Originally Posted on May 23, 2008
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When is this ef’ing flight going to end?! We finally did land in Copenhagen and had about an hour to find our next flight and get checked in. I did stop at a smoking booth to have a quick smoke. That way I wouldn’t kill anybody who got in my way. We found our way to the flight and were right on time to get our seats and board. Small small small plane. I think I slept the entire 55 minute flight.
The airport in Gdansk was the second smallest airport I have ever been to. The smallest is in Salisbury Maryland. We waited about 15 minutes to get our luggage before walking outside to meet Monika’s Mom and cousin (Thomak). I was soooo tired by this point I don’t remember exactly what was said, but I noticed right away Thomak could speak English.
They whisked us away to Thomak’s car and we were off driving to Thomak’s house. The first think I noticed was how nice everything was. Sure the cars are a bit smaller, but the roads were good and nothing looked old like I imagined. It really felt like I was in America with smaller cars and signs in the wrong language.
We arrived at Thomak’s house and unloaded the luggage. I got the tour and was very impressed at how nice the house was. Monika kept telling me the houses here were small. They aren’t. I mean sure they are smaller than some in Vegas, but the houses in Vegas aren’t a good measure. Thomak and Ala (Thomak’s wife) had gone out of their way to make us comfortable in their home and we were immediately comfortable. (I think my English is getting worse the longer I am here)
After about 10 minutes I needed to take a nap… and I did.
Monika woke me up telling me her father, Ala, and Voitek (Thomak’s son) were all home. I tried to wipe the sleep out of my eyes and headed downstairs to meet everybody. This could have been awkward, but it wasn’t thankfully. The language barrier was definately there, but with Monika and Thomak to translate it was all good. After hanging out a bit we headed out to old town. In the US, when you think of old it is a couple hundred years. When in Europe, old is a thousand years. Amazing how soooo many of the buldings have survived and look very good.
I was still in a bit of a haze as we walked around, but I did manage to take a bunch of pictures. I will have to wait until I get home to post them though, so you will just have to wait.
After wandering around a bit we had dinner at a “folk” restaurant that while relatively new was built in the traditional style. It was really neat. They had a menu in Enlish, but Thomak and Monika’s dad had already decided what I was going to eat. They ordered me Zurek and Golonka. Zurek is a kind of sour soup that was amazing! The translation for Golonka was “pork knuckle”. I was a bit aprehensive, but was pleasantly surprised. It was a big hunk of pork that might be one of the best thinks I have ever tasted. I think it comes from the thigh of the pig. All I could think of was that Luke would HAVE to try this one day.
After dinner we headed back to the house where we said goodbye to Monika’s parents. They made the three hour drive back to Olsztyn, but left us with a car so we could drive back on Monday.
After the parents left, Thomak cracked open the Vodka. The brand we were drinking was called Zubrowka. It has a picture of a Bison on it, and a piece of grass inside the bottle. I think it tastes pretty good by itself, but Thomak insisted I try it mixed with apple juice. AMAZING! Quite possibly the best tasting mixed drink I have ever had. We had a really nice time that evening, but jet lag finally caught up with us and it was time for bed.
As I drifted off to sleep all I could think about was what a good first day it had been. This was going to be an outstanding trip.
–C
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When is this ef’ing flight going to end?! We finally did land in Copenhagen and had about an hour to find our next flight and get checked in. I did stop at a smoking booth to have a quick smoke. That way I wouldn’t kill anybody who got in my way. We found our way to the flight and were right on time to get our seats and board. Small small small plane. I think I slept the entire 55 minute flight.
The airport in Gdansk was the second smallest airport I have ever been to. The smallest is in Salisbury Maryland. We waited about 15 minutes to get our luggage before walking outside to meet Monika’s Mom and cousin (Thomak). I was soooo tired by this point I don’t remember exactly what was said, but I noticed right away Thomak could speak English.
They whisked us away to Thomak’s car and we were off driving to Thomak’s house. The first think I noticed was how nice everything was. Sure the cars are a bit smaller, but the roads were good and nothing looked old like I imagined. It really felt like I was in America with smaller cars and signs in the wrong language.
We arrived at Thomak’s house and unloaded the luggage. I got the tour and was very impressed at how nice the house was. Monika kept telling me the houses here were small. They aren’t. I mean sure they are smaller than some in Vegas, but the houses in Vegas aren’t a good measure. Thomak and Ala (Thomak’s wife) had gone out of their way to make us comfortable in their home and we were immediately comfortable. (I think my English is getting worse the longer I am here)
After about 10 minutes I needed to take a nap… and I did.
Monika woke me up telling me her father, Ala, and Voitek (Thomak’s son) were all home. I tried to wipe the sleep out of my eyes and headed downstairs to meet everybody. This could have been awkward, but it wasn’t thankfully. The language barrier was definately there, but with Monika and Thomak to translate it was all good. After hanging out a bit we headed out to old town. In the US, when you think of old it is a couple hundred years. When in Europe, old is a thousand years. Amazing how soooo many of the buldings have survived and look very good.
I was still in a bit of a haze as we walked around, but I did manage to take a bunch of pictures. I will have to wait until I get home to post them though, so you will just have to wait.
After wandering around a bit we had dinner at a “folk” restaurant that while relatively new was built in the traditional style. It was really neat. They had a menu in Enlish, but Thomak and Monika’s dad had already decided what I was going to eat. They ordered me Zurek and Golonka. Zurek is a kind of sour soup that was amazing! The translation for Golonka was “pork knuckle”. I was a bit aprehensive, but was pleasantly surprised. It was a big hunk of pork that might be one of the best thinks I have ever tasted. I think it comes from the thigh of the pig. All I could think of was that Luke would HAVE to try this one day.
After dinner we headed back to the house where we said goodbye to Monika’s parents. They made the three hour drive back to Olsztyn, but left us with a car so we could drive back on Monday.
After the parents left, Thomak cracked open the Vodka. The brand we were drinking was called Zubrowka. It has a picture of a Bison on it, and a piece of grass inside the bottle. I think it tastes pretty good by itself, but Thomak insisted I try it mixed with apple juice. AMAZING! Quite possibly the best tasting mixed drink I have ever had. We had a really nice time that evening, but jet lag finally caught up with us and it was time for bed.
As I drifted off to sleep all I could think about was what a good first day it had been. This was going to be an outstanding trip.
–C
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