Codicil: The flight home with views of Labrador

Here's a little elaboration about the trip from hotel to house: We'd planned our money to run out completely by buying our tram/train tickets the day before and checking out of the hotel the night before. In Warsaw and most other cities, public transit tickets are bought by time. A single ticket good for unlimited rides in 20 minutes is 3.4 zł, 4.6 for 40 minutes, 6.4 for 60 minutes. You are honour-bound to validate your ticket when you get on.

The trip to the airport is 12 minutes on the tram, a few minutes walk and 22 minutes by train. By mistake, I bought the 40 minute ones instead of the 60 minute ones. This in spite of the marvellous website that tells you exactly what to do and how much to pay. jakdojade.pl - literally "how to get it on" but really meaning "from here to there". Just for fun, play with this for a few minutes. http://warszawa.jakdojade.pl/?locale=en 

And to add to the story, we were up earlier than necessary and caught a far earlier tram. This meant our time-stamped tickets would run out while on the train to the airport. Clarisse decided to use our remaining coins to buy a pair of 20 minutes tickets one minute before the others expired. Two stops later, a pair of burly city policemen come on board, walk right by, and sit down for their commute. Other than that one time on the way to Krakow on the bus, we'd seen no transit ticket police at all.

Once at the airport (under a massive expansion project necessitating a long walk from the train to the check-in counter) we checked in and found exec/first class get their own dedicated security line. In Toronto, you just bypass part of the line and are let in about 10th from the front, no doubt upsetting the others you just bumped. Anyway, breakfast in the lounge was the normal platter of meats and cheeses, bread, salad, coffee, beer, yogourt,  etc.

The board still didn't show our flight to Copenhagen boarding so we eventually made our way to the gate to find that it was delayed. Eventually, boarding begins which means going down the stairs and on to a bus - the kind that hold about 50 people with about 10 seats. We wait forever while more and more squeeze on. Judging by the plane's capacity, there were about 80 people on the bus. We eventually pull away and immediately, a second bus pulls in to pick up the remaining four passengers who couldn't fit on the first bus.

Somehow, we made up for lost time and were only a few minutes late arriving. On board, we got another full breakfast with really good pâté. It went well with the red wine on offer. Copenhagen Airport is huge and with no moving sidewalks, it's a good 15 minutes to the Air Canada gate. And it's delayed too. It's stifling hot in the waiting room and once in, they won't let you out for fresh air.

Exec class seating on 767-300 - We are not impressed

The big surprise is the seating configuration - 3 rows of angled seats, isolating each passenger in a little cocoon. Clarisse and I felt we were travelling alone as we couldn't share a movie or music or have a conversation. We could barely clink glasses across the aisle. And the video screens' functions were severely limited - no maps, no 'you are here' display, no video games, and of course, no internet.

Clarisse in her cocoon

The food is really good and with decent size portions. That's the lunch appetizer in the pic above. Lunch Menu:
Appetizer: Sweet potato salad with marinated salmon and scampi
Salad: Mixed greens with sun-dried tomato, chives, and parmesan with a balsamic vinaigrette
Mains: choice of:
1. Pan-fried beef tenderloin with red wine balsamic sauce, potatoes au gratin, cherry tomato and green beans
2. Roasted breast of chicken with creamy herb sauce, mashed potatoes, sugar-snap peas, and carrots
3. Oven-fried halibut fillet with fennel and tomato sauce, tomato-infused rice, broccoli, and yellow zucchini (and unannounced sweet red peppers :-( )
4. Pappardelle Pasta with white cream sauce, grilled zucchini and marinated vegetables
Cheese Course: Taylor's LBV port, brie, emmenthal, cheddar
Desserts: Apple cake, fruit salad with Remy Martin Cognac, Grand Marnier, Bailey's Irish Cream
Pre-Arrival Light Meal
Country-cured ham with green pesto and a tomato and mozzarella salad, fresh orange, marzipan- chocolate bar
Wines Drappler Carte d'Or Champagne, White Bogle Chardonnay (Calif), Santa Ema Terroir Estate Sauvignon Blanc (Chile), Mas des Mas Saint-Chinian Languedoc (2011, France). Wow! Crios Malbec de Susana Balbo (Argentina), Picens (Italy)


And here are some shots of Labrador from 34,000 feet (~10,000 metres)

...........

The Last Day

Breakfast was Clarisse's home-made granola with milk from last night's trip to the grocery store. Then we started walking through some of Warsaw's lovely parks.

Saxon Garden Park

Baroque sculpture in Saxon Garden Park

Fountain in Saxon Garden Park

Changing of the Guard at the remnants of the palace in Saxon Gardens

One of Warsaw's many museums

Detail on door of above museum

Urban Sheep

Suspension bridge over the Vistula River

Tethered balloon for tourists

Lunch: real Turkish food at Efes

Cafe in posh suburb of Warsaw

Keep your fingers out of the electric connections

Beggar in the park

On top of the Orbis Building - Warszawa Centrum

Since it's our 35th anniversary, the original plan was to go out for one last posh meal. But after being out for six hours and having a rather large lunch, we change plans completely. It's off to the Piotr i Pawel (Peter & Paul) grocery store for bread, sliced meats, carrot salad, a tomato, and a couple of beer. This gets merged with our leftover black bread and salty sheep's cheese and makes a decent meal in our hotel room. Then it's simply a matter of watching England v Ireland (1-1), and packing for tomorrow's very long day of traveling.

Tuesday morning: Just by chance, the first tram is a spiffy new #4 which is much quieter than the old clunkers we get sometimes. At the Śródmieście train station, we have to ask which platform as we're a bit early for the airport train. The departure board confirms that we're on the right one a few minutes later. The S2 is very modern and very quiet. Toronto is so far behind in useful infrastructure that it's embarrassing. The whole trip from hotel to airport is about $2.25.

Check-in is quick and we have a decent breakfast in the lounge. That's about it. Soon we're off to Copenhagen, then to Toronto. See ya'll soon!

Nigel and Clarrise

                                                                     -30-

Completing the Circle: Warszawa to Warszawa in Six Weeks

Getting to the hotel in Warszawa was a lot easier the second time. The bus (20 zł each) left Zakopane right at 9:15 and arrived in Kraków at 11:30, only 5 minutes late. At the Carrefour adjacent to the bus and train stations, I grabbed some bread, meat, and beer for our lunch. The train (60 zł each) left on time and arrived on time (3hr 12 min). Right after we left, there was a pheasant in a field next to the train. No deer this time however. And for a considerable time, we were going almost 150 km/hr.

It's about a ten minute walk to the tram stop with the only confusion being which of the dozen exits to take from the subway under the major intersection. we got it right the third time. The old-style #15 tram (3.4 zł each for a 20 minute ticket) comes before the spiffy new #4 but they both stop at the corner where the Ibis Hotel is located. Check-in is fast and we're settled by 16:30. There are few restaurants in the area and we'd sooner have grocery store stuff than this hotel's restaurant. I find the Karafka online; it's less than a 5 minute walk away. It was a good choice. We have a nice chicken salad, two spinach crêpes, and two cheese crêpes with whipped cream and chocolate. With 2 bottles of blackcurrant juice and a glass of wine: 63 zł and a 7 zł tip.

It's off to the grocery store to load up on treats for some friends back in Toronto. Back at the hotel, we run into a problem. After a shower, the drain starts backing up through the floor tiles. Ick. When informed, the front desk immediately offers us another room. It has a fold up single bed which turns into sort-of a desk. But the light over the desk doesn't work and a new bulb doesn't solve the problem. They have no other rooms on the quiet side of the hotel with a double bed so we'll tough it out for the evening. They can fix it tomorrow while we're out.

Seen on a child's T-shirt: "Help save more trees; Give me less homework"
And on a menu: "Smoked trout with log"

Morskie Oko - Wow!

Last night, we'd asked for breakfast at 7:30 so we could get at early start. The 18-seater mini-bus (10 zł each) took about half an hour to get to Polana Palenica; 20 minutes on a smooth back road and 10 minutes on a pot-holed national highway. I guess Zakopane is a relatively rich town compared to the rest of the country. Park admission is the normal 4 zł for Clarisse, half that for old farts like me.

The walk is a lot easier and quicker than we expected and we're glad we didn't take the horse-and-wagon alternative (40 zł each to go up, 30 to come back down). It took us only 2¼ hours to walk up to the rim of Morskie Oko - The Eye of the Sea.

View walking up the hill

Morskie Oko - Eye of the Sea. Any resemblance to Lake Louise is entirely coincidental

Begging Birds

After this one was around, there were no crumbs to clean up

Another beggar

We rested for half an hour and had our usual meat and cheese sandwiches. It took an hour to walk around the lake with many stops for photographs.

Morskie Oko

We walked around the lake including crossing the snowpack

Hiding by the lake

View walking back down

Walking down was fast, a mere 1¾ hours. The bus leaves every 20 minutes on the 20. After getting off the bus close to our hotel, we picked up some 9% beer and Śląski (Silesian) cheesecake and sat around till the beer and half the dessert was gone.

Here's the weather for Warszawa. It looks like the cold snap is about to end. :-)

What a change in the weather!

Dinner: Our original plan was to eat at the Tuberoza one last time but like the weather, we changed our minds and went for cheap 'n' cheerful instead. We were happy with our lunch a few days ago at Papitar so we headed there early as they close at 19:00. After five hours of hiking, we had a serious appetite for some traditional Polish food. Two beers, two plates of mixed perogies, a bowl of beef stroganoff, and a plate strawberry and plum knuddles (3 of each) comes to 47 zł (no tip, it's counter service). That's less than half of last night's dinner. Tomorrow it's off to Warszawa and some shopping.

Another Hike, Less Rain, and More Dinner

Right after our normal 10,000 calorie breakfast, we picked up bread and smoked salmon from the Biedronka and headed for the hills. It's a very easy 4-hour out-and-back trail that follows the boundary of the town and the National Park.

Small waterfall on the trail

Sheep's Milk Cooling

A row of Oscypek getting smoked - half a kilo for 15 zł

The sheep that provide the milk to make the Oscypek - video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_--hOKg51-s

And for a video of a squirrel with cool tufted ears, look here: http://youtu.be/wieN7vwRI5Y

Tatra Mountain encroaching on the trail

We're luckier with the weather today with just a couple of light showers to dampen our umbrellas. Back at the Tuberoza, we rest our feet after the 12km stroll and have our usual three games of pool. And then we splurge on another lovely meal downstairs.

*warning* next section contains images and phrases that could be construed as gastro-porn.  

An amuse-bouche of pickles, cream cheese, and pâté

This time, it's creamy mushroom soup that a Campbell's has never seen, a plate of blanched green asparagus with Hollandaise, spaghetti with oodles of garlic and shrimp, and a lamb ragout with lemon zest.

Restaurant patron and her asparagus with Hollandaise

Lamb Ragout

Spaghetti with shrimps and a lot of garlic

With the beer and two glasses of wine, we finally broke the 100 zł mark by a shade - before tip! Good thing we're planning a long hike tomorrow to see Morskie Oko. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morskie_Oko Tune in tomorrow to see if we made it.

Easy Hike, More Rain, Champions League Final

Not much to talk about today. After breakfast, the two of us and another person staying at our hotel did an urban/suburban hike in the eastern part of Zakopane for about 4 hours. Most of the time it was dry. There were a couple of light showers and for 10 minutes, a real downpour. Lunch was cheese and bread from the Biedronka followed by another three games of pool.

Typical Zakopane Villa

Modern Church with Mountain & Palm Leaf Motifs

Carving outside a Zakopane Villa. Sheep are everywhere.

 For dinner, we tried the well-known Pstrąg Górski fish restaurant. The trout (24 zł) was perfectly cooked but the tablespoon of cooked sweet peppers was not the vegetable accompaniment that we expected. The smoked duck salad was ok (20 zł) and the portion of chips (5 zł) was small. Still hungry, we split some apple cake with whipped cream and ice cream (10 zł). Service was minimal if not poor. We left exactly 10% tip for 80 zł in total. Back to our hotel for tomorrow's dinner.

Then another disappointment; there are only 5 channels of TV and no football game. As the internet here is slow (if reliable), I watched a low-res feed that was lumpy - stopping and starting continually. At least it was a cracking good game.

Zakopane in the rain, drizzle, mist, showers, ...

The title about sums it up. We did get down to the train station and bought our Kraków to Warszawa tickets for 60 zł each. Taking the train from Zakopane is not feasible as it takes over seven hours. The bus to Kraków is two hours with another three hours on the train to Warszawa. Lunch was smoked salmon on bread from the Biedronka (Ladybird or Ladybug) grocery store across the street from the hotel.

Some notes on the three levels of Polish consumption taxes: All taxes are included in the posted prices so there are no surprises at the till or in the restaurant. Luxury goods such as alcohol, chocolate bars, and plastic grocery bags are taxed at 23%. Food like bananas and croissants are at 8% and regular food (cheese, bread, vegetables, smoked salmon) is at 5%. The rate for hotels and bus and train tickets is 8%.

Not Tesco, but close

Rain spout on a house in Zakopane

Even modern buildings in Poland have flair rarely scene in Canada

We spent the entire afternoon indoors playing Scrabble, playing with computers, and watching the drizzle. This had to be the first time we didn't leave the hotel after lunch to do something. To add to the inertia, we decided to eat at the hotel's restaurant as it had garnered rave reviews. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g274793-d2539722-Reviews-Tuberoza-Zakopane_Lesser_Poland_Province_Southern_Poland.html

And it was a truly excellent meal with perfect service. A bread basket with a trio of little dishes (sliced pickles, pâté, cream cheese) showed up to accompany Clarisse's Okacim beer and my glass of red wine. My traditional horseradish soup was creamy but I would have preferred more horseradish. Clarisse's lentil soup was decently picante. As usual, we ordered one salad and one main course. The salad was duck breast with a sour cherry sauce on a bed of lettuce. The other dish was tender pork with wild mushrooms and a cream sauce. Both had a little demi-glace drizzled on the side of the plate. I wish I had remembered the camera for the gastro-porn shot as the presentation was gorgeous. All this came to 85 zł. We left a huge 15 zł tip and the waitress looked as pleased as if we'd left $50. There are a couple of other restaurants we want to try in town but we'll eat here again Monday night before we leave.

In the basement of the hotel are two common rooms. One hass a large TV with comfy chairs and couch; the other has a dart board, a foosball (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foosball) table, and a pool table. We played three games of 8-ball before heading back to our luxurious room.