Hello Baltic

Yesterday i arrived in Gdansk. A quick tour of the old town and i was off with a bunch of aussies and canadians to party the night away in Sopot (20 min train ride from Gdansk). I guess you can call Sopot the 'Cancun of Poland'. We spent the night at a beach club called Copacabana (very original). Today i took a day trip to Malbork, famous for its 13th century castle built by the Teutonic Order. They built many castles in the baltic region...roughly 100km apart (the distance a knight can travel in full armor in one day). The castle in Malbork was not only the biggest but also served as the capital.

Anyway, Gdansk is jam packed today...a bunch of large sail ships docked, hence attracting lots of tourists. Im gonna try to get a few pictures of the town and then back to Sopot for round two. Uwaga jest Sobota!!


'Long Street' Gdansk

Coming Home

Amanda and I have spent the last few days in my hometown, Warsaw. In addition to spending time with our cousins and family friends, we've managed to visit many of the sites: Church of the Holy Cross (which has Chopin's heart), old town, Warsaw Uprising Museum (very new, and excellent museum dedicated to the only substantial uprising during WWII (in which our grandmother took part in)), and a chopin concert in Warsaw's largest park. Tomorrow is Amanda's final full day in Poland before she flies back to Canada :(


Standing next to one of my few, polish, childhood memories


Fire dancer in Warsaw's old town

Spreading Canadian Culture

Last night at the bar, my sister and i introduced our friends to the Canadian Bar-Sport of Boat Races. Basic idea: two teams, it's like a relay race, each person has 2 beers. There were two teams: Canada/Finland (we met a couple Fins wandering the rynek last night) and USA. Team CF took the early lead, but the 'F' part lagged a bit and the American captain was strong. So here is the final scenario...USA is down to their last pint...our captain at the end accelerates and finishes, next Fin goes without a hitch, then me and finally the anchor (my sister) finishes the job. Team USA has already issued a request for a rematch.

In other news, i went to another polish cabaret and a shisha bar.

School's Out

Three weeks have come and gone and our polish school has finished. Last night was the closing ceremonies and a goodbye party at a nightclub. Most people are staying the weekend, but im sure it'll be a bittersweet mood. I'm already looking forward to my next destination.

There is a climbing wall set up in the main square, im planning on going there with a friend from class. Amanda is off on a rafting trip and will be going to Austwitz tomorrow (a place everyone should visit once in their lifetime).

Tatra Mountains

This weekend, our school organized a trip to the town of Zakopane. This is a fabulous little hiking/skiing town on the boarder with slovakia where you can find the High Tatra Mountains. I don't really like hiking with large groups...usually a group of 3 is plenty, we where a group of 33. As you can imagine, we didn't get to much hiking done, although we did go through a cave: the "largest lit cave in poland". Instead of heading back to krakow with the class, i decided to stay in the national park. I hiked some more on saturday, spent the night in a Mountain House and hiked the next day with a couple from the US and a polish gal. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't the greatest...and on the way down i got rained on pretty hard. I think it was God trying to tell me that i need to take a shower.

Forgot to mention that last week Amanda and i went to a Cabaret in the jewish district of Krakow.


The clouds are comin'

Karol

School is going just fine, my sister and i are having a blast. Last night we took a break from partying and went to see a movie. Karol is the story of Pope John Paul II from the beginning of WWII all the way up until he becomes pope. Excellent, im pretty sure it'll win the Oscar for best international film. We saw a dubbed Polish version.


PJPII

Polish Class

Today was the first day of polish language classes for my sister and I. In my class, level 5, there are 10 people (2 guys, 8 girls). Teachers are cool and i think im learning a lot already...although i still think the best place to learn polish is at the pub (which we invest a lot of our time and money into).


Me and sis at the bar

Future Star

While waiting for Amanda (my sister) at the airport i noticed a group of photographers and journalists waiting by an arrival gate. A flight had just come in from London...i was expecting a spice girl or something...instead i got 16 year old Agnieszka Radwanska. She had just won the Wimbledon Juniors. I was actually holding a polish newspaper at the time when she walked out and her victory was the cover story. Of course, i managed to get a pic with her.


Agnes and I (btw, this photo was taken after a day of travel and 2 hours sleep)

Proof of victory

MS2

Thinking like a software engineer, i've reached milestone 2 of my euro trip. MS1 was the Alps, and MS2 is Poland. I arrived in Krakow after midnight and decided to go out for one beer just to relax...i stumbled home after 6am. Partied nice and proper. I love Poland. Im leaving to pick up my sis from the airport...

Underground

Yesterday i went caving under Budapest. It was a four hour guided tour through caves that have been created by thermal waters millions of years ago. In the caves, we did a little bouldering as well as squeezing through some impossibly small holes. The coolest moment was when we reached a depth of 40m and everyone turned off their lights as sat still...no light, no sound...two of your strongest senses are telling your brain `dude, there's nothing`...instead of relaxing...your brain races to figure this out `there's gotta be something´...then the tour guide flicks on his torch and life is back to normal.

So im a little sore today...going back to another thermal bath.