Prague, Warsaw, London and Gayle. The End of a Journey.

Prague

Prague.

John and I arrived in Prague on Easter day. We checked into our AirBnB and hopped right across the street to a small local restaurant, U Bohouse. The food was delicious! My bestie Gayle was flying to Prague in 3 days to spend the rest of our adventure with us. We wanted to get a feel for the neighborhood before she arrived. We found a great little Martini bar a half block from our flat so we decided to go in and have a drink. We were the only ones there and it was an eclectic mix of books and monkey themed artwork. We loved the vibe and decided this was a place to take Gayle.

Beer Garden

Over the next 3 days we scoped out more restaurants, bars and the beer garden that was RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM OUR FLAT!

The BEST Pork knuckle!

Gayle arrived and we started her stay out at U Bohouse. For the next week, we toured the city, visited the beer garden more than once, had a wild night at the martini bar, drank wine in the park and discovered the very delicious pork knuckle!

Monastic Brewery. Pic by Gayle.

We also visited a brewery in the cellar of a monastery!

Vinohrady

Prague is the most beautiful city I have seen. Our neighborhood, Vinohrady, was in the city yet felt very much like a small neighborhood with beautiful buildings, friendly people and great places to eat and drink. I would not hesitate to stay in Vinohrady again sometime.

Warsaw

Warsaw.

From Prague we took a train to Warsaw Poland. On our train ride to Budapest from Oradea Romania, we had a dining car which was wonderful. As it was the same train system going to Warsaw and the website also indicated a dining car, John and I were eager to show Gayle the perks of European train travel by dining and drinking in the dining car. Well, we were informed by a very nice train employee that there was no dining CAR but instead a dining CART. I guess they forgot the “T” on the website.
We had a first class compartment on the train all to ourselves until we crossed into Poland. We were then joined by less than friendly passengers but they kept to themselves and we just ate our snacks.

Warsaw was very different from the other European cities we visited. During WWII, Hitler destroyed approximately 85% of the city. Because of this, Warsaw for the most part has been completely rebuilt. It is a beautiful city with modern buildings and gorgeous parks. Our AirBnB was in the city and right across from several bars.

Gayle and John right before getting yelled at

There were also milk bars in our neighborhood. Milk Bars. A Polish tradition. They started at the turn of the 1900's and became extremely popular during the communist era. It's like an American diner - kind of. Milk Bars in Warsaw are all the same. There is a large menu (all in Polish) when you walk in. You order from the cashier and then give your receipt to a cook in a window. If you linger around the window she will tell you to sit your ass down (right Gayle and John?) When your food is ready she will call it out, in Polish of course. You bus your own table when you leave. Did I mention the food is authentic polish fare and is so so good! Oh! The 3 of us ate for $8-$12 !

Radio Cafe. My favorite European cafe.

One day we decided to take the Hop On Hop Off tour. It was a bit of a mess, there was only 1 bus and a lot of waiting around. However, it allowed us to have a great lunch at Radio Café waiting for the next bus to arrive. We had, of course, pork knuckle. We also ordered perogies. It was a classic meal at a classic café in Poland.

We found a great bar to have drinks (and pork knuckle), a great restaurant to have one of the greatest brunches I have had and a great neighborhood central to Warsaw.

London

London.

So we took a very early flight out of Warsaw to London. We stayed in the Elephant & Castle neighborhood. At first, arriving at the train station, we found the neighborhood a bit sketchy. But after we got settled in at our AirBnB flat, we ventured out and found the nearest pub. We ordered traditional English fare, Fish and chips, bangers and mash and sticky toffee pudding. Quite good I must say. A very nice English guy named Joe who worked at the pub gave us several suggestions for things to do, eat and drink in the neighborhood and London in general.

We took a tour of London and also a nice bus ride or two and took in the sights. London is so big that you wouldn’t be able to see all of it in a month of Sundays. It is an incredible city!

Mercado Metropolitano

One of Joe’s recommendations was the Mercado Metropolitano. An Italian market, it was designed to look like the huge food halls in Turin and Milan, but a bit more funky.   There were so many food stalls offering everything from BBQ to pizza to charcuterie to our favorite, raclette. We went there twice and just stuffed ourselves. 

We took Gayle to one of our favorite parts of London, Islington. We sat outside and drank beer and then introduced Gayle to middle eastern food at Harman’s.

Going home. Pic by Gayle.

Leaving London and Europe was very bittersweet. We were anxious to see everybody back in the states and be back in our own space would be exciting but I truly love Europe. We have made new friends and have seen so many beautiful places. From pet sitting to AirBnBs, it was an incredible journey. I’ll miss saying to John “Did ya ever think we’d be doing this?” and waking up in the mornings and for the first few seconds wondering where in the world I am. Our plan is to go back, not right away but in the future.

Goodbye Europe and goodbye to AbroadWithJohn.

Cheers.

Barb

Hereford England

Our fifth sit was in Hereford, England. Hereford is a town of about 70,000 people and our hosts lived a few miles or a quick bus ride from the center of town in a nice community of friendly people.

We cared for two dogs, Sye, a sweet old soul, and Ruby, a rambunctious puppy our hosts saved from a difficult situation and were working diligently to help her adjust to a normal life. The house was probably built in the 1800’s with a roomy master bedroom and bathroom.

Sye

Ruby

A nice gift!

Our host presented us with fresh cut flowers, local ciders and jam and also veggies from their garden. The garden, yard, was a cornucopia of foods and flowers with ample room for the dogs to play. Our favorite was the apple tree in the front garden. Katherine, our host, said it was the last of a grove of trees that once filled that area. I am not a fruit eater although I’ve had hopeful thoughts of eating healthier by consuming more fruit, but I have not been successful. I have eaten some very tasty apples especially in Western North Carolina that is home to groves of them. But the apples from this tree were the best I’ve ever eaten! They were crispy with a little sweetness and a tinge of sour. I had at least one a day and the tree was colored two-thirds by green leaves and the remaining third by those red apples.

I took the bus to downtown Hereford to get groceries, have my beard trimmed, have a couple of pints at the Kings Fee, a cup of coffee from a food truck and just to look around. Barb had injured her foot so she stayed “home” with the pups and watched her new best thing- Jamie Oliver on the tellie. While waiting on the bus there was a nice man there that explained the location of grocery stores and the particulars of the bus times, drop offs, routes and ticketing information. He was far more helpful than the internet. I told him I wanted to go to Lidl’s and he agreed that was the store to shop because they have the best prices but there was also a Morrison’s across the street. Within a short time the bus pulled up and we both got on. He sat in the first seat near the front of the bus and I took the next one next to a young guy with a headset on. The bus was almost filled and trip in took about 20 minutes with no stops until we were just about downtown. I was hoping to see a sign for Lidl’s but wasn’t have any luck but at one of the stops the man I spoke with stood up turned his head toward me and gave me a nod so I took my cue and got off. He waited for me and explained where I could pick up the bus for my return trip back and the times to be at the bus stop.

There were several restaurants with some diversity of ethnic foods, some pubs and a variety of places to browse. I found my way to Lidl’s behind the KFC and next to the bus station, across the street from the train station and their competitor Morrison’s. I bought all of my groceries and waited for the bus at the Kings Fee by having a couple of pints of Carling.

Crown and Anchor

While we enjoyed our stay in Hereford our favorite memory will have to be the people, our hosts and the patrons of the Crown and Anchor restaurant pub that was literally two doors from our sit. There was a “beer garden” in the front consisting of 10 picnic tables and free standing tables with benches with umbrellas over each one. The building looked to be built in the 1800’s painted brilliant white with the wood beams in black. Inside there was dining room of about 20 tables to the right, a small sitting area just inside the door, usually with men talking with pint in hand and just beside that was the bar with a smaller dining area. Each time in the people in the waiting area greeted us and usually talked to us about our stay in Hereford.

Beer Garden

Our first meal there was an absolutely delicious burger served to us by one of the owners. Our next visit in for a pint one of the men said, “You must be the Americans my wife spoke about waiting on the other day.” We told him we loved their place and the townspeople were very fortunate to have a place like this to visit. While we were enjoying our pint outside he brought us a small booklet on the history of Hereford during the second World War when it was used to make munitions for the allies. Our stay was only for a week and time passed quickly. The Crown and Anchor was one of the main highlights of our visit.

Cheers!
John

Westerplatte

In 1939, 205 Polish defenders on the tiny peninsula of Westerplatte held off about 2600 Germans who attacked them from land, sea and air.

This was the invasion of Poland by Adolf Hitler and ignited World War II.

Guardhouse 1

 At 4:45 AM on September 1, 1939, the Germans opened fire on Westerplatte. The Germans initially thought this "skirmish" would be over in less than an hour. The Polish army was under orders to hold out for twelve hours until they were relieved, but relief never came. The Germans learned on day 1 how determined the Polish army was to maintain their ground at Westerplatte. The German marines attacked 4 times but failed to break through to the circle of reinforced guardhouses. 

Barracks

Over the next 6 days the Polish army held out at Westerplatte. Meanwhile Hitler invaded Poland in the north, south and west. On September 7, having fought for seven days against enormous odds, the Polish army surrendered.  Surprised at how few defenders there were, the German soldiers saluted them as they marched out into captivity and German General Eberhardt allowed Polish commander Major Sucharski to keep his saber, an extraordinary show of respect. 

Guardhouse 1

Westerplatte is now a memorial. Guardhouse 1, which was the key point of defence against the Germans  is intact with 2 shells from a Schleswig-Holstein ironically propping up the entrance. The inside provides representations of the interior.  The barracks is also "standing", reinforced so that visitors can tour the ruble. There are memorials to the soldiers that fought and died. It is well laid out and well worth of short trip from Gdansk (formally Danzig) to visit Westerplatte.

You can see more of my photos from Westerplatte here.

Barb