In other news, Tam and I managed to successfully find a pharmacy, using a mobile translation tool and a bit of gesturing and pointing :D
Friday 29 July 2011
I'm a f**king viking
Mead for breakfast. Awesome.
Going to the Warsaw Uprising museum later, should be really interesting! We should already be there, but there was a bit of a breakdown in communication.
In other news, Tam and I managed to successfully find a pharmacy, using a mobile translation tool and a bit of gesturing and pointing :D
In other news, Tam and I managed to successfully find a pharmacy, using a mobile translation tool and a bit of gesturing and pointing :D
Wednesday 27 July 2011
Here we go!
It's raining outside at the moment, and since Tam and I are chilling out for a while before we go on the hunt for sushi, I thought I'd finally post a few of the pictures I took. Rather sleepy right now, but I'm a lot cooler than I have been over the past two days. It's been incredibly humid, which has been pretty unbearable at times, but oh well! We've been told that it's unusual for it to be as cool as this at this time of year, and to have this much rain.
The weather was wonderful when I left Manchester. I left my car at my grandparents' house for the trip, and caught the bus to the airport. Spent some time watching the planes come in to land before the bus turned up.
Got to the airport, didn't have to wait to check in at all. My first flight down to Heathrow was with BMI, but I had a bit too much time on my hands. I suppose getting there early was a good thing - I was able to get a window seat (though when I actually got on the plane, it was only half-full anyway). Airports are great places to sink a bit of Dutch courage if you're a nervous flyer like me...
The wi-fi in the airport was only available if you'd spent a fortune to go business class though, it seemed. Good job I downloaded all those films the night before ;) The story was very much the same down in Heathrow - free wi-fi if you pay for it. Flight over to Warsaw was delayed by over an hour which had me worrying. Tam and Harv were still ok to meet me at the other end though, so it was ok!
Always good to have a native on hand to negotiate with taxi drivers and the like. The cab from the airport cost about a tenner, which by British standards is not a bad price st all! I think it was about the same distance as the distance between home and Manchester airport. Harv and Tam already knew where the hostel was. Harv pointed out a kebab shop around the corner as being "The best kebab shop in Warsaw." Thought he was being sarcastic, but I got a kebab later and it was pretty damn good! Ordering was an adventure since Tam and I speak next to no Polish (kurwa is probably the only word we know), and the two guys at the shop could barely speak a word of the Queen's. Ah well.
Slept pretty badly that night because it was so bloody humid, but was enough to rest me for the little tour we ended up on the next day! We woke up late, went to McDonald's for dinner (again, ordering was a bit of an ordeal!), then went for a stomp around the city. This time, Golli joined us. Was great to have them there for some honest commentary and a pretty insightful history lesson. I know next to nothing about Poland, so this was very useful.
This building was described to me as "the Polish White House", so I'm guessing this is a government residence. It's pretty damn grand to say the least, compared to many buildings around there. That whole area seemed rather posh in comparison to the big grey Soviet office and residential buildings. Harv said that the Soviets took some great influence from Roman and Greek architecture, so more important buildings like this tend to have pillars and are really quite ornate.
This one, too. Saw several buildings with posters of the Pope on them. Not sure if it's just Poland's catholic sway, or whether some event was iminent.
In the background here, you can see a stadium being built for when Poland co-hosts Euro 2012.
The "old town" was something that fascinated me. It had the look and feel of an actual old town, however the buildings were only around 60 years old. When Warsaw was razed to the ground by both the Nazis and the Soviets, the city was completely rebuilt, using their signature grey concrete buildings, amongst other styles such as those with Greek influence. The old town was rebuilt based on paintings. A particular artist specialised in painitng Warsaw's old town, and this area was rebuilt using these paintings as their blueprint. Pretty good, eh? This area consists of narrow streets, a central square with bars and restaurants, and there is an excellent ice cream shop hidden away.
Beer street :D
The old town was once completely walled, and though these will have been rebuilt too, they look pretty cool. I don't think I've ever seen any built completely of red brick.
Ok, time for some people. Not many people pics yet, more to follow! From left to right: Golli, Tam and Harv. Met all these guys through Tibia and they're all lovely :) Last night we all went out drinking (7.5zl for 1 litre of beer - oh em gee!), was great fun :) Aman showed up too, and was kind enough to invite Tam and I to the civil part of his wedding next Saturday! We've been made to feel so welcome here. And there are still a few more nights to go :D
In the picture abve, Tam is wearing her Valhalla T-shirt, with the logo on the front, and her character name and avatar title on the back. I've got one of my own, will post pics soon!
Tonight Tam and I went for sushi. We found a swanky looking restaurant a few minutes walk from the hostel, though compared to Wasabi in Manchester, it was expensive. The food took quite a while to arrive, but after the first round we were stuffed so didn't cost much in the end. Tonight we're chilling in the common area upstairs in th hostel. I think it's someone's birthday. There are loads of people in here, loads of food, and Play That Funky Music White Boy (*shivers*). Good grief.
Tomorrow Golli is meeting us at McDonald's in the morning, and we'll take a bus to this villa. Hopefully the weather will hold up, because there are loads of grounds for us to wander around! Aman is working there tomorrow as a guide.
More pics to follow :D
The weather was wonderful when I left Manchester. I left my car at my grandparents' house for the trip, and caught the bus to the airport. Spent some time watching the planes come in to land before the bus turned up.
The wi-fi in the airport was only available if you'd spent a fortune to go business class though, it seemed. Good job I downloaded all those films the night before ;) The story was very much the same down in Heathrow - free wi-fi if you pay for it. Flight over to Warsaw was delayed by over an hour which had me worrying. Tam and Harv were still ok to meet me at the other end though, so it was ok!
Always good to have a native on hand to negotiate with taxi drivers and the like. The cab from the airport cost about a tenner, which by British standards is not a bad price st all! I think it was about the same distance as the distance between home and Manchester airport. Harv and Tam already knew where the hostel was. Harv pointed out a kebab shop around the corner as being "The best kebab shop in Warsaw." Thought he was being sarcastic, but I got a kebab later and it was pretty damn good! Ordering was an adventure since Tam and I speak next to no Polish (kurwa is probably the only word we know), and the two guys at the shop could barely speak a word of the Queen's. Ah well.
Slept pretty badly that night because it was so bloody humid, but was enough to rest me for the little tour we ended up on the next day! We woke up late, went to McDonald's for dinner (again, ordering was a bit of an ordeal!), then went for a stomp around the city. This time, Golli joined us. Was great to have them there for some honest commentary and a pretty insightful history lesson. I know next to nothing about Poland, so this was very useful.
This building was described to me as "the Polish White House", so I'm guessing this is a government residence. It's pretty damn grand to say the least, compared to many buildings around there. That whole area seemed rather posh in comparison to the big grey Soviet office and residential buildings. Harv said that the Soviets took some great influence from Roman and Greek architecture, so more important buildings like this tend to have pillars and are really quite ornate.
This one, too. Saw several buildings with posters of the Pope on them. Not sure if it's just Poland's catholic sway, or whether some event was iminent.
In the background here, you can see a stadium being built for when Poland co-hosts Euro 2012.
The "old town" was something that fascinated me. It had the look and feel of an actual old town, however the buildings were only around 60 years old. When Warsaw was razed to the ground by both the Nazis and the Soviets, the city was completely rebuilt, using their signature grey concrete buildings, amongst other styles such as those with Greek influence. The old town was rebuilt based on paintings. A particular artist specialised in painitng Warsaw's old town, and this area was rebuilt using these paintings as their blueprint. Pretty good, eh? This area consists of narrow streets, a central square with bars and restaurants, and there is an excellent ice cream shop hidden away.
Beer street :D
The old town was once completely walled, and though these will have been rebuilt too, they look pretty cool. I don't think I've ever seen any built completely of red brick.
Ok, time for some people. Not many people pics yet, more to follow! From left to right: Golli, Tam and Harv. Met all these guys through Tibia and they're all lovely :) Last night we all went out drinking (7.5zl for 1 litre of beer - oh em gee!), was great fun :) Aman showed up too, and was kind enough to invite Tam and I to the civil part of his wedding next Saturday! We've been made to feel so welcome here. And there are still a few more nights to go :D
In the picture abve, Tam is wearing her Valhalla T-shirt, with the logo on the front, and her character name and avatar title on the back. I've got one of my own, will post pics soon!
Tonight Tam and I went for sushi. We found a swanky looking restaurant a few minutes walk from the hostel, though compared to Wasabi in Manchester, it was expensive. The food took quite a while to arrive, but after the first round we were stuffed so didn't cost much in the end. Tonight we're chilling in the common area upstairs in th hostel. I think it's someone's birthday. There are loads of people in here, loads of food, and Play That Funky Music White Boy (*shivers*). Good grief.
Tomorrow Golli is meeting us at McDonald's in the morning, and we'll take a bus to this villa. Hopefully the weather will hold up, because there are loads of grounds for us to wander around! Aman is working there tomorrow as a guide.
More pics to follow :D
Oh wow....
I've had much less time to post than I thought I would have. I'll keep it brief because my netbook's battery will die any minute.
Just transferred a load of photos, will make a proper post later! Been really busy but I'm having such a great time :) Poland is awesome!
Just transferred a load of photos, will make a proper post later! Been really busy but I'm having such a great time :) Poland is awesome!
Friday 22 July 2011
Intro post
First and foremost, HAI! :D I'm Heather, though some of you will know me by my alias (Frey/Freyja).
This is me:
In real life, I'm an insurance sales girl living in Greater Manchester, England. Im single, I live with my awesome family because they're awesome, and my interests include music, beer, cars (or anything with an engine), and travel. I dye my hair red pretty often, and I'm a pretty big fan of hairspray.
I've started this blog to document all the little trips, adventures and fun things that happen in my life. Got some exciting times ahead, and I don't plan to post OMGEVERYTHING to Facebook, so here's a handy place to keep you all updated!
I'll be heading out to Poland in a couple of days, and needless to say I'm effing excited to be visiting somewhere new :) A good friend of mine is going travelling for a few months, so I'll be meeting her in Warsaw for a week. Will also be meeting other friends and guildmates along the way - Hail Valhalla! :D
I suppose at the moment, I'm trying to make my life much less mundane and routine. I'm nearly 25, and I don't feel like I live life to its fullest. So my challenge is to do at least one interesting thing a month and write it all down here.
And there will be PICTURES. Lots of pictures :D
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