Wednesday November 6th 2019

Warsaw Ghetto

I wanted to see Sarah Brightman on her latest world tour Hymn and when she finally came to Europe, I decided to go.
I combined the concert with visiting a city (and country) I have not yet been in; Warsaw, Poland.

I came to Warsaw Wednesday afternoon, just a few hours before the concert - so I took a taxi to the Old Town and found (with some problems) my apartment hotel (Stone Steps Apartments).
I realized quickly that they had no reception or lobby - so I had to call them to get instructions on how to find my room - and the key.
I highly recommend this place (great room, nice people at the other end of the phone and a perfect location next to the old town square), but I suggest you contact them before you stand outside, getting nervous if I would be able to find the place - and in my case - make it to the concert. :D

Anyhow; I got in - and later went (with another taxi) to Torwar Hall, where the concert was held.

The concert was great (of course), but the sounds was sometimes really bad. Not sure if Sarah's voice is aging - or could it be that when the architects in old communist Poland created this sports arena, they did not think so much about acoustics..?

Anyhow, back to the hotel after the concert.
Next day would be my only full day in Warzaw - stuffed with interesting things to see and do (I hope!).

Thursday November 7th 2019

Next day I ate breakfast at a place I had found researching Warsaw; the E. Wedel's chocolate shop and cafe.

A really nice place where they had a lot of chocolate drinks (both hot and warm). Plus regular chocolate candy from their factory!

I also looked at the Old Town - obviously (since I lived there).

There is an old observation tower close by...

 ...so naturally I went up there. :)

I continued my walk throughout Warsaw and came to the statue of the famous astronomer Copernicus. 

The square was pretty cool with the solar system in the ground,

Thank you, Copernicus for correcting the old view of the solar system!

When in Warsaw it's hard not to come upon the highest building in the city; the Palace of Culture and Science.

A big place (not just tall) with plenty of theatres and museums.

You could go up to the top here as well. And of course I did.

Then I wanted to visit an interesting museum, the Warsaw Gasworks Museum.
It didn't look too far on the map so I decided to walk there. It took about an hour, double the time I had foolishly calculated.
And there was not much interesting to see on the way there either.

And once I got there I found...nothing. Not a trace of the building - only brand new apartment houses.

Not sure what has happened. Maybe it had been torn down?
While standing confused, I found an old comment on the internet, stating that the museum was "closed until Spring". So who knows what happened?

Disappointed I turned back. I ate at a almost-nearby Milk bar - because of A Clockwork Orange.
More for the fun of it, but the food wasn't bad in anyway.

After this I went to the Copernicus Science Centre.

I had expected more of a museum, but there were mostly experiments you could do. More focused on kids and teenagers, I suspect, but I managed to have some fun as well.

However I did not stay too long and instead went back to my hotel.

Dinner today was Fish (wrapped in a pancake!) and chips.

Friday November 8th 2019

Not much to report.

My flight was around lunch so after waking up and a shower, I took a taxi to the airport.
Then straight on the airplane and homewards.

Home sweet home.

Warsaw Overview

In November I found Warsaw and rather grey and dull city. But I hear it is really nice during Spring and Summer. Not complaining though - I am used to it from back home. :)
But I do not think I will come back here unless something special happens here.

When it comes to eating, I did try the Polish dishes Pierogi (ok) and the fast food, Zapiekanka (also ok). Had I not been here alone, I would probably have tried some more fancy places with really good food, but I did not - and don't really miss it.

Total cost of this trip was about 7600 SEK (including Concert ticket @ 850 SEK).

Monday June 17th 2019

Return to the Big Metal Structure

I was recently in Paris on vacation and since I have yet to make a post of the Eiffel Tower (part of the 21-list), here it is.

I have seen it before, but this was the first time I was upp at the top. Pretty high up for such an old building.

A very nice view! :)

Thursday February 28th 2019

Meddling in the Middle East


I have been looking forward to this trip for a while now. To finally see the last of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

My initial plan was to fly to Amman, capital of Jordan and take a bus or rent a car down to Petra. But when it became clear that I would do this trip with my dear friend Henrik, he suggested to fly in via Israel and see Jerusalem. I did not hesitate long before I agreed to this plan.
I am always in the mood to add one more country to the "Been there!"-list.

So came the day it was time. I flew from Gothenburg via Stockholm, where I was reunited with Henrik. Then a direct flight to Tel Aviv.

We took a train to Jerusalem and a taxi the last stretch to the Hotel (Prima Kings Hotel); where we stayed in room 218.
Not the fanciest of hotels I have stayed in and was not worth the fairly large price.
But none the less; we were there.

After we removed some of the travel dust, we walked around in the rain to find somewhere to get some food.
We eventually found a nice restaurant where we both had some kebab.

Then back to the hotel for some sleep. Tomorrow we plan to explore Jerusalem.

Friday March 1st 2019

Today we will explore Jerusalem. Or rather explore the Old City of Jerusalem.

The old city is surrounded by a wall and is divided into four parts; one Jewish, one Christian, one Muslim and one Armenian Quarter.



The streets were narrow and filled with peddlers and restaurants, but the four quarters all looked fairly different, which was interesting to see.

In the Jewish Quarter was the Western Wall (also known as Wailing Wall):

And the Christian Quarter is home of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is apparently the most holiest Christian place on earth.

We walked up and down the streets. The old city isn't big, but it can be hard to find your way sometimes, even with a map! :)

We meant to go in for a closer look at Mount Moriah and the Dome of the Rock, but as we came closer (walking through the Muslim Quarter), a man brusquely grabbed Henrik's arm and pulled him towards the side of the street.

Another salesperson we thought and I started to tell him to lay off.
Then I looked up and saw three masked - and heavily armed - Israeli soldiers!

The man (most likely a civilian clothed soldier) had pulled us aside towards the soldiers, who told us not to approach further since it was Friday; the holy day of the Muslim week (and we were not allowed to enter).

We promptly said that we would go no further and quickly left the same way we came with our hearts beating a little bit faster than before.

After a while, we left the old city and went to the Garden Tomb; the place where Jesus supposedly got buried after his crucifixion. 

Not too much to see so soon after we headed back to the hotel again to relax.

In the evening we went out and ate at the same restaurant as yesterday.
I had some kind of meatballs and rice. I liked it. :)

Then back to the hotel. We went straight to bed since we need to go up extremely early tomorrow.