Days 129 to 131: Three Days in Warsaw

I ended up staying in Warsaw for a total of three days and four nights. The first two nights were spent at Mikołaj’s apartment then I moved to Inbed Hostel.

Two days ago, I met up with Dorota for a coffee meeting at HAŁAS Coffee+Vinyl. Dorota is an artist, writer, and a film director. We chatted about traveling and bike touring, then we took a walk at the nearby Skaryszewski Park. Dorota had directed a documentary film about a Czech woman who was abused by her husband. She told me about the difficulties in funding her next project from the government since there isn’t a lot of money. I don’t know how the film industry works so I couldn’t give her any advice. When we parted, I forgot to take a photograph of her since I tend to do that with the people I meet.

After the meeting with Dorota, I cycled to downtown and met up with Mikołaj. His bike had a flat tire so we tried to find a bike shop where he could buy a new tube. After searching for about half an hour we were able to find a bike shop and Mikołaj was able to fix his flat tire.

We ate lunch at another canteen and had Polish donuts called Pączki for dessert. Mikołaj guided me to Warsaw Old Town, then he went back to his apartment where he had some work to do. I ended up explored the area by foot and saw the Presidential Palace, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw Mermaid Statue, among other sights.

I also went inside the Marie Curie Museum and learned more about her personal life. I didn’t know that her husband was working with her in the laboratory before he died in a car accident. Also there was a scandal about an affair that she had right before she was about to receive the Nobel Prize.

On my way back to the apartment, I stopped by Decathlon again to get a refund for my T-shirt that they didn’t have in stock. It turned out to be an adventure in email exchanges that still didn’t get resolved. They couldn’t issue me a refund to my credit card for some reason. I might have to contact my credit card company for this issue later.

For dinner that night, Mikołaj, Martyna, and I went to Yatta Vegan Ramen. The ramen I had was delicious and I paid for the meal to show my appreciation for staying for two nights at their place.

Yesterday morning, I bid farewell to Mikołaj and cycled to Inbed Hostel south of downtown. I checked in early around 11 AM.

In the dorm room, I met my first foreign Trump supporter after 130 days on the road. I still don’t know his name because he refuses to tell me.

In any case, he’s an Iranian German in his thirties and supports Trump. He doesn’t like LGBTQ people and thinks kids become violent because they were raised without fathers. I told him for the first eleven years of life I was raised without a father. Then he said, “There are exceptions.”

He went on to tell me Black people commit homicides 30 times more than white people. My reply was, “Why are all domestic terrorists are white males?” He had no answer.

He also thinks that the rich are rich because they are smarter than all the rest. I told him that maybe because they use people and don’t pay taxes, but the working class does.

It went on like this for a while and I was getting worked up. He thinks I’m brainwashed and that I should go back to China, and that Biden should go to jail for nothing.

At the very end, he wanted to agree that we disagree and we should talk about the weather. LMAO!

This encounter reminded me a lot of my conversation with another young Trumper back in Taipei about two years ago. They always want to jump to the next topic when they get defeated with the current one.

I wasn’t feeling too well after this. My head was turned upside down. A few moments later, he came back into the room and asked me what was my job and if he can get hired in the US. The nerve! LOL!

For the rest of the afternoon, I decided to take a walk toward the Palace of Culture and Science and the surrounding area. It was a long walk and I needed that.

The next few encounters with my dorm-mate was more peaceful since we kept the conversations light. I realized there’s no need to talk about politics with anyone. Nothing gets changed anyway.

It rained today until around 3 PM. All I did was ride my bike to Łazienki Królewskie, also known as Royal Baths Park. I walked around the park for about an hour before coming back to the hostel to make some pasta. Since there were more pasta than I could eat, I offered the rest to my Trumper roommate. I think it’s better to act with kindness even though we disagree politically.

Tomorrow, I’ll leave Warsaw and ride farther south. Not sure where exactly I’ll be staying. It depends on a reply from a Warmshowers host.

Crossing the river to the other side of Warsaw

A cool statue in Skaryszewski Park

Made it to 4000 miles on the odometer!

On the Royal Route

Love the flower details on the fence

The Presidential Palace

Warsaw has many statues. Here's another one

The site of the Unknown Soldier

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Saxon Garden

One of many sculptures in Saxon Garden

The center of Warsaw Old Town

The Royal Castle in Warsaw

Archcathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist

Inside the Basilica

Warsaw Mermaid Statue

An old penny-farthing bicycle

Warsaw Barbican

Decorations outside of a building are so intricate.

This sculpture is literally popping off the wall.

Marie Curie Museum

Some radioactive radium, I think.

Warsaw New Town

A delicious vegan ramen for dinner

Mikołaj, Martyna, and their cat Stephan

Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw

Palace of Culture and Science

Cool reflections spotted

Interesting architecture

Museum of Fryderyk Chopin

Ujazdów Castle, now an art gallery

Frédéric Chopin Monument

More statues

Palace on the Isle

Pałac Myślewicki

A Chinese pavilion in Warsaw? Why not.

One last sculpture in Warsaw