Berlin and Warsaw

15th August 2008 - 14.55 - Moscow Time

Writing location: Somewhere between East Belarus and West Russia

Upon arriving in Berlin, we were glad to be free of our apartment (for those not aware of the meaning of ‘couchette’ – think 6 bunks, 3 high, strangers snoring and not much room for luggage!). We quickly washed in the Hbf’s WC and caught the S-Bahn to Berlin Lichtenberg, in the old East, where we were to catch our train to Warsaw later that evening. Making use of the station’s lockers, we headed straight to the TV Tower, as we had incorrectly read its closing time as 1pm! We spent some time viewing the city from up high, then took the pleasant walk to Checkpoint Charlie. Feeling quite tired, now, we grabbed a coffee and jumped on the U-Bahn to Potsdamer Platz. It had been nearly ten years since I visited Berlin and I saw a lot of change around the area of Potsdamer Platz – cosmopolitan being the word. We took a walk through the park (and rain!) to the Brandenburg Gate, where we witnessed a protest march against Russia’s actions in Georgia. Great! Just where we’re headed! We finished the evening in the Zoologischer Garten with a bad pizza and a display from some rather aged men on skateboards outside the church. One had quite scaly biceps, one was very thin and weedy and needed my Euro Cents to go get a meal and the third was rather obviously trying to cover up a few greys up top!

The train out of there that evening was quite a few steps above the couchette on the way in, only I was still getting used to sleeping at high (!) speed, so I didn’t feel great when we found ourselves in the dark, rust-stained confines of Warsaw Centralna station at 5.45am, having jumped off the early-arriving train in a moment of panic. Still, the attendant’s look of bewilderedness through the open window as the train just sat there for a good ten minutes longer made it a lasting memory!

The dodgy-looking taxi dropped us at the foot of the old town and we walked into our hotel at approximately 6.15am, a little early for our 2pm check in. After a couple of hours in ‘Coffee Heaven’, we made our way down towards a bridge we could see in the distance. It turned out to be the Mermaid Bridge, over the River Wisla. We then took a walk up into town, before tucking in to a Pizza Hut next door to the hotel. We checked in at about 1.59pm and were asleep by 2.03pm. Only for an hour, though!

We spent the warm, sunny evening wandering the old town, which included a trip up the viewing terrace and a walk to the Post Office, which we were told was open 24-7. It was!

Later, we settled down to a dinner in the main square where I had easily the best fillet steak and peppercorn sauce I have ever had. It didn’t cost a lot, either. We sat in the pub adjoining the restaurant after and wrote postcards to our family before returning to bed.

Next day, we opted to have breakfast out and trundled through the old town, trying to find somewhere to eat. One girl wouldn’t show us the breakfast menu for a while, insisting that we took a seat before she would show us it! When we told her that we wanted to look around a bit first, she just replied “Welcome to our restaurant!” After eventually finding somewhere open and reasonably priced (bacon toast and omelette), we headed back down to the river to see if we could take a trip on a boat we had seen yesterday. On the walk there, we found a place called ‘Hula Kula’ which seemed to be a giant mall and library, only with the most amazing garden built onto its roof – which you could walk around. Upon arriving at the river front, we enquired about the next river boat trip, but they told us “Not today”, presumably because there were no other takers. We sat by the Mermaid Bridge and statue and watched people bathing in the fountain beneath the statue. They were getting a bit carried away and it wasn’t long until a pair of Community Support Officers (Polish equivalent!) came and told them to stop. We took the mass exodus as our opportunity to take some photos, before walking up into town for a ‘Fresh Point’ sandwich and a piece of Warsaw Friend Chicken, although they were continuing their adamance that it was from Kentucky for some reason. We then sat in the park and watched the guards guarding the thing that had burning flames and therefore really needed guarding, before heading to the Museum of Caricature.

Back in the old town after that, we watched this amazing artist creating ‘Space Paintings’ with only a handful of spray cans and about three tools – it was truly amazing stuff! After a drink on the old wall, we visited a Mongolian restaurant we had seen before for dinner. Unfortunately, the ‘Mongolian’ part seemed to just be an advert for a restaurant elsewhere in town, so we enjoyed our Chinese dinner.

We returned to the Castle Inn hotel where we had been staying and collected our bags and bought bus tickets. The same girl who provided us with bus times and sold us the tickets ended up catching the bus with us and chatting with us about our journey. She happened to mention that she felt Warsaw train station was a sorry sight, left over from communism, and that with Euro 2012 just 4 years away, they would definitely have to change it. We left Warsaw in agreement of her statement: Amazing city; shame about the station! She also managed to drop in her bit for the Polish Tourist Board by saying: “I hope that you will come over and see us in Warsaw again soon.” Along with a quick “Hello!” as she got off the bus. I’ll remember that!