Nik on a Trip, p. 7
Poland
I ended up spending around three weeks in Poland total, which was longer than I had initially planned on. What can I say though? — Poland is awesome. Poles are some of the friendliest people I’ve met on this trip so far; I found it much easier to talk to and get to know locals than in most places.
Also it’s cheap. I think this is true of all Eastern Europe — compared to Western Europe, at least. Think: beers for a dollar. Full sit down meals at a nice restaurant, including a drink: less than ten dollars. 70 km train ride: less than five dollars. Coming from the UK and France, this was a really nice break.
Ahh, to be young and travelling abroad in Krakow on Valentine’s day… I had the most beautiful, romantic day…
Actually, I got up early and took a bus to Auschwitz.
I’m not sure exactly how to sum up the experience. Powerful, to be sure. Heartbreaking, terrifying, humbling, occasionally beautiful. Hopefully the pictures help.
Ok, here’s an anecdote from Poland: the British Sailors. They arrived at the hostel in Krakow my second night there; upon returning to the hostel that evening, the common room (which had been moderately lively the night before) was transformed into a raucous party scene. That much is fine: it’s a hostel, partying travelers are to be expected. These men were all in the British navy, deployed in Spain, and on break for a week. The goal of the week, it seemed, was to get uproariously drunk as often as possible. Anyway, the amount of pent-up testosterone in the common room that night became almost unbearable. The sailors were noisy, horny, and letting loose. They would, it seemed, unabashedly hit on anyone that had a vagina; even if that meant a 30-something twice-divorced and currently married man hitting on a 17 year taking a gap year before uni.
Anyway, the real shenanigans began later that night, as the level of inebriation increased. Mostly, the shenanigans involved urine. So: the door handle to the room was peed on (I was in another room, phew); the wall was peed on; the bed was peed in; allegedly some naked male to male spooning occurred. Around 3 am, someone burst into our room (in which everyone was asleep), turned on the lights, yelled “SAUSAGE!!!!!!” at the top of his lungs, and slammed the door, leaving the lights on. Actually, despite being mildly peeved at the time, I think that one was pretty hilarious.
The next morning, it would seem, the alcohol had not left everyone's bloodstreams, and it was time for the urine-offender’s magnum opus: peeing into the hostel’s communal breakfast milk pitcher. I am glad to report that I did not have breakfast in the hostel that morning.
So hostels in Europe have a shared list of persons to watch out for when selling rooms. There are two lists: a “grey list”, which means “this person is questionable, exercise caution when booking them a room”, and the “black list”, which means “don’t ever ever let this person rent a room from you”. The shenanigans of the British Sailors was enough to get them put on the grey list. Which makes me wonder, what the fuck do you have to do to be put on the black list?
The final clincher of the British Sailors also happened the next day, and (for the one guy involved at least) is the part that really makes me believe he is not a good person, rather than just a pent-up sailor going a bit crazy when on holiday for a week. That day the group went to Auschwitz, where one of the sailors (the twice-divorced 30-something) had to be forcibly removed from line. First, he was drunk. Second, he was continuing to drink, in public, while waiting in line, for Auschwitz. Third, he was berating, and generally being incredibly racist towards, a Muslim man in line next to him. When asked to calm down, stop drinking, and stop being a racist fuckwad, he became verbally aggressive; in the end he wouldn’t calm down, and the guards forced him to leave. AT AUSCHWITZ. Jesus.
Anyway, that’s the British Soldiers. Of course, some of them were better than others; a few I talked to, when not caught up in some crazy testosterone-fueled moment, werechill enough. As a whole though, that group... was something I will not soon forget.
finis.
