Entry #1 from June Travels.

So, I'm finally getting around to typing up what I actually saw when I was away... keep in mind that I wrote it in a book (with appropriately awful handwriting) and that this is now severely outdated for anyone who keeps up with my life. Sorry about that. I'm not exactly the most motivated person, unless I'm wildly excited about something... and about this, I'm not. Oh well.

Wed 23 June 2010

So, a new travel journal. It's been a long time since I used of these. But the availability of the internet is likely to be sporadic over the next few weeks, so I think it's safer to record my thoughts here rather than risk forgetting them. I'm in Gdansk, but I'll step back a little to account for when I last blogged. I believe that was Sunday or perhaps Monday morning, staying at Ad's house. It was really good to catch up with him, and I hope he does move to Australia. But at times it felt like he was reserved, and he didn't smile as much as he used to. It's sad to see your friends heartbroken. But really, there's nothing I can do to help.

So, on Monday night I cooked dinner. I was hungry and tired because A and I had gone for a massive walk around the Thames that afternoon. I made dinner quite late, as we'd already been to the kebab shop for a late lunch (and I had awesome felafel). I made a tagine-style dish in a spiced tomato sauce, couscous salad, and a nectarine & vanilla upside-down cake for dessert. We sat outside because it was warm, eating and talking, having a few drinks with his parents. It was really nice.

On Tuesday I was up at 7am and on the train to london by 8am. That meant that I was able to maximise my day (and consequently my shopping!)... I spent some quality time at Marks & Spencer, found cute shorts and a new suit jacket, as well as a few other items. I also caught up with Mk and Tr. I met Mk at 12 and we had a coffee - he paid, because I'd bought him a beer when we caught up on Sunday. We grabbed snacks for lunch (or, rather, I purchased a sandwich and cubed mango, whereas he obeyed his budget and ate the bread rolls and nectarines that he'd brought with him).

We went to Primark for further shopping (shoes for 2 pound? Why, yes, I do believe I need a pair of black canvas sneakers!) before meeting Tr at Marble Arch. We walked all over London (ok, mostly in a straight line, but London is huge!) to finally reach the Twinings shop, but I was in good company and we had some laughs. We all stocked up on tea from a tiny shop that's been in the same location for 300 years, and at 4:30pm we went our seperate ways. For the record, I bought a tin of loose-leaf Ceylon Orange Pekoe, some Darjeeling teabags and a box of Elderflower + red berries (I think Cranberry, but I forget, and I'm too lazy to go look) for the Mitbewohnerin.

I caught the train to Maidenhead, where I called the M family and A came to pick me up. I was starving, so had leftovers from the previous nights' dinner. A had already polished off the leftover spinach risotto from Saturday night. I was repacked my bags, discovering that to my dismay, I could barely fit it all in and still zip my bag. I got a few hours sleep, got up at 3:15am and A drove me to Stanstead. I didn't have time to grab a snack in the airport, which was a pity. I was starving by the time we landed. We all started piling off the plane, down the stairs and onto the tarmac, when the air hostesses made us stop and said we couldn't disembark. So we sat on the steps, 30m from the terminal, for 20 mins. Then we all got back on the plane and waited for another 10 mins. I was not impressed! I still have no idea why we were delayed.

I found an ATM in the airport (it took a little searching, despite the airport being about as large as a shoebox) and took out 500 Zl - about 125 Euro. Exchange rate = win! I realised while I was waiting for the bus that I had no change with which to pay the fare, but thankfully the driver was in a rush and just waved us all on. There really were a lot of people waiting for the bus. I had another panic when I realised that I had no idea where to get off, but thankfully the bus stopped outside the train station, so I could navigate to the hostel from there. The staff were very friendly - a little flirty, even, in some instances. I couldn't get into the room as they hadn't cleaned it yet, so I left my bag there and went for a wander.

Actually, first I bought bread and jam from a tiny deli and made sandwiches. Then I looked around the old town. The architechture is much nicer than the crumbling Soviet-style buildings that I saw on the bus ride into the city, but still pretty shabby. The streets are in very poor repair (as was amply demonstrated by the bus ride). I walked along the river, climbed the brutal tower in the main church (St Mary's) and photographed places of interest. Consequently, I'm not quite sure that I'll do tomorrow, but I'm sure I can work something out.

I came back to the hostel at 2pm to put my stuff into my room. The room is called "The Library": newspaper and magazines have been used in place of wallpaper, and there are shelves of old Polish books lining the walls. I quite like it. It's definitely a pity that I had to take a top bunk. I used the free internet for a little while, to let A know that I arrived here intact, and replied to emails from both L and Sd. Then I went out again and wandered more. First, I went to the post office to pick up my Polrail train tickets, which were waiting as a Post Restante letter. Then, I managed to post back to Germany a few items of clothing that I don't want to potentially destroy here. The post office wasn't where my emailed map from Polrail said it would be (in fact, it was actually in the main rail station building). There were some language difficulties but I got there in the end. It's definitely good that I'm so stubborn, but I hate addressing someone when I don't know their language. Either way, it got posted, and I have my tickets.

I walked to the Monument to Fallen Shipyard Workers and took a lot of photos, and then had a slow wander back through town. I found some outside fruit and veg markets where I bought white cherries with a red blush across their skin, plus a few nectarines. I ate them whilst sitting in the sun, and then came back here to the hostel. I talked to an Australian roommate for a while, found a book in English, and wrote here. For the record, the book is "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain" by Robert Olen Butler, and it's a collection of stories, each written in a Vietnamese voice, regarding the aftermath of the war; new lives, new countries, new rules. It's an awesome book, so I'm planning on posting it home so that Mum can read it. I think she'll like it. Anyway, it's 10 past 8 here, and I'm exhausted, definitely ready for bed. I know it's early, but I think I might just have to bite the bullet.