Today was another travel day for us. We started out with a phenomenal breakfast at the hotel that was included in our stay! That’s extremely rare over here. When I say it was a big breakfast, I mean it was one of the biggest and most delicious breakfasts I’ve ever seen at a hotel. They had lots of hot foods from Poland like sausage, meat perogies, grilled veggies, and some kind of saucy beef mix. There was a yogurt bar, a fruit bar, espresso machines, homemade breads and pastries, and a homemade waffle bar. I think a restaurant would’ve charged $30 for the breakfast we had. It was a wonderful way to start the day.
We had a chance to go check out the castle tower across the street from our hotel. Sadly, we didn’t have time to tour the castle museum. The tower was first built over 900 years ago, stopped midway through for some reason, and finished about 500 years ago. Apparently Oswiecim has a rich medieval history that is completely overshadowed by the death camp. It’s a shame really. It’s a cute little town with a vibrant market square, beautiful architecture, and of course a small castle. I’m glad we got to taste a bit of the town before we left.
Leaving the town was a bit interesting. I tried for over an hour last night to book the required tickets for the train to no avail. Some kind of technical issue. I managed to get them booked a few minutes before the train came. Our train was very late and I thought we were going to miss our connection. Luckily, the train had far fewer stops than anticipated, so we actually got to Krakow (where our connection was) early. As soon as we got off, we went to check on our connection. For some reason, the timetable had moved up! Our train was leaving in 2 minutes! We ran through the station and hopped on right as they were blowing the all aboard whistle. We were pulling out of the station before we even had our bags settled. It’s by far the closest call I’ve had on a train this whole trip. The ride to Warsaw was beautiful. The hills of fields reminded me of the Flint Hills but far more lush and colorful with different crops. I think it’s one of the prettiest countrysides I’ve seen since France.
We didn’t do much once we got to Warsaw except for having a great time. We’re staying with the family of a Polish missionary that my parents and grandparents know – Marek and Anya. Marek picked us up from the train station and it was over an hour of traffic to get back to their home. They live in a thin, tall, modern apartment that they built themselves with seven other Christian families. They’re very passionate about their faith. They manage to bring it up in nearly every conversation. I always envy people like that. Their love of Jesus just oozes out of everything they do. They’ve been excellent hosts and have gone above and beyond to care for us. Anya cooked a meal with some kind of grain that I’ve never had, mixed with chicken, beets, and a new vegetable that we’ve never had. It was almost like a cross between a potato and a water chestnut. Very tasty. We had a chocolate bread with banana bits in it for dessert. The whole meal was very tasty. We’re blessed to be staying with such lovely people. I’m always amazed how the love of God can bring people together across oceans. It’s powerful.
Tomorrow we’re checking out the last two museums of the trip. It’s also the final day of WWII history for me. We’ll be visiting the Warsaw Uprising museum, the Jewish History in Poland museum, and the site of the Warsaw Ghetto.
I’m many ways, this is the culminating place of this whole trip. Our time in Warsaw combined the three main objectives I had for this trip: WWII history, intercultural interaction, and expanding my faith. I’m sad that the trip is coming to a close, but I’m so happy this is where it’s happening.