Pardon me for not providing any pictures, but I have a very good excuse. My phone got soaked on Sunday afternoon (maybe it was tired of the sun, everyone wants a cold water dip on a hot summer day) and since 10pm on that day it’s been non-functioning. I took about 4 photos during my little-over-20km trek on Sunday (we walked through the woods from Nieporet to Zielonka, both satellite towns of Warsaw in the Masovia region in Poland), so it’s not like you (or I) are missing anything. And so since Monday morning I’ve been going around Warsaw without a phone, right now it’s Tuesday morning so it’s not been that long but let’s say yesterday was probably the most challenging day (apart from Sunday, when my phone worked) – I had places to go and people to meet in specific places at specific times. To add to my phone being dead, my watch also isn’t particularly functional – it only shows minutes, and even that isn’t always, so a few times I had to ask strangers for the time (a lady in a kiosk; a shopkeeper at Zabka; and a lady at a bus stop). But I navigated the city pretty well after all. I have some blisters after two days of intense walking, but I’m gonna take it slow for the next few days (that was my plan from the very beginning) and probably get some blister plasters at Rossmann, just to prevent my feet getting worse.
Anyway, did you figure yet that I’m in Warsaw? I’m in Warsaw! First time since January 2020, and I always liked going to this city, so I’m having lots of fun. And it’s even more more more fun than being here with a working phone. I’m taking zero pictures and googling zero directions and zero eateries and zero museums. I spend some time with my laptop in the morning and then figure out everything I need to figure out. It’s not really old school travelling considering my laptop, but it’s still a big step in the right direction.
I’m staying in a very nice hostel in North Praga (Praga Północ, a district of Warsaw on the opposite side of the Vistula River to the Palace of Culture and the city centre). It’s chill and I’m fulfilling my dream of, well it’s a weird dream, so I won’t say anything about it right now, but let’s just say, I’m very happy where I am right now and the experiences I’m having are pretty good.
Stay cool this hot hot June.
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PS I do recommend this article: https://passionpassport.com/traveling-without-a-smartphone/ if you’re interested in travelling without a phone.
kotersey 