POLAND Warsaw

Poland Warsaw

070807

Log 1.

You sometimes do some silly bloody things when you are traveling alone. Yesterday I drove towards Warsaw. I had been warned to "Not Drive in Warsaw"and "Parking very Difficult" so I found a spot by the railway about 10 km out of town. I had arrived at midday therefore had the afternoon to orientate and find the spots to interest me tomorrow in the city.

After my cuppa and small meal of smoked chicken and left over Spuds and Cold Corn, ( I still cook to many each meal so have spud left overs most days ) I walked to the train station only 500 meters away.

The lady at the Kase couldn't understand a word i was saying and couldn't sell me a ticket to Warsaw for some unknown reason. I chanced it and jumped on the express to town. I seemed to arrive at Central in a flash, Gratis of the Polish Rail. Centralna Station Warsaw is big even by London standards. All the station is underground, a maze of tunnels. The signs are excellent if you can understand Polish. I headed for the daylight.

The most imposing of the buildings in Warsaw is the 40 story Palace of Culture and Science . I spotted a sign to the lookout, paid my dues at the Kasi and proceeded to the lifts. From the top, I looked out over post war construction, Glass towers, New Hotels and a substantial financial district. Away in the distance new housing tower blocks dot the skyline in all directions , uniform in height about 10 stories tall. About 2 km on the edge of the Vistula river was the Old Town. I have seen enough Museums to do me for a month or so but I was sure to find some food and sights to entertain me for the afternoon in the Old Town.

I chose the underground, another option was to walk or take a bus or tram which seemed to be going in the general direction. Down in the bowels of Warsaw I had the same dilemma, no signs in English. I bought a 24 hrs ticket for 7.50 Zoloty about £1.20 and charged through the barriers as if i knew what i was doing and where i was going. One stop on the tube, seemed to be about 2 KM of rattling and shaking so I pounced off and headed for the daylight. As I was going up the stairs i was asked direction from a fellow Aussie traveler who it would appear, had the same range of anxieties that i had. I must have looked confident anyway.

The Royal castle is the biggest building in the Old town, It was deliberately destroyed on Hitlers Orders. Put back together between 1971 & 84. Inside are 20 or so paintings from Canalleto who's paintings recorded Warsaw's architecture in such detail that they were able to be utilize in the reconstruction of the cities monuments and buildings. A temporary exhibition was currently available, swords, knives, shields and Armour . They wanted extra money, so i moved on to walk the old town, earwigged a English speaking tours whenever i could. I found that i was getting too much superfluous info and began wandering on my own.

The buildings, only 50 years old, looked old especially with broken plaster work and shonkie paintwork to add age to their appearance, The streets were well patronized with tourists buying trinkets , fake fur hats, postcards and an array of novelty items pertaining to Warsaw and Poland. A particular blue grey fox fur hat took my interest, Christ knows where ill get to wear it its not cold enough on New Zealand . The bargaining began soon as a went to walk away the price dropped by 500 down to 450. I asked for his calculator so i knew the conversion to UK pounds . I offered 200 and received an indignant look, I lingered for a moment but no response other than "Very, Very, Good Fox" . The deal remained, not done.

A walking tour from my LP, took me to most of the highlights of the old town. I was very curious about the 'Monument to the Warsaw Uprising' a significant event that happened towards the end of the war, 1944. The short version goes like this. The Poles hoped for more help to liberate their city especially from the British forces who had encouraged oppositional actions and from the Red Army which had advanced to within view of the conflict and were camped across the Vistula river, they wanted them to join and Ousting the Germans. This did not happen and after lengthy struggle and severe bombing the Germans took control , thousands where killed.

On my way south driving to Warsaw, I camped up a side road in a nice secluded spot. I read my Lonely Planet as i settled for the night . Further up the road 10 km was the site of Treblinka 2 the extermination camp. Unlike Auschwitz nothing remains other than the Huge Granite Monument and some interpretation panels showing the layout . Somewhere beneath the grass , mingled with the sand , lies the ashes of some 800,000 thousand human being. ( 3 times the population of Christchurch )

Horse and traps clip clop around the cobbled streets . The horses are shod with special shoes with rubber across the heel to reduce the noise levels in the narrow streets. I noticed they have bags permanently slung under their tails to catch the used oats and chaff as it is ejected . I only suppose that if it was left to drop on the cobbled streets it would be very difficult to remove, stink like hell and by catching it in the bag the shit is able to be recycled and also eliminates the hazard posed to tourists who generally look up not down.

Wandering back towards the central train station I suddenly had a shot of adrenaline when i realized I had not taken note of the station where i had left the campervan at midday. I thought it was Pembertoski or something like that . Stuff it, I should have written it down , Bev would been more diligent but she was on the other side of the globe, asleep. At the central station I found the Kasi and asked for a train to Pembertoski.. The ticket clerk looked at me blankly, she obviously could not understand my language or a station mis pronounced or non existent. I stood out of the que with reluctance to gather my thoughts, looking for someone who might speak the English. Four people just shrugged and walked on , they had a home to go to, unlike me. Two others said there isn't or never was a station called Pembertoski.

I went back up to daylight. tramps, vagrants and other lost souls had begun to select their spots on the park benches. I was looking round to find a lame, weak, clean tramp that i could wrestle his overcoat off. Probably a very rare commodity. In that way I would a least be warm, while aimlessly wandering looking for the camper-van. I retraced my steps to the platform that I thought i had exited the express. It dawned on me that I had about seven or so stops back across the river towards the south. One of the stops was Pradg, the southern suburb of Warsaw. If I watched out for the womens prison that i noted on my way in then i was getting closer to my destination .

I found a train map. Bugger, there was an added complication, Metro, intercity or Tram services , all had different stops. No such name as Pembertoski. Then i spotted the one i needed the sixth stop on the intercity,the one I needed was Sulejowek. How could i have forgotten something so simple.

The sun is shining today, the first fine days for a week . The van is damp from the rain, I need to attend to my house work , clothes washing, replenish the tucker, fix the exhaust which has developed leak after i drove into a road side pothole much bigger than anticipated. Then i need to track down a fuel leak which seems to be getting worse.

I can't get my usual gas bottles refilled in Poland so Ill have to adapt and hope. If the gas connection leaks it will be one sure way of getting a good nights sleep.

I wonder what will happen next

Alvin