Poland=The New America

Poland is more like America than any other country I have been to in Europe.
There is more farm ground here than the rest of the EU.
The people only speak one language.
Potatoes are a main ingredient in everything.
The malls here have Sephora, which I have yet to see anywhere else in the EU. Actually, I went to the mall today here and it looks exactly like a brand new mall back home. They also have a lot of American products here not carried anywhere else.

I am in Krakow now. So far it looks nice. The couchsurfer I am staying with left a key for me and is coming in sometime tomorrow. It's nice to have a little free time. My last host bought me some chocolate and I discovered that all chocolate in Poland tastes mildly of coffee but is also extremely wonderful.
I have also learned how to buy salami here, which makes me very happy.

And finally, I think they tried to kick me off the train today. The contoller kept shaking his head at me and made me go talk to someone else, who also didn't speak english. I just kept shaking my head back saying, "I'm sorry. English?" Someone in Wraclow told me I could get through all of Eastern Europe for free by crying, showing an empty wallet and pretending like I have no idea what's going on...haha, no in the end they just let me sit down again. I think I bought a ticket for a fast train and got on a slow one.

Wroclaw: Get this, pronounced Broats Claw

There is a place here where you pay based on how much your food weighs. It's half price after 8 pm. I haven't spent more than 4 american dollars on a meal since I have been in Poland. On average, my budget is like $8 a day, getting coffee and beer and food out. It's awesome.
Wraclow is prettier and bigger then Poznan. I have been walking around the city all day and keep finding new and nicer things to look at. It's weird though, there is the huge market square with insanely old looking buildings and then right next to it is a huge mall with an all glass exterior. The whole city is like that, old against new.
I have yet to meet an American in Poland. I heard some Canadians talking about Manatoba, but that's as close as it comes. And instead of asking if I speak English when I shake my head in confusion, they offer Russian first.

Poznan: Pronounced Pots-nan

Poznan:
The city center is gorgeous. Big clock tower, lots of churches around.
I had some polish food: Cabbage, Pork and Boiled Potatoes.

This has to be one of the best stories yet though. Pawel, my host asks if I want to try some Polish beer. After we buy it, it goes in my bag. We pass a guy being questioned by police, he says it's because the guy is drinking and it is illegal on Polish streets.
We get to the river, he says it's ok to drink here, no one comes here, you can see police from miles away.
I put down my empty can and wouldn't you know it...undercover police. My thought process is something like "I'm being deported. No one can speak English here. They are going to detain me."
I don't know if Pawel said it was his or they just couldn't give me a ticket because I wasn't Polish. They did look at my ID though. Anyway, Pawel got a ticket, I got nothing.
Have a place lined up for Wraclow, pretty excited to get to a bigger city.
Oh, and I love and miss you all very much.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

I write to you from Poznan, Poland.
Today, Caroline made me pancakes for breakfast. They were served with macademia nut honey.
I then got my haircut. It's a lot cooler, a little shorter and a little bit more like a mullet again :)
I took a train from Berlin to Poznan where I am staying with a young guy with dred locks and his sister. I am looking forward to days and days of perogies.

Sauerkraut

Today I ate Sauerkraut. I normally hate the stuff, but here it is quite nice.
I was planning on going to Hitler's Bunker, but turns out the Russians turned it into a parking lot.

Happy Fourth

I met some American's in a toy shop today. I wished them a happy fourth. It made my day.

Today's activities included breakfast, open market, toy shop where they had miniature everything--like miniature sewing machines, miniature food trays, toilet paper, instruments, delicious cup cakes with milk, and saute over fries at a dutch restaurant. Ya, so mostly food. But nice food.

I also wanted to briefly comment on how nice Berlin's trains are. I think they are twice as wide as New York Metro and the train stations are quite clean. The chairs are all cushioned and covered in cloth, so the seats are comfortable. They also have a tram and bus system so I am pretty sure you would never need to walk any where, but we still did walk a lot.

Berlin: Round 2

Well, here I am. Back in Germany. I woke up from my 1.5 nap at 3:30 this morning to catch my flight from Edinburgh to Berlin. I met 5 guys from Ohio--they attend Miami--in the airport who were also on my flight. The Ohio love made my day. I caught all the right trains and made it to my destination without getting lost.

Caroline and Max are so great. I am so happy to see them again. When I arrived they gave me some iced mint tea, we went and got bagels, Caroline scheduled me an appointment to get my hair cut and we got the beer I loved the most here last time, raspberry flavored. So treaty.
We rode past the remains of the Berlin wall again and ate some German pasta/potato combo for dinner. Oh, and Caroline baked a cake.