Kyle in Poland: Day 93, Part I

Action-packed day wandering around town, Upside-Down House, Wax Figure Museum, Amusement park, and more, Photos at the end

Sorry for the delay, folks!

I recently began a new job, so this past month has been exceptionally busy for me. Regardless of this challenge, I will try to continue writing about my time in Poland, though it may take a bit longer than I originally anticipated.

On another note, I must also inform you all that “Day 93” was incredibly action-packed. In order to share the many photos that were taken, I will be publishing its content in four separate posts. My words alone will not be able to do it justice, so hopefully you guys will enjoy the pictures and they can bring to life what I describe.

With all that being said, let’s get to it.

On July 1, I woke up early and stayed awake for a while before ultimately passing out again. After I woke up a second time, I made my usual sandwiches for lunch and got ready for a fun day in town.

Soon after, I began my journey.

That day, the weather was dreary, gray, and sprinkling. Still, this did not affect me, nor the few hundred people that were out and about, the town was truly buzzing.

I walked past the train station, Biedronka, a few restaurants, and souvenir shops until I made my way to a big building that was half New Balance apparel and half bookstore.

After briefly perusing through the clothing, I left. The clothes were decent but overpriced, so I did not feel like wasting time going through the entire store.

My next stop was to a long awaited, bucket list destination- the Upside-Down House. Finally, after waiting several months, I was able to visit this peculiar little place, and it did not disappoint.

I purchased a ticket, walked to the front door, and was instantly amazed at how bizarre the house was. As soon as I entered the building, the floor was noticeably slanted, so much so that I was having to walk uphill.

I scanned the first room which featured a small lighthouse, chest, and barrel, all hanging from the ceiling, a common theme throughout the house. On the left side, there was a winding staircase that led to an upper room. I decided to save that area for last.

I looked out the window, which was upside down, of course, and walked through an upside-down doorway into the next room. This tiny part of the house featured an upside-down cabinet with little items on the shelves and paintings on the wall to go along with it.

Just up ahead, in the final ground level room, the theme was similar to that of a child’s room, or playroom. There were three small upside-down couches, cabinets with toys on them, and a rug akin to an early 2000s playmat. The room was very neat and nostalgic.

I walked downhill to the entry room and took the winding staircase to the second floor.

The upstairs portion turned out to be one big open space with several distinct areas. To the left, there was an open door to a small bathroom, which featured, as you could guess, an upside-down toilet and shower.

Further along, there were various items hanging from the ceiling such as a kitchen sink, fireplace, boat (with a strange mannequin inside it), dressers, cabinets, tables, chairs, and even a pirate mannequin sitting in a wheelchair, a bizarre addition.

I took a couple laps around the room and tried to dissect all the small details. After a few more minutes, I called it good and bounced.

Now, while I just mentioned everything the house consisted of, I will additionally discuss what it felt like being inside the house.

As previously mentioned, the building was noticeably slanted. Constantly go uphill and downhill, all while everything else was inverted and hanging from the ceiling, made for ridiculously trippy experience.

There were times, especially upstairs, where I could feel myself becoming dizzy and borderline nauseous. I would then have to take a moment and grab hold of something secure until I felt ready to move again. I had an insane experience, but thoroughly enjoyed going and was immensely happy to cross it off my Polish bucket list.

After I left the Upside-Down House, I walked back toward the main part of town and went to another place I had been wanting to visit- the wax figure museum. As expected, this was a peculiar place.

I walked up the stairs, bought an admission ticket, and began strolling through the museum.

To my surprise, the entire place heavily featured athletes and pop culture icons that were apparently not only uber famous in America, but the rest of the world as well.

The first celebrity I came across, surprisingly, was Matthew McConaughey, seemingly on the set of a Wild Turkey commercial. It was incredibly random and unlocked a memory about those old commercials that I had long forgotten.

Next, was a tiny little village with the main characters from the “Shrek” movies, Donkey, Fiona, and Shrek himself.

Across from that, they had Michael Jackson mid-dance and Bruce Lee in the midst of throwing a mean sidekick. Out of everything that was in the venue, I would say the Bruce Lee figure had to be my favorite. The background, clothing, stance, and overall aesthetic were honestly superb and exceeded my expectations.

Further along, there was a section for athletes. This area featured the likes of Serena Williams, Michael Jordan, and Usain Bolt.

While the Serena Williams figure was surprisingly lifelike, Michael Jordan, on the other hand, simply looked goofy. Jordan’s extremely baggy uniform, combined with his slack posture, and general appearance made him look strange.

Next up, there was a section of in-character movie stars such as Hugh Jackman, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Vin Diesel. My favorite of the bunch? This would undoubtedly have to be Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.

Jackman’s figure looked remarkable with the outfit and adamantium claws, but the area was incredibly neat as well. They had Wolverine behind bars, in a tiny cell with the middle part ripped out, and shackles hanging from them. Each component of the area boosted each other and gave the character a 10/10 appearance in my book.

Just up ahead, there was Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie on a red carpet for the Golden Globe Awards. This one seemed a tad random but interesting, nonetheless.

A little bit further, another animated film was featured. This time, it was the characters from “Ice Age.”

To finish out the first half of the building, there was a figure of Mel Gibson posing at another award show. Slightly beyond Mel, the second half of the museum began with Jim Carrey, in character as Ace Ventura, holding a parrot on his arm. This was another example of one of the higher quality figures on display.

I walked further into the second part of the building and was shocked at how random the initial batch of figures were. They had a billionaire area that featured the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett. Why they would have this eclectic group, I was not entirely sure.

Across from the rich group, there were more famous celebrities in character, Jennifer Lawrence and Tom Hanks. These two portrayed Katniss Everdeen from “The Hunger Games” and “Forrest Gump,” respectively.

Although I am not Hanks’ biggest fan, his area was quite solid. They had him sitting on a bench with a box of chocolates and a background just like the movie, which I thought was a good touch.

Not far from there was a tiny political section, and I was genuinely surprised to see who they selected. On one side was Donald Trump, with an American flag off to the side and the White House as the background.

Opposite of Trump, I was utterly shocked that they had a figure of Vladimir Putin. Given the complex history between Russia and Poland, plus the ongoing war next door, it’s safe to say that large quantities of Poles despise the man, which was why I couldn’t believe they had his figure on display.

As I approached that section, there was a man and woman just ahead of me. They slowed down for a moment, walked up close to the Putin figure, and proceeded to gently slap him in the face.

This made my jaw drop, but at the same time, I felt like it was to be expected given the context I just laid out.

I kept going and came across a really cool statue of Spider-Man striking a pose. This was another one of the higher-quality displays in the venue.

The next one, however, was arguably the worst. Featuring yet another animated film character, this time Snow White had her own area. Unfortunately, the poor girl’s eyes looked incredibly wonky, giving her a strange facial expression and appearance that was genuinely hard not to laugh at. I attempted to contain my laughter and continued walking.

Then, I came across a section full of ultra famous footballers, or soccer players. The legendary group included greats such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Robert Lewandowski, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe.

It was interesting to see the star-studded cast they assembled, but I must say, the hairstyles for Neymar and Mbappe were hilariously bad.

I left the soccer section and headed toward the backend of the museum where there were more movie stars.

The first one to catch my attention was Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow from the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film series.

The wax figure was solid quality and the area’s aesthetic was fantastic as well. The display consisted of a pirate flag, treasure chest, broken sail, helm of a ship, bottle of rum, sand on the ground, and a beach background. It was easily one of the better parts of the museum.

On the other side of the room, there were a handful of Avengers statues from the Marvel Comics such as Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Hulk. Although the Hulk did not appear to be wax, his figure was massive and impressive.

Opposite the superheroes, there were several famous actors to conclude the final portion of the museum.

First up was Denzel Washington and Leonardo DiCaprio. They had these two on a red carpet and even placed a chair in between them so visitors could stage a photo.

The next actor was Morgan Freeman, donning a nice suit, and had a chair placed in front of him as well. The difference with Freeman’s chair was the positioning of his hands, which were directly over the seat so they could hover the shoulders of picture takers.

The thought of wax Morgan Freeman’s hands on me did not sound like a pleasant proposition, so I passed.

Next up, there was Daniel Craig, as James Bond, holding a small handgun. Beside him was Nicolas Cage as part of the “National Treasure” film series and Will Smith from “Men in Black.”

The final wax figure to conclude it all was Keanu Reeves as John Wick, who surprisingly did not have a handgun like James Bond.

I completed my walk through the wax museum but decided to backtrack a bit to get my money’s worth and capture a few more photos before I left.

Overall, I had quite the goofy time, but was genuinely glad I had the opportunity to tour the wax figure museum and cross it off my list.

Once I was done with the tour, I walked outside and plotted my next move. I then decided to head toward the tower and visit the amusement park, another Wladyslawowo bucket list destination.

I maneuvered my way through town and made it to the park a few minutes later.

Based on my previous trips of walking near the amusement park, I did not expect the place to have very much to offer, and only anticipated what I had visibly seen from afar. As it turned out, I was completely wrong, and they had a multitude of options.

I walked through the gate, and began to check out what all they had available.

Surprisingly, the park had a massive inflatable section with a slide and obstacle course, carousel, a legitimate rollercoaster, gaming arcade, numerous colorful rides for kids, a massive Ferris wheel, bumper cars, a handful of intense rides for adults, and much more.

There were several things I found interesting about the amusement park. As I previously stated, I couldn’t believe the sheer number of rides and available activities. It was a legitimate park, and I was thoroughly impressed.

Now, I personally do not like rollercoasters nor anything else that would have me flying through the air. Conversely, I did enjoy watching the rides operate from afar.

They had one ride that was a tall, skinny structure that placed riders high in the air. There were cables attached to the top that extended out and connected to a pair of seats. The riders would have their legs hanging freely, be angled, and soar through the air in a circular motion, essentially on an incredibly tall adult swing set. It was fun to watch but was certainly never something I myself could ride.

The other interesting ride was called “Extreme.” Here, it was set up almost like a tripod. There were two support structures set at 45-degree angles with space open in the middle. Attached to the middle part of the structure, the ride was square shaped and had four seats per side. It continuously swung back and forth like a pendulum, but at the same time, rotated clockwise. It appeared to be a gnarly ride, too much for me.

I decided to pick something more up to my speed and settled on the Ferris wheel. While I know it may sound ridiculous, I wasn’t entirely comfortable with this ride either since I don’t particularly enjoy heights.

I made my way to a ticket booth and asked for the Ferris wheel. Instead of giving me a paper ticket like we would see at the Watermelon Festival, she gave me a plastic card to hand to the attendant. I accepted the card and waited in line.

Funny enough, there was not a single person near the Ferris wheel, no one in line, no one riding, and nobody working. After a couple minutes, a worker finally came over, took my card, and slowed the ride to a halt to let me on.

Thankfully, for the sake of my fear of heights, the riding compartment at least felt secure. Each one was like a small bucket that had four seats and a handrail in the middle.

Admittedly, I was a bit anxious while ascending and reaching maximum heights, but overall it was an enjoyable ride.

I particularly liked being able to view all of the previously mentioned rides, the nearby go-kart track, the Baltic Sea, Hel Peninsula, and most of Wladyslawowo. It was a fantastic aerial view, and I was pleased to have the chance to see the town from up there.

Afterward, I briefly walked through the arcade before heading back into town.

A few minutes later, I momentarily stopped at a street souvenir shop located near Biedronka. I bought a few items for my family, and then trekked to the apartment while the rain began to start once again.

When I finally made it back, I was exhausted from my day exploring the town. Between the nauseating Upside-Down House and discomfort of heights from the Ferris wheel, I was a bit overstimulated, so I decided to lay around and relax.

My marathon tourist day was finally complete, and I could rest easy knowing I had crossed several items off my Polish bucket list.