I am currently writing from Robert's (a friend of the family) house in Sindelfingen, Germany. He is on a trip to the states for the summer and has been kind enough to let me hole up here for the next week until Patrick comes for the last leg of my trip before settling in Prague. It is a great opportunity to relax, read, write, and just be boring while I have the chance. However, the last couple weeks have not been at all boring. I arrived in Sindelfingen, which is just outside of Stuttgart, after a magnificent time with Kasia and her family in Kobylnica, Poland, a small town just outside of Slupsk if you are trying to locate it on the map.
When traveling alone one of the things that becomes most apparent is the lack of friends, family, or home. I was lucky enough to find all three of these things in Kasia and her family. They were amazingly kind, helpful, and would not stop pushing food in front of me the whole time I was there...which is a signal to any Pavlik that he/she is among their own! During the week we toured Kobylnica, Slupsk, Ustka, Gdansk, Sopot, Gdynia, and even checked out a few sites in Berlin. I will go through the various events of the week photo by photo, with commentary entered between and in captions.
After the 20 hour bus ride from Paris to Berlin, I took a short 2-hour shuttle from Berlin to Szczecin, Poland, where I was to catch the train to Slupsk.
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The train was from Szvzecin, Poland to Slupsk
and it was the first time that I had been in one
of the classic coaches |
I was picked up from the Slupsk train station by Kasia, Magda (her sister) and Marcin (Magda's boyfriend).
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| Marcin and I in front of the old American military base in Slupsk |
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| Ustka beach on the first evening in Poland |
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It was obligatory to rub/grab the mermaid's breast(s?) at the
Ustka harbor and to make a wish that would then come true. I
am ashamed to confess that I was so distracted I forgot
to make a wish. |
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| Pirate tours are offered |
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| Typical Polish ale with dessert waffles |
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Kasia and Czarek (her boyfriend) took me
to an American restaurant in Slupsk so
I could sate my craving for a burger (something
I had made public on Facebook a few days
earlier on the 4th of July). |
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Post office in Slupsk. Poland is credited with
the invention of the postal stamp. |
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| Slupsk downtown, by the river |
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Witch's tower where, you guessed it, all of
the witches in the middle ages were tried
until they were found guilty (and put to
death) or innocent (proven by their death) |
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| Kasia and Czarek at my favorite herbaciarnia in Slupsk |
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They had over a hundred teas to choose from and
the atmosphere was perfect, right along the
river. A fantastic place to be with friends
and to simply relax and chat |
We took an overnight trip to Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia. We went up by train and then Marcin and Magda drove up the next day to pick us up. Gdansk is where Kasia is getting her Masters in English and Czarek is pursuing his law degree.
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| The University of Gdansk |
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| Walking along the river in Gdansk |
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| The famous Neptune statue in Gdansk |
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| View from the top of the cathedral in Gdansk |
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| Sopot, by the marina and beach |
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| The most Asian-looking Sheraton outside of Asia |
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Optimal cooling down fountain in Gdansk...at least 5 different types of water streams
for your playing pleasure |
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| Gdansk shipyard with the museum to the right. |
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| View of Gdansk from the top of the hill. This particular shot is looking out on the shipyard area. Gdansk used to be one of the biggest producers of ships but the yard has been shut down for some time due to political problems |
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| One of the stadiums for the Euro 2012 cup...for those of you who follow soccer |
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| Marcin, Magda, and Kasia checking out photos on the Sopot beach |
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| Kasia and Czarek ready to try their first quesadilla... |
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| ...of course it could never be the same without green chile. |
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| Kasia and Czarek took me on a bike tour of Kobylnica |
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Marcin, Magda, Kasia and Czarek (with me in the mirror) enjoying ice cream in Ustka
on the last evening in Poland |
Marcin owns a flat in Berlin that he is in the process of renovating, so he was planning on traveling to Berlin that Sunday. He invited me along and so he, Magda, and I drove to Germany's capital. My bus to Stuttgart didn't leave until 21:45 so we checked out a few of Berlin's sights before they continued on.
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| Berlin's Hauptbahnhof, or main train station, is immense and new. It was completed roughly five years ago |
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| Magda and me in front of the German Bundestag |
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| The Brandenburg Tor |
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| The first stoplight in Europe |
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| Memorial to the fallen Jews |
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Magda and Marcin sent me off with a bag full
of cherries and gooseberries from their garden as
well as with some dried polish sausages and a
bunch of other goodies |
The last day in Berlin I really wasn't feeling too well and had a cough and sore throat, which made me quite ready to arrive in Stuttgart and sleep for awhile.
Nicht so einfach. I was able to battle through the 8 hour bus ride from Berlin to Stuttgart (even though I think half the bus may have supported a movement to kick me out while it was moving, due to coughing) and arrived in Stuttgart at 6:00 a.m. I found my way to the Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof and then from there took the S-bahn (suburban train) to a stop in Sindelfingen and proceeded to find my way home. Breunigerland is a huge shopping center in Sindelfingen, which Robert lives by, and serves as a light in the German darkness when attempting to navigate.
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It may be difficult to see, but that building in the distance says Breunigerland, there
was still hope for me |
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| I let out a sigh of relief as I entered city limits |
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| And never fail...they had signs pointing right to Breunigerland! |
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Quick selfie in the window of an office building
as I near the final stretch...just to boast of
my strength and elicit sympathy |
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| HOOOOOOOOME!!! |
