Podkowa Leśna (20.-22. Nov.)

I had the opportunity of going to a youth retreat at an SDA seminary in Podkowa Leśna (just outside of Warszawa) the weekend of 20.-22. November.

The trip was long, the speaker (Pastor Colin Stewart from the UK) was really good, and the memories were totally worth it.

Our (my two apartment-mates and I) trip started Friday when our train left around 6 in the morning. We were in a cabin with 6 seats and we wanted to take advantage of the fact that we had it all to ourselves. We slept for about an hour before the next passenger entered our cabin.
After a while of talking to each other in English, Danielle asked about a word on the poster on the door. The guy who had been sitting with us quietly, explained it in descent English! So we all started to get to know him, and him us. Turns out his last stop was also Warszawa ("Warsaw" in Polish; "Vahr-shah-vah"). We were going to meet some friends of Danielle, who were going to take us with them to Podkowa Leśna. Once we arrived to Warszawa, we parted ways, but not before getting a group picture. . .
 

Us girls with our new friend from the train, Patryk.

We arrived at the main/central train station. This train station is connected to a large mall. Inside said mall, we were going to meet and wait for the rest of the group, before setting off together.

A peak inside this mall.

Oh, the wavy architecture.

These escalators looked cooler than in this stitched picture.

Still doesn't quite do it justice.

Want to charge your phone? You'll have to (stationary) bike it!

So the group arrives, we all buy the local train tickets, and off we go. About an hour later, we get off the train and walk about a kilometer or 2 to the campus. Once arrived, we registered ourselves in, met some people, and claimed a spot to sleep on in one of the classrooms. While most went to dinner, Danielle took a shower and I got myself and my area ready for the evening. It was time for the vespers program. Towards the end, we both voted on retiring early, seeing we were both nodding off during the sermon. Still can't quite believe we were the 1st to go to sleep.

 

***

Eleven hours later, we woke up to a refreshing Sabbath morning. Had breakfast, got ready, and still had some extra time before Sabbath school, so we took a walk around campus--literally. 

Adventists worldwide recognize this logo.

What's a campus without a cat?

Theo. building/guys' dorm/library/offices/whatever else I'm missing

I must say, these wood & glass doors are interesting.

I think you can understand a few words here.

Address, and I like the SDA logo on the gate door.

Joann was here.

1 of the girls' rooms. I was at the far corner under the window and beside the black desk.

This was the first time I've ever slept on the floor and was able to sleep. Normally, I cannot sleep on the floor. This time, the floor felt so comfortable! This might give you an idea of how exhausted I was when I arrived--and not just from the trip, but also from the week.

So, after Sabbath school and the sermon, we had lunch. After lunch, since we had some free time, Danielle and I decided to explore the building that looked like a castle (6 pictures up). We peeked inside and 3 guys were standing there. We asked if we could explore and they offered to give us a tour.

Up on the top floor, we started talking and getting to know each other. After a while, we got a mattress to sit on; one of the guys brought over sunflower seeds, raisins, and bananas; and we ended up talking, snacking, singing, and laughing for about 5 hours in the hallway!
We eventually decided to go down for dinner. Upon arrival at the main building (where the cafeteria was), we saw that the bus that took several people to Warszawa for some mission activity had returned. We thought, Bus . . . Many people . . . Food! Run! Get to the food before they do! And we did. Fun times.

After dinner came the evening sermon. After the evening sermon, Danielle and I went to say "goodbye" to the guys, since some were leaving early in the morning and we wouldn't have a chance to see them then. It was going to be for a few minutes . . . well, that turned out to be more like 2-3 hours . . .
At least we got a few group pictures!

"Oh Dawid, get in the picture!"

Alright, we're all here.

Wait, what are you saying?

Oh, another picture; yeah sure!

Oh, that's it, eh?

Where all these people coming from? Marcin is the only normal one.

***

Sunday morning, our last sermon for the weekend.

But that wasn't the last sermon of the weekend, just ours. We had to leave early to catch our train back. Sadness.

Something about "the light of the world"

For more info, click here.

Hi Tomek! He was our photographer Saturday night.

Time to say goodbye. It's back home we go...

Podkowa Leśna central station

We made it back to the central train station in Warszawa. We needed to go back to the grocery store in the mall to get some food--and I had to go back and take pictures of the awesome bathroom they have beside McDonald's on the top floor!

I've never seen a square toilet seat.

Water tap AND hand dryer in the same faucet!

Beside are the instructions of how to use it.

What a modern/futuristic bathroom!

Even the moss looks real!

With food for the 8 hour train ride, we got on our train and were on our way home.

Window seat.

Ah, before I forget, a friend of our roommate, Anja, makes all kinds of health foods. The below pictures are an example:

Coconut oil and coconut flour (gluten-free)

Close-up of the coconut oil jar.

Close-up of the coconut flour

Nutrition info of the coconut flour.

If you'd like to know more, I would gladly research the contact information for you.


Whoa . . . tomorrow is December . . .*time whip-lash*

Random walk on All Saints' Day (1. Nov.)

All Saints' Day (1. November) is a major holiday in Poland. It's a day when the people remember their dead by visiting cemeteries, lighting candles, praying, and the like.

This was also a day I felt like going out for a walk, in order to catch the last of the autumn foliage before it disappeared for 2015.

Who was she?

All monuments/statues are thus honored.

Choose your language.

In the park beside the beach.

Would you believe this is just 50 meters from the beach?

Alas, Autumn must come to an end.

Near the lighthouse.

Each of these things has its own number. So individualistic.

Baltic Sunset

The lighthouse

At the sea.

All heroes are honored.

I can just imagine how lovely this would've looked with the colorful leaves on the trees. Alas, I was 2 weeks too late.

Clever crosswalk to the Culture Center.

Yeah, I know this post is late. Better late than never, right?

"Bla-Bla-Car" Weekend Adveture to & from Deutschland (6.-8. Nov.)

Whew! What a weekend!

I've been looking forward to this weekend for a ling time. I will see my roommate's musical live--in Berlin--and I will stay with friends I hadn't seen in almost 4 years--in Friedensau. When you see Kołobrzeg, Berlin, and Magdeburg on the map, you'd think it's easy to go between these places. After all, they aren't that far apart.

You'd be surprised.

 

A promise that everything is going to be alright.

Anywho, I got a ride from Koszalin - Berlin (which meant I needed to get to Koszalin--nothing that 8zl and 50 minutes couldn't do) with a very nice driver. From the Berlin Hauptbahnhof, I needed to get to Dahlem-Dorf station to meet my next ride/driver. Also not bad or complicated (I even arrived early). My next driver was also very competent and got me to where I would meet my friends; a McDonald's just off the Autobahn, at the Theeßen exit. So far, so good.

I didn't know it at the time, but I had run out of minutes. I couldn't call or receive calls (had to pay for both when roaming/in a different country). I couldn't send texts either--but I could still receive texts. After 3 attempts of getting help from different people and haunting McDonald's for 1 hr & 10 minutes, my friends finally arrived. I wonder if you can imagine how relieved I felt when they arrived--this, plus the fact that I hadn't seen them in almost 4 years. 

Well, the rest of the day made me forget how close I was to losing my mind.

***

On Sabbath, my friends and I went to the AdventHaus in the southwestern suburbs of Berlin for church. One of my roommates (Anja) was in a musical that was going to perform there in the afternoon--so why not go there for church in the morning, and already be there for the musical in the afternoon? Exactly.

"Der Herr Kommt!" = "The Lord Comes!"

Autumn garden in Friedensau

The service was good. My friends saw some of their friends and acquaintances. I got to greet Anja so she could see I and my friends made it and were going to stay for the performance. We had some time after lunch, so my friends and I went for a walk to a nearby "park" (ok, it was a park, but it wasn't quite the same kind of woodland park we were expecting). We got back with plenty of time to spare.

I just wanted to play in the leaves!

I guess this will do.

Thanks for the idea, Olga & Daniil!

Inviting Autumn Wonderland

Then she started talking to me.

"She" will remain nameless, but she was asking me quite a few questions about what the Bible says about different things, mostly about what to do when someone is doing something you know they shouldn't. I wasn't comfortable. I could feel they had a certain agenda (yes, "they". There were 2 women, but 1 was the mouthpiece). We were discussing at one corner (I was cornered), somewhat passive-aggressively, for 30 minutes.

I'm so glad one of my friends came to my rescue. I tried to stop/get away ("Why don't we say a short prayer, then we can go and watch the musical together?" and "I need to go. My friends are probably worried about me."), but it didn't work. Then with my friend, I was much more able to close and get away (at least they seemed more willing to let me go). Anyway, that was weird, but it serves as a good learning experience. After talking it over with my friends, we agreed they must be part of a reform group. They may have good ideas, but the ways they are implemented and the methods they use are not the kind I would condone.

After calming down a bit, the musical started and I truly enjoyed it--and forgot about what happened for 30 minutes right before it started.

Each member received a token of appreciation after the performance.

Roommates!

After the musical and talking with several people there, it was time for a night out in the city! We had a trustworthy guide by the name of Benjamin, since he himself is a "Berliner" (born & raised in Berlin). He took us to a small pizza joint (Dolce Pizza) that had one of the best/most authentic pizzas I've ever had (yes, I'm eating pizza again!)

Before . . .

. . . While . . .

. . . and After.

 After that, it was off to walk around Potsdamer Platz. There really was a lot to see and lots of people to navigate around. Then it was off to a McDonald's on another autobahn exit to sit, chat, drink hot chocolate, eat ice cream or whatever, and relax for a while. Afterwards, we all went our separate ways.

Whoa

I don't think I was ever here before.

Sony Center (also in Korean!)

A piece of history . . . from the Berlin Wall.

***

On Sunday, we all woke up after a good night's rest, had breakfast, then they set to work to help me find a way back to Berlin, to meet Anja, so both of us could return to Kołobrzeg together.

Long story short, we got a truck-driver to take me (from the same McDonald's I waited for my friends at on Friday) to Berlin, pick up Anja, and he brought us both to the central train station in Szczecin; where we got the train to Kołobrzeg and walked home together.

He picked me up sometime before 17:00. We picked up Anja at around 18:00. We got to the train station at 20:30 and caught our 21:13 train that brought us to Kołobrzeg at 23:15, finally arriving home at around 23:30.

I'm so touched at how hard they searched for a driver for me.

Extra! A look at the volunteer firefighters of Friedensau . . .

Take this girl seriously! She might save your life.

Official firefighter.

Very important kind of protection.

Oh, can we climb up it?

Friedensau's nature. Gotta admit that it's beautiful.

 Would I do this again? Yes, but I'd have more money in my phone before setting off!