This past week has been full of bittersweet moments. On one hand, I am very excited to return home. This piece of things means catching up with friends and family, going to Indiana for a family visit and starting my nursing career. On the other hand, I am sad to leave this place. For seven weeks, I have called Poland 'home'. I have made the most of my time here- traveling to two countries and two Polish cities beyond Warsaw, making each trip an adventure. I am writing to you all from one of my favorite little restaurants near Old Town Warsaw, where I am currently having my last meal in Poland- leaving me to wonder, "where has the time gone?"
In each of these places I have visited, I have been struck with a series of mixed emotions, confronting the past but trying to embrace these countries' efforts in their futures. And with my last week here in Warsaw, I have definitely been trying to process and reflect on these places.
Here's some photos from my last week here in Warsaw:
An evening after work, enjoying the beautiful sunset along the way.
A must- making time for this pizza. A cold piwo and pizza Sardegna. This pizza has roasted walnuts, Gorgonzola cheese, prosciutto, pear and fresh herbs. My mouth is salivating over this!
A Saturday afternoon walk through Old Town Warsaw.
Walking through the Jewish cemetery in silence- a peaceful place to pause and remember.
The lobby of the library where I got to do research with Melissa during my last couple weeks in Warsaw. The reading room had a glass roof and was a beautiful place, especially one of our after hours trips to the roofs to look out over the city.
August 1st was the anniversary of the Warsaw uprising which is when Poles tried to take Warsaw out from German occupation in 1944. Traditional polish colors- red and white, especially flowers to remember those who were killed in these efforts.
Pawiak prison. This has been reconstructed since the Warsaw uprising but is now the entrance to the museum. Pawiak was at one time where political prisoners among others were sent before being deported to concentration and death camps. Really impacting to walk through here...
On another note- and to be truly honest, I don't think I will ever be able to adequately process my visits to both Auschwitz and Majdanek. Visiting both of these camps, noticing their differences but understanding their similarities in purpose left a strong imprint of what actually happened there. Besides visiting the actual camps, many of the places I wanted to visit were in some way a part of the Holocaust- which is not hard to find, especially in Poland and Germany. In places like Prague and Berlin, I could have travelled to Sachsenhausen or Terezin, but I also did not want visiting all the camps possible to be something that dictated my trip- I wanted these places to contribute to my experience, not consume it.
And beyond visiting the camps, this museum rat has made short order of going to many different museums in Poland, Czech Republic and Germany. I got to visit the Jewish museum and the Stasi prison in Berlin, the Prague Castle and Lobkowicz Palace as well as the Warsaw Uprsing museum, Schindler's factory in Kraków and Jewish and Chrisitan cemeteries in Warsaw. I, even now am still in amazement of all that I have seen during my seven weeks here. From going to reading books in my classes to actually visiting these places, I am so thankful and blessed by my time abroad and bearing witness to the remnants of this rich history.
It's hard to believe that it has been seven weeks- especially when I say it aloud to myself: 'I lived in Europe for the summer!', among other thoughts. It has definitely been a growing experience for me and transitioning into this next chapter of my life.
This post I originally started in Poland but am now home in Seattle and spending some time gearing up for what is coming next, like the flip of a switch to now focus on my nursing career. From having little to no expectations of what was going to happen while abroad, I am happy to say that despite certain challenges, it was truly a wonderful time in Poland. When friends and family have asked me "How was it?", I simply smile broadly and say, "It was wonderful! In fact, I truly miss it!"
From tears that started before I even reached the airport to now being home in this beautiful sunshine, the memories of these past seven weeks will be with me forever, especially since when my flight left Warsaw this past Friday, I whispered out the window, "It's not goodbye Warsaw, it's just until I see you again- someday."
And to the readers of this blog, who have shared in these past seven weeks with me- thank you! It was wonderful to share my heart and thoughts on my experiences and process all of it with you! I look forward to continuing to share my experiences now that I'm home and look to planning my next great adventure- hopefully sooner rather than later.
