Racing to Bristol airport through the Monday morning traffic did nothing to steady my growing nerves. Saying goodbye to everyone the day before had been hard but none of it felt real until that morning. I believe I said "Why am I doing this?" on more than one occasion!
Being a person who is often insecure in my abilities to get things right, I do occasionally surprise even myself. I negotiated the airport like a pro; checking in my backpack and going through security were a breeze. Then came the hardest part, breakfast in public BY MYSELF!!
I found the one restaurant where I seemed to be able to get something smaller than a full English. My stomach, although growling by now, was definitely not ready for that amount of food. I nervously headed in and ordered, settling down with a mug of tea and poached eggs on toast I was amazed to find that the worst part of the experience had been that one of my eggs was hard!
Whilst waiting to board the flight I realised something had happened to my trousers! Now those of you who know me will know I have one very large calf and I was now discovering Primark trousers were clearly not made to withstand the pressure because my right trouser leg had completely ripped down the seam. With all my clothes in the belly of the plane I was forced to literally look like the travelling hobo I have been naming myself for the last few weeks.
The flight itself was fine, although I did feel slightly nauseous due to some turbulence and a man in the seat next to me wearing a rather offensive aftershave. Now came the next scary part - getting off the plane in a foreign country and having absolutely no idea where to go. I was pleasantly surprised to find John Paul II Airport had most of its signage in English, so I followed them in the direction of the train station and onto the platform for the main station, Krakow Glowny. After a quick stop at the self-service ticket machine I hopped on the train, counting down each stop I jumped off and made my way out of the bustling station. With the help of the maps.me app I managed to walk to my apartment within 15 minutes without putting a foot in the wrong direction.
I took little time to investigate the apartment, it seemed small but nice, as the first place I was heading was the shower. I have stumbled into Poland during an unexpected heatwave. Feeling refreshed and human again I set out to find a supermarket to get in some supplies for the next 5 days. This was an adventure in itself but I thought I’d done quite well until sitting down to eat that evening when I realized that what I thought had been cheese tortellini was actually Polish dumplings. Long story short I ended up having a ham sandwich.
Waking up to the alarm the next morning I was keen to explore the few things I had researched before I came away and also try to find the tour collection point for the next day. I took a quick look at the map and made a rough circular route that would take in everywhere I needed to go.
Starting at Market Square. Pretty self-explanatory what this is and what it was used for in days gone by, but rather impressive to look around none the less. With bedecked horses pulling tourists along in carriages and people milling about in the streets and many cafes that line this square it’s a really buzzing atmosphere that I was happy to sit and soak in for a little while.
Next I was off to the river front to find my bus stop for the morning, once found I had a leisurely stroll along the River Vistula before taking the incline up Wawel Hill. I had already decided I didn’t want to enter the Royal Castle or the Cathedral but I did want to head up and check out the views. After walking around and listening to the cathedral bells I thought I would take the route back down through the caves, supposedly the Dragons Den. At the exit to the cave the dragon stands breathing fire, much to the delight of the tourists and children. After strolling around some more it was time to head back as I needed an early night to prepare for the next day.
Wednesday morning it was something of a shock when my alarm went off at 6:45am, but up I got and got ready for the day ahead making a packed lunch to boot. Arriving at the coach stop about 15 minutes early I was relieved to be let on the mini bus. In the Mercedes it was cool and air conditioned and even at 8:30am it was coming on for 30 degrees outside.
The bus ride took a little over an hour and then we arrived at Auschwitz. I won’t go into much detail as I think those who wish to go should really see it for themselves. I will just say it is a sobering and eye-opening experience. I was exhausted by the time I got home the trip took around 8 hours in total and involves a lot of walking around. Quiet evening in reading and relaxing it was. Had some exciting news from my Mum, she has booked her flights out to Barcelona to come visit me for a 4 days in a few weeks’ time.
I made no plans for today, I set no alarms and woke up at a blissful 10:30am and finally felt like I had caught up on sleep. I spent the morning doing some washing, reading and eating before heading out to find the main bus station where I will be catching the night bus to Berlin tomorrow. Once I had found this and figured out where I needed to be I went for a walk around the mall. Finding a lush pair of trousers and realising you can’t remember your credit card pin was the low of the day, so begrudgingly I put them back and headed to an internet café I’d found on Google to sit and write this to you all. Now it's time to head back to the apartment, cook some tea and pack up that rucksack for the second time of many!