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
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