Greg and Mandy's Travels

Felt much refreshed in the morning. Picked up the boxed lunch and hopped on the 4:30 shuttle to the airport, went through all the formalities, and took the light rail back out to Siberia.

The incoming flight was late so we were delayed about half an hour taking off. Hope it doesn’t hurt our connection. A large Turkish Airlines A330 this leg. Didn’t know much about Turkish Airlines but was pleasantly surprised. Best cabin service so far. Of course, being late we missed our takeoff slot, then when we go to Istanbul we had to get into a holding pattern to slot into the arrival stream. Lots of very anxious people on the flight trying to make connections, but that was nothing compared to the throngs of anxious people in the Istanbul airport trying to make connections. Hopelessly crowded with large groups of people just camping in every thoroughfare – trying to read the boards, trying to find Aunt Fatima who was last seen in the duty free, trying to find a lift because they were petrified to get on an escalator….

We raced down the concourses to the gate we were given on the plane which was way down the other end of the terminal (15 mins said the sign), but lost each other in the crowds. Mandy kept on going to the gate. I stopped and read the board and eventually found our flight (in Turkish) and there was a gate change. Hmm, separated in the throngs, a tight connection and a gate change. Thank goodness for texting. ‘Pl’ was Mandy’s response. Still trying to figure that one out. When Mandy eventually ran back and we finally got to our gate, we found that we were being loaded on to a bus to go find our plane somewhere in Mesopotamia. By this stage we weren’t really in laid back holiday mode any more.

Still, we made it and found a rather lovely, new A321 waiting for us. Have you ever smelt a new plane smell – only 300 new seats to assault the senses. Turkish Airlines gets a big thumbs up, but their airport gets a 3 groan rating. Arrived at the newish Chopin airport in Warsaw, rode the light rail to the centre of town and walked out to the Old City, and then through the old, cobbled lanes to our apartment. That’s when the wheels fell off. Nobody to meet us, and no check in instructions. Several hours and coffees later, having sent text messages and left voice messages with no luck, and the sun dipping below the horizon we gave up and went and found alternative digs in the Old Town.

What’s a few stairs between friends? We changed, took a few deep breaths, tried to convince ourselves that this was fun, and went out to explore. The Old Town was starting to come alive as the light faded. Huge numbers of outdoor eating restaurants in the squares, and we settled for Baked Polish Dumplings in a funky old restaurant (ok, they are all old and funky). An early night.

Warsaw Old Square

Warsaw Old Square

Warsaw Old Square

Palace Square

Warsaw Old Square

Kanonia Hostel