Reunion in Warsaw

My original travel itinerary from Denmark to Poland included a train to Malmo, Sweden then a flight to Gdansk, Poland then train the rest of the way to Poland.

However.

Flights are not included in the cost of my Eurail pass. So instead, I opted to take a thirteen hour train ride.  This consisted of a train to the southern edge of Denmark, a ferry to Germany, back on the train into Hamburg, another train to Berlin, and finally a six hour straight shot to Warsaw.

It was a delightful day.

Okay so it really wasn't that bad.  I mostly slept, read, and slept some more.  There was no wireless internet on any part of this journey, and my iPod was dead.

Was there a screaming child in my car for part of the journey? Naturally.

The only real pain in the ass was when folks would ask to take the seat beside me.  Not that I'm antisocial.  I just don't enjoy shot putting my twenty pound (ten kilo) backpack into the luggage rack above.  Getting out down later is hazardous to my health, as well as anyone else in a six foot (two meter) radius.

This, however, is only a problem when I am actually sitting in a seat.

When you're sitting on the floor from Hamburg to Berlin because you can't read or speak German, THEN it is not an issue.

I was one of the first people on the train.  Snagged a great seat.  Then a German guy kicked me out saying he had reserved it.  I read the little light up screen above the seat.  Read is a lose term, I actually memorized the word so that I didn't sit in another reserved seat.

That word was above every freaking seat. 

I squeezed my way through six train cars, all the way my backpack is spilling coffees and knocking people's glasses of their faces as I try to pass folks going the opposite direction as me.

I gave up and sat on the floor midway between the diner car and the toilet. Still no iPod, I do crosswords for the majority of the over two hour journey.

With about a half an hour to go before I switch trains in Berlin, someone informs me that the announcement they made in German an hour ago had said that there were free seats in the last two train cars.

At this point, I just didn't care.

I was bitter about the whole situation and rather enjoyed watching the people with seats try to navigate around my campground every time they either needed a coffee, out had to piss because they had already drank said coffee.

Sorry I'm not sorry.

The train to Warsaw from Berlin was substantially more pleasant.

I had a reserved seat ticket, and therefore was guaranteed a spot in a cabin.  My cabin had two separate younger Polish travelers that spoke English and an elderly Polish couple that tried their best to speak English.

Everyone was extremely polite and courteous, a theme I continued to experience throughout all of my travels in Poland.

When my fellow travelers discovered that I only spoke English, all chatting within the entire group was carried out in English.  Even the elderly couple, whom it was sometimes painful to watch them search for the correct English word so they could complete their thoughts.  When the younger train goers left (and so ceased the helpful translations), the conversation pretty much died.  It was a six hour train after all... The gentleman across from me continued to translate all train announcements (I had related my German train story to them).

Now, Warsaw was to be the first place I would stay with someone I actually knew already and hadn't meet on couchsurfing.  I was meeting a fellow Erasmus student (exchange student), whom I had met in Maastricht and studied psychology with.

Gosia was from Poland and had actually finished an entire year abroad in Maastricht, while I had only done the first half.

As the train slowed down in Warsaw I saw Gosia waiting on the platform, and I audibly gasped.

I am not going to pretend that Gosia and I were ever BFF's during our time in Maastricht together.  But we were both part of a larger group of exchange student friends that I would like to think were all fairly close to each other, given that we only knew each other for four months.  I think the both of us also shared a love for our time in Maastricht, and also for the Dutch and their culture.  Gosia had always been refreshing to talk to and hang out with.  She was always interested in learning about other countries' cultures as well as sharing her own.  Not to mention she's always really fun to hang out with as well. 

Long story short, I was really freaking excited to see her.

When I said goodbye to Maastricht before, I honestly hadn't expected to see anyone from there ever again.

I got of the train and I couldn't find her.

Had I imagined I'd seen her?  Aha! Nope, she was real. I think we scared a few people with our girly shrieks when we hugged.

It was sooo great to finally see a familiar face.

We went back to her flat and basically just filled each other in on the two and a half years that had passed since we'd seen each other.  She had stayed in contact with some of our other Erasmus friends (some of whom had already visited her in Warsaw) and it was great to hear how they were doing as well.

Finally, we actively decided we should stop talking and go to sleep.  We could continue the next day when she would take me out and show me Warsaw...

Dobranoc Poland
Tegs