22 AUG 2010 - Warsaw, Poland

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Day 5 - Day in Warsaw, Poland

Today is Sunday, August 22, 2010. Once again Mom was up, showered and back from breakfast as I was getting out of bed this morning and today I rose at 7am. After finding out where the closest church was and what their mass times were the night before we headed to All Saints Church a few blocks away for their 8am mass. Alot of people there...and later we found out this is Warsaw's largest Roman Catholic church in the city. There are over 100 catholic churches in Warsaw. I don't know how all these old people can stand the kneelers in these churches...no padding?! No where in Europe will you find a church with padding....I'm a spoiled American Catholic! It was easy to follow the mass of course but saying the prayers was hard. I knew what was suppossed to be said at that time and I started speaking English but hearing all the Polish people around you really threw me off. I just stood there and said Amen when they were done with each prayer. Thankfully they don't kneel as much as we're used too and thank GOD for that!

After mass we walked back to the hotel and I grabbed a quick danish and juice. A survivor from Auschwitz was speaking to our group to tell us his story. George was an amazing individual. After everything he'd been through and all the interrogations and torture he endured he told us "Don't cry, smile." He was alive. Makes you think twice before you complain about anything...makes it seem so inconsequential. Mom and I had our picture taken with George before we headed out to the bus.

Helina did something for us today that wasn't on the program. Today was suppossed to be a free day on our own but since it was so beautiful she said whoever wanted to go to the park to see the Royal Palace she'd be happy to take us in the bus. It is called the "Palace on the Water" since it was literally built in the middle of a river. This was a home for one of Poland's last kings - King Poniatowski. I was a beautiful sight and I was happy since I got to photograph some more buildings and statues!

We walked back to the bus and Helina said she was now going to tell us about our special surprise she had in store for us. She asked us to guess and I told Mom we were going to her house. Helina didn't hear me...but a moment later she said "I'm inviting you all to my house to taste the cherry vodka my mother is making for my son's wedding in a few weeks!" OMG that was sooo nice of her to invite us crazy tour people into her house. Her soon to be married son was there, Paul with his fiancee Alexandra. And Helina's mom, Felica was there...too cute and didn't speak a lick of English. We were outside in her garden and everyone partook in the vodka and then Helina said she had ANOTHER surprise for us...she goes into the house and comes out with 3 cakes and candles in each. She announced that there were 3 birthdays occuring for people during the tour and mine was the first on Tuesday. Everyone said Happy Birthday to the birthday people and then we cut up this delicious apple cake and had 1 or 2 or maybe 3 pieces of it! That was just so sweet of her to open up her house and her family to us, basically strangers. That will definately be a highlight of my trip!

The rest of today is casual and lounging around. After our vodka journey to Helina's we came back to the hotel. Mom and I went down the street for some lunch. She had the traditional sour soup with a hard boiled egg in it as well as some sausage. I just had a plain jane sandwich. Then it was nap time. Since we knew tomorrow would be so long I wanted to take it easy. Both Mom and I took at least an hour nap. The rest of today I spent catching up on my travel journal and trying to upload some photos to share with people. We're all ready to go first thing in the morning. Wake up call at 6am and we need to have our big suitcases outside our doors by 6:30am. We both packed our big bags and are ready to put them out. We set aside the things we would need in the morning and will put them in our carryon bags on the bus. A good calm day today and I know tomorrow will be exciting and emotional all rolled into one good long day!

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Comments

[Agnes Engel]

Impressive
Susan, this blog is so nice. I've been thinking about you and how lucky you are to share this journey with your mom. You are one special daughter, but I also know your mom is a exceptional mom too. A word of advice when you travel to Auschwitz, stop and take deep breaths along the way. When we traveled to Dachau concentration camp, it seem all the air in my body was siphoned out by the end of the tour. The emotional drain is beyond comprehension. Safe traveling. I look forward to reading more of excursions.