Time to visit Family

Hello lovely people!

I've been forcing myself for the past couple of days to write this post, but the past few days have been so busy and actually quite fun, to say that I've been really homesick the first week. I didn't really have time and motivation for this but it's sorted now. In this post I want to tell you a bit about what I've been up to in Potsdam and also about my trip to Poland.

Lee and I have yet so much to do, we are still trying to figure out how everything works, but so far we have managed to get an appointment at the registration office and hopefully this week we will also have a German bank account. It's been a nightmare trying to get money out, and being charged every time we do it. I definitely recommend to all of you, who are thinking of moving to another country, to sort out an account. I mean you don't get charged a lot, but it does get really annoying when 1 pound transaction fee turns out to be 20 pounds within a week. So hopefully this will get sorted soon.

Like mentioned above, we have been quite busy last week, but we have had time to go for a nice walk around Golm (the area in Potsdam where I live) and surprisingly to say that it's so quiet around here, I had no clue how nice and beautiful this area actually is. It feels a bit like a countryside because we have horses not far from where we live, and you don't really get to see a lot of pissheads around here like you do in some quiet areas in Nottingham. There is no pubs or anything like that around here but it's nice to get away for a bit from a busy city to a nice quiet area. Some of you may argue that it's too boring, especially in your 20's but I actually prefer to live away from all the noise and hassle (only for a bit though :p) Another thing that really shocked me after exploring Golm, is how similar Germany actually is to Poland. The city that I originally come from is called Olawa, it's about 20 minutes in a car from the big, popular city called Wroclaw. Before the Second World War, this part of Poland was actually part of Germany for 100 years. I always knew that Lower Silesia must be in some ways similar to Deutschland, due to the history but I never ever expected it to be so comparable and relatable in many ways. After exploring Golm, I can see why Polish people that have moved to Germany can adapt easier in this country, rather than in UK. England is so much different than any other place in Europe. Up until this date, even though I class UK as my second home, I've always felt like I was living in a completely different place to my homeland, where not only I had to learn a new language but a completely different culture, different people. However, at the minute I actually feel like I'm living in Poland again, the only difference is the language. If any of you are interested in History or live in Germany and like to travel, I advise you to go and see Lower Silesia or beautiful former German cities such as- Wroclaw, Gdansk, Szczecin, Poznan. The buildings and the architecture in these cities, will make you realise what I mean, when I say I feel like I live in Poland again. Even though I know I live in Germany :) Below you can see some of the pictures that I took in Golm. We didn't really have much time to see everything so hopefully, I can attach more pictures another time.

In addition to that, before we went to Poland we have received all of our stuff from UK, so it was nice to finally put fresh sheets on and have more outfits to pick from, rather than having a couple of things on you. In terms of food, we had literally nothing, to be able to cook anything, so for about a week we had to eat unhealthy ready meals. As soon as I got all my stuff I've cooked a tuna and pasta for me and Lee. It's so nice to be able to do that now. The past few months, I have stopped eating meat, and actually look after myself a lot more than I ever did, so it was a nightmare this week not being able to cook fresh and healthy food and sticking to my diet. The shops are so much different here, for me it's not really a problem to find food as again it's quite similar to the Polish ones. However, I can see that it's really difficult for Lee. Especially when all he wants is a full English, and they don't have a bacon here. I mean they do, but it's so much different to the English one. I don't think he was too pleased about that haha, especially because he is very picky about food. Within this week, I have also developed a new obsession with Spreewald Gurken. I mean I have always been a big fan of eating pickles, but the past few days have made me realise how much I actually love them. I can eat them all day and never get bored of it haha. And I MEAN IT: YOU HAVE TO TRY THEM if you're ever in Germany, they are amazing <3

So after a busy week in Potsdam, we have decided to go for a quick trip to Poland. My mum was actually coming to Poland and I really wanted to see her. I've missed her so much, even though we've had our ups and downs in the past, so of course I wasn't going to miss this opportunity to see her again, before she comes over to Germany in December. I went to Poland for 5 days, Lee only went for 2 because of his job. We went to Poland on the coach, as it's only 4 hours away. From now on, I think my trips to Poland will be happening more often, as it's very cheap and not so far. I've already decided to spend Christmas, and All Saints Day ('Wszyscy swieci, 1/2.11) in Poland. So it's nice to feel like you're not out completely alone somewhere. Especially when you have a family like mine, that is very close together.

On Thursday we went to Wroclaw with Lee to do little exploring around our favourite area in Wroclaw- Ostrow Tumski <3 and surprisingly, we have found a pad lock, with our names that was attached to the bridge. We have put this pad lock there last year, when I took Lee to Poland for the first time, and it was so nice to see that it's still there. It brings back a lot of good memories <3 After that we went to the square in Wroclaw, which like always was lively, cheerful and full of tourists. We went to a restaurant called 'Pierogalnia' and OMG the food was just incredible. I've had normal traditional Polish dumplings (ruskie pierogi) and Lee tried roasted dumplings with chicken, cheese and mushroom. This restaurant was just full of dumplings, but it was freshly made and they tasted amazing!! If you have never tried Pierogi then go for it, but it will take you hours and hours to make. It's worth the wait though.

After Lee has left, I felt a bit out of place. Normally when we go to Poland together, we have so much to do and explore. If the weathers good then we borrow my family's bikes or literally walk anywhere we could. We also go for 'Zapiekanka' (a Polish baguette with cheese and mushrooms) in 'Toscik- Olawa' which is what we did this time as well. But after he left, none of these things seemed fun any more, so I've decided to spend some quality time with my family. I also went to meet my new nephew, that was literally born 2 days before I went there so it was so adorable, having everyone there to welcome him... I also managed to see one of my closest childhood friend Dominika, that has recently got married, so it was nice to catch up with her. Other than that, the last days were all about spending as much time as I can with my family, and visiting the graves of the ones that are gone. It's something that a lot of Polish people do, and I stick to it up until this date. I can't imagine going to Poland and not visiting the graves of my grandad and my grandma. <3 On Monday the 25th my coach was leaving to go to Berlin, and it was a bit emotional to leave everyone, but hopefully I'll get to see them again soon. At the minute I feel less stressed about coming to Potsdam. I was actually looking forward to it while I was on the coach. So I suppose it must be a good sign, to say that 2 weeks ago I felt like i was never going to find myself in this place, and now I'm looking forward to it, it feels reallyyyy good. It must be the Polish-German resemblance :)

Thank you for taking your time to read this, M xx

The Big Move

The Big Move!

Hello lovely people!

First of all, I want to start by saying what this blog is actually all about, and what's the main purpose of it. Officially I'm a Nottingham Trent University student, that has recently moved to Germany for my year abroad. Hoping that in the near future I will be able to speak fluently in 3 languages :). I have never wrote a blog before, so I do apologise if none of this is going to make any sense. It's all very new to me, just like living in another country is.

The past few days have been a bit of a roller coaster. I've been here in Potsdam for about a week now, but I still feel like this is a holiday, which is going to end very soon. I came here on Wednesday the 13th of September. My boyfriend has moved here 2 days before me, due to the fact that he is now working for Basecamp student accommodation, and his training was taking place earlier than when we have officially planned to go. I got a flight from East Midlands, to Berlin Schonefeld, then when I got there I had to get a train from the airport to Hauptstation in Berlin. It was so stressful because it was the first time I had to get a train by myself, which was all very confusing. Even though it was a short distance. I can be very blonde sometimes when it comes to directions or getting public transport by myself , so it was a funny but stressful at the same time experience. My boyfriend was waiting for me in Berlin and it was so good to see him, even though we was only apart for 2 days. We have both stayed the first night in Crowne Plaza hotel in Berlin, mainly because we have this weird obsession with that beautiful city. If you are reading this, and have never been to Berlin, I definitely recommend going!!! Berlin is full of culture and history. It's amazing to think how such a beautiful city, was divided for so long. And on top of that the people are so genuine and nice. Only thing that bothers me is every time I try to speak in German, every response I get is in English. Which is good for those that cannot say a word in Deutsch, but not so beneficial for a German undergraduate student.. My favourite areas are Alexanderplatz, Denkmal für die ermodeten Juden, The Berlin Wall (of course!) and Potsdamer Platz. There is always something good to find in these areas. We obviously had to go and see all of them, before we have moved to Potsdam. It's our tradition :D

The day after that, we took the metro from Potsdamer Platz, to Hauptstation - then directly went from there to Potsdam. As soon as we have arrived, it's all been a bit emotional to me, probably because it was a big realisation to me that this is where I'm going to stay for 1 year, and I really do miss home, my friends and family. Oh and on top of that my accommodation is not even sorted yet, so we are pretty much living at a building site at the minute. Apart from that everything else seems okay, the people we have met so far from Basecamp( place where we are staying) seem lovely. We have already found a big supermarket and a cafe not far from where me and my partner are living. The train station is about a 2 minute walk so it's all good. Hopefully I can get use to this sooner or later.

The weather is completely different here, than in England. It was a bit rainy the first day I came here, but after that it's been so nice and sunny. Can't believe it's so hot in September, but then again the weather is quite similar here to the Polish weather. As some of you probably don't know I officially come from Poland so I'm use to living in a country, where the summers are really hot and the winters are really cold, which is quite the opposite to the British weather. September is normally quite warm in Poland and Germany, as it's still classed as a summer month. Therefore, I'm glad I will get to experience a bit more sun before it gets really really cold. :) :) :)

Due to the weather being so good we have decided to go into Potsdam yesterday, to explore our new home and have found some beautiful parks, the castle and a Potsdam version of Brandenburger Tor. That was really cool. There was also a street food festival near the train station so we went there for a couple of hours. It was nice to get out the house and see something new. Although, I'm still a bit scared to speak in German. I've tried in restaurants and said a couple of simple words in Deutsch to a few people. But like i said it's all pretty new to me. And I don't feel like I'm confident enough yet to have a proper conversation with someone. Hopefully that will change soon and who knows maybe in a couple of weeks my German will improve so much, I will be able to speak and understand most people :) Time will tell... I'm glad I have the chance to experience this adventure with my best friend though. That makes it so much better :)

Thanks for taking your time to read this today, Martyna x