Poland

Poland was an afterthought. I knew nothing about Katowice, a major low budget airport hub city in Poland when I booked my flight from Barcelona to Katowice. It was the only reasonable way to make my way back to Ukraine for my eventual flight to Thailand.

I did not know one Polish word and mistakenly withdrew a few hundred dollars worth of Polish currency for one day. Rather than sleep in a hotel next to the airport I took an hour-long shuttle into the city to catch a glimpse of Poland.

The night time was approaching as I was dropped off at the bus terminal. I wanted to find my way to the hostel before the light disappeared and with the aid of some locals I did. I first approached a rugged looking man and he was excited to help. Neither of us could communicate in words but he drew me a very basic map which pointed out the general direction I was to walk.

As I made my way closer to the intended street a woman walking her dog pointed to my street and I was all set. I walked into the hostel courtyard and my thoughts immediately turned to the horror movie, Hostel, as this courtyard appeared very shabby and almost looked like the entrance to a dungeon.

But the hostel was actually pretty nice with free wireless and all the other needed amenities.My absolute favorite thing about it were the hostel rules. Take this one for instance!

I went for a wander around downtown Katowice. I could hear some music being played somewhere so I followed the sound. Downtown was completely empty of people but the music was actually a live concert, and pretty nice too. I didn’t pay to go inside but listened for a few minutes to a Polish band play some alternative song with  nice melody. I continued walking and found the only open restaurant, a pub playing the world cup final match. I ordered perogies and beer while I watched the match.

The waitress was really friendly and I had the same impression of everyone else in the pub. Poland is another place I think i’d like to spend some time in. At least more than half a day.

At a convenience store I walked in on a man with an absolutely huge pot belly. It was insane and his tight shirt did not help either. He also seemed a bit nuts chatting up the cashier, mainly talking to himself. About a half hour later as I was walking back to my hostel I spotted the cops talking with him.

I woke up early and walked back to the bus terminal and with the help of some people I found the correct bus to the airport. I snapped a photo of downtown Katowice along the way.

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