The Polish people do not speak my language. Oh wait, that's obvious, let me rephrase that. The Polish people don't speak any other language. No wait, that's not what I'm going for. How about, Polish people can't understand people talking to them unless it is other Polish people? Ah, yes, that seems like what I want. Just ask the lady at the bus station who directed me to the wrong bus (when I was already late), even after I very clearly asked (in Polish, none the less) where I needed to go and then preceded to make sure she absolutely understood me. She said 'tak' 3234u020 times, was it wrong for me to trust her? Long story short - I almost missed my one means of transportation to Krakow because the, well, let's face it, the person giving me instructions was Polish. Now I know what you're thinking, that sounds rather harsh, and if I had heard that two months ago I would have agreed. But now, after living here and fully experiencing everything there is to offer in the country, I feel no shame in bluntly saying that many (please note I say 'many' not 'all') Polocks are a bunch of dumb (censor). The other day we were walking by some Polish workers painting a wooden pole, and here I must ask, 'How many Polocks does it take to paint a pole?' Oh no, not one, but three. Because you see, one must do the painting, one must hold the can of paint, and the other must watch and make sure that the pole is painted perfectly (where do they get the money to pay all these workers? Because they really should invest it in updating their public transportation). Absolute true story.
Now, I am only sharing my personal view of the country. Don't get me wrong, living here has been fine - but after spending a weekend in Vienna, it is hard to come back here and not notice every little thing.
Back to Vienna. It was my first trip to Austria, and it was absolutely worth it (even though it took me 12 hours to get back - don't ask, I will only get all heated about the transportation in Poland). OOOOOH VIEEENNNAAAAAA, you (really) don't know how much you mean to me. It was great to be back with the rest of the world, and to use the euro again - my long lost friend (if only the exchange rate was a little better with my American dollar). Regardless, it was such a wonderful weekend - and my 4.5 star hotel definitely helped (I didn't even know there were half stars...always learning). The weather was phenom, dare I say it, but Spring is in the air :) I actually got sunburned on Friday when I was sitting in Krakow, the short shorts are coming out soon! I was worried that the Polish didn't wear shorts, but after seeing this years spring/summer collection, my shorts could actually be shorter. God Bless summer and summer attire!
Although it was Easter weekend, there were still many things open in Vienna, and the streets were crawling with tourists - sometimes it's so great to be a tourist! I went to mass at St. Stephan's - yes, it was all in German, but I figured it was something I might not get the chance to do it again, so why not. Sadly, Easter Sunday was the only time that it rained in the city, and it just so happened to rain right when we were coming out of Mass. So, of course we sprinted through the streets of Vienna, sundresses billowing, flip flops sliding, and hair a matted mess, all the way back to our hotel. Only in Vienna! Also, I almost got hit by a tram, slammed in the subway doors, and run over by not one, but two, horse and buggy carriages - although the last one would make a great story. I ate my weight in schnitzel and in strudel and in sausage and in everything else that screams Viennese, it was beautiful.
Stepping on the plane to come back to Poland was one of the most heart wrenching moments I have had in a while - thank goodness I have another long weekend coming up (still unsure of where to go) and then after that, Munich (I have an inkling that that weekend could very well be the beginning of the end).
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