Day 19 - and having a blast. Such a diverse trip and I've learned so many things.
On the left: "The Palm Tree" in Poland. Yes a palm tree! Not really - it is fake - "art" they call it and many Poles don't like it.
On the right: The church where Chopin played and composed
Awake with the sun at 4 am again. Out of bed at 5:30 and out on the streets at 6 am. Very quiet but one amazing phenomenon. I tried to find some coffee. No coffee shops open - but plenty of bars open! And many, many people sitting at cafes drinking beer - probably from last night. Several night clubs going full blast with disco music blaring.
Poland has lots of bars and pubs. Believe I read that Krakow has more bars per capita than any other city in Europe! Many people travel here just to drink and party - especially British batchelor parties!
I walked for over 2 hours. Finally found a Starbucks that opened at 7:30 and got my coffee. Went down to see "the palm tree" at a major intersection - put there as art and many Warsawians don't like it. It looks real. Walked to the river, and then down Krakowskie Przedmiescle to the Old City again. It was beautiful and quiet.
Went by the church where Chopin was a regular and played the organ. Also by the Presidential Palace where there was a vigil still being held for the deceased President and First Lady due to a plane crash in Russia in April. 95 high level officials of the government were all killed.
Enjoyed the quiet streets, peaceful setting, and slightly cooler temperatures.
Back to the hotel to finish packing and checked out and headed to the Warsaw Airport. Today I travel on flight 13 of 18 for 995 miles from Warsaw, Poland to Athens, Greece. A travel day since I had to leave Warsaw at 9 am for the 11 am flight on LOT Airlines. It was somewhat difficult scheduling a flight from Poland to Greece as the choices were limited. I also backtrack today traveling back south and a good bit east.
The hotel limo (another Mercedes) took me back to the airport. A short 15 minute ride with not much traffic. Check-in was swift and I went to duty free to spend my last Polish monies. I bought a bottle of Chopin vodka to enjoy for martinis at sunset in Mykonos overlooking the caldera. That should be special!
The plane was late and this time Business Class was almost full but I was lucky and didn't have anyone next to me. A 2 1/2 hour flight to Athens from Warsaw. My bag came out quickly, I exchanged money for euros and merely walked across the street to the Sofitel Hotel where I'll stay tonight. The receptionist told me that the trip into Athens proper is about 30-40 minutes by taxi so I think I'll nap and veg out here for the rest of the day.
Tomorrow a short flight out to Thira on the island of Santorini - a naturally beautiful Greek Isle. Can't wait.
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