Warsaw II

The next day was much better, it wasn't raining anymore and I could feel some sun in the air. I left my kitchen-bedroom and saw that Karolina and Kuba were still sleeping. I went to the bathroom to freshen up, grabbed my things and hit the road. I walked a bit to the bus stop, it was still quite to cold. I was just hopping in and out til I reached old town once again where I was supposed to meet with Wiktor. This time, I was feeling the familiar exhilaration I get when visiting a new country. Without the rain and fog, I was able to see more clearly just how beautiful and intricate this site was even though I had just been here the day before. Walking the streets and alleyways and getting clear and crisp photos really made my day. I spent most of the morning just going around and getting these empty photos as the usual crowd still hadn't arrived. I grabbed a burger for breakfast and there were these two birds just chilling around me so I just gave them some bits and pieces. They were very friendly, even grabbing it from my fingers with their tiny beaks. I saw some lovelocks on some railings as well as the royal gardens. I also did a little bit of church hopping as a means of escaping from the cold, but it also provided a bit of insight on the religious practices of the Polish though Christianity is nothing new for me.

I was meeting with Pawel and Polly today, it was actually Pawel's idea to go to the museum. He even bought the tickets for Wiktor and me. I met up with them in this place called the Palm. I took a bus there and sat at the nearby park. I saw them from across the road and had a mini-reunion in the middle of the crossing. It was so fun to meet so many familiar faces, Pawel was always such a funny guy and Polly, a bit more level-headed. They made a great couple. Turns out both of them turned pescatarian, Pawel over a bet. They took me to this restaurant by the river which had awesome vegetable and fish which was right beside the museum. I also learned about the meaning behind Warsaw's name. I had just thought it was because of the fact that it was ravaged by the Nazi's back in World War II as in it Saw War which garnered a huge laugh from Polly. It was actually based on a legend of a man and a mermaid who fell in love. Var and Zawa, which is actually how you would read Warsaw in Polish.

We went to the science museum where Wiktor was waiting for us after he did a number 2. Natalia came to pick us up and we took some photos while waiting for our timeslot to go in. The science museum was super fun and really worth it, much better than my original plan of going to the TeamLabs-esque place. Natalia was super knowledgeable and showed us each exhibition, explaining the science behind them. We watched a robot story show, and played with a lot of stuff just like little kids. Pawel was so funny as always, he had to leave a bit earlier though. After spending a couple of hours inside, we said goodbye to Natalia and decided to walk Polly home.

It was a nice and gentle walk, it took us across a very peaceful park. Polly invited me and Wiktor up to her place which we happily accepted. Their place was so unique, it had so much life and warmth and style. It was like being in another world to be honest, I was so impressed with their design direction. She served us some tea while we talked and enjoyed each other's company. Soon Wiktor and I left to go meet his friend at the park to get some greens. It was quite a fun journey as well as I got to ride the Polish metro and also bike across town albeit mine had a flat tire. Wiktor exchanged bikes with me the second round going back.

We had to catch up with Karolina, she was waiting near the restaurant where we were going to eat a lot of traditional Polish food. She was reading a book by the bench and I tried to sneak up on her but she saw me a bit too early. Wiktor, Karolina and I went to the bottom floor of the restaurant where we ordered a bunch of food, all pretty good to be honest. It felt just like back when we were in Japan. It was really a nice and touching reunion.

We later went back to her place and Wiktor rolled some joints, we smoked and enjoyed watching funny variety shows until early morning. I had a pretty good sleep that night after such a fun and fulfilling day.Read more