Remember

Today I listened to the latest episode of the Vinyl Cafe (CBC show) and it was about Remembrance Day - stories were shared about Dieppe and Vimy Ridge. It was a nice way to reflect on Canada's contributions in World War, and to be thankful and appreciative for our freedom today. I am so proud to be Canadian. And lucky.

(Thanks to Heather for getting me hooked on the Vinyl Cafe!)

Today is Polish Independence Day. I don't think much is really going on here. Plus it's very rainy and damp outside. One of my students yesterday explained that many Polish holidays are spent in church. There may be some celebrations going on in Warsaw - parades or something like this. For me, it's a day off, a day of rest, and getting things done. A day of rest because I have been under the weather since our return from Berlin. I am almost back to normal though! I was able to get some echinacea at the pharmacy here. This is my healer. Sadly Irene and Heather are not doing so well. They were hit worse than I was. Fingers crossed they recover soon! We blame the Swedish girls in our hostel in Berlin...for the messy state they kept the room. (This just in: there IS a parade here in Radom today!)

I suppose our sleep schedule (or lack thereof) on the weekend weakened us...it went something like this:
-Saturday up at 3:30am to catch an early train to Berlin
-Saturday night/Sunday morning Heather and I got to bed at 4:30am
-left Berlin Sunday evening at 8pm - slept on the train but had a transfer at 1am, so disrupted sleep, then on the second train we made a friend in our car so we were up til about 3am chatting...then just dosed in and out of sleep...up at 6am for our arrival in Warsaw, then slept on the train to Radom (7am - 9am)...eesh!

Berlin. I underestimate my love for big cities. I always say that I prefer smaller towns for living. Perhaps Waterloo is the exception to this, because I absolutely love Waterloo. But there is something about a big city...there is a feeling I have that I thrive off of. I already knew I loved Berlin from last summer, and this weekend was just a reminder. The people, the food, the history, the culture - it's multicultural. Everything so easily accessible on the S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains (I sure love the efficiency and reliability of German trains!). I could move to Berlin...like tomorrow.

Saturday we arrived early afternoon. Heather, Irene and I literally jumped up and down on the train as we approached our Berlin Ostbahnof station. The city was not new to any of us, so we all had our own sentimental reasons for being excited. We dropped our stuff at our hostel in the East and headed out for some food - CURRYWURST! This was one of my favourite discoveries from last summer. The girls even let me take them to the place where I ate last year. Yey! After this we took a leisurely walk along the East Side Gallery (it was the weekend two days before the 20th anniversary of the wall coming down, after all...how amazing is that?!) - so fantastic. After this we wandered the east neighbourhood - looking in some boutiques and second hand stores, and settled for some dinner. Sushi!!! This is not something we can get in Radom. (Irene opted for Sudanese food which unfortunately left her feeling ill for the rest of the night.) Our waitress was amazing. Here is the Haiku I composed for her (while waiting for the S train):
Our dearest tranny
Led us astray in Berlin
But we still love her....or him

You see, she told us there was a concert going on at Brandenburg Gate that night. She said there would be many hot men! Haha So we went and checked it out. (I had a Kirsch beer in hand, of course! That's for Catrina and Martin!) Unfortunately they were just setting up for the festivities for Monday, but we were not too disappointed. Seeing the gate at night was awesome, and there were other "wall" structures on display. There were food and drink stalls set up, so it was still fun. After this we went back to our hostel to get ready for a night out. Heather and I went to Fritz club. Our hostel was really close to where I stayed last year, and these are both close to the club - an old warehouse with separate rooms for different music types. Heather and I rocked all three rooms - the electro room, the dance/pop room, and the alternative room. We were total rockstars. We especially loved the latter room. Such a good time. Around 3:15am, Heather checked her watch. We both agreed that we could keep dancing, but decided to be sensible and head back. No night out dancing is complete without a food stop though. Falafel. Mmmm. We chatted with some people there. Some guys thought we were French. He said we looked the stereotype. Nope. Sorry.

Sunday Heather and I went back to the area around Brandenburg Gate, Friedrichstrabe, to wander. We spent about two hours in a big book store. At the same time we each had a different St Germain album in hand and Heather asks "Have you heard this band?" Weird. We had a HUGE laughing fit (well, we do that ALL the time somehow) looking through a book called "101 Ways to Kill Your Boss". Like the laughing that hurts SO much and everyone is staring...you're trying to be quiet so you make funny noises and you cry...and then if you're me you fart. ANYWAYS. It was fantastic. We went took a special trip to the Hauptbahnof station for Millie's cookies - Heather's choice. SO worth it. THESE ARE THE BEST COOKIES EVER! Do you know how hard it is to find baked cookies in Radom? Cookies that aren't from a package? It's pretty much impossible. So we bought a baker's dozen...each. Mmmm...heaven. We wandered the Hackescher Markt area - to visit the Ampelmann shop and check out other little shops. We returned to the currywurst stand (for something else) for dinner, met up with Irene at the hostel, and headed for the train station for our long (and unwilling) return to Radom.

The guy Heather and I met on the train from Kryzy, Poland to Warsaw (Mariusz) was SO great. We commented on how decent the train actually was, and he said it's really not that great. Heather replied, "We're from Radom", to which our friend BURST out laughing. It was the most genuine reaction ever. Anyways, it was so fun chatting with this guy. We were telling him our many travel/train anecdotes, as well as some stories from our classes. We now have his phone number, so next time we're in Warsaw he can show us around!

I was relieved with how good cooperative my 7/8 students were on Monday, as I was beyond exhausted. My voice was almost gone. Having to speak really quietly keeps them quiet though! They were little angels for me. My other classes went well too. The last two nights I have slept for 10 hours. Much needed.

Berlin was totally worth it. Not a lifestyle I could maintain, but every once in a while it is good for my soul. I need to be crazy. I will definitely be staying put for the next little while though! Time to save up for Christmas travels!

I've been trying to put up pictures for my previous post but it hasn't been working today. I'll keep trying! xo