Missing Warsaw

THINGS I WILL MISS ABOUT POLAND

#1. Exploring

This was a flee market located by our apartment.  We found some incredible steals here.  It was always fun to walk around and see what new treasures were here.

This particular night we walked down Nowy Swiat and there was this display up.  If you walked in front of the screen - you saw yourself light up with a silhouette of words.  As you approached the "boundaries" either a bell, dong, or other sounds would be set off.  Of course, I had to know what was going on... and watched forever.  I thought it was interesting and ended up being some University Student's project on crowd attractions.  I loved the various crowd attractions that were always seen on Nowy Swiat and will truly miss what new ideas they were always coming up with to attract the crowd's attention.

One night we went to go see the new Stadium in Warsaw.  And were pleasantly surprised with fireworks!  I loved, loved, loved exploring Warsaw!

#2. The Warsaw YSA's (Young Sexy Adults)

The YSA's were amazing in Warsaw.  It was my highlight of the week to go on Tuesday or Wednesday night for FHE & institute.  Even though all the lessons were in Polish, I feel like the YSA's helped me the very most in trying to learn Polish.  They were always so encouraging, loving, non-judgmental, and just down-to-earth good people.  Thank you for some amazing memories & experiences.  And thank you most of all for your genuine friendship.  I will miss you... each and every one of you!  Especially the ones I had "special walks" on with in downtown Warsaw.  

#3. The METRO

The Metro (and public transportation) in Warsaw was amazing.  The hardest part about being back in America is the lack thereof.  I walked everywhere I needed to go.  From this, I met some interesting people, had some unbelievable experiences, and got great exercise.  I couldn't imagine living in Warsaw without this essential staple and I'm so glad that I became independent there by traveling all over the city with the help of the Metro, buses, and Trams!

#4. The Sister Missionaries

The missionaries were an integral part of helping me to adjust to life in Warsaw!  They took me out on appointments once a week.  Taught me and helped me with my Polish.  Strengthened my testimony.  Encouraged me to be a better person.  Left the spirit in our home.  Helped me remember my mission.  And ate lots of good food with me.  I hope that the next place Michal & I end up I will still be able to help the sister missionaries in any way possible.

#5. Getting to know Michal better

 I loved getting to know Michal better.  I feel like living in Poland helped me to understand some of his personality traits, quirks, and passions better.  It was fun getting to see how excited he would get over little things (like his vintage bike that he misses dearly).  Additionally, it was fun to get to know lots of childhood friends.  It made me so grateful that he had such good friends growing up who encouraged him to follow his dreams and come to America.  A lot of Church Leaders in Poland feel like once Poles get baptized they leave Poland, get married to a foreigner, and never return - thus FAILING to help build up the gospel in their own home country.  What they don't realize is that if Michal never came to America, I would not be the person that I am today - and because of him - I am such a happy person.  This is why I encourage every YSA to live their dreams and God will lead them where they are supposed to go, not where "others" think that they should go.

#6. Doner Kebab

I think that Michal will miss these more than I will, but Doner Kebab is like the equivalent of Taco Stands in Salt Lake City.  You just can't find a place that serves better Kebabs than here.

#7. Packages

Seriously, who doesn't like packages from home?  It's like Christmas on a random day.  I will miss this for sure!

#8. Odds & Ends

Besides men wearing fanny packs, women with their bright red/orange/magenta/hot pink hair, and teenagers wearing American paraphenelia... I will miss the odd things that I find on the streets.  This was Michal's absolute favorite find the whole time we were in Poland - "Barry Gloves" (if you don't know the reference - ask him).

#9. The Beauty of Warsaw

Need I say more?

#10. Having people over for dinner

It was so great to have people over for dinner.  It helped us feel more like at home.

#11. Grocery Shopping

Every single time I went grocery shopping, I found something strange and unusual. This was definitely one of those finds.  I had NEVER seen broccoli saran wrapped.  I don't know why they did it, especially for Europeans being so "ecological" it seemed like a waste of time and plastic.  In any case, it was always a surprise to see what new "finds" I came across each time I went shopping.

#12. Cooking

Each time I cooked it was truly an experiment.  Dealing with Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, mL instead of fluid ounces, and different ingredients - you never know what you would end up with (and if it would taste good or not).  This was my German Pancake on steroids...  It was DELICIOUS!

THINGS I WILL NOT MISS

#1. My Bed in Warsaw

No bed will come even close in comparison to the bed Michal & I bought when we got married.  It was beyond comfortable.  This bed (here) was TERRIBLE.  It was small, had no padding, and hurt our backs.  I will not miss this bed.  

#2. The Cold

 Winters in Warsaw were not fun.  Contrary to the way I dress sometimes, I am not a huge fan of layers - but I had to become one when I lived here!

#3. Terrible Haircuts

Michal had some terrible haircuts in Poland.  I'm glad that we are over this stage.  He had some really awful Mullets.... which I made him fix - immediately.  I'm glad we are over this.

Seriously though....

The good definitely outweighs the bad.  Good or Bad - I'm grateful for the memories which we did make in Poland.  Every minute spent there was worth it!

Saying Goodbye

Once Michal & I packed up our apartment in Kabaty, there were a few places that we knew we'd have a hard time saying goodbye to.

The first place on our list was the local bakery.  I love, love, love this place.  It had our very favorite bread - Slowianski (Slavic Bread).  Plus, the lady who helped me was (no offense) my favorite Polish person - next to Michal.  Every single time she saw me come in the store, she would immediately pull the largest (or freshest) loaf of Slowianski off the shelf and proceed to slice it for me.  She would then quiz me on the latest Polish words that I had learned.  She always taught me a new word and expected me to remember it when I came back to visit.  Her eyes would just light up as my Polish improved and she would always give me such encouragement and ignore all her other customers to make me feel special, even though I didn't speak hardly any Polish.  I am pretty sure that I forgot her name... but I really wish that the last time I stopped by her shop she would have been there so I could have given her a Polish Ksiega Mormona (Book of Mormon) and told her (in Polish) how important and how much I loved this book.  To me, she was truly an example of the Savior because of how she always strove to make me feel like nothing else in the world mattered.

Goodbye favorite Piekarnia in Poland!

The next place we said goodbye to was our apartment.  Our apartment is in the smack dab middle of this Photo.  If you can find the windows with Aluminum Foil hanging up - that was our Bedroom window (hint - it's by a balcony). The sun would come up anywhere from 4-4:30 am - and we couldn't sleep after it did.  So we decided to be a little white trash, and hang up tin foil in our windows so that we received some adequate rest.  I think that the whole time we were in this apartment, we used our balcony a whole of 2 times.  But - we LOVED our apartment.  One post I really wanted to do, but never got around to, was the ridiculous security that Poland has.  In order for us to get into our apartment we pass 1 security guard, 5 security cameras, and we had to punch in our code at TWO different locations to enter through gates to get into our apartment.  Then... (it gets better) when we put our key in the lock to our apartment, not only does it bolt it in three (that's right three) places along the side of the door, but it bolts it into the door-frame from the top AND the bottom.  That's FIVE total places that someone would have to "card" or "cut' through in order to break into our apartment.  Michal & I feel like it's a slight oxymoron to have this much security in Poland because the crime rate in Warsaw is one of the lowest crime rates in all of Europe.  But, then again, maybe that's why the crime rate is so low - because the security is so darn amazing and taken so seriously.

Good bye wonderful apartment!

We decided to stop by and say goodbye to our branch president & district presidents family (both American Embassy families) before our departure.  In honor of us leaving, we even got to do one last "jumping" picture with them.

Good bye Armstrong Family!

The only person that was home (or awake) at the Staples was Kristina.  They had all just returned from being in America and had some not-so-awesome jet lag.  Kristina was sleeping but we woke her up.  Gosh I wish I could look this amazing with NO makeup on and my hair not done and after no sleep from a super long flight across the world.  Kristina I idolize how you look, lessons please?  I miss you so much girl!  Can't wait to catch up with you...

Goodbye Kristina (and the rest of her family asleep).

I truly feel that our biggest regret in leaving Warsaw was not saying goodbye to more people.  But in all fairness, we didn't know we were actually leaving until the day we left.... and after we packed up our apartment and left - we thought we'd be coming back in a few weeks.  Crazy how much plans change.  

For all of those that we missed in Poland.  Don't worry, we love and miss you... and can't wait to catch up again.  Stay tuned, I will write a post of the things and people I will and will not miss.  But, rest assured, we love Warsaw - and love those who live there - and you will always have a special place in our heart.

Helsinki, Finland

Stepping off the train in Helsinki - Michal and I were absolutely blown away.  We were immediately approached by a nice young lady, named Fanni, who welcomed us to her country.  Her English was impeccable.  She then asked if we needed help finding our Hotel or would like any maps with touristy suggestions during our stay in Helsinki.  We were left speechless.  I think our response was probably something like, "Um... yes?" She gave us all these awesome activities to do and see in Helsinki and what the most popular attractions were - Fanni also gave us recommendations on where to eat and shop.  Her directions to our Hotel were more than perfect and we couldn't believe that we were given such amazing service.  Because of Fanni, we immediately fell in love with Helsinki before even leaving the train station.

Per Fanni's recommendation we went to see the most popular attractions, and then afterwards decided to do a 6-8 km walking tour which would take us to "less popular" sites - but allow us to go explore more of the city.

Our first stop was to go to the Helsinki Cathedral, but on the way there, ran into the National Library.  It was more than massive - and made me happy to see lots of people exiting the library with books in (I assume) Finnish and English.

With the Helsinki Cathedral being the most popular attraction in this city, we made sure to document that we were here with plenty of pictures.

 This cathedral is Lutheran and when entering the inside - you can definitely tell - because there are no ornate and elaborate decorations adorning the wall.  Is is very plain and simple with a few artworks here and there.

Michal's favorite part of the inside was the Organ pipes (not as many as the MoTab) and the marble statue of Martin Luther.

We were thrilled to find people who asked us if we wanted our pictures taken together - in ENGLISH!

This square is really impressive - it is known as the Senate Square and we learned (from locals) that each year locals gather here to ring in the New Year.

 In the center of the Senate Square is the statue of Tsar Alexander II.  The popular tsar is surrounded by statues representing Law, Peace, Light, and Work.  Also, the year 1863 is carved into the granite base of the statue to mark the year when the tsar convened the 'Diet of Finland,' which began a period of national reforms. Since this statute is placed between the Cathedral and the Senate - it symbolizes the turning point between work and leisure.

 Our next stop was the other massive cathedral in Helsinki: Upenski Cathedral.  This cathedral is one of the clearest symbols of the Russian impact on Finnish history.  Besides the Lutheran Church, the Finnish Orthodox Church (located here) is one of the two official national churches in Finland and its members account for just over ONE percent of the population.  (Did I mention that Finn's aren't very religious?)

This was all we really got to see on the inside of the Orthodox Church.

Here is a view of the Lutheran Church from the Orthodox church's front door.

... and if you look carefully below you can see the orange tents - this was the outdoor Market which we were headed to next.

 The Market Square

 Michal was SO SO excited to eat this sausage - it was Reindeer Sausage.  I had to have a bite just to say that I had some, but it wasn't my cup of tea.  I think that I had some fruit instead.

Michal was also thrilled to notice that the trailer of this fruit stand was a BMW trailer.  Only Michal would notice something like this.

I think the cuter guy is sitting on the left.

After walking around much of the day, we decided to take the furthest walking tour which was around 6 km (appx 3.75 miles).

Here I am posing on the "Long Bridge" which still bears the scars of bombing from oth the Civil War of 1918 and the Second World War.  Isn't it such a flattering picture of me?  Can you tell how windy and cold it was?

 Here Michal shows off his "Boxing Skills" near the statue of The Boxers dating from 1932,

I found some fun finds too... Some awesome architecture and some awesome rock sculpture. I believe that the interesting rock sculpture is entitled, "The Torch" and was in memory of Miina Sillanpaa, the first female member of the Finnish Government as the Minister of Social Affairs.

Another one of my favorite finds on this tour.  A doggie pen.   A place to take your dogs to the park so that they can roughhouse and play with other dogs.  How clever.  Do you think we could every institute this idea in the United States?

 After wandering through many beautiful parks and walking paths we ended up at the Olympic Stadium, which was to host the 1940 Olympic Games - but never did because they were postponed due to the War.  However, later Helsinki was able to host the Summer Olympics in 1952 since they weren't able to complete their hosting assignment in 1940.  However, this is a very small stadium as it can currently hold 40k spectators.  To think that the BYU football stadium is larger just brings a smile to our faces!


Also located in front of the stadium is a statue of a legendary Finnish distance runner: Paavo Nurmi.  Nurmi competed in 3 Olympics in the 1920s and won a total of nine gold and three silver medals.


Next we traveled by the Parliament House which is one of the most famous edifices of Finland. It has 14 corinthian columns and the building constitutes a fine example of Finnish art and industrial design in the 1920s. The Parliament House is a complete work of art in which architecture, industrial design, workmanship, and art form a harmonious whole.

Here Michal is standing next to the famous equestrian statue of Field Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim which stands proudly beside the avenue bearing his name.  Mannerheim holds an unparalleled position in Finnish military and plitical history.  He served as Supreme Commander of the Finnish Army during WWI and subsequently also as President of the Republic. His birthday, June 4, is commemorated as Finnish Flag Day.

And to conclude our tour - the train station.  Which is Michal's highlight of any city.

After walking a total of around 18 km (appx 11 miles) this day, we were pooped and headed back to the Hotel to pack up and prepare to head back to Warsaw after being gone for a whole week.  It was surely a wonderful week - and I was so happy that I got to spend every minute of it with my best friend.   While Russia wasn't my favorite country, and in fact would probably rank on the very bottom of my list of places to recommend, I had fun exploring with Michal and learning new things about new cultures and peoples.