Blogs from Silesia, Poland, Europe - page 3

Braving the Cold - My Walk Mario was sick for about 5 days, so we stayed in a lot, that was fine by me as the heating was great, outside was mostly dull and it was totally dark by 4:30pm. However, one of those days was beautiful and clear, so I went for a walk outside, took my camera and... (have a look) Snowflakes - Miracles of Beauty I have experienced a bit of snow in Victoria, Australia when I was very young and a bit in Norway and Japan. But that was nothing compared to what I saw in Poland. People had to shovel snow from their driveways, special trucks ploughed the snow and spread salt on the roads, lakes were frozen. There is even an anti freeze detergent you have to use for your ... read more

BRATISLAVA - KATOWICE 01.10.08 Km traveled 3040 Jogging early morning, under the rain, with a backpack the size of yourself on your shoulders to catch the 5.54 train, is a MUST for every traveler. So we thought that was a good chance for us to show off our traveling skills. When you choose to take a train so early in the morning, when it's still dark, it means that things are going to be difficult. Otherwise you would have taken the 2.00 pm train! So obviously what should have been just an early morning journey from Bratislava to Katowice, with ONE change at Zilina, turned out to be an adventure. First part of the journey was actually fine if it wasn't for the early time. We arrive at Zilina almost on time after crossing the beautiful ... read more

First let me tell you where Gliwice is. It is close by, just west of Krakow, in southern Poland, a city of 200,000. Silesian Universtiy of Technology is here, attended by 32,000 students. One of the city's unique claims to fame, is the wooden radio tower. Perhaps the tallest in the world, 118 meters tall, (approximately 350 feet) But this trip wasn't for our usual sight seeing holiday. It was a chance for me to be of some use. In case you are looking for a different approach to travel, here's a formula that guarantees a memorable experience: -act on a whim. -build a house, one heavy cement block at the time -generate compassion within yourself "active desire to alleviate another's suffering" -form friendships with people from places you may never heard of. -just don't leave ... read more

The first thing we do when we land in a new place is to get a street map and try to get ourselves oriented on it. This involves walking around quite a bit to see what's nearby in every direction from our hotel. So far, in Katowice we have seen lots of apartment buildings, one university, a few churches and some shops and restaurants. This place is not geared toward the tourist and so it doesn't have the pizzazz that can be found elsewhere. It's kinda of refreshing actually. Still, Katowice gives us an idea of what urban Poland can normally look like. A few interesting things have struck our eyes. One is that the fashions here are a bit more of a mish-mash than what we saw in Paris. At least some of the folks ... read more

Ask a Pole, and disappointingly they’ll tell you it’s pronounced “cheshin”, not “cheese-in”.. and there isn’t any special cheese to be found :/ It’s a small border town divided by a shallow river, half in the Czech Republic, and half in Poland. These new EU id cards are a blessing for the border guards who work the bridges over the river. A quick look at photos and they can just wave everyone past - everyone that is, except us unfortunates from “other” places. Then they have to decide who’s turn it is, who’s got the keys to the office, who last used the stamps, and where they are. I spent a lot of time on the bridges :) We slept a night on the busy old town on the Polish side as trains only cross the ... read more