It's taken me days to sit down and write this post. I've feared that reminiscing on the past 10 days of debauchery with my best friend throughout Europe would only add to the void she left in my heart as she headed back to Florida on Sunday. We had an amazing time, traveling all over Poland & Berlin and the trip came and went all too quickly. I'll recap some of the Highs & Lows from our time together, at least what is appropriate enough to share with others and still expect you to somewhat respect me in return.
- Low: Our overly possessive Warsaw waitress. Kamile (My sister-in-law), Brie and I sat down for drinks at a Warsaw bar and asked the waitress where a good place was to eat around the area. Instead of giving us a direct answer, she told us anywhere on the street was good and walked away. Naturally, we asked another waiter for his opinion and she began sprinting over from the other side of the restaurant asking what the problem was. We told her we were asking him for restaurant suggestions and she said "I already told you" and walked away. Obviously we again asked the next person that walked by and of course, we got busted and the lady Usain-Bolted her way back to us in no time. We decided it was a better idea to ask for feedback outside of the restaurant, fearing a restraining order would be the next logical step.
Warsaw Old Town - High: Pawel's "Stuff": After finally figuring out our dinner plans, we had a nice meal at a new Italian restaurant in Warsaw. Kamile decided to tell the waiter it was Brie and my birthdays (as it was the next two days) and something apparently got lost in translation. Moments later our waiter, Pawel, brought Brie a huge Polish dessert with a sparkler and a glass of champagne with a ballon attached which read "Happy Birthday from Pawel & Pawel's "Stuff". I have a few guesses of what Pawel meant by his "stuff" and none of them are appropriate to put in writing.
Oh Pawel.. You are so mysterious. - Low: Getting change. Anywhere. One thing that really gets my goat over here is that no one EVER has change. They expect you to pay with exact change at all times. I understand if someone gives you trouble for trying to pay a $8 cab ride with a $100 bill, but I'm talking I'll give them a $20 on a $16 bill and they act like I've committed a federal offense for not having exact change. To try and avoid these arguments, I kept trying to ask the hotels/restaurants/bars to break down any big bills that I had but even these places didn't have any. Long story short, bring change when traveling or expect to forfeit the rights to your first born child for any help in this department.
- High/Low: Auschwitz. This was one of the craziest things I've ever experienced. I've always been interested in the Holocaust but no amount of books or movies could've prepared me for seeing Auschwitz in person. All I can do is recommend that you do it for yourself if you ever have the opportunity. It was an absolutely surreal experience and although I am so grateful I got to do it, it really puts into perspective what an absolutely atrocious piece of history this is. It's almost like when you're studying the Holocaust, it's really difficult to imagine something so despicable actually happening and it feels completely surreal. When you see it first hand, it makes you understand how real it actually was.
- Low: Realizing we aren't as cool as we thought. Our tour in Auschwitz consisted of a group of two different buses of people with a tour guide. Brie and I noticed an American kid in his 20s there with his dad and we were obviously drawn to the only other Americans on the tour. When you're in Europe, or anywhere abroad, and you hear another American voice somewhere, you instantly hear the "halleluia" chorus echo throughout your head. I imediately feel the need inside to know everything about this person and how they ended up wherever we are. So we walked around with the man and his son for most of the day but it really wasn't an appropriate time for conversation so I never found out this vital information. After getting back to our hotel, we kept talking about how we wish we could've talked to them and that they were certainly sitting in their hotel room saying the same thing about us. Fast forward to the next day when we are boarding our flight to Berlin and who else but this father-son duo is on our flight! Feeling like God has given us a second chance to solve this mystery, Brie and I spend a few minutes arguing over who has to talk to them. We both clam up and neither of us makes it happen. Then, while boarding the plane, the man in front of me obviously is sitting right behind their row and while he is putting his baggage in the overhead, I come face to face with these mysterious creatures. This is my moment. I not so casually yell out "hey, weren't you on our tour yesterday?" Crickets. Blank stares. Nothing. Brie, feeling equally as awkward is suddenly flooded with word vomit and screams "Auschwitz?!?!". I start rambling about the weather and finally the man in front of me has secured his baggage and taken his seat. I then made a run for the back of the plane. Clearly Brie and I aren't quite as memorable as we thought. (side note: when Brie was in baggage claim and I was in the bathroom, they came over to talk to her and she claims I'm intimidating and the reason why we didn't become best friends with them that day).
- High: Meeting Randoms. While we're on the subject of meeting random people, we had quite a few great experiences here. When meeting new people I usually hope for one of two things a) that they're interesting/cool/funny or any combination of the three or b) that they are so terrible that we can at least get a good laugh from them. For some odd reason, most of the people we met fell into the b category. Sitting in a dark bar in Krakow, we noticed an American guy ordering a beer. I could tell from his accent (or lack thereof) that he was American, but I was too afraid to talk to ask him where he was from. There are very few black people in Poland, aside from basketball players, and I didn't want to scream across the room "hey where are you from" in case he thought I just assumed he wasn't Polish because he was black. Brie and I were waiting for him to approach us so we could share that intimate American moment, but this never happened (again), and Brie said not knowing what this guy's story was still keeps her up at night.
- Low: Quit Making Fun of America. Only I Can Do That. One of the things I've started disliking the most about living overseas is that everyone I've met feels like they're free to share all of their opinions on America with me. I warned Brie about this and how absolutely obnoxious it is. In Krakow, we met a guy from Holland and started talking with him. Within minutes, he made sure to hit all the key points about Americans, that we are: terrible at geography, obese, have atrocious eating habits, small-minded, monolingual (is this a word?), think we're the best while everyone else hates us, etc. I don't know where people get the balls to say stuff like this. Sure, I make fun of America all the time, but I'm allowed to. It's like making fun of your best friend and then having someone who doesn't know her say the same thing. That's just not in the rule book. I'm a firm believer that everyone should think their own country is the best. Well GMO's, fat people and all, America is my favorite country and if it's not yours, keep that to yourself. (side note: Brie asking him where Holland was didn't really help our case..she has since promised to learn more geography)
- High: Berlin Cocktail Bars. Our first night in Berlin we decided to do a bar crawl of some cocktail bars that came recommended by our hotel bartender. It didn't disappoint and even though we were out on a quiet/cold night, we fell in love with Berlin bar scene and seeing an innovative cocktail menu with something other than Sex On the Beach made me happy inside.
The Berlin Wall Remnants (after walking passed it three times before realizing it) - Low: Curry(it's the)Wurst. Everyone told us that we must try the famous Currywurst while in Berlin. This is essentially a hot dog with ketchup and curry powder on top. Perhaps we just chose the wrong restaurant but lets just say I don't envision myself eating hot dogs again for a very long time.
I gagged a little bit when I just uploaded this. - High: Brie Saw Her First Real, Live Prostitute! While walking to a bar in Berlin one night, we saw a young gal (in 0 degree weather) wearing a rather provocative outfit. Brie asked what she was doing to which I half-jokingly replied "she's a prostitute". We both assumed she was a club promoter out trying to get people to go to her club. It wasn't until we inquired with a local that this gal was, in fact, a prostitute. What's even better is that on our way out, there were dozens of them on the street! Apparently there is a uniform for Berlin prostitutes, as they were all wearing the same huge ski boots and tights, and were noticeably lacking any substantial clothing on top. Brie felt the same rush of mystery that I felt when I first saw my first prostitute. She had dozens of questions about them and how they operate. I had already googled many of these questions after my trip to Amsterdam, so I was able to fill in some of the gaps for her.
- Low: Going to Second Base with a TSA Agent. Let's just say I will never again where any clothing with studs on it through security. I still feel violated.
Really I could go on and on with stories from this trip. It was an experience I'll never forget. Unfortunately, Brie couldn't have come at a worse time weather-wise. When we were walking around Auschwitz, it was 0 and the "feels like" was -15!! I have never been colder than I was for the entirety of her trip but somehow we still managed to have a blast. Hopefully this post has inspired the rest of my friends to hop on a plane and come visit. I promise to make it worth your while :)
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| Gorgeous Gdansk |
