Matt and I headed out for the airport. We used frequent flyer miles on NW/KLM to get to Poland on short notice. The flight left in the evening, arriving in Amsterdam in the morning. We had a very short layover in Amsterdam. In the crowd at customs we found a short line that had been overlooked so we jumped right in and made it through customs and security with quite a bit of time to spare. Our flight into Warsaw was uneventful and we landed a bit early. The person meeting us was about an hour late. Luckily, we knew we had time before our 6 hour train ride to Lebork so we weren't so stressed. When our translator picked us up she said our train was leaving around 4ish so we had some time to kill. She dropped us off at a hotel chain downtown. We slept in the lobby a bit and then had the concierge check our bags while we went to lunch. We found a small cafe with outside seating for lunch. We had some pierogi's and stew, walked around a bit, and found a coffee shop that had free internet. Gotta love the Internet as a communication tool!
Taking the train in Poland. The train station in Warsaw is connected to a great mall. The whole place is pretty busy but you can find almost anything you might need for the trip. There is a whole strategy for "catching your train" if you are in the know. There is a typical order to the cabin numbers so you guess if your car will be in the front, middle, or back. Then as it comes in you jockey for position. It is important to also know your seat number so that you get on the train car on the proper side. (No wonder we had so many issues in Ukraine.) The train ride was long and we were exhausted. Matt and our translator went to the dining car for dinner while I slept. They ordered me dinner which was delivered to our car. It was really pretty good. When we come back with Mason, Matt and I thought it would either make sense to get a hotel room for the day so that Mason could crash or wait and take the train the next morning. It is simply too much time without real sleep. Finally we got to Lebork.
The train station was quiet, with a few people roaming around that might "live" in the train station. If we weren't with our translator we would have instinctly instituted the "no talking, be quick rule" so that people didn't realize we weren't Polish. Our hotel was a block and a half down the street. Our room was clean and simple. We had two twin beds and a separate room with a table and TV. But the best part was the free internet access. This became a staple for sharing videos of our visits with the grandparents and Mason while we were there. Neither one of us had a problem going to sleep even though we were pretty nervous about meeting Maya the next day.
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