Small details can make a world of difference when one is travelling. Take exhibit A: We have made it to Poland after a day of trains - making the journey from Kiel, Germany. If one of the four - yup, four - trains we took yesterday arrived at the station 7 minutes earlier, we would have made it here by dinnertime. As it was, we got here at midnight. And let me tell you, some cities roll up their streets after dinner and this be one of them. The schedule was not a surprise, as train schedules are pretty organized online, but alas, connections are what they are.
Exhibit B: In Kiel, we (after some misleading directions and misplaced signs) made it to the cemetary where Wes' great uncle is buried, shot down over Germany in 1942 at 20 years old. The cemetary is a beautiful spot, and I have included a picture (albeit from Google images, as my cord for the camera is four floors up - 70+wide stone steps - inside this old rambling building in downtown Krakow.) The flowers and bushes are now in full bloom and the colours are vibrant.
When we arrived in Kiel, we took a bus to the hostel, which dropped us off on a large highway in the middle of seemingly nowhere. We thought we could
a. walk straight along the highway since our hostel claimed to be on htis road, but how far? Or
b. ask at a nearby hotel. We chose hotel - nice girl, drew directions on our map, followed these till we saw a sign. Followed said sign (we thought) till we wandered past many cozy houses (think of Keeping Up Appearances/Privet Drive in Harry Potter) and then less exciting alleyways and a Saab dealership. Alas, not the right way. Google helped us figure it out, and we realized we were closer now to the cemetary than to the hostel. So, with packs on, we hiked it there, spent some time and then hiked to the hostel. We arrive at the hostel, only to look at the intersection beside it with recognition: the hostel was a stone's throw from aforementioned intersection where we made the unfortunate choice to ask at the hotel. Wes assured me it was so close that even I could have thrown the stone.
That night, after shedding our packs, we walked back up to the funky street of restaurants we had discovered (its presence explained by the nearby university) and had dinner at a - wait for it - burger place with vegan and vegetarian options! I also asked a nice young dude outside which of the two adjacent restaurants to choose and he pointed to the burger place and said it was "how do you say in English - biologique?" Yes! Organic food! Amazing!
This was followed by a full-stomach-induced sleepy trudge back to the hostel and an amazing sleep before that long, long train ride.
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