Lunch was at the beach, another round of simple but yummy Polish delights, but the highlight of the beach was the flea market type souvenir stalls. My cousins kinda went crazy...ok that's an exaggeration, but this is my blog, so i can exaggerate...hehe.
Dinner at Grzegorz's home was yet another round of indulgence. Grilled beef, chicken salad, potatoes, vegetables, etc all washed down with Zywiec Polish beer. And nothing beats being able to chill out over coffee at a beautifully self-designed home after dinner, especially when it's the home of a great friend that I made in my 11 months in Newport, Rhode Island. I feel so privileged just to be able to visit him, to enjoy his selfless hospitality, to catch up with him after not seeing each other for 10 months, to meet his lovely wife and energetic 3-year old son for the first time, and to just experience his way of life for a couple of days.
Minus the fact that I had to work on that speech for about 4 hours last night, it has been every bit the fabulous holiday that I had envisaged.
As for Day 3, a nice 2km bike ride to the border with Germany followed by a short excursion into Germany beckons...
And after Poland, there's still Denmark, Sweden and Norway to come - my three classmates and their families are waiting.
This is definitely the kind of holiday I want to be on... ;-D
But of course, Murphy had to accompany us on the trip, so while I kinda half expected it would happen, I still laughed when it actually did - our bags didn't make it to Szczecin with us. I like to think my relaxed response to the realisation kept my two cousins from any negative reactions, but to the airport staff's credit, the bags came first thing the next morning at 8am. Must've been stuck in Warsaw.
Anyhow, the 1-hour trip from the airport in Szczecin to my friend Grzegorz's hometown in Swinoujscie was a welcome departure from the hustle and bustle of Singapore...or from the normal city life for that matter. Nice farmland, short buildings, lovely pace of life... ;-) The highlight was the stopover at a roadside eatery, where I had the most awesome soup and a yummy sashlik pork skewer.
So while Day 1 was essentially spent recovering from travel fatigue, Day 2 was fantastic! Breakfast was a salivating spread of rolls and cold cut meats, with cheeses and all. This was followed by a relaxing walking tour of Uznam, the town in Swinoujscie where Grzegorz lives. I simply loved the town - quaint, pretty, and simply a beautiful retention of the elegance of post-world war II eastern europe. The architecture and buildings were the epitomy of colourful elegance. People kept doing double takes on us, for it is extremely rare for Asians to be seen in this town. The walking tour included a stop at the beach, where we felt the full force of the wind from the Baltic Sea and from Sweden.
Lunch was at the beach, another round of simple but yummy Polish delights, but the highlight of the beach was the flea market type souvenir stalls. My cousins kinda went crazy...ok that's an exaggeration, but this is my blog, so i can exaggerate...hehe.
Dinner at Grzegorz's home was yet another round of indulgence. Grilled beef, chicken salad, potatoes, vegetables, etc all washed down with Zywiec Polish beer. And nothing beats being able to chill out over coffee at a beautifully self-designed home after dinner, especially when it's the home of a great friend that I made in my 11 months in Newport, Rhode Island. I feel so privileged just to be able to visit him, to enjoy his selfless hospitality, to catch up with him after not seeing each other for 10 months, to meet his lovely wife and energetic 3-year old son for the first time, and to just experience his way of life for a couple of days.
Minus the fact that I had to work on that speech for about 4 hours last night, it has been every bit the fabulous holiday that I had envisaged.
As for Day 3, a nice 2km bike ride to the border with Germany followed by a short excursion into Germany beckons...
And after Poland, there's still Denmark, Sweden and Norway to come - my three classmates and their families are waiting.
This is definitely the kind of holiday I want to be on... ;-D