Hey, want to know something creepy? Of course you do! So on Friday, Magda (my flatmate, rememeber?) and I went to a cafe to use their wireless and then browsed some of the local second hand stores, scoring a bundle of goodies between us. We were probably gone a few hours.
We got home and the door was locked, just as we had left it. However, someone had been in our a apartment. A male someone, judging by the urine left all over the toilet seat (all occupants of our flat are ladies and as our other flatmate Justina had already left to go to her parents for the weekend that morning and the bathroom had been clean when we left, all signs pointed to an intruder).
A search under the beds and in the cupboards revealed that whoever had left the urine was no longer in our little flat, but I found it very creepy. We still don't know who it was.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
served chilled.
Skipping the weather talk I'm so tempted to start with (it's cold, yada yada, could be colder, yada yada, hey look a bird!, yada yada) and going to straight for the good stuff. Except there's not really much to report.
Classes hypothetically start this week but really start next week, so I still haven't met anyone. Orientation starts next week, I'll probably go to a couple of events. New friends would be nice.
As of this morning I'm a registered student at the Jagiellonian University. In my ID photo I look eerily like Mum. Well, I guess it's not that eerie, given how closely related we are and all, but still. I find it odd since I never really thought we looked that much alike.
Random things found during my walks through the city:
I think this is either a public sculpture or an underground war machine... maybe both.
A sad little snowman with no eyes and only one arm.
I found this neat little teahouse and had the most spectacular pot of chai tea that I have ever had the pleasure of ingesting. It was rich and spicy and just perfect.
The teahouse was pretty neat looking too. There were fish tanks everywhere and parts of the wall were thatched and textured and just awesome.
Yesterday I went with my flatmate Magda and her friend Agnes to a couple of pubs in the city. One was underground in a space that for hundreds of years and until only recentlyish was used for food storage during the winter. It was a very nifty space, even if the pub itself wasn't particularly special.
I've found four or five op shops in the streets around my apartment, and have been having a blast digging through them for treasure. Yesterday I found a dirndl! I don't know if I want me to have it or if I'll send it home to a friend.
Classes hypothetically start this week but really start next week, so I still haven't met anyone. Orientation starts next week, I'll probably go to a couple of events. New friends would be nice.
As of this morning I'm a registered student at the Jagiellonian University. In my ID photo I look eerily like Mum. Well, I guess it's not that eerie, given how closely related we are and all, but still. I find it odd since I never really thought we looked that much alike.
Random things found during my walks through the city:
I think this is either a public sculpture or an underground war machine... maybe both.
A sad little snowman with no eyes and only one arm.
I found this neat little teahouse and had the most spectacular pot of chai tea that I have ever had the pleasure of ingesting. It was rich and spicy and just perfect.
The teahouse was pretty neat looking too. There were fish tanks everywhere and parts of the wall were thatched and textured and just awesome.
Yesterday I went with my flatmate Magda and her friend Agnes to a couple of pubs in the city. One was underground in a space that for hundreds of years and until only recentlyish was used for food storage during the winter. It was a very nifty space, even if the pub itself wasn't particularly special.
I've found four or five op shops in the streets around my apartment, and have been having a blast digging through them for treasure. Yesterday I found a dirndl! I don't know if I want me to have it or if I'll send it home to a friend.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
working my voodoo magic
I am using the black arts to bring this old travel blog back from the dead, for the evil purpose of keeping people updated on my latest adventure - a year in Poland on student exchange.
I arrived late on the evening of February 11 after a fairly horrific 40ish hours travel time, that included 12 hours trapped in Frankfurt airport, a flight cancelled due to snow, and getting into a fight with some German jerk who thought I'd just let him shove in front of me in queue.
Anyway, Poland has been interesting so far. My first morning at the lovely Good Bye Lenin hostel I woke to the following view:
"Imperialist enemies tempt you with coca-cola."
This is one of the walls in the kitchen/basement/pub of the hostel - I got a kick out of it.
But I couldn't stay in the hostel forever, so last Thursday I moved into an apartment in Kazimierz, about 15 minutes walk south from the city centre. I have my own room, and am sharing with a couple of Polish students, two girls both in their twenties.
My new room - home sweet home.
Aside from finding a place to live, I haven't done anything too exciting yet. Most days I go walking around Krakow, getting to know the sites and the layout of the city. I've finally tried pierogi, and every day I learn a few more words of Polish.
The city is made up of a combination of gorgeous old buildings, and slightly less-gorgeous buildings from the soviet-era. I took this on my way to the big mall. It's a pretty good example of what the streets look like here. Lots of big buildings, with shops on the bottom level and apartments above. I now live above a convenience store, and I've discovered at least 3 op shops within a block or two of my apartment.
I took this in the planty, which is a ring of grass and trees that encircles the city centre. It makes for a lovely walk, and I anticipate that once the snow has melted will make an ideal spot to have a picnic and read a book.
This church is in Rynek Główny, the main square in the city centre. There are lots of old churches scattered throughout the city, and nuns galore. I see them on the tram, in the supermarket, walking down the street. It's very strange, coming from such a godless land as I do.
And just for fun, one of me dressed in my winter finest on one of my rambles through the city. Fun fact: every time I go into a warm building after being outside, my glasses fog up completely and I can't see a thing. Good times.
I arrived late on the evening of February 11 after a fairly horrific 40ish hours travel time, that included 12 hours trapped in Frankfurt airport, a flight cancelled due to snow, and getting into a fight with some German jerk who thought I'd just let him shove in front of me in queue.
Anyway, Poland has been interesting so far. My first morning at the lovely Good Bye Lenin hostel I woke to the following view:
"Imperialist enemies tempt you with coca-cola."
This is one of the walls in the kitchen/basement/pub of the hostel - I got a kick out of it.
But I couldn't stay in the hostel forever, so last Thursday I moved into an apartment in Kazimierz, about 15 minutes walk south from the city centre. I have my own room, and am sharing with a couple of Polish students, two girls both in their twenties.
My new room - home sweet home.
Aside from finding a place to live, I haven't done anything too exciting yet. Most days I go walking around Krakow, getting to know the sites and the layout of the city. I've finally tried pierogi, and every day I learn a few more words of Polish.
The city is made up of a combination of gorgeous old buildings, and slightly less-gorgeous buildings from the soviet-era. I took this on my way to the big mall. It's a pretty good example of what the streets look like here. Lots of big buildings, with shops on the bottom level and apartments above. I now live above a convenience store, and I've discovered at least 3 op shops within a block or two of my apartment.
I took this in the planty, which is a ring of grass and trees that encircles the city centre. It makes for a lovely walk, and I anticipate that once the snow has melted will make an ideal spot to have a picnic and read a book.
This church is in Rynek Główny, the main square in the city centre. There are lots of old churches scattered throughout the city, and nuns galore. I see them on the tram, in the supermarket, walking down the street. It's very strange, coming from such a godless land as I do.
And just for fun, one of me dressed in my winter finest on one of my rambles through the city. Fun fact: every time I go into a warm building after being outside, my glasses fog up completely and I can't see a thing. Good times.
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