We began our journey on the morning of September 10th, leaving Rafi's house in Seattle a bit after 6 am. We got through the Seatac airport without a hitch and flew to Chigaco for a three hour layover. In Chicago we saw a doppelganger of one of Rafi's Scrabble friends and immediately after, we ran into a real life Scrabble player who Rafi knew. We chatted for a few minutes and then found our gate for our Poland flight.
The flight to Poland was a long one-nine hours. We slept on and off, mainly in the beginning of the flight. Since we ordered kosher meals, we were lucky enough to be served before every one else and our food appeared to be more delicious and substantial than that of the other passengers :) For dinner we had yummy chicken and noodles with cake, a roll and fruit! We also received a breakfast meal while on the plane-while the other passengers got a yucky looking ham and cheese sandwich, we got smoked salmon, slice of bread, a roll, a muffin, and fruit. During the flight when not eating or sleeping, I mostly read from my new Nook that I purchased specifically so I would not have to schlepp all of my books to Israel and waste pounds in my luggage. Rafi watched the in-flight movie and read his friend's Scrabble book.
Upon arrival to Warsaw, Poland we were surprised because we did not have to fill out any forms on the plane for Customs or anything. The Polish airport was the easiest one we have ever been to. They didn't ask us any questions or hassle us in any way. The Passport checker barely even looked at our Passports before stamping it. We realized on the plane to Poland that we hadn't learned any Polish so it was interesting trying to figure out where we were going to tour for our 13 hour layover in Warsaw. We didn't even know how to say "hello." We found a taxi driver quick enough though, thanks to a man waiting to accost us on our way out of the airport. He could probably sense that we were tourists and didn't know what we were doing. In retrospect, we are pretty sure he overcharged us for the cab ride, but at least we arrived there safely. His name was Adam and he took us to the Jewish Ghetto, near the only synagogue to survive the war.
Rafi and I had to bring our carry-ons with us while we toured. They were pretty heavy and annoying and difficult to maneuver. It was interesting walking through the remains of the ghetto where so many Jews lived during the war, but it was unfortunate that only a block of it remained. The surrounding buildings were all modern apartments and stores. It was an odd sight to see these intermingled. While we ambled down the cobblestone path between two of the crumbing ghetto buildings, a family with a young boy walked past us. It was an eery and strange sight-the little boy was holding a black toy pistol.
Near the ghetto were two shut-down Jewish restaurants. It seemed as though they were modern and had run out of business. One was named "Menorah" and the other "Shalom." Next, we walked a few blocks to the synagogue, after asking some Polish people for directions-we came to realize that not many people in Poland know English. When we made it to the synagogue, we tried to get inside, but for some reason thought we couldn't. We took photos in the front of the buliding next to another group speaking a foreign language. They were really nice and took a picture of the both of us, and we did the same for them. It was then that I realized they were speaking Spanish. I started talking to them in Spanish and found out that they were Jews from Spain. They were extremely nice and friendly and told us that we could get inside from the back. We followed them and were able to see the inside for a few minutes free of charge (usually there is a fee, but since there was going to be a baby naming ceremony in 10 minutes they let us in free). On our way out, the Spaniards gave us their map of Warsaw and pointed out the direction of some cool places to check out.
Rafi and I went to a nearby cafe and ordered smoothies to sip outside in the shade to rest. Then we took a cab to the place the Spaniards suggested. It ended up being an area like the old Polish town center. It seemed older and was full of cathedrals and restaurants and cool buildings. There were crowds of people everywhere! Horse carriages went by carrying tourists along the entirely cobblestone streets. There were two vendors with the largest bundle of balloons ever waving them in the wind. We saw a bride with a bridal party probably walking to her wedding venue. We saw nuns in their garb and a nice assortment of motorcycles-including a woman rider. We walked around for what seemed like forever trying to find a good cheap place for lunch. It was difficult to roll my bag on the cobblestone and was too heavy to carry. Rafi's bag was also really heavy and didn't have wheels.
We settled for Staromieiska and sat outside in the sun under large umbrellas. We ate grilled trout (complete with the head attached), potatoes, salad, and french onion soup, along with our overpriced tiny bottle of water. It was nice to sit though, especially in the beautiful weather and interesting european atmosphere we were in. An accordian player was playing gently off in the distance the whole time we were eating and relaxing. I couldn't locate him, but I like the ambience it created with the music floating up over every one on the warm lazy day.
After eating, we found an affordable cab back to the airport to wait for about 8 hours for our flight to Israel. We couldn't believe we had only been out in Poland for 5 hours-it felt like we had spent all day there! I guess that is what happens when you're jetlagged. Rafi slept on the floor of the airport and I tried to stay awake reading my Nook, but I couldn't do it. I slept on and off on the hard, uncomfortable bench next to Rafi on the floor, opening my eyes every so often to check our bags. Finally, Rafi woke up and gave me a turn to sleep on the floor. After I woke after about an hour of sleep, we moved to the other side of the hall to get into the sunny, warmer area. Rafi slept for another hour on the floor.
Suddenly, a loud intercom voice came on announcing somthing in Polish. Rafi woke up with a start! He got up really quickly with a bewildered expression, turning in circles and looking disoriented. It was so funny! While he had been sleeping, I half read my Nook, half listened to the conversation of two travelers nearby, and soon after Rafi awoke, I overheard the girl talking about their motorcycle. So I joined in the conversation, asking what motorcycle she rode, and said that I too ride a motorcycle! So then we started talking with them, for what ended up being the whole three and a half hours before our flights (which coincidentally were all around the same time). Alina was an 18 year old girl from Belarus who had just completed 6 months of studying in Portland, Maine, and was on her way back to her home country. She was a very interesting and pleasant girl who seemed very mature for her age. The other traveler was a basketball player named Jerome Beasley, who was on his way to play for an Italian team. Through the three hours we talked to them, we gathered that Jerome had played for several international teams, including Ramat Gan, Israel - the city we are living in now! We also discovered that he had been in the NBA for 4 years. Rafi and I also enjoyed some frisbee tossing while we waited in the airport-and I learned that "frisbee" is a brand name-not a name for a disk. The game ended after I became frustrated about my errant throws hitting chairs and poles.
Not much happened after we boarded the plane to Israel. We slept as much as we could on the plane, ate a meal, and before we knew it we were landing in 20 minutes! As we landed, I became super excited!! We all clapped when the plane hit the ground. When Rafi stood up to retrieve his carry on, another passenger told him "Bruchim haba'im"-"Welcome" in Hebrew. As we stepped out of the plane, a wave of humidity hit me (as well as joy). It was night-around 3:30am. Collecting our baggage was so quick! Our things came out immediately. Going through customs was a breeze as well. We said we were staying for four months, and the lady checking our passports said "You can't stay for four months, you can only stay for three." Then she stamped our passports and let us go through. Simple as that! We found a cab and drove to our new apartment. We had a hard time at first opening the door to our apartment building-but that was because it was the wrong apartment building! The cab driver tried to help, but he was also kind of annoyed because at that time it was around 4:30am and he didn't speak much English. We found our correct housing and ambled up to our room. The apartment is great! Perfect for us and in a great area! We went to bed almost immediately and slept for 12 hours!! Upon waking up, we explored the area, shopped for groceries, and ate SHWARMA!!!!!! Yum! Tomorrow we may explore Tel Aviv and go to the beach-who knows? We love all our friends and family! We are safe and sound :) Shalom!
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