8 to 21 September
Poland

We finally decided to give Poland a fair go. We had been in the north but 3 days of continuous raining drove us off to Lithuania. Now, we entered from the east. Land of the biggest forest in Poland, Bialowieza National Park; home of the bison. Several walks and bike rides after, we still could not find any!! But another big adventure was waiting for us. Attracted by a big banner we entered a Nordic Walking National Championship! OMG, if we thought we were fit; after that walk we realised that we are not!! 10 km gruelling walking with ski poles through the forest was the trick. Of course, we could have opted for a 5 km but hey! we wanted to challenge ourselves.

The toss of the town, full on celebrity status. Armed with our Aussie tattoos we were welcomed by everybody! It was a great day starting with learning to walk with poles, the 10 km, the raffle we won, a steam train to the bushes and swamps, and to finish it off...party!! Dancing, signing, eating and a bonefire.
The next day, barely walking, with the bling around the neck we promptly checked in in a hotel and spent the afternoon in the sauna/spa!




A week in Warsaw,,,
Absolutely unexpected; and that is how we like it :)
In our minds, product of so many documentaries/movies about the war. was black and white; semi or fully destroyed; cold and grey. Well, Warsaw is nothing like that! The "old town" is fake, as this city was absolutely demolished during the war; so they built it up again "as if" and it is so well done that it looks like the real deal! What surprised us the most was the huge amount of cranes, new metro and tram lines, new bikes roads, lots of skyscrapers and the openness and freshness of all! We found the place very artistic, political, nostalgic and young. Big open spaces - a la Russia style- and a sense that we will not be able to recognise this place in 20 years time. It was a meaningful visit, feeling every bit the memory of my grandparents; a mix of wonder and sadness. The Jewish life that was totally erased, the scars of the ghettos and the
deportation "station"; all there, still raw.