Adam's trip to Poland, concluded

(This is the final of 5 posts I have written in a row. There is obviously a lack on consistency, but I hope you all enjoy them!)

After our nap and meal, we decided to make the most of the 3 days that Adam had left in Warsaw. We had to cut out the trip to Lodz, to visit our uncle and party - sad days, but I'm sure there'll be other times. We got our stuff together, and went to visit our Ciocia Ela at work, and from there to the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising. We were both extremely impressed at the quality and effort put into the museum - the sounds effects, video testimonies and documents depicting the Uprising were powerful. I won't go into detail about the history of it, only to say that Poland is often the butt of WWII jokes when we probably put up the biggest fight against the Germans (considering our limitations). The Uprising started August 1 and lasted for 63 days: Poles organized themselves to attack the Germans, using sewers as a means of secret transport. About 18 thousand soldiers were killed, and 120-200 thousand civilians murdered - most of the people participating in it were young, Warsaw Intelligentsia. I think Adam and I learned more about Polish history on this trip than the combined knowledge we have about any other country.

We took the evening to travel around Warsaw - metro and bus - with our Grandma. After the walk, we came back, changed into nice clothes and went out onto Nowy Swiat (similar to Bay and Bloor in Toronto). It felt nice to actually wear fancy clothes and dress up for a change!

The next day, we included Palac Kultury (like the CN Tower) in downtown Warsaw, followed by a trip to family friends on the outskirts of Warsaw. I lied before, by the way: this was by far the hottest weather I had travelled in (far worse than Buda-buda). It was great to see the Grosiki, since they are like family on my mom's side. Once we got back to our base at the grandparents place, we drove with our aunt to pick up our cousin from her camp trip in Italy. She came back tanned, thin and somewhat happy to see us (it's soooo not cool for a 14 year old to get picked up by her mom and cousins, duh).

Basically, we spent the rest of the time with Ewa and having tons of fun - it makes me wish I had a younger sister (uhh, and made me appreciate that I have a younger brother too). We visited our great-aunt at her cottage, then our grandparents cottage and finally went to see Pirates of the Caribbean. The whole day made me realize how much I want a big family, and that I hate only seeing them once every 3 years.

The grandparents let us have the apartment that night, since they stayed at the cottage, and Adam, Ewa and I were pumped to go out and have an empty place. Of course, right after the movie, we were all so drained that we bought some junk food and stayed up til 3 watching movies. Watch out, everyone, the Debowski's really know how to party!

Today was a day of relaxing, with lots of walks and then a frenzy of lunch, packing and waiting in line at the airport. Adam checked in at 4:35, with his flight leaving at 4:55, so there wasn't much time for goodbyes. There seemed to be a void when he left: Adam, I think that they like you better than me. You will be very missed here. Not by me. I will see you in a week - great.

My trip is not over yet though - Poland for 3 days (I'm determined to take on the town with Ewa), then Prague and Frankfurt. T-7 days and I'm definitely feeling it!