Welcome to the Łódź blog. Pronounced “Wooge” (Rhymes with Scrooge), Łódź is located in the centre of Poland. It is not a huge tourist spot which made for a welcome change in pace after we left Kraków.
We rented an amazing apartment on Piotrkowska Street, which happens to be the longest street in Europe. It was full of outdoor patios and shops that were never short on charm.
So why were we visiting Łódź? Two years ago when DawnO walked the Camino de Santiago, she did so with a group which included a Łódź local, Maciej (you can call him “Matt”). When we told him we were going to be in Poland he insisted we visit him so he could show us his home city. How could we resist?
The first order of business was to tour around all the local hotspots. We told him we have a love of graffiti art so we got to see the following buildings:
Unfortunately you can’t go far in Poland without being reminded of the holocaust. Maciej took us to the train station in Łódź where many people were sent to concentration camps all over the country. The station is as it was in 1945, along with 3 original train cars that were used to transport the victims.
On day two, Maciej picked us up and took us out of town to a castle where we were transported to the Middle Ages. Everyone was dressed in clothes from the days of yore. There was a knight competition (not sure what that entailed as we did not get to see it), classic dancing to lute music, and an archery competition. I felt a bit like Paul Rudd in the movie Role Models. I kept akwardly calling people “m’ lady” and “kind sir”.
Sign translation: Talkative and Stubborn
Sign translation: He didn’t put the seat down
In the evening Maciej took us to his home where we met his wife and two kids. They fed us so much food, including paella, which was delicious!
They kept giving Dawn surprises throughout the evening. She received “real Polish Wodka”, presents from Maciej’s latest Camino, and a birthday cake!
To end the evening DawnO and Maciej retold stories about their time on the Camino and I could see how important their walk together was for them. I was happy to meet another one of her group that walked with her in Spain. I could tell she was in good hands. I almost forgot… All of these stories we told while we drank mead from a horn flask.
This morning we got on a bus and headed for Berlin. More to come…