Random musing, mainly bird related.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Ich bin ein Berliner

Alright, so who are we kidding here? After about a month after my last traveling in Europe, there is no way that I remember when we saw what, and sometimes what the things that we saw even were... But, I will try to piece it together via the ridiculous amount of pictures that I took during my last European summer adventure a.k.a a 4 day weekend in Berlin!

So, here it goes...hope you enjoy!

Nanad drove us to the train station (we almost didn't make it!! Good thing Polish trains are always late...) and saw to it that we got on safely. He left a few days after, so this was our goodbye...



Alright, a little random and you're probably wondering, "What the hell?", but in Berlin (some of the sections of it anyhow) the pedestrian street lights look like this: a little Berliner-walky-man with a hat! You just have to take a picture of that!



After the British bombed Berlin in November 1943, all that was left of this church was left standing (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedachtniskirche). It was left untouched after the war and now serves as a memorial site.



Speaking of memorial sites, this is a memorial dedicated to the murdered Jews of Europe. It is what it looks like: a series of large concrete blocks, of different heights strewn over a large open area. The ground slopes slightly downward as you enter the labyrinth which gives the feeling of descending into something very uncertain, dark and a little scary. Overall, very powerful...



Another shot. I like the tree; despite all the concrete, life perseveres...



In the middle, the blocks are very tall.



Germany: Land of Ideas. Can't argue with that! I mean what other city has a huge plastic/metal structure of the aspirin pill right next to old city parliament building?



Outside of the Reichstag. After waiting in line for over an hour with Erin, we got to go up to the top and see Norman Foster's impressive glass cupola.



I really think that they don't want you to smoke...



The glass pendulum thing inside was pretty neat. You can see the staircase that goes around the cupola reflecting in its mirrors. Due to some cleaning, however, we were not allowed to go inside...next time...



Some more impressive architecture. This is actually a bit off the tourist track; it's inside a bank. Having an architecture graduate as your tour guide around Berlin sure has it's benefits! Thanks Erin!



The paneling on the Canadian embassy in Berlin. Pretty cool optical illusion.



More from the embassy. Almost felt like I was home for a minute.



"Liz, take a picture of us eating Haagen-Dazs, at the Haagen-Dazs store in Berlin!" - Erin and Monika.
"I don't think Haagen-Dazs is even German..." - Liz after taking the picture.
And sure enough, Haagen-Dazs is not... We thought we were so clever....



The Sony Center reflecting in a near-by building. Another architectural marvel, this time in Potsdamer Platz.



A bit closer.... Looks like a crazy spaceship!



Totally nuts, it's amazing to me that this thing does not fall down. Lots of cables and trusses I guess.



Liz and I under the giant umbrella that is the Sony Center.



Quirky Berlin; one of the funniest adds I have ever seen in my life. Fur die ladies?? Hehehehehe....



Berlin's biggest eyesore, Fernsehturm. The 368 meter tall TV tower that features a revolving cafe/restaurant at the very top. Sound familiar? We tried twice to make it up, but alas it was not meant to be. If you zoom-in, you can see people on top of the sphere. They were getting ready to take down the soccer panels.



To be quite honest, I have no clue what this thing is. I think that it's some sort of a church or basilica, but I cannot be sure. In the distance you can see the Fernsehturm.




We visited the Jewish Museum, another funky architecture wonder on the outside. The zinc-clad exterior gives off quite a cold and uninviting vibe. Quite appropriate if you consider the theme.



Another shot of the museum. You can see the Holocause Tower in the foreground. Inside it, there is nothing but concrete and darkness, illuminated ever so slightly by the light coming through a tinny, unreachable slit in one of the top corners.



Signs from Check Point Charlie




The little booth from the check point, still in place.



Check Point Charlie 2006? Nope, just the American embassy. How many barricades do they need to feel safe?



Close to the check point there is a small section of the wall that's fenced off from the public. Kind of ironic I guess.



The East Side Gallery is approximately a 1.5 km stretchrech of the wall, part of which has been renovated in 2000 and now consists of over 100 paintings, painted on the east side of the wall, by various artists from all over the wall.



Erin checking out some freaky artwork.



Other part of the wall is dedicated to the general public; anyone who wants to express themselves on a piece of concrete is welcome to do so here.



It's amazing to think that this wall streched over 150 km through Berlin and beyond. Now, only a small section remains.



A shot of the Olympic Stadium in the sunset.



Saying goodbye to Berlin. The Berlin Haupbanhof (main train station) and in the distance the Reichstag.


So there you go, my trip to Berlin the highspeed version. Now only few more entries and I should be back on schedule!

posted by Monika at 12:47 AM | 0 comments

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Warszawa kicked my ass - aka a weekend from hell

Ah, the capitol city. The place of glamour, lights, sounds and tall buildings. The city of tolerance, of fast reliable public transportation, of teaming night life, the city that never sleeps, right? Right...? Well you would think that wouldn't you?

This past weekend IAESTE "organized" (I use that term VERY loosely here) a weekend get-together in the capitol of the country. We were all very excited about the trip, but it didn't take long before we were all VERY disappointed. I can honestly say, that this past weekend was the worst one that I have spent during my 3 month stay in Europe. Why you ask? Well it was a combination of things, like the fact that the weather was crap (pretty much rain all the time) as well as the fact that I was suffering from a cold/flu and was going through a personal hell, but mainly due to the 'unique' experiences that somehow all managed to happen at the same time... I will give a short summary of the bad experiences and then sum up with some attractions that we managed to see and experience.

So here it goes, the story of how Warszawa beat Monika...

1. Leaving Lodz on the 6:20 a.m. train on Friday morning.
Why? Well... Actually we still don't really know why... Our responsible in Lodz, Ania, decided that it would be fun to leave early... Turned out that IAESTE Warszawa had nothing planned for the Friday until 8:00 p.m. and was quite shocked to hear that we were at the train station at 8:40 a.m. "What are you doing here??" was the question that we got when someone called from the station to ask whether we would be picked up and taken to our accommodations... Not a good start. Thanks for robbing us of our sleep Ania...

2. Wrong hostel info on the website that had our itinerary on it.
About 9 of us decided that it was stupid to wait at the train station for 1.5 hrs for someone to take us to the hostel, so we broke off from the group and headed to the address that was given to us. It was raining and we were tired and wanted to sleep. Unfortunately, the address given to us was incorrect... We didn't find out about this till AFTER we went through the trouble of checking in (read below) when one of the IAESTE Warszawa people came and yanked us from our beds...Why won't IAESTE just let me sleep???

3. The awful, rude, bitches; the Ladies Behind the Glass. (LBGs)
Now checking-in to this incorrect hostel was like mission impossible. After filling out random pieces of paper which asked for the most obscure information ever (names of parents?) we were presented with 5 sets of keys. Problem was that was only enough for 7 people. After kindly asking if I could have another double room, I was informed that I ALREADY received 6 sets of keys...

(Translated from Polish of course)

"I'm... I'm pretty sure that there were only five sets." - Monika
"NO! There were six, I put them all right there!" - LBG #1 pointing at the counter
"No, I'm sure that there were only five. There are four here and I'm holding one in my hand... That makes five." - Monika starting to get angry
"Well, I'm don't know where the sixth one went, but I put it there and it's not there so one of you must have it! You saw me put them there, didn't you?" - LBG #1 turning to LBG #2
"Yes, of course I did! It was right there, I saw it!" - LBG #2
"Clearly, I did not put it in my pocket!!" - Monika losing patience and wanting very much to punch the LGBs # 1 & #2.
"Well one of you must have, cause I put them there!" - LBG #1

At that VERY moment, enter the cleaning lady holding in her hand the SIXTH set of keys;

"I just finished cleaning that room. Here are the keys you gave me." - cleaning lady as she hands the last set of keys to LBG #1.

You should have seen the look on LBGs' faces! THOSE IDIOTS!! I thought that I was going to kill them... Did I get an apology? Ha! Ya right, this is Poland!!! And as it turned out I went through all that stress and arguing for nothing...

4. The disgusting hostel that they put us up in.
Oh yes, this fantastic place not only had brown water coming out of all the taps, but also a smell from the toilets that was noticeable 20 meters down the hall. Oh, and did I mention the dirty carpets, beds and walls?

5. The tram driver that decided not to stop.
First of, in the biggest city in the country, you would expect good public transit. You would expect... But alas, in Warszawa trams only run till midnight. Feeling really crappy because of the cold, I left the party on Friday night around 11:00 p.m. The party was in one of, if not THE doggiest areas of Warszawa (great planning there IAESTE), however Liz accompanied me back to the hostel. We got to the stop and shortly after the tram came...it came and left and we were left standing on the platform like before with looks of disbelief...

"Is this a joke?? Why didn't she stop and open the door??" - Liz
"It's not a joke Liz. Welcome to Warszawa..." - Monika

Not a problem, one more tram. Have to wait 25 more minutes but there's one more tram before midnight. The tram came and stopped... however 3 stops before ours it decided that it was done for the night and turned into the garage. Nice... We ended up taking a taxi the rest of the way.

6. The taxi driver from hell.
On Saturday night we all went to a club. After salvaging the night with a private party in the basement of the club (we got to be DJ's so the music was awesome!!) we decided to head home around 1:30 a.m. It was pouring outside and it took us about 5 minutes to flag down a taxi. Having been warned about 'mafia taxis' in Warszawa I looked down at the meter: 9.50 zl. 9.50 zl??

"Umm, is that the base tariff that we start from?" - Monika
"No dobra dobra, gdzie jedziemy!!??? (OK OK, where are we going??!!!)" - taxi driver yelling but canceling the meter.
"Umm, plac Naturowicza..." - Monika, shocked...
"No ale GDZIE??!!" (Ya, but WHERE??!!) - taxi driver
"Just to the tram stop that's fine.." - Monika, still shocked.
"HA!! Just the tram stop.." - taxi driver in a mocking voice.

When it was time to get out, we were searching for small change and he started getting angry asking if we have the money. After reassuring him that in a second we'll find some and all he needs to do it chill, I handed him some change and we all got out. Only after he drove away, did Liz inform me that he said "kurwa"(equivalent of bitch) to me as I was getting out. Nice...

So there you have it. That's a compilation of all the terrible experiences, that you never think could possibly happen to one person, in one weekend, but somehow they all happened to me...

Between all the poor organization, and unfortunate events, we did manage to do some sight seeing. If you are still reading this blog entry, I hope that you enjoy the pictures from the few experiences that made this weekend bearable.



A cartoon from the Warsaw Uprising Museum. There was one room that talked about Poland's fate after WWII all the way till 1989. The whole room was SUPER red, and you can see the glow of it reflect on the picture. A bit of a dark shot, but I was trying to capture the ambiance.
TRANSLATION:
"I am your saviour, I free you from the Natzis" and the tied up person is supposed to represent all of the Polish people.



Pretty 'kamienice' in the Old Town Square.



Again more 'kamienice'. I love these so much here in Poland, they are simply gorgeous.



Mike and Katrine hanging out in the square. The sun was out for about 45 minutes, and you can see the pretty, light-up colours of the buildings in the background.



Again, more pretty buildings. I guess you can call them "The Puffins of Poland" when it comes to my picture taking.



This one's for you Chris :)

A shot of a really funky, kind of astrological clock in the vicinity of the Old Town Square.



Hehehehe, in Warszawa there is a round-about at the base of a very funky street that reminds me of Yorkville (except it's mostly food and cafes and not so much shopping). On this round-about the city decided to put up a fake palm tree. Why? Who knows!! One of the IAESTE Warszawa people told me that whenever there is a big storm, all the leaves get pulled off the tree and usually all that remains is the fake plastic trunk. But, after each storm they repair the tree so that it doesn't look ridiculous... Ah, the irony...



Palace of Science and Culture (Polish side-note: how does that translation work??)



Me and Erin trying to be creative with the camera.



A view of the city from the terrace of the Palace of Science and Culture (30th floor).



The Zamek (aka Castle, but really more like a palace) in the Old Town.



Some colourful decorations inside the 'zamek'. What can I say, I like birds!



Inside the 'zamek'. How many mirrors do you see?




This upcoming weekend we're taking a trip to Berlin. Liz is done her IAESTE and is heading home, but not before partying it up with us in Berlin!! Liz has some friends there and they graciously hooked us up with accommodations until Tuesday. We're hoping that this will be a redemption weekend and that we can give our little schedule-obsessed German a proper send-off. Fingers crossed for good weather!

posted by Monika at 2:19 AM | 1 comments

Thursday, August 03, 2006

The Mad Dog joins the White Russian

Tuesday, our little Luke turned 21. As such, naturally we decided to celebrate. The night started off with an amazing dinner that the Spanish put together, and we gladly joined in helping to clear off the leftovers. Now, I have been around them long enough to realize that if there is a celebration and the Spanish are involved, inevitably there is sangria...Usually in ridiculous amounts.


The feast of feasts. Can you find the birthday boy among all the Spanish?



Make a wish! Note: in the corner you can see the tub with sangria.



Luke cutting the cake and posing with his birthday present. The Spanish made him this little poster and we all signed it. They also made photocopies of it and plastered it all over the dom. Nice work boys.



Hehehehehehe, "animal party". The Engrish continues...


After some dinner, cake, happy birthday singing and lots of sangria, someone busted out the bottle of tequila. Now, having already consumed 4 glasses of the Spanish delicacy as well as 1 beer, I should have known better. But the tequila was from Mexico and it was another girl's birthday as well so she insisted that we all do a shot. Peer pressure when already feeling drunk is not a good thing (more on that later...)



Javi and Mon leading the toast.



Ah tequila birthday toast



Cheers! Na zdrowie! Prost! Yamas! Salut! Sante! (help me out with the spelling guys...)


"I can open a bottle of champagne, really I can. Want to see?" - Luke



Apparently he can't do it. Not without getting it all over his face at least. :)


By this point, as you may imagine, we were getting a bit rowdy. Not wanting another visit from "his magnificence" we decided to move the party to a pub. At the bar I followed with another beer and then decided to get the birthday boy a shot. Being a true believer that if ordering someone a shot, you must do one of the same yourself, I decided to go for something nice and tasty. After trying to explain a few shots to the bartender and getting only blank looks in return (was it me or him, I wonder...) I settled on straight Baileys. After sharing another shot with Erin (amaretto this time, yummy) Luke decided to get "The Canada Girls" a shot as well: a Mad Dog to be exact. Now, I don't recall this drink from home (closest thing that I can think of is a prairie Fire) but basically it's vodka, tobasco sauce and a bit of fruit syrup on the bottom.

SIDE NOTE: Apparently there is a shot called the Crazy Mad Dog (according to one of the Polish guys who lives in the dom). The difference between the Crazy and regular Mad Dog? The vodka is 75% proof... (is that even legal?).

"Luke, there's no way that I'm drinking that. That's disgusting." - Monika
"Oh come on, Monika don't let your country down." - Luke
"Oh God, this is going to hurt." - Erin lifting her shot glass
"Oh Canada, our home and native land..." - Luke singing off key
"I hate you so much..." - Monika giving in and drinking the awful shot

It took me two tries to get it all down... See what I mean about peer pressure? Shortly after that we decided that it was time to go home. I refused the taxi, knowing my stomach there was no way I was going to make it, and opted to walk home instead. Luke dropped me off at my room and I stumbled into bed just before 5:00 a.m. But not before discovering a 'present' waiting for me on our floor. Still don't know who that was ("You guys had a phantom puker?" - Luke) though I'm sticking to my theory (Come on Oli, we know it was you...).

Both Erin and I were out of commission yesterday ("I love fake work." - Erin) spending most of the day sleeping. By the evening we were feeling much better and actually managed to get some solid food in our bodies. So with that memorable evening, the Mad Dog has made the list of drinks I will never drink again in my life. And I have made a promise to my liver that I will take it easy from now on.

As well as to never say that Nic and Ilona party too much...

posted by Monika at 1:56 AM | 3 comments