Warsaw & Oswiecim

Alrighty. This is going to be a long one. So make yourself a nice cup of tea and get comfortable.
I am now back in Berlin after a week-long adventure in Warsaw and Oswiecim, Poland.
Sunday: To start the trip, I took the train from Berlin to Warsaw... Let me paint you this mental picture. Me, on a train, at 6:30am, sick as a dog, for 6 hours... Yummy! It was not pleasant. But, I survived. I was greeted at the train station by Jurek (my father's wife's sister's boyfriend's father) and he took me to my hotel and gave me a basic understanding of the area. I then explored a little bit on my own, went back to my hotel room (which by the way, was fabulous) and crashed. I slept like a rock.
Monday: This was the one and only morning that I slept in. I felt like death. It was extremely crappy. But, I forced myself out of bed and onto the streets of Warsaw. Just a general observation, most of the men I saw, were very... Forward. They are not afraid to tell you what they would like to do to you. This isn't all men... But quite a few. So anyways, I did a fairly in depth exploration of the immediate area of the hotel and train station. That night, I wanted nothing more than to be in bed. So I grabbed a light dinner at a small cafe and turned in early.
Tuesday: I was early to catch my train to Oswiecim at 8. Another wonderful 5 hour train ride later, I was in Oswiecim (commonly known to as Auschwitz). I dropped my bags at the local hostel (in a locker, just to be safe) and went straight to Auschwitz. To say that it was difficult is an extraordinary understatement. The impact of such an experience really is life-changing. I can't accurately express the range of emotions I felt as I walked through. The one thing that really caught me off guard was the lack of respect some people have when they are in such a place. I encountered a group of boys close to my age and they decided it would be funny to imitate the inmates. It made me sick. Of course, the majority of people are very aware of their behaviour in such a place, however, I couldn't get over those boys. So, me being me, I made a few snide remarks on their age / behaviour ratios and went on my way. Being from North America, they understood me perfectly. Now, I would love to be able to say that I took lots of pictures, but something in me was vehemently opposed to doing so. I just don't think that it is appropriate to take pictures of something like that. No image can accurately display the feelings that one gets when Auschwitz. So I apologize. I simply could not do it. After that day, I went back to my hostel, and spent a good deal of the night thinking about human nature and the ability of a person to infilict such suffering onto another. I came to no startling conclusions.
Wednesday: Up early once again. Onto Birkenau... Like Auschwitz, I really don't know what to tell you. There is really no way for me to put into words what it was like. I found myself spending a great deal of time questioning my own personal nature and drive. On some level, all human's have the ability to torture others. The big difference in people is whether or not they choose to use that ability. We are all capable of 'evil' deeds. It is how we choose to deal with this part of us that sets us apart from the monsters of society.
Thursday: After breakfast at a tiny cafe, I hit the train station to go back to Warsaw. Once there, I walked to 'Old Town,' the historic part of Warsaw. Though it was beautiful, I was still in self-examination mode so I didn't really appriciate is as much as I should have. Then it was back to the hotel for some room service and bed.
Friday: Jurek recommended the Polish Rising Museum, so off I trecked. It reminded me a great deal of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. The feeling was very similar. It was a nice day.
Saturday: Party day! At breakfast, I met Jolene and Marissa, two oil god's daughters from Calgary. They were doing a shopping day nad invited me along. Needless to say I didn't buy anything, but we had a good time. And that night, where better to celebrate than a Polish go-go club? The tequila was flowing and by the time we made it back to the hotel, it was somewhere around 4am.
Sunday: Tequila aftermath + 6 hour train ride = crappy x10354651684518615468. But, I made it through.
So I am in Berlin, planning my next move.
Oh, and by the way, I just recieved my acceptances from Ottawa. One for a major in criminology and one for a major in psychology. Hm... Now I have to decide...

Berlin: bike tours!

So. It has been three days since my mighty bicycle trip around Berlin... Or is it four? Oh well. The point is, my ass is still sore. I woke up that morning to the wonderfully annoying sound of my cell phone, which just happened to be all the way across the room. Yay! So, upon picking up the wretched little thing, I was invited on a bike tour of Berlin by a friend, Daniel. Now, who could resist? Now, normally, the answer to that question would have been a resounding 'ME!' due to my incredible ability to be a horrid bike rider. But, in the spirit of being adventurous, I said yes. Challenge number 1: Finding Daniel's house. Luckily for me, I didn't get lost. Challenge number 2: Actually riding the bike. Yipee. So, after a slightly iffy start, we were off, weaving through traffic like maniacs, as I watched my life flash second by second before my wind burned eyes. Okay. Maybe thats exaggerating a little, but the traffic was... Scary to say the least. So. We did all the Berlin-ish things one can do... Ate curry-wurst, drank coffee, vistited design stores with all intentions of buying everything and shipping it home to decorate my non-existant apartment... It was great. And tiring. So after dinner, games and a movie, I made the epic journey home (in the rain)... And got hopelessly lost. At 2 in the morning. It was lovely. Anyways, made it back to the apartment and crashed. A good day by most standards.

So tomorrow morning I am off to Warsaw, Poland... I'm making a two day trip to Krakow and Oswiecimto visit Auschwitz-Birkenau... So that'll be intense. I'll keep you updated.

Berlin: pool hall junkies and flea markets

So this Sunday, I ventured to a flea market... Love at first sight. There was some pretty awesome stuff. A lot of junk, but amidst it, some neat little items. I bought a pair of pants that aren't really pants, but... Yeah. Anyways. We had a pretty low key weekend, which was nice.
And last night I ended up spending most of the night in a pool hall (until 2:30 am to be exact) so needless to say I'm a little tired today. I can now say that it is a proven fact that I am terrible at pool. Luckily, I was playing with someone who will only rub my blatant lack of coordination in my face for a short time before moving on.