Thursday 26 April 2007
The overnight sleeper train to Warsaw, Poland was delayed at Hanover, the “trade city of Germany” due to engine failure and was stranded there for 5 hours while we wonder foolishly if it was not moving in order for us to sleep.
Finally, the train moved out of Hanover at 4.30am and arrived at Warsaw at 1.30pm. I never got a chance to bath on the train as expected but I begin to wonder if train rides induce bowel movements in the monkey. Scenes along the way were filled with yellow fields of rapeseed flowers, brick cottages or tidy rows of pine plantations. The funniest moment was when we reached the border town of Frankfurt/oder between Germany and Poland. At first I was confused why we were pulling up at “Frankfurt” since it was nowhere near East Germany. Then I found out that there are many Frankfurts in Germany and one of them is the border own of Frankfurt near the Oder River where the boundary between Poland and Germany lies. At the Frankfurt Station, suddenly two uniformed officer came up the train. Thinking they were trying to check my tickets when I had none on me and was sitting in a carriage I don’t belong in, I quickly evacuated back to my room. However, it turned out they were immigrations officers from Germany trying to check our passport. After they stamped our passports with a choochoo symbol, polish officers came to gave us their stamp of entry. All in all, it was an interesting experience.
The central Warsaw train station was almost abandoned when we arrived but we begin to realize this was only applicable on our particular platform. The whole station was bustling and it reminded me of Malaysia’s KL bus terminal. It was filled with little shops selling everything we might find in little mama shops in Singapore. It especially reminds me of the shops on the bridge linking Clifford Pier with Change Alley!
We waited for a while at the train station to sort out logistic issues but encountered the cutest little girl doing the most repulsive thing ever – begging. Sigh. I guess this is remnant from the communist regime and now the capitalist system is making the poor poorer and the rich richer. Apparently, Warsaw is pricier than even Munich and is on par with Paris while the poor people are digging their own coal and making their own gasoline.
I think the people here speaks English more than in Germany and quite well too. It’s probably from the large amount of tourists they get. Everywhere in Old Town Warsaw, a UNESCO world heritage site, where we are staying for the night, tourists littered the streets and squares. It’s an old fort filled with immaculately post-war reconstructed buildings that are so charming that monkey has fallen in love at first sight. My sister compared it to Venice. There were so many musicians busking in the streets and we couldn’t help but admire how Poland and the Polish people excel tremendously in the arts and culture. We had dinner at an “authentic” polish restaurant in a cellar with painted walls and ceilings right out of the baroque period. It was so beautiful I could live in Old Town Warsaw forever. There were also locals but at the restaurants, every single customer had donned suits and ties while we were in tshirts jeans and sandals. Still, the waiters were wonderful and the food delectable. Our serving waiter even took a photo with us on his own accord! Brilliant!
Reality sets in when you walk out of the old fort walls of Old Town and into modern Warsaw. The contrast was stark and almost ugly. We walked along the half-canalized river that runs through the city and we couldn’t appreciate Old Town more.
For now, it’s rest for the monkey at our service apartment at the edge of Old Town, 3km away from the main downtown city area of Warsaw. Tomorrow, more exploring of Warsaw followed by a night train to Prague in Czech Republic. Hopefully there will be no more delays!
Finally, the train moved out of Hanover at 4.30am and arrived at Warsaw at 1.30pm. I never got a chance to bath on the train as expected but I begin to wonder if train rides induce bowel movements in the monkey. Scenes along the way were filled with yellow fields of rapeseed flowers, brick cottages or tidy rows of pine plantations. The funniest moment was when we reached the border town of Frankfurt/oder between Germany and Poland. At first I was confused why we were pulling up at “Frankfurt” since it was nowhere near East Germany. Then I found out that there are many Frankfurts in Germany and one of them is the border own of Frankfurt near the Oder River where the boundary between Poland and Germany lies. At the Frankfurt Station, suddenly two uniformed officer came up the train. Thinking they were trying to check my tickets when I had none on me and was sitting in a carriage I don’t belong in, I quickly evacuated back to my room. However, it turned out they were immigrations officers from Germany trying to check our passport. After they stamped our passports with a choochoo symbol, polish officers came to gave us their stamp of entry. All in all, it was an interesting experience.
The central Warsaw train station was almost abandoned when we arrived but we begin to realize this was only applicable on our particular platform. The whole station was bustling and it reminded me of Malaysia’s KL bus terminal. It was filled with little shops selling everything we might find in little mama shops in Singapore. It especially reminds me of the shops on the bridge linking Clifford Pier with Change Alley!
We waited for a while at the train station to sort out logistic issues but encountered the cutest little girl doing the most repulsive thing ever – begging. Sigh. I guess this is remnant from the communist regime and now the capitalist system is making the poor poorer and the rich richer. Apparently, Warsaw is pricier than even Munich and is on par with Paris while the poor people are digging their own coal and making their own gasoline.
I think the people here speaks English more than in Germany and quite well too. It’s probably from the large amount of tourists they get. Everywhere in Old Town Warsaw, a UNESCO world heritage site, where we are staying for the night, tourists littered the streets and squares. It’s an old fort filled with immaculately post-war reconstructed buildings that are so charming that monkey has fallen in love at first sight. My sister compared it to Venice. There were so many musicians busking in the streets and we couldn’t help but admire how Poland and the Polish people excel tremendously in the arts and culture. We had dinner at an “authentic” polish restaurant in a cellar with painted walls and ceilings right out of the baroque period. It was so beautiful I could live in Old Town Warsaw forever. There were also locals but at the restaurants, every single customer had donned suits and ties while we were in tshirts jeans and sandals. Still, the waiters were wonderful and the food delectable. Our serving waiter even took a photo with us on his own accord! Brilliant!
Reality sets in when you walk out of the old fort walls of Old Town and into modern Warsaw. The contrast was stark and almost ugly. We walked along the half-canalized river that runs through the city and we couldn’t appreciate Old Town more.
For now, it’s rest for the monkey at our service apartment at the edge of Old Town, 3km away from the main downtown city area of Warsaw. Tomorrow, more exploring of Warsaw followed by a night train to Prague in Czech Republic. Hopefully there will be no more delays!
Labels: Poland
posted by Monkey at 1:05 PM
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