Christmas, New Years and the Cold

TL;DR or Quick Summary 

• Christmas break was wonderful. I was able to relax and enjoy my time until the frighteningly cold weather rolled in. 
• My girlfriend Kim visited for about two weeks, definitely the highlight of my break. 
• We visited Warsaw, Krakow, and Białystok but spent most of our time in Krakow. 
• Super quick summary of my travels: Toruń ⇒ Berlin ⇒ Amsterdam ⇒ Warsaw ⇒ Krakow ⇒ Białystok. 
• For about a week, the weather got significantly colder. I discovered that there are few things more humbling than slowly turning to ice while a 5 year old Polish boy happily plays in the snow. 
• The first week back was very good, but it is an odd feeling to have a two week break and then only have 3-4 more classes before the semester actually ends. 

Classes have been back in session for a week now and my students were predictably less than enthusiastic about being back in the classroom. There are only a few weeks left before the semester ends in February. In that time I will focus on more writing exercises, especially in regards to argumentative and persuasive writing. In my next post, I will focus more on discussing what is going on in my classes. This post will focus on my adventures over the winter break.  

Bridge into Toruń

Before Christmas: The Great Lie Surprise 

Since I decided not to return to the land of reasonable winter temperatures Texas, Kim graciously decided to come visit me and see some of Poland. Her flight to Warsaw connected through Amsterdam and I decided to surprise her at the Amsterdam airport. When I made the decision, I didn't fully realize that how much would go into the deception. It all ended up working out, but it was definitely a challenge. I started out my break with a trip to Toruń, then Berlin, and finally Amsterdam. 

Toruń

Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland and conveniently on the way to Berlin. So I decided to take a day trip there with a Fulbright friend and make a day trip out of it. Since we had taken an early morning train to Toruń on a Thursday, we were practically the only tourists in the city. The isolation combined with the early morning fog/haze certainly created an eerie feeling. Wandering through empty streets and through a suspiciously empty church certainly did not help the atmosphere. 

Finally, after entering the town square, the fog started to burn off and people started to emerge. There was a small, but festive Christmas market, several churches, and an old tower to climb. One of the strangest and most interesting parts of our visit was the ruins of the Teutonic Knight's castle. 

Teutonic Castle in Toruń

As we approached, the entire castle complex looked closed or abandoned, however as soon as we tried to enter a feisty man spoke out from behind a previously shaded window and had us buy tickets. The ruins themselves where very interesting to look at and wander through, but the random assortment of medieval weapons seemed misplaced. For some reason I just didn't believe that the Teutonic Knights kept a trebuchet in the the kitchen. The basement of the castle however, held the real surprise. 

The exhibit designers decided to include a seemingly unrelated 'haunted corner of the castle.' There was no historic plaque or anything like that; just a dark corner in the back of the basement. Unfortunately we did not realize that we were entering the haunted corner until we were already in it. There were (fake) severed heads, chains and cages, and everything else one might find on sale after Halloween. The real kicker, however was the motion activated sound. About ten seconds after walking into the room, the sound of rattling chains and fall stones started playing. After that point, we made a quick exit. 

Sassy gingerbread baker

The other highlight of Toruń was the gingerbread museum. In the museum, we took a quick class on gingerbread making. Our sassy master baker ran through the ingredients and baking techniques while managing to jokingly insult everyone present. We got to roll, stamp, and cut our own gingerbread cookies to take with us. Definitely a great stop.  

Quick Stop in Berlin 

Berlin Christmas market

The next morning, we took an early morning bus to Berlin. It was a surprisingly comfortable trip and I even managed to sleep some. Since our bus arrived around 7:00am, it once again felt like we were the only tourists in town. We were only in Berlin for one night, but it certainly felt like we did a lot more than that. 

We did a super long (but worth it) walking tour, got interviewed by NBC about the Berlin Christmas market attacks, visited said Christmas markets, took a nap, went out in search in Indian food only to end up with burgers, and then collapsed for the night. It was a whirlwind trip, but it helped me see Berlin in a different light. The Christmas markets were some of the best I had ever seen and there were several scattered throughout the city. The markets had a ton of gifts, food, and clothing. In fact, I bough my first ever scarf from a stall in one of the markets. 

Getting interviewed for NBC

The next morning I boarded a train to Amsterdam where I would end up spending Christmas. 

Amsterdam - Christmas on the Canals

I arrived in Amsterdam on Christmas Eve. Another Fulbright friend was going to arrive on the following afternoon, on Christmas Day, so I would be spending Christmas Eve by myself. While I was a little bit apprehensive about it at first, it ended up being a good evening. I wandered the streets and canals of Amsterdam that had been adorned with bright sculptures and decorations. I accidentally joined an exclusive/private tour of the canal lights (but don't worry, they accepted me as one of their own). The lights had a theme of bio-mimicry. Each work of art somehow related to life and used bright lights and colors to convey its message. The displays were really well done. My favorite mimic echolocation (used by bats) and used different colored lights to show how sound waves moved through a tunnel. 

Christmas Eve service 

That evening, I went to was turned out to be a very popular English church in Amsterdam. I walked by 45 minutes before the service started and there was already a huge line. Luckily I got a seat next to a friendly American couple. The service was very well done and definitely made the evening feel more like Christmas at home. Sadly, Santa did not leave any presents for me at the hostel, but I think that I can forgive him. He probably just had some trouble figuring out where I was. 

The beach at Zandvoort

The next day, Christmas Day, I took a train to Zandvoort, a small Dutch town on the sea. The beach was predictably bleak, cloudy, and windy, but it was still pretty crowded. There were families walking along the shore and around a dozen people wind surfing. I stopped for lunch at a small restaurant along the beach and I am sure everyone was wondering what this random American was doing there, but I really enjoyed myself. When the weather warms up, it would be a really nice place to visit! That night my friend arrived and we wandered the canals and restaurants of Amsterdam.

One of the few moments of peace on the bike ride to Haarlem

My final day in Amsterdam, was an exercise in futility. We decided to bike to the nearby city of Haarlem. It was only supposed to be about an hour's ride, however we were not counting on the wind. For the entire trip, we were attempting to ride into the strong wind. It probably took us about two and a half hours to make the journey. Some of the scenery was picturesque, but a majority of the ride was spent along side a highway with cars blowing past us. Once we got there, Haarlem was a very nice city. It had a beautiful cathedral and town square and would have been worth a trip by car or train, just not by bike. We decided not to risk the wind again and took the train back into Amsterdam. The next morning I got up early to head to the airport. 

Reunited

Kim was supposed to have a two hour layover in Amsterdam. That would have been plenty of time to surprise her, get some food or coffee, and liesurely make it to the gate. Of course, that didn't happen. Her flight to Amsterdam was delayed for about an hour, so we only had about 45 minutes in the airport. The surprise was a complete success! Although we had to rush through the airport, it was still completely worth it. 

Warsaw

Kim's favorite cathedral

Although Kim and I made it on the flight to Warsaw, unfortunately Kim's luggage did not. While delayed luggage is always a downer, this was especially bad because Kim's coat was in her luggage. To venture out for dinner, she wore my sweater, which served more as a dress. Luckily, her luggage came arrived that evening so we were not stuck inside for too long. This was only the beginning of many battles with the cold. 

We decided to only spend a couple of days in Warsaw so we could spend more time in Krakow. In Warsaw, we went on a walking tour, ate several types of pierogi, visited the Museum of the History of the Polish Jews (one of my favorite museums ever), found Kim's all time favorite cathedral, and nearly froze to death while looking at music synchronized Christmas lights. I also introduced Kim to the Polish semi-obsession with malls. If I haven't mentioned it before, Poland really loves malls and shopping. Many times it is possible to see one mall from another mall. All in all, we had a good time in Warsaw, I was really excited to see Krakow. 

Krakow

Getting ready for New Year's Eve in Krakow

After dropping our bags at the hotel, which was fortunately very close to the train station, we headed to to the old town in search of dinner. We had planned on strolling through the Christmas market and maybe getting a snack or something before dinner. However, once we got to the market, we succumbed to the tantalizing smell of shish-kabobs, hot wine, and Polish squeaky mountain cheese (oscypek). It was a fantastic decision. 

Although it was after Christmas, the market was still going strong. It was crowded, but not packed. Judging from the languages I heard, there were a lot of Spanish and Italians; I even heard some British accents. The stalls sold everything from gingerbread to baklava (it was delicious) to handmade Polish amber jewelry. We walked through the market pretty much everyday to get some wine and cheese.

Wawel Castle 

Our first full day in Krakow was New Year's Eve. In the morning we took a walking tour that ended up lasting about 3 hours. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but it was below freezing for pretty much the entire tour. Fortunately our tour guide was sympathetic and very took a warm extended break for coffee. Unlike Warsaw, Krakow was mostly undamaged after WWII, which means that many of the buildings and structures are original (or at least more than 60 years old). It gave Krakow are real since of authenticity and history. Wawel castle was especially impressive. It was the former royal capital of Poland and was home to many kings and queens. 

New Year's Eve in Krakow

For New Year's Eve, Kim and I met up with another Fulbrighter and her friends. We had a great dinner at our hotel (unoriginal, but very convenient) and then headed to live music bar for the midnight countdown. The live band was playing in the basement which was packed. They were a Polish band (I think) but most of their songs were in English. Disappointingly, there was no organized midnight countdown, but there was plenty of complementary champagne. After midnight the band kept playing and we talked and danced until we were ready to collapse. Kim and I made it home at a respectable 3:30 am, while the other half of our group stayed out until the sun came up. Most of New Year's Day was spent recovering and appreciating the complementary cookies that the hotel continuously restocked. All in all, it was a great New Year's party. 

The first snow flakes

During the first half of the trip, Kim was constantly disappointed about the lack of snow. Clearly however, the snow gods heard her cries and granted her wish. While we were in Krakow it started snowing and basically never stopped. It completely changed the look of Krakow and more than satisfied Kim's craving for snow. In fact, the snow followed us for the rest of our trip. 

Wieliczka Salt Mine

Inside the Wieliczka Salt Mines

One of Krakow's top attractions is the Wieliczka Salt Mine. This salt mine was a huge part of the Polish economy for many years (and today, it still brings in a ton of money as a tourist destination). To get to the mines, we had to walk down 50-ish flights of stairs. It was a long and somewhat discontenting decent. Fortunately we were able to take the elevator back to the surface!

Inside the mines, we saw different chambers and some of the machinery that miners used to use to remove salt. While it paid a lot, the job was pretty dangerous and miserable. Miners used to spend 8-10 hour days down in the hot mines, not fun. We also tried some all natural, organic, free-range, hormone free, slow grown, cave salt. Unsurprisingly it was super salty. While I am glad we saw the mines, I feel like I didn't actually learn much about their history. Much of our tour was focused on the numerous salt statues that miners had created.

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp was a very somber experience. If you have the opportunity, I would recommend it. While not a happy visit, it really does put things in perspective and put a human face on the horrors of the Holocaust. I won't go into too much detail here (mainly because this post is already long enough), but if you want to know more, I would be glad to tell you more about it.  

Białystok and the Cold

We decided to spend the last two days of our trip in Białystok. I had hoped to show Kim around the city center and city parks; the weather however was not on my side. Minus five degrees Fahrenheit (-20C) was the high temperature the day we were in Białystok. This might have been normal winter temperatures for Poles, but Kim and I were not prepared. We essentially traveled from the bus to cafe to restaurant.  From our nice warm inside location, we could see the parades occurring for Three King's Day.

Three King's Parade in Białystok

Kim finally got to see the park that I had been sending her hundreds of pictures of. Her main comment about my apartment was, "Wow it's so green! Who decided to paint it this color?" This was then followed up with "It's not too messy! You have been doing a good job!" Little did she know how much I cleaned before she got there!

Although we did not have long in Białystok, it was really nice to show off my city!

Saying Goodbye

The next day we headed back to Warsaw for Kim's flight. I am so happy that Kim was able to visit me. It made spending the holidays away from home so much more bearable. At the same time though, I experience a super renewed since of homesickness after she left. It put me into a funk that I am still climbing out of (although I will definitely get there). Part of me really wanted to get on the plane and fly back with her, but I couldn't. Once classes started back up and I started seeing my Erasmus friends again, I began feeling better.

Anyways, that's all for this super long update! I will try to post again next weekend with an update on my classes. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great New Year!

Bonus Pictures