Poland.

So the trip to Poland was great. Poland was never huge on my list of places to go, but sometimes it's good to try new and unexpected places. Because they can surprise you. Big time.

So Saturday afternoon we landed in Warsaw, and it was raining. We found our hostel and walked around Old Town exploring. We saw some interesting stuff.

We got up VERY early the next morning to take the train to Kraków (three hours). I ended up in an apartment with an older Polish family; one guy studying in London, his parents, his cousin and another woman who I didn't know how she was connected. The first thing they asked me was if I could understand Polish (for the obvious reason); and they became so fascinated by me (an Australian girl, studying in Sweden, on a trip to Poland) that they asked me questions the whole trip. I was exhausted and cranky but I stayed polite and answered all their questions.

I asked to learn Polish and the cousin said something that made them all laugh, and the aunt slapped his knee. Eventually they told me he'd said 'give me a kiss' (daj mi buziaka) and the next one was 'you have pretty eyes' (Masz piękne oczy). I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable; I've been hit on by older men before, but it isn't any easier the more it happens to me.

We arrived in Kraków and toured Auschwitz I and II. This was an experience I'm never going to forget. It was something quite similar to what happened to me in Phuket (I explain here) - I was feeling so much that I just shut down completely and went numb. Walking through the grounds of both camps, I felt... haunted. I was so uncomfortable to get pictures of myself here, so I merely walked around silently taking pictures of what was there.

There was one display at Auschwitz I that requested no pictures to be taken... human hair taken from the prisoners. I was looking at the pile, thinking, 'this is human hair'. There are no words. I have no words. There can't possibly be words for this. I can read all I want about history, but being in a place where you know what happened is something else entirely.

Auschwitz I was the former Polish military base taken over by the Germans at the start of World War II. Auschwitz II was built entirely by the prisoners, and you can see the significant difference.

We stayed the night in Kraków, exploring that old town. There's more in Kraków for the simple reason of Warsaw being levelled by the Nazis in World War II, and being rebuilt.

We went back to Warsaw the next (Mon)day and spent the rest of the day there. The Rising Museum was a definite highlight. We then went back to Sweden Tuesday.

I also got my Polish Starbucks!

I'm glad I decided to go, it was one of those unexpected surprises. 

Also, things were cheap. Food. Alcohol.

My Starbucks mug collection is growing nicely.

I've also booked a week long tour in Italy (Rome/Florence/Venice) for the first week of June. It'll be my last overseas trip before I go back to Melbourne on the 14th, and the tour covers all three cities that I want to visit. It was perfect. I'll be hitting up all four of the top four cities of Europe during my exchange: Barcelona, Paris, London and Rome.

As always, you can find my Instagrams on the go on my Tumblr.

Twenty-One.

So it was my birthday -- in a foreign country, continuing a pattern started last year in Phuket. This time it was Sweden, and I was interested to see how things would unfold. I had a pre party a couple of days before, and we ended up going out, the usual adventures that happens when you're on exchange with a bunch of fantastic people.

The (Tues)day itself was pretty quiet in comparison. I woke and had three separate Skype dates with home before going grocery shopping and looking around stores. Nothing to really say about groceries that's worth mentioning... but I did get a couple of phone calls. Local ones, asking about my address and if I will be home for the 'delivery'. My questions were answered when the 'delivery' occurred... it turned out to be courtesy of my friend Nicola back home in Australia!

And also got an extra something from my friend Marion here in Sweden.

It wasn't a huge affair, the day itself....but then again, that's never really been my style to begin with. That's something I've thought about over the years and come to accept; I've never been able to get my entire family and friends in the one room together.

And I'm okay with that. Really. That seems to be part of my nomadic nature, and I'm embracing it.

This weekend I'm squeezing in a quick trip to Warsaw, Poland. We'll be taking a day out to visit Kraków (and Auschwitz) as well as sightseeing in Warsaw. It looks like my predicted three weeks in Örebro just didn't stick as I thought they would. But hey, I'm not objecting here!

I'm also extremely excited to London next month; I've already started making my list, like I did for Paris. I'll have four whole days for sightseeing, and I can hardly believe that this is becoming a reality.

I'm off to live this whirlwind life that I've been given -- and I've accepted, and spun as... my own.

Travelling and pre-birthday thoughts.

So back from Stockholm... what next, you ask?

Well I have about three weeks back in Örebro (hey, I do have class!), with my birthday on the 9th. It's the big 21st birthday, and I think about all the things I've done in the past few months before turning 21 than a lot of people only end up achieving after such a milestone... if at all. Phuket, Stockholm, Barcelona, Lapland and Paris! I'm sad I won't be with my family for my birthday (think of the embarrassing speech potential!), but I'm simultaneously happy to spend it with so many new friends from all over the globe.

April 22nd-24th is the ESN Sea Battle, which leaves from Stockholm to Tallinn and back again.

Then May 3rd-8th (I coincidentally finish classes on the 3rd) is a trip booked to a certain place called London, England. I'll be staying with relatives and I really do want to squeeze in Cardiff for photos (I've seen the whole Torchwood series, how can I not go?). The way it was booked I end up overnight in Stockholm coming back, but not really objecting.

May 14th-19th will be a trip to Malta! It's far enough south to hopefully be warm for the beach. As the Australian, a beach is something I'm familiar with.

Then May 24th-31st is the Balalaika and Vodka Tour. A ferry from Stockholm, goes from Tallinn, to Helsinki, to St Petersburg and back again. A great way to explore three different countries, I don't think I'll mind going back to Tallinn again.

 

So in May I'll be in FIVE different countries. Holy crap, that's awesome! I'm definitely making the most of my exchange here in Örebro, and I absolutely can't wait.

I've been missing home a little bit, listening to Pete Murray and aware of Anzac Day coming up. This means Anzac biscuits!

Check out my Tumblr page for quick Instagrams from my travels, and my YouTube channel for some quick little snippets and clips from travels.

Stockholm, Sweden.

So I've been in Sweden for over two months now, and up until now I hadn't been able to visit Stockholm, the capital - I've only passed through a couple of times. So I went with a couple of friends to see it.

It's a lovely, old city; somewhat reminding me of Melbourne. Of course, Stockholm is smaller (about 2 million people) and the Metro system was similar. Of course, many places for fika were to be found, and many old buildings. We did some shopping, looked around the Royal Palace and got up to miscellaneous adventures. A highlight for me was a stop on our free walking tour: Norrmalstorg Square. Hearing about a certain robbery from a tour guide (a certain story I happen to know well and been weirdly fascinated by!) was something special for me. It coined the term 'Stockholm syndrome'.

Something good for me was seeing a certain piece of scenery in real life. 

I used it for my bucket list; and here it is now.

EUROPE List: Stockholm, Sweden

Achieved 27/3/13-29/3/13