Two different worlds in one weekend, March 6-8th

**We posted 2 blogs today; make sure to go back and read the one before this!**

So, Aggie and I had separate plans for the weekend of March 6-8th in two totally different areas of Europe. I'll begin with my weekend away with John, Helen and Loren. We went to Gstaad, Switzerland, which was awesome! It's a small car-free resort town in the mountains about 3 hours from Zurich (via train). John found a sweet place that had one apartment available for an overnight Saturday stay (which is hard to do in the winter in Switzerland...normally the mountain hotels require at least a week's stay at a time). So, we left early (6am!) Saturday morning and basically skied all day Saturday and Sunday.



This was probably one of the best ski weekends I have ever had. The off piste snow was fantastic! I was in snow up to my knees/mid thighs and my skis were just floating down the mountain though the puff. It was an unbelievable feeling! Plus, it didn't hurt that the weather was perfect too. Here are a few pics:







Saturday evening we had a nice dinner at the hotel and a few drinks. Our rooms were awesome and Sunday turned out to be just as good as Saturday (in terms of snow and weather). It was a great time and a huge success!

So while we were in sunny skies and crisp, clean mountain air, Ag and Danielle were in gray, blah weather in Poland.



Their plan was as follows:
Friday: tour Krakow
Saturday: tour Auschwitz and other sites in Krakow
Saturday evening: train back to Warsaw
Sunday morning/afternoon: check out Warsaw
Sunday afternoon: fly back to Zurich

They left early Friday morning and got into Warsaw around 9am or so. Apparently, upon arrival they encountered one of the most unfriendly passport control guards ever. That was the first impression and realization to them that they were in a really different world. It's one thing to travel from Switzerland to say France or Germany. Yes, different countries, etc. However, the girls said there was a definite feeling that they were foreigners and were in an Eastern European country. You could tell in the older workers that they encountered (verses the younger) that there was still this feeling of Communism in the air. It was quite interesting.

Anyway, after they got their luggage and such, the first thing they did was take out $$ and of course, Aggie's ATM card was snatched up by the ATM machine...she pressed the wrong pin in one too many times and "Poof!", the card was gone. No big deal, worse could happen; she had a backup and 5/3 is already mailing her a new one.

So they got Zloty's out, got bus tickets and were on their way. (Note: Poland is part of the EU, but the have their own currency, the Polish Zloty). They said the bus ride from the airport to the train station in the center of Warsaw was really depressing. No one seemed to smile and the buildings were all the same architecture and dark gray color (probably something to do with the Communist rule?).

Anyway, they got to the train station and the area around the station was busy, so they jumped right into the fray! The train station was quite old fashioned (at least to the Swiss standards we are used to now). Nothing was automatic and no one was in a hurry to help you. All worked out well, though. They were catching a 3 hr nonstop train to Krakow. Train tickets were around USD 30 one-way (which is really cheap) and they had lots of space on the train.

Once they arrived in Krakow, they jumped on a tram to the hotel. Again, the trams were really old. They stunk like BO and the doors were not user friendly. They (the doors) would just snap open and snap shut. The good thing is they were only on the tram for 3-4 stops before arriving to their destination.

Their hotel was near the old town area, on the border of the Jewish Quarter. The area around the hotel was a bit run down, but the receptionist ensured them it was a very safe area. Maybe it was the building next to the hotel concerned them??

No, the area was totally fine and once they were settled in, they went out to explore the city. After walking the Old Town area, checking out some shops, and grabbing some bread rolls, they finally retired to a bar for a break. Do note, the city had tons of vendors with covered blue carts selling these bread rolls that looked like bagels. Of course, the ladies tried one and although it wasn't exactly an Einstein's bagel, they were quite tasty; very authentic. And well, thanks to Wikipedia, we now know where the bagel comes from:

"It (the bagel) was invented much earlier in Krakow, Poland, as a competitor to the obwarzanek, a lean bread of wheat flour designed for Lent. In the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries, the bajgiel became a staple of the Polish national diet."

The next thing the girls discovered was how cheap everything was in Poland. Two delicious Zywiec's (local Polish brew) were ordered and the tab was just USD 3...oh, and each bottle was 9.5% proof. Needless to say, the girls only had one before heading to dinner.

On the way from the hotel to the Old Town, they had seen a local place that looked great for dinner. So, they headed back in that direction and found the restaurant with no problems.

The place was quite empty but got more crowded as the evening went on. The service was great and the food portions were right there with the US standards. HUGE amounts of food, and cheap. They got two appetizers, two full meals and then dessert for about USD 25-30. They had wine and a after dinner drink too, all included in the price. I would have been in heaven!

For the main meal they had pierogies (boiled dumplings stuffed with varying ingredients) which is a traditional Eastern European food. They also got a salad which they thought wouldn't be too big...um, they were wrong! The "salad" consisted of 4 different coleslaw type salads on egg bread rolls. The portions were enormous. (Also note: A lot of the time when you order a salad in Europe, it's probably not the same as our traditional salad we eat at home. What some consider salad is usually a mix of chopped up beets, carrots, cabbage, etc. The veggies aren't usually served on a bed of lettuce but rather side by side on a plate.)

The best part of the night was the entertainment (or lack thereof) at the table behind them. Apparently when they arrived this man at the next table had just sat down too and ordered. They then noticed he was quite drunk as he was falling asleep (aka, passing out!) at his table. His food came and he ate 1/2 the meal. Then he put his head down on the table and slept! When the Ag and Danielle got their dessert, movements from his end were seen...he was alive! After taking a 1-2 hour power nap, he sat up to finish the rest of his meal. Apparently the girls were just giggling.

So, on Saturday, the hotel had organized for the ladies to attend a tour of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. After a hardy breakfast, the van collected them and they were off. A video was shown on the way (1hr ride) of the camp and its former "operations". Again, Wikipedia gives a good overview of this horrible place.


Pictures were not allowed in the bunkers, but there are some you can see on this webpage. Also, toward the bottom of the page on the right you can see a picture of a pile of eye glasses that were taken from the prisoners. Throughout some of the bunkers, Ag said they had on display just thousands of shoes, piles of suitcases, stacks of clothing and toothbrushes, etc, etc. Another wall display (that was probably 30 feet long) was full of hair that had been shaved from the victims. The hair was then shipped to factories to make coats, blankets, etc. The camp was huge, roughly 450 acres worth of bunkers and other buildings. Who does this stuff? Ag said it was moving and emotional to see all these things first hand.

After the tour they headed back to the city of Krakow. They walked around the Jewish Quarter before heading to their hotel to collect their things and head back to Warsaw. When back in Warsaw, they jumped into a cab and were whisked away to their hotel in the Old Town area of Warsaw.

Now, Warsaw as completely leveled by the Nazis during WWII and the whole city has been rebuilt. The main downtown area was, therefore, quite modern. The Old Town, however, was built back up to be very similar to how it "used to be". They said it was super cute (Aggie's words btw) and very clean and quaint. The impression of the city was totally different and positive now, much more so than their initial views via the bus ride in from the airport.

They checked into their hotel and headed out for dinner. Their hotel lady gave them a wonderful recommendation and again, the girls ate well! Pierogies were on the menu again, as well as rye and beet soup. The ladies left full and happy and walked around the area a bit before retiring for the evening.

The next day the girls headed to a coffee shop, stumbled upon a grocery shop and took lots of great pics. After walking around for a while, they collected their things at the hotel and headed out to the airport. Despite the weather, the trip was a huge success and they had a blast!

Ag and I relaxed together that evening, sharing stories from our very different weekend adventures.

So, now we are already mid-March. Time is flying by and in just under three months, we'll be back home in the States for good! In the meantime, we will be in touch with more updates and news!