We were up early to catch train to Gdansk. Got on the train (not air-conditioned) and moved through the Polish countryside. The big towns and cities are not impressive. There is a lot of graffiti and run-down buildings. A lot of the railway stations are not well-kept, grass growing out of the platforms. The countryside with the farms are quite pretty. I was surprised to see poppies growing wild in many places, even on the train tracks.
Before we got to Bydgoszcz we were told to change carriages as the one we were in was no longer going to Gdansk. There had been some announcements, but of course, in Polish. So we changed carriages and when we arrived at Bydgoszcz there were delays as the train was shunting and changing carriages. We looked at our map to see where we were in relation to Gdansk and could see we had a very long way to go and it was already 1310 and our train was due in Gdansk at 1329. When a new conductor came to check our tickets (no English) I asked what time the train was now due in Gdansk. He wrote down 1555!!! There was nothing we could do. The train travelled at a very slow speed for most of the remainder of the journey, only speeding up as we approached Gdansk. When we arrived, there was no one waiting on the platform for us. Terry bought a phone card and we tried to ring my cousin, Stella who was going to meet us, but it wouldn't work. I was in a panicked state by this time. Fortunately, a man was closing his small shop nearby and I looked at him helplessly asking if he spoke any English and if he could help us use the phone. He tried but could not get it to work and then very kindly used his mobile to ring Stella for us. She and Zbygniew came and picked us up about 20 mins later. They had been to the station twice and asked what had happened to our train but could not get any information. We were lucky they had just arrived home from the station again when we rang.
So now we are in the village of Cedry Wielkie where Stella lives. Her twins, Max and Natalia, aged 17, live here too and her older daughter, Marzena lives in Sopot. Next door lives Stella's brother, Witek and his wife Malgorzata and their twins Jakub and Marta, aged 18, and their other daughter, Katarzyna, aged 16. It was wonderful to meet Stella after all these years. Her English is quite good so we are able to communicate. Her husband is very keen on the European Soccer starting today. Tomorrow is a big game – Poland vs. Germany.
We had dinner with Stella, Zbygniew, and Max and Witek and Malgorzata joined us later for dessert. I took lots of photos and we had a good evening.
Before we got to Bydgoszcz we were told to change carriages as the one we were in was no longer going to Gdansk. There had been some announcements, but of course, in Polish. So we changed carriages and when we arrived at Bydgoszcz there were delays as the train was shunting and changing carriages. We looked at our map to see where we were in relation to Gdansk and could see we had a very long way to go and it was already 1310 and our train was due in Gdansk at 1329. When a new conductor came to check our tickets (no English) I asked what time the train was now due in Gdansk. He wrote down 1555!!! There was nothing we could do. The train travelled at a very slow speed for most of the remainder of the journey, only speeding up as we approached Gdansk. When we arrived, there was no one waiting on the platform for us. Terry bought a phone card and we tried to ring my cousin, Stella who was going to meet us, but it wouldn't work. I was in a panicked state by this time. Fortunately, a man was closing his small shop nearby and I looked at him helplessly asking if he spoke any English and if he could help us use the phone. He tried but could not get it to work and then very kindly used his mobile to ring Stella for us. She and Zbygniew came and picked us up about 20 mins later. They had been to the station twice and asked what had happened to our train but could not get any information. We were lucky they had just arrived home from the station again when we rang.
So now we are in the village of Cedry Wielkie where Stella lives. Her twins, Max and Natalia, aged 17, live here too and her older daughter, Marzena lives in Sopot. Next door lives Stella's brother, Witek and his wife Malgorzata and their twins Jakub and Marta, aged 18, and their other daughter, Katarzyna, aged 16. It was wonderful to meet Stella after all these years. Her English is quite good so we are able to communicate. Her husband is very keen on the European Soccer starting today. Tomorrow is a big game – Poland vs. Germany.
We had dinner with Stella, Zbygniew, and Max and Witek and Malgorzata joined us later for dessert. I took lots of photos and we had a good evening.
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