P3. Lublin and Zamosc, Poland B

Lublin, which is not the same Lublin  where part of my ancestors came from, is still a cute and adorable town. Coming here from Warsaw made a big contrast, for good.

 It has 35.000 inhabitants but I don't now why I am adding this info as for me it is not really relevant.

Anyway, as a tip I wouldn't recommend to start a trip in a country where you are lost in translation in the capital. To avoid a double shock (language plus capital), it is maybe easier to start in a second or third big city. Indeed, Lublin could be a good starting point.

Szarlotka-Dessert recommended to me by Paula, my Polish friend from Uni. It is a warm apple cake served with icecream.

I took a Polsky bus to come here. I sat next to Justina, a Polish girl who has been living in Madrid for five years now. We started to talk because she was holding a book by Arturo Perez Reverte called "Los perros" and of course, I asked her: Hablas espanol? It was good for me to have a different perspective from a local, yet outsider.

The bus terminal is not cute at all, but the good thing is that you have  buses for many destinations.

Bricks here and there.

Just by crossing a big avenue, the scenery is totally different. Lublin is just there...

Intriguing first view of Lublin 

It is kind of bizarre that nowadays  in Lublin there is no synagogue, when in the past it used be a place with a huge amount of Jewish population.

Lublin has been reconstructed but it is still in reconstruction.

It is mainly a university city, with flat rents of around 100 Euros per month.

Historical street of Lublin 

There are many "Cultural centres" and different cultural institutions all over town.

At this time of the year (July), it is full of tourists, and it is possible to listen to some English or German being spoken (good for a change). 

Beer is out there at any time of the day. And Vodka of course! Second comes the ice cream.

I have visited The State Museum of Majdanek (former concentration camp), from which I intend to post later on.

 Summer night

 Discovering Lublin

Lublin Grand Hotel 

Although I stayed in a hostel (FOLK) I was lucky to count on the help and guidance of local CS to do some tours.

I even went to the hairdresser in Lublin!

We understood each other by using a bit of Polish/English and body language (mirror was quite helpful). And finally we managed.

Zamosc "the jewel in the crown of the Polish Renaissance":

I visited this World Heritage tiny town by taking a mini bus from Lublin. It is a friendly destination. It comprises many historical monuments; however you don't have to walk far to see them all.

The heart of the Old Town is the Great Market Square with its distinctive Town Hall building.

Thanks to the 17th century synagogue building, in the "Synagoga" centre y culture tourists can learn about the history of the Jews who once lived there and influenced the intellectual, religious and cultural image of the region.

Although Zamosc is over four centuries old, it still looks impressive. It is not more than what you can see on the Internet. It is picturesque but it's not worth a detour; unless you're driving a car.

Until now I was polite enough not to mention certain issues in a really specific way. Well, as my third morning in Lublin was quite disastrous, I would like to state some things as they are.

First, language barrier is sometimes an impenetrable solid metal wall. In Warsaw and Lublin I had more or less the same frustrating experiences.

Second, people here (sorry about generalizing), when they say they will help you, if they don't know what to say or how to explain it; they won't admit it. Now I wonder how easy is for me to say "I don't know"... As a foreigner/ tourist, I believe that the instructions they are giving me are okay.  And then I get lost...

Third, except in some restaurants, it’s almost impossible to find translations of key vocabulary.

Fourth, so far I haven't seen a "multicultural" palette in these cities. It is funny for me how some locals "study" (stare) tourists. It makes me think of key words of anthropology that I prefer not to mention.

Fifth, and rounding up this list, mini buses here are expensive in relation to the shitty service they provide. Drivers drive like hell in “bumpy roads” and there is no air conditioning.

Next destination: Krakow/Cracovia/Cracovie

Corina Moscovich

P2. Warsaw-Varsovia-Varsovie. Poland/Polonia/Polonie

As it usually happens to me, the name of this city sounded magical even before making the trip. As I am starting my Poland tour (as I like to call it, hehe) in the capital of the country, I am already prepared to expect other realities in smaller towns.

Best way to take a natural picture? Ignore a guy in a costume

I have to admit that I did not feel love at first sight when I came here 3 days ago. 

It was just today when the whole picture of Warsaw started to be less blurry. 

Or maybe I surrendered myself to this challenging but still attractive European capital.

Despite the time gap, books like Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer, or Lost in translation by Eva Hoffman have been "imaginary" walking with me through the streets of Warsaw. Abel Rosnovski, Florentina...

Amber stones

I visited some specific places such as Cmentarz Zydowski, the Jewish Cemetery; Museum Powstania Warszawskiego, popularly known as the Warsaw Rising Museum. 
I will write about these later on in other posts. The Museum is located in a neighborhood which looks like Kirchberg in Luxembourg.

The underground is amazing! Shiny marble everywhere...

Cervantes Institute in Warsaw

Great initiative

In Warsaw the Galeria(mall) Milenza was my point of reference so as not to get lost. Today I had to go to an optitian's shop as I lost a screw of one of the arms of my sunglasses.

Of course, how on Earth I was going to explain that without being able to use English? Well, I entered the shop with a good attitude and smiling. I showed the optician my sunglasses, he took them and less than 5 minutes later he came back with everything solved. I made a gesture for asking how much it was. He refused my money. I don't know what he said, he doesn' t know what I said. Still, we managed to communicate. How great can we be in understanding when we must relate to others?

Next destination: Lublin.

Corina Moscovich

P1 From Luxembourg to Warsaw (first impressions).

As soon as i started my trip, Queen was on with Radio gaga. So, i knew this was a great start. In fact, it was a good beginning; as I was allocated seat 3F, priority Q without even asking for it. From Gare de Luxembourg till Charleroi airport (Brussels) I used Flibco navette. Ryan air flight lasted from 7 to 9 am. From there I took Modlin bus to the city (I bought it on the Internet).  I took a couple of pictures before departing and other some cool pictures from above... 

The sky is the limit

Spread your wings and fly away

Having stepped Warsaw' s Modlin airport, I was surprised to find a kind of autumn, rather than summer weather.

Once in the city, it was not easy to use English or any other language other than Polish. A bit of stress... In cases like this I do what I sometimes suggest to newer travellers: ask very young people (higher chances).

I saw many nuns, grafitis, tramways as soon as I entered the city. Later I saw even more.

My first sensations also included colours (grey and light-orangy brown). This sensation kept exactly the same for the rest of the day.

To my friends living in the Netherlands: Warsaw, in the newer parts of the centre, reminds me of Rotterdam: total eclectic style in architecture.

People are nice, they always try to help, despite the languages.

When I am not sure about where to go, and my intuition gets a bit tired of wondering around without a map, I just "follow" other people for a bit. That helps me to find a new path. And so on. Generally, it works.

First Pierogi, yummy...

What happens here in Warsaw is that it is difficult for me to distinguish, specially among young people, who is Polish and who is not. Therefore, I may be going after the steps of locals, and sometimes that lead as me to "no where places".


Corina Moscovich