22nd Feb 2009, Lodz, Poland

Voila , I have had a most amazing day in Poland.
I arrived in Poland with some preconceived notions about it being a Cold and Barren Place
and being an Ex communist regime I had my share of doubts regarding safety and
especially if i will be able to manage without english.
Well the first view I had from top of the sky when the flight was about to land was a vast sea
of white snow...initially I couldnt believe what I was seeing was indeed real.
There was snow for as much as I could see and in between the white snow I
could make out a few houses, roads were not visible at all.
The Airport is very regular , no fanfare nothing fancy...
I had a pickup from a company so transport was taken care of
The pilot had announced that the temp is -14 deg c and my shivers
had begun from there itself.
The drive from Warsaw to Lodz was about 2 Hrs .
Initially i passed a suburb of Warsaw but after that
there were vast fields full of nothing but snow and just a few scattered houses.
I can imagine what it must to live in a place so desolate and cold.
Some of the houses didnt even have a proper road leading to the house.
I took many pics on the way .It was actually a sight for the eyes.
We can see greys and blacks and greens in our cities even blue if you go to a beach.
But to see so much white is an amazing experience.
I finally arrived at Lodz and found it to be a place full of very old buildings.
Most of the construction is either too old , or bears marks of a lot of deterioration.
My hotel is a very old style with a old building.
You can see the old paintings in the alley and the Red Carpet must be a 100 Years Old.
I checked its history.The Grand Hotel in Lodz was built in 1888 and is located on the main, historical street of the city close to the commercial and cultural centre.
By the time I reached the hotel I was dead tired...
On the verge of collapsing.
So i plugged in the TV and to my delight there was an Indian Movie on it, dubbed in Polish.
It s quite incredible how far and wide Indian movies work!
I mean I am in the middle of Central Europe in a small city and it has an Indian Movie on Cable.
It was " Choker Bali" I actually havent seen it , so I finally saw it in Lodz,Poalnd!!
By the time i took a shower and got ready it was 4 PM.
I couldnt sit in the hotel for the evening so I decided to venture out.
With 4 layers of warmers,sweters,jackets,cap etc etc I headed .
In the lobby window suddenly I was a most beautiful sight.
It was snowing , not hard but enough to make you wet.
So I had to get back and out came my mini umbrella, I am glad I
bought it , indeed now it will come useful.
The area around the hotel had a lot of stores, but being a sunday all
were closed.The side walk was full of snow so walking was not easy.
And ofcourse my cheeks were hurting from the cold now.
It was the only part exposed.
I didnt have a pair of gloves , and in 2 minutes my palms were huting.
So i had to alternate my two hands in holding the umbrella and keep the other one
in the jackets warm packet.The place of alive and there were several people
walking.I had taken directions from the recptionist of a mall nearby and it was about
a 15 minute walk.But with this snow , wind and Snow on the ground it would surely
take double the time.But I had to go anyhow, as it was a lot fun , so i plugged
in my radio which was playing some amazing trance music.
I had to consult my map a couple of times to check if i was going the right way.
Europe has an amazing architecture.All the world war two movies that you may have
seen come alive here.I reached a large square which had an amazing statue of some gentelman.
But there was so much snow around that I had to watch it only from a distance.
I reached the mall and found it to be really alive.
People were least bothered about the weather and I was glad I was there too.
The Mall was great , just as malls are.
I loitered around for a while.First I had to grab a bite so I located the food court
and with not many options had to go for KFC.
At the counter the girl was not very clear with english but a fellow
person helped me .In Poland Very few people speak english i guess.
I finally bought a pair of gloves and a muffler and some groceries .
I didnt see any store near the hotel so I had to drag all this to my room.
The walk back was very difficult as there was even more snow on the side walks and i was
carrying about 5 kg of groceries as well.
Nevertheless I didnt loose my way .
On the way back I saw a guy on a lampost as I looked to see what he is doing.
But it was a statue!!
By the time I was back I was very tired of walking , plus
I had not taken any rest so i crashed in Bed.
Fortunately the Internet was free so I could watch a movie .
Its a long tour ahead and aleardy I have had an eventful time.
I hope tomorrow is even better.