I had some free time between shifts at work just before my mini winter vacation in December and decided to use it to go visit R.L. in Ottawa!
Obviously, we got to baking right away. I had brought some vegan baked goods with me but one cannot do with only one cookie for oneself – one must make a massive batch of vegan gingerbread cookies to meet one’s cookie needs.
Finally – it is time to go home! My last stretch of airports is upon me as I fly from Warsaw to Munich. My flight in Warsaw is delayed by almost an hour and I sprint across terminals trying to catch my critical connecting flight – and I miss it.
I stand in line for probably at least another hour before learning that there are no more flights out of Munich to Vancouver for another 24 hours. I had been so mentally prepared to go home that I almost cried on the spot – I had no more money to spend on hanging out in Europe and I didn’t want to get a free night in a hotel only to have to spend an entire day in the airport trying to kill time the next day while I waited for a flight. So, I met with a very kind German customer service fellow who offered me an alternative: Fly to Frankfurt, stay the night, fly to Vancouver the next morning.
Alright!
An incredibly stressful sprint to the airport took me from Brussels to Warsaw, where I stayed for the night before heading to my final major destination: Katowice!
I will admit to having lost my emotional composure multiple times between Brussels and Warsaw, and then again more intensely between Warsaw and Katowice – misinterpreting which airport I was to go to, trying to store large luggage overnight in different languages, avoiding having my phone casually stolen on the bus, and lacking decent sleep for weeks. It could have been a lot worse, but I was quite shaken by the time I arrived in Katowice. Thankfully, my cousin had given me directions to my first stop in the town: Veganka.
Full of traditional Polish food that has been veganized, a very kind employee translated every menu item for me and I found myself with a sour sausage soup and a vegan ice cream sandwich (VERY GOOD). My cousin met up with me, and we began a whirlwind tour of the area that would last for only a couple of days.
I tiredly landed in Brussels after an amazing last meal in Dublin and 2 hours of sleep. I lugged my luggage across the city, which I found to be a bit… Browner, than others I had landed in (the splashes of colour would come). I found my way to G.M., who was working, so I wandered around and ate a delicious (and inexpensive) sandwich. My short trip to Brussels quickly checked items off the list: Frites, beer, chocolate, waffles.
Brussels was a very food-centric and short trip!
There wasn’t a particular vision I had in mind when I made my way to Ireland, but I was blown away by its natural beauty when I arrived!
… And funky bars.
I did not realize just how much I valued how the ocean feels until I was standing on a coastline again and seeing waves crash and hearing sea birds fly overhead. It was so refreshing to be outside and enjoying good company in such a lovely place.
After my brief stay in Prague, I made my way over to the U.K. to visit family friends! I stayed in a quiet village outside of London, but made my way into the big city twice for full day trips. One of those days resulted in the worst blisters I have ever dealt with and the other led me down a dark hole of temptation that included a lot of vintage and thrifted clothing as well as pounds of chocolate in both solid and liquid form.
It was glorious.
As we return to Warsaw for the last leg of our program, we all feel the weight of the last handful of weeks as well as the reality of our time as Psychology of Genocide students coming to an end.
We began our journey to Białystok by taking time to tour the Museum of Struggle and Martyrdom in Treblinka on the grounds of the former extermination camp. The grounds show little sign of the former camp, but the space is wide open and cleared of trees (except for those which surround the area, illustrating how it would have been concealed during its operation). However, there are stones and slabs of concrete everywhere with the names of villages and towns and countries from where individuals were taken to be transported to their death. It was an emotional experience to walk through the space that carries so much weight but now looks so empty.
After some time for reflection, we boarded the bus once more and, before reaching Białystok, we visited the small town of Tykocin and saw its synagogue and museum and then had dinner. We reached Białystok shortly thereafter and were delighted to discover our accommodations as well as the beautiful surrounding town and market square, where we topped up our bellies with some lody (ice cream)!
