Back from the Baltic

The last few days have been exhausting, to say the least, but scenic. I don’t recommend sleeping on a train. While somewhat convenient (although I use the term ‘convenient’ lightly seeing as how we don’t have a car here, and even if we did, none of us would dare drive), it is expensive, cramped, (moreso, I think, than cabins on a cruise), and you have to put aside any wanderings of real cleanliness or hygiene. I mean, I guess they do well for what they have, and the idea of falling asleep and waking up and being on location is pretty tempting, but consider this: the walls are paper thin between cabins, so you can hear EVERY word said in the rooms next to you. The train makes stops on the way, so you’re constantly being woken by loud speakers and mechanical noises, not to mention people getting on and off the train at odd hours of the night. If your window is open (which it kinda has to be), and the guy next to you smokes, well… you get the picture. Not to mention the horror stories I heard from Mom about the bathroom, at least on the way there. She said the ones on the back were much better, but I didn’t take my chances wither way. I think I’m just tired and therefore grumpy. The trip overall, was a nice break from the city.

We took an overnight train from Krakow to the port t0wn of Gdansk Wednesday night, arriving mid-day on Thursday. The old part of the town is absolutely whimscal, with its history and vivid colors. It looks like something out of Willy Wonka’s imagination. We ate at tourist-y but still local dives–we actually found a vegetarian restaurant for lunch, which suited me quite nicely — and took a river tour on the ‘Black Pearl’ with the ‘pirate’ staff performing traditional sailing/ drinking songs. There was even a bar on board… not that I took advantage of it, but totally would have if I had been with different company.

My mom outdid herself when it came to lodgings. She found us this fairy-tale villa a few miles outside of town, on top of a hill, and we happened to have the topmost room, which included a common area and sprial staircase to the bedroom. Not only was the room whimsical, the neighborhood was peaceful and the view lovely! We closed out the night by watching ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’, all huddled together in front of brother’s laptop. I slept well that night.

: hanging uspide down from the top bunk to see out the train window. I found this perfectly logical and natural. My mother compared me to a sloth…

: view out onto the countryside from the train. The splash of red is from poppies growing among the crops. (not the heroin kind…apparantly, this native type is much smaller…)