Kyle in Poland: Days 59-61
Church in Sopot, Trip to the beach, New room, and more, Photos at the end
For the second time since I arrived in Poland, I finally had a weekend where I could go to church.
So, on May 28, I woke up very early, around 6:30 a.m., and caught a train to Gdynia Glowna. Having recently traveled to Sopot, I used that fresh experience to quickly locate and hop on the next train headed there.
I boarded the train and to my surprise, it was unlike any of the others I had ever been on. Compared to other trains, this one seemed to be far more luxurious. The interior was of nicer quality, and there was even a secluded first class section that looked very fancy.
Safe to say, I was not in the right place.
I took a seat and contemplated what to do. Since the train was already moving, getting off was no longer an option. Knowing that some trains are intercontinental, my worry was potentially ending up somewhere very far and getting stranded.
Luckily, I noticed there was a screen monitor toward the front of the compartment with the upcoming destinations listed in order. Sopot was a couple stops down the list and seeing that helped me ease up a tad.
It was still a nerve-wracking ride, being so out of place, but it eventually worked out and I made it to my desired destination, Sopot.
In early April, whenever Caleb and I went to church here, his GPS took us on the most round-a-about course possible, a highly inefficient route that was unnecessary.
Learning from past mistakes, I got off the train and took the correct course, which turned out to be a fraction of the time. A few minutes later, I found the church all on my own, no phone necessary. It was a small feat but I was proud, nonetheless.
Being one of the very first to arrive at church, I sat in the back for roughly an hour and waited for everyone else to get there.
A couple minutes before we got started, Harding pulled up with their large group of students and packed all the pews.
It was fantastic to have them in attendance, because with their presence, English was actually incorporated into the service.
With a mix of English, Polish, and Ukrainian being spoken and immediately translated throughout the entire service, it was certainly an interesting experience.
While it was different, it was beautiful to see people of vastly different nationalities and walks of life coming together for worship.
Once it concluded, I briefly stuck around to say hello. Since we had practice in a few hours, I could not stay for lunch and had to leave early.
I walked back to the station and got on the next train to Gdynia Glowna. After a short wait there, I boarded a train headed toward Wladyslawowo.
Unfortunately, there were quite a few others with the same idea.
For the first time since I have been here, I had to stand the entire train ride, nearly an hour, due to the compartment being full. Safe to say, it was not the most enjoyable time.
I got off the train and walked back to the apartment, glad to be free from the tiny standing room only compartment.
I quickly ate sandwiches for lunch and got ready for practice. I allowed myself a moment to lay down and took a five-minute power nap before my alarm went off, indicating Marcin was there to pick us up.
That day, we played catch, did fielding drills, worked on situations, and had regular batting practice.
Overall, I would say practice went well. For the most part, it was productive and a nice return to a style I was familiar with.
Once it was over, we went back to the apartment.
I proceeded to go on a mini cleaning spree by organizing my room, taking out the trash, vacuuming, and showering.
Later, I got hungry and made dinner with my two favorite Polish foods, kielbasa and pierogis.
After I finished eating, I settled in for the rest of the night.
The next day was also action packed, but solely took place in Wladyslawowo.
Starting off with a ridiculous on and off sleep schedule, I finally awoke around noon, and got ready for the day.
Before heading out to kid’s practice, I opened my door and found my newly cleaned clothes waiting for me, so I laid them out to dry. With little time remaining, I did a speed round of my stretches before Greg picked us up.
As usual, the youth team worked on fielding and played a game. I was the all-time first baseman and the game was actually pretty fun. The boys hit it to me quite often, which thankfully, kept me on my toes and engaged.
After practice concluded, Greg was kind enough to drive me into town.
Dealing with wrist issues that bothered me whenever I swung a bat, I was in need of tape to be able to play pain-free, and my goal was to find some at Martes Sport.
Since I also had the intention of getting groceries afterward, Greg offered to help me out by grabbing a few packs of water and transporting them back to my room. This would be a lifesaver and cut out the massive hassle of carrying them.
We made our first stop at a Biedronka store, and he was kind enough to hook me up with water and a new brand of chocolate he wanted me to try.
After our quick grocery trip, he took me to Martes Sport. Unfortunately, they had nothing useful in stock, so the search for tape was fruitless.
We left the outlet mall, and he took me to a tiny store I had never seen before.
Since Greg reads my stories and sees how often I eat Nutella, he wanted me to try an alternative option. He bought me a different kind of chocolate spread, and I told him I would give it a try.
To end our trip, he dropped me off at the closer Biedronka so I could grab more groceries. He went ahead and transported the water bottles to the apartment, which was incredibly helpful.
I went inside the store and bought two bottles of milk, bread, two bags of cereal, two boxes of wings, two packs of crackers, two jars of jelly, a pack of kielbasa, three packs of pierogis, a liter of Fanta, and deodorant for roughly $43.
Finished with my mini shopping trip, I walked back to the apartment and unpacked.
Now that the summer season was upon us and more tourists would be in town, it was time for me to switch rooms. I was not thrilled about the prospect, but I understood it.
I went across the hall, checked out the new room, and was astonished at how much smaller it was. Everything, from the dresser, food cabinet, bathroom, shower, you name it, was noticeably smaller. It was a fine room, just slightly different than I imagined.
For the next couple of hours, I went to work cleaning and moving. I made sure each and every surface was cleaned before transporting 90 percent of my belongings to the new space.
When I was done with that, I talked on the phone to Jocelyn for a while until I got hungry and made several kielbasa hot dogs for dinner. Afterward, I tried a new package of chocolate, and it turned out to be rather good.
For the next few hours, I laid around and hung out, enjoying the final night in my original room.
The rest of the night, I wrote and edited until I completed a story. When I finished that one, I began to work on another. I ended up hitting a groove and stayed up extremely late.
The next day, May 30, would have been Maxine’s 103 birthday. It was sad that she was so close to making it there.
That morning, I woke up, got ready, and had a couple sandwiches for lunch.
Then, I decided to be productive.
I finalized a story and set it to publish. With that out of the way, I moved more things into my new room, and took inventory over the souvenirs for friends and family. There were a few more items that needed to be purchased, so I made sure to take note.
Once I was done with that, I did my daily stretches. Afterward, since I finally felt healthy enough, I walked to the gym to work out for the first time in a while.
To my surprise, I saw Taku there. It was nice to have a friendly face around, and we chatted intermittently throughout our workouts.
That day, I did my “day one” workout which consisted of leg press, leg curls, side lunge, back lunge, and 200 abs. Normally, I would have done squat as well, but the racks were consistently occupied, so I did not bother waiting.
After my workout was complete, I walked to Café Ika for dinner. I saw Taku there once again, and we had a good chat before his to-go food arrived, and he left.
I stayed around and ordered grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, and Fanta. No surprise, the food was very good.
Once I was done with my meal, I walked to the beach.
As I have noted in the past, somehow, I tend to see peculiar looking dogs, and this time was no exception. I kid you not, as I was approaching the beach, I saw a tiny dog with a ponytail.
Yes, you read that correctly, a dog with a ponytail. You cannot make these things up.
Shortly after, I made it to the beach. While I did not stay as long as normal, I enjoyed every second. I sat near the sea and watched the waves.
Perhaps the best I have seen in my entire life, the waves were close to the shore, fairly big, and had a rapid pace, one after the other. They were fascinating to watch and would have been perfect for a boogieboard. Like always, I made sure to take a bunch of photos and videos before I left.
Making it back to the apartment, I showered and hung out in my room for one final time.
A couple of hours later, I completely moved out and fully transitioned to my new room where I slept for the first time.
I am happy for you, that you are settling in so well. Did you get to watch any of the Women’s Softball Finals? The Sooners set some new records! Take care, be safe, enjoy your adventure! Praying for you, daily🥰!
The beach is so beautiful!