Llegamos a Argentina!

We have made it to the Southern Hemisphere! We arrived yesterday morning after a 9 hour overnight flight. My magical power of being able to sleep in all modes of transportation in any position really came in handy as our seats were the middle two. My travel companion does not have this gift so he was feeling extra rough when we finally arrived in Buenos Aires. (To be fair, I definitely was at an advantage since I could lean all over my hubby as well- one of the perks of being married!)

We were staying at the Holiday Inn less than 15 minutes from the airport since we had an early flight to catch the following day (this morning). After taking a two hour nap, we decided to venture into the city center with no real plan other than join a free walking tour later in the afternoon. I've said it before, but I recommend to always take advantage of these tours if they are offered in a city that you're traveling through. It really adds another dimension to your travels if you have some context. This is especially useful if you know little about the country’s history or didn't have the time to do much research before hopping on your plane.

The tour company we found was through /www.buenosairesfreewalks.com/

(Some highlights)

National Congress Building- all of its pieces were made in Europe and apparently it was a nightmare to put together and has been very expensive to maintain.

This is one of three “The Thinkers” commissioned by original artist Rodin.

The architect that created this building had a weird obsession with Dantes Inferno so every aspect of this building makes references to the book (certain floors are hell, purgatory and heaven- I plan on coming back to visit this inside).

Many of these buildings were created by “new money” families in the 1910s and got their inspiration of traditional European architecture... so it looooos old, but really they are barely 100 years old.

Beyond that, we did a good amount of eating-

We found a really cool empanada place called “El Gauchito” and feasted for the equivalent of $8.

And of course had a parilla with a bottle of wine at the restaurant “La Estancia Asador Criollo.”

A different type of trip

At this point I have basically made the decision that I will keep this blog for my (adventure) traveling... not so much for the reads but more for me to keep track of the places I go.

My last trip was in 2015....

What has changed? The most important thing (and most relevant to this blog) is that I am now married. This likely means my solo travel days are over... but now I have a permanent photographer and someone to share all my adventures with, it's just a matter if he can keep up ;)

This trip is different than my past ones for a variety of reasons. First of all, it's our honeymoon! So this isn't meant to be or feel like a fast pace penny pinching backpacking trip. We have really only 2 main goals:

1) Visit Patagonia and hike the 5 day W trek (more on this later)

2) Really soak up the culture in Buenos Aires with the aid of lots of steak and wine (it is our honeymoon after all!)

So let's begin!

Warsaw

As my tour guide on the walking tour said, Krakow may be a city that you fall in love with at first sight while Warsaw is one you first have to get to know.

August 10 2015 

Even though I am “backpacking solo,” I was with people probably 85% of the time I was in Krakow. I needed a detox… so I can honestly say I made no efforts to meet anyone at my hostel in Warsaw. I was in bed within 20 minutes of arriving to my hostel (Krakow-Warsaw is about 3 hours by train and then it took me 15 minutes to walk to my hostel, Patchwork Design-which I almost didn’t find because it  was in this really cool terrace). Some drunk idiots came in at like 430AM and were SO loud. Giving them some time to settle in, I bite my tongue… until I look up and they are literally all in their boxers jumping around. 

So yeah, “YOU GUYS. Stop I am trying to sleep.”

They settled down a bit but then started laughing so hard because someone was snoring….

August 11 2015

A little (unintentional) payback: in the morning when I woke up at 730AM, I had snoozed my alarm so when I came back from the bathroom, my alarm was going off and the same boys that woke me up three hours ago were stirring and/or picking their heads up. I apologized, of course, but in my head  “karma’s a bitch.”

Justina had given me the contact info of one of her friends that lives in Warsaw, Julio. I contacted him and we agreed to meet around 1030AM for a little walk around tour. I got some breakfast and coffee and FINALLY had some time to myself!!

Julio found me and we started to walk towards the center. 

We ended up joining the very tour I said I wasn’t going to do… but the tour guide was very knowledgeable and engaging and Julio was showing me the same things so why not tag along!

Did you know that 85% of Warsaw was systematically destroyed towards the end of WWII by the Nazis?? Not only was Warsaw targeted because it is the capital of Poland, but from what I understood, a large reason why the city was basically leveled was due to the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Throughout the entire German occupation, there was an “underground” Polish army rebelling and fighting back. On August 1, 1944 they began their armed uprising. For two months, this conflict continued. 16000 Polish soldiers were killed while 250000 civilians were killed… Not sure of the number of Nazis but it was also in the thousands.

^This statue commemorates all the children that acted as "runners" during the Uprising

Once Warsaw had been defeated, any survivors were ordered to evacuate the city. Planned destruction followed. Then the Russians “liberated” the ruins of Warsaw. 

^bullet holes etc in some of the surviving architecture

It took 1 year for the city to be cleaned up, and 5 for the city to be rebuilt. Warsaw has been compared to Disneyland since everything “isn’t real” but Warsaw isn’t trying to trick anyone. The buildings were rebuilt in their original style, or at least their original dimensions, but many of the buildings are labeled with the year they were built in. Some are already falling apart even though the city is only 50 years old since they were built rather hastily with minimum funds (thanks Soviets!)

At the end of the tour, our guide brought us to a mom and pop place for vodka shots (I graciously declined) but did have some of their “chaser” which is a piece of bread with lard and bacon on it. Healthy.

She was telling us that vodka is the only thing that is served at traditional Polish weddings and other gatherings and the grandparents are the ones that give their grandkids their first shot and are also the best drinkers. Polish abuelos and abuleas getting turnt!

Met a Venezuelan girl about my age and a Brazilian guy during my tour and we decided to get lunch by the main square. The Venezuelan girl asked me when I left Venezuela :D Moments like those make me so happy :))

^potato dumplings! they are very common in the countries of this area

I was considering going to a Jewish Warsaw tour, so basically the effect of WWII on the Jewish community, but I was running low on energy and the idea of listening to another 2.5+ hour tour was not appealing. So instead I decided to wander the bohemian neighborhood called Praga District. The tour guide told me to enter all the terraces and get lost wandering- there is a lot of street art around. Many of the buildings had also survived the city’s demolition so I would be able to see what Warsaw used to look like… So that was my intention. 

Other than this one cathedral (that was full of begging gypsy children)

And this one mural (that had people nearby yelling at each other)

I would actually be a bit scared if I got lost in this area. It was dirty and a bit sketchy, and I felt very out of place and was uncomfortable taking my camera out…

So tram it back to Old Town…

This is funny to me. I have seen them only in Poland and Poland hasn’t even been the hottest place I have been. They have sprinklers out so people can cool off EVERYWHERE. 

Went back to the hostel to prepare for yet another overnight trip, this time to Vilnius to visit Justina!!! I almost missed my bus….. I thought it was a train, first of all. Luckily I asked the receptionist at the hostel for directions and she pointed out it was in fact a bus leaving from terminal 4, whatever that means.

I got to the train station and was looking for the place the receptionist had pointed out on my map. When I got there and asked someone standing there if she was going to Vilnius she said no. Shit. This girl that was watching everything happen took me under her wing and tried to help me find it. She couldn’t- I have like 15 minutes to figure it out. She calls her mother. Still no help. We find another guy. He thinks it’s across the street [it’s not]. Time is ticking so I sprint to the train station… lady can’t help me because it’s the TRAIN station and not the bus station (even though the bus station is kind of combined). Less than FIVE MINUTES! I asked some janitors and they point me in the direction of the road that my stop was at (where I had started basically). I am full out sprinting its 1141 and my bus leaves at 1140. I come out of the underground and SEE A BUS!

I make it. Out of breath, sweaty, frazzled, but I make it. I am going to see Justina!!! And the bus was sooo comfy. Wifi and movies and a fully reclining seat :D 

Fell in love with Krakow

August 7 2015

I was pretty exhausted when I arrived in Krakow, but I had been invited by Soren (Couchsurfing friend) to go out with some of his friends… I can never resist a night out with locals!

Pregaming, or as they call it, predrinking, is the norm here as well. After a couple beers and a light dinner, Soren, Iza, and a third guy that I cannot remember his name to save my life but it was also very hard for me to pronounce, took a cab to go to this place called Fabryik. They were screening some Danish movie on a big outdoor screen today but typically it is an event venue with three large bar and dance areas. Looks like a really cool place, but Iza was like: We can’t stay here. This is boring today.

So we drink a beer and head to a craft beer pub :D

Again, Poland is a country that was devastated by WWII as well as the 50 years of communism… but I can talk about that later. The guy whose name I can’t remember did tell me the most interesting story about a soldier bear named Wojtek (pronouced Voytek). Here’s a summary from what I understood:

During WWII (in 1942), many Polish POWs that had originally been captured by Russia (Poland had some tough times in the first 1900s…) were released from the labor camps in Siberia. A unit was being formed in the Middle East under British leadership and so these Polish soldiers were making their way over when they stumbled upon a bear cub. They bought this bear (why was this a good idea? I am assuming lots of vodka was involved) and named him Wojtek. 

Over the next several months, they trained this bear to salute, drink beer, smoke/eat cigarettes, and wrestle. Wojtek basically became the mascot of this unit… And according to the guy telling me the story, was a great way to pick up the ladies (what woman wouldn’t fall for a guy that can wrestle a bear??)

[These images do not belong to me and come from Google Image search of "Wojek the bear"]

Eventually, the soldiers need to take a ship to go to the war zone in Italy. The Brits were like “Ummm this is a bear.” Poles were like “Nah he’s actually a soldier. Look here are his papers and passport and soldier identification.” Wojtek was going to war! And he actually did help during one conflict with the Germans. He was helping load barrels or artillery onto trucks as there was gunfire all around him! Everyone in this unit got a patch/pin of the bear carrying an artillery to add to their uniform. 

After the war, Wojtek was retired to a zoo in Scotland I believe. Many of the soldiers in his troop would come visit him with beer and cigarettes and a good wrestling match for all to see! The bear lived to be 22.

This is a real story- and he told it much more elaborately than me (it’s a beloved story of many Polish people so I assume they get a lot of practice telling it!). Google “Wojtek the bear” if you don’t believe me. There are several monuments commemorating this incredible animal.  I agreed with the Pole telling me all this that there is no reason why this isn’t a globally known story. Someone please make a movie out of this.

All good nights end in some eats. We went to this hostel (this is the second time I have been to a hostel with locals since my in Europe for food/drinks) and I ordered the MOST delicious thing: potato pancakes with tomato, mozzarella, and basil. Potatoes are my favorite food and this is another way I will need to learn how to prepare! Basically it’s a crispy patty of shredded hash browns.

 

Great night :) Have I convinced you to meet Couchsurfing people yet??

August 8 2015

Lazy morning but I did make it to the 1030AM Cracow free tour of the old city – I told Jack I would meet him there. There were about a 1500 other tour groups andddd a million people because they were having their version of the Tour de France that was ending in the city so the main Market Square was a zoo. The tour was longggggg.. almost three hours. And it was very hot... but still, I love walkings tours. Gives you a great feel of the city both topographically and historically.

According to my tour guide, while many cities that were occupied during WWII were destroyed or at least severally mangled, Krakow was spared because Hitler really loved the city. He did of course take down many monuments and renamed roads and squares with German names. Most of Krakow is original [and really beautiful with its old town charm], which is an interesting change to many of the other countries in this area. Regardless, Krakow was still occupied: Poles were treated like second class citizens, many intellects and political leaders (as well as ANY opposition) were killed and/or sent to concentration camps. And then of course, after WWII, the whole Iron Curtain thing… So yeah Poland has had a tough past and even before WWII they had been conquered and occupied many times before.

<- They have a dragon legend

After the tour, decided to get some late lunch with people I had met on the tour—

We went to a pretty mediocre place... but their cucumber yogurt soup was so good!

They do love beets and cabbage though.

And after that decide to get out of the heat and relax until the night. It was way too hot for me to explore anymore and the 3.5 hour walking tour wore me out…

Guess who was also in Krakow? Eden (the guy I traveled with in Montenegro and Croatia)!! I had coordinated with Jack and this other Aussie I met named Alex to meet at Alex’s hostel and told Eden to meet us! So I got there late- I was moving soooo slow. I actually almost didn’t go out because I was so tired, but SO happy I did!

It was one of those really fun (drunk) nights. Pregamed at the hostel… then put whatever of our drinks we didn’t finish into plastic water bottles and ice tea bottles (since I am cl@$$y and drink wine) and just ran around downtown like children… Drinking on the streets is NOT allowed in Poland. So we improvised.

And drank in the head that our tour guide told us about

Went to a bar in the Jewish Quarter and took about one million pictures

Then to the same craft beer bar I had been the night before!

In the end I was not allowed into the club… but it’s fine because I was so tired (and McDonald’s was calling my name :) )

How did I get into my hostel? Hmmmm good question :|

August 9 2015

SUCH a late start I am embarrassed. I guess it was the first time I really “went out” on this trip…. So I finally got moving around 12h- finishing laundry, showering, fighting the sleepiness… Eventually met with Jack to figure out how to get to Auschwitz the next day, and wandered the streets of Krakow.

Main Market Square

^Inside market

The Jewish Quarter

Over the river

Coffee break :)

And then to the Schindler’s Factory (of the movie Schindler’s list). This was one of the best muesums I have been to in a while. It is a very modern, interactive museum. You are literally walking through history reading (or watching videos of survivors sharing) first accounts of what was happening before, during, and towards the end of the German occupation and WWII. The museum brushes over Schindler’s involvement, but the museum is in his old factory where he was able to employ and thus save hundreds of Jews from the Holocaust. One of the things that really got to me was the Jewish ghetto and the living conditions within them before liquidation (where people were literally just put on a train and sent to the gas chambers…). There were rations for food and (just to use numbers) let’s say that Poles were allowed an equivalent of 1500 calories of food stuff a day while Jews were limited to 1000… There was a train that ran through the ghetto (but did not stop) and some of the Poles in the area remembered bringing extra food with them if they took this route to throw it out the window of the train for the Jews... Another thing that got to me was the Jewish police within the ghetto would treat fellow Jews even worse than the Gestapo with hopes of self preservation..   

So it was vey powerful. There was also a work of art in a nearby square representing the liquidation of the Jewish ghetto and all of the things they left behind.

I actually made some friends at the museum with two Finnish brothers. We deided to go to dinner in the Jewish Quarter and but these amazingly delicious and HUGE open sandwiches that were like 4 euros.

Parted ways with the Finns and did some nightime exploring

< The head we drank in the night before

That night on my way home, I was passing one of the many Catholic churches. It was approaching 10pm and people were running in. I figured it had to be some kind of private ceremony, but it was confusing  because everyone was dressed differently. I decided to check it out. It was just normal mass, and it was just beginninng. I stayed and awed at the amount of people in this church. It was like Easter Sunday packed- extra chairs set up everywhere, people standing in the back and sides etc. I knew Poland was a very Catholic country (our tour guide mentioned it too- Pope John Paul II is arguably the most important public figure for the Polish people as a religious figure and political influence especially with the decline of communism) but to witness a church overcrowded at 10pm on an ordinary time with people of ALL ages was incredibly moving. You can hate on the Catholic Church all you want, but there is a global community and uniformity of the service allowing you to participate and understand mass in ANY country/language.

August 10 2015

I went to Auschwitz with Jack today. I have made a post for that on its own because it feels weird to go between happy things to that. Read it here:

http://thxfortheadventure.blogspot.com/2015/08/visiting-auschwitz.html

Once we go back to Krakow, we decided to go to this place that Soren recommended: Pod Wavelem. Mondays was half off .5L beers!

Didn't so much enjoy the pickles and cabbage..

But we shared a GIANT schnitzel and potato pancakes (YUM)

Met up with Jack (also Australian) from the hostel and explored the castle grounds and river area a bit.

The river behind the castle at sunset <3

My train was at like 2150 so I eventually had to leave for Warsaw.

I LOVED Krakow. It really is a city that has everything! The beautiful architecture, history, (cheap!) food and drinks, night life, tourists, locals, and students. I definitely think my trip was made by my Couchsurfing host as well as Eden, Jack, and Alex! :)

It’s not like some of the other cities I have been to where everyone around me is also taking pictures. There’s a great fell and culture. Even though I spent almost 4 days in Krakow, I feel like I could have spend another week and still discover new things everyday! Another city that I will have to return to :)