Getting around
As I prepare to head out for my fourth day in Warsaw, I’m a little hesitant. The confidence I built in the first two days took a hit yesterday as I ventured far from the Old Town, and dang! My feet are tired. I also bought a ticket for a six pm boat ride. Even though I gave myself an hour between lunch? and the time the boat left, I just couldn’t make it happen. Can you believe they don’t put the Metro number on the outside of the stations?
I walked down into no fewer than three stations, but never did find the number 2! So I ended up having to take an Uber. That means I’ve walked, taken buses, an Uber, and a boat to get around this city. I may try the Metro today; I think I learned something yesterday. But then again, why get any farther out of my comfort zone?
Walking the city
Only by walking do I catch the name of Jadwiga’s husband, and the 14th-15th Century King of Poland on a street sign in Stara Praga.
Fun? Fact–Russia occupied this part of the city even before World War II. Learning so much history. Sometimes my brain is full.
The challenges
I don’t use the bus at home, and we don’t have trains at all. I do love riding the subway in NYC though. So, one challenge is to learn how to read the schedules (in Polish), buy and validate the tickets (bilety), board and exit the bus. I am totally grateful for the technology that smart phones put into my hands.
To add to the challenge, I’ve been using two phones. I had a European sim card put into my old iPhone so I can use it for navigating and texting. BUT, it was running out of battery long before I was ready to call it a day. So, I started mapping the route and taking a photo with my new iPhone 16 and then putting both phones into Airplane mode.
Today I’m going to try what just kind of happened yesterday–use the old phone as a personal hotspot and thus have connectivity on the new phone all the time. When I want to save the battery, I’ll put them both in Airplane mode. I’ll let you know what happens.
The people
Oh! and another thing, don’t be afraid to ask for help (I know, it’s not my favorite). Even when they don’t speak English, the Polish people will find someone nearby who can understand you.
I’ve realized as I’ve been sight seeing that everyone I meet who is my age lived under the Soviets, and people my sister’s age lived under the Nazis. To have lived in a free Poland, they would have to be younger than my son-in-law. This is something I’ve been considering as I meet people, like the woman in the book store that pulled up the Warsaw Rising Museum on her laptop for me.
