Poland. Who
doesn’t know this country? Indonesian people may know this country because our
flag is pretty similar. Both have red and white in the flag. Indonesia’s flag
is red in the top and white in the bottom, while Poland’s is the opposite.
As an
Indonesian diaspora who had been stayed in the Schengen Area, I was always
having a huge desire to explore many countries which become the member of
Schengen Visa Area. During my stay in Germany (August 2017-August 2018), I had
an intention to go out of the Germany’s border. In the beginning, I was doubt
to traveling to another country out of Germany, still worried. I was afraid if
something would happen during my vacation in the overseas (of Germany), or
something like that. The thing is, I was too much thinking and didn’t act
immediately.
One day, in
the end of December, I had two weeks off from my project place. In the
beginning I didn’t know where to go to spend my weeks off. But luckily, there
was a friend from Indonesia who stayed in Poland. So, why not to go there?
Beside one of my friend who was staying there, Poland was also one of my
wish-list-to-go in Europe. However, there was one main reason why I should
really going to Poland. It’s because I love to watch some Polish movies. Maybe,
one of you already knew this, that my favorite Polish movie is “Ida”, the movie tells about a nun who
stays in the convent and before she takes the vows, she should find her family
member, and the only family member that she has left is her aunt. Well, you can
searching more about this movie. But I really recommend you to watch that
because that movie is sooooo genius and shows me a lot of life value. Moreover,
this movie won Academy Awards for “Best Foreign Language Movie” in 2015.
See? You must know why I recommend this.
Anyway, I
let Seto (the name of my friend which I mentioned before) know about my plan to
go to Poland. So, from 26th to 30th of December 2017,
with the full of braveness, I went to Poland from Berlin, Germany. I took a bus
from Berlin Schönefelde to Wroclaw Bus Station on December 26th 2017
in the afternoon.
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| Polski Bus |
Then, I
safely arrived in Wroclaw, precisely
in Wrocław Dworzec Autobusowy around
5 pm. But as you may know that in winter, the sun sets earlier than in another
season. So, 5 PM is already dark. And Wroclaw was being my first city to
explore ever in Poland. Really excited! Because I couldn’t imagine that I could
ever went out the border of Germany and Poland was being the first destination.
When I arrived, I didn’t walk around that much because it was one day after
Christmas and many shop or public places were closed. So, me and Seto were just
having dinner in KFC and walking a bit to the Old Town (Rynek).
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| Wroclaw, Poland |
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| Rynek in the afternoon |
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| Rynek by night |
But in the
next day (December 27th 2017), we both went to several touristic places
such as Museum of Architecture, Salt Market Square, Hala
Targowa, Sky Tower, and also Odra River.
On December
28th 2017, in the very early morning, me and Seto should woke up
very early because we were going to the next destination, Poznan, and the bus drove
away at 4.45 AM! So we got ready at 3 AM and catch the bus as fast as possible.
Even though I was still tired and our sleep time was deprived, but I was super excited
to go to the next destination. For me, carrying a big bag pack, still sleepy,
hungry, and freezing, were the most challenging barrier I’ve ever had. Wanna
know how did it feel? Just do it as I mentioned above. Traveling in Europe in
the winter is so much indescribable!
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| Salt Market Square |
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| Odra River |
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| Museum of Architecture, Wroclaw |
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| the view of Salt Square Market |
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| the view of Wroclaw from Sky Tower |
So, our bus
departed from Wroclaw by 4.45 AM and around 10 AM we arrived in Poznan. Still
sleepy of course, but it didn’t stop us to explore the city. So, we went to
several places like Liberty Square Fountain, Bamberka Fountain, Poznan
Town Hall, Old Market Square. Even in Poznan in that time was rainy and
cloudy, plus snowy in the evening, I was pretty satisfied to put Poznan into my
travel experience destination list.
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| Poznan, Poland |
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| inside the tram in Poznan |
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| Bamberka Fountain |
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| Poznan Town Hall |
However,
there was one unforgettable moment in Liberty Square Fountain. This place is
kind of Public Park which has water fountain, glass monument, benches, and yeah
just like a simple park. But the thing was, before going to Poznan, I searched
first about the recommended destinations in Poznan. One of the most visited is
Liberty Square Fountain. I saw also in the Instagram about this place. What I
saw was a big glass monument. So, I was expecting to see a very incredibly
monument ever in Poznan. But the reality was not like the expectation. The
glass monument is much smaller that I saw or expected. Damn!
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| Liberty Square Fountain |
In Poznan,
me and Seto didn’t book an accommodation because we intended to just visiting
Poznan in one full day. But I think I was wrong, I was super-duper exhausted
cause it was freezing around and I really needed to sleep more. Hahahaha. And
what an unfortunate was, Seto already booked the bus ticket for the next
destination at 1 AM in the following day. We didn’t have many choices but
waited for the bus until in the midnight while we were already tired in
exploring Poznan by walking to several places. Then, at 8 PM, we decided to
wait the bus in the Poznan Central Station until the bus will leave.
So, in the
next day, on December 29th 2017, we safely arrived in Gdansk. Who doesn’t know this city? I
think so many people know this city after the capital city, Warsaw, and many international
tourist would come and visit this city when they have a plan to go to Poland.
All I can remember about Gdansk is that when UEFA EURO CUP 2012 was held in
Poland-Ukraine, and one of city that used to play the match is Gdansk. Moreover,
Gdansk was also the basecamp from my favorite national team, Germany! Hahahaha.
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| Gdansk, Poland (Seaside) |
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| Gdanzk Central Station |
In Gdansk,
I visited to so many engaging places, such as, Old Town, Dlugi
Targ Street, Swan Tower, Rybackie Pobrzeze, Jelitkowo,
and Stadion
Energa. To be honest, I was
more satisfied because in Gdansk I felt that the touristic places are more
touristic rather than other cities that I’ve visited in Poland. But what I hate
the most of Gdansk, is the wind that blows sooooo hard. Yeah, maybe because
Gdansk is closed to Baltic Sea, so the wind blows harder than the other cities.
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| Jelitkowo Beach, Gdansk |
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| Gdansk Old Town |
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| Motlawa River by night |
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| I love Gdansk! |
Not only
those three cities, on December 30th 2017, me and Seto were also
going to a city that very closed to Gdansk, that is Sopot. We didn’t plan it before but Seto was thinking that visiting
this city was also interesting. So, we went there by train and it took only 2
hours from Gdansk. This city is also beautiful. Even it’s smaller than another
city, but it has also a lot of interesting places to see. I found a unique
house named “The Crooked House” or
in Polish is “Krzywy Domek”. I had no idea what the place is for, but all I
could see from outside that the place is more like a shopping mall and café.
But I think if you visit Sopot, it is too pity if you pass the moment to see
this building. It is very one-of-a-kind! We went also to Pier in Sopot. It’s a dock
and there’s also beach there. Based on Google, Port of Pier in Sopot is the longest wood dock in Europe (650m).
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| Sopot, Poland |
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| Sorry, Madame, accidentally captured thee :D |
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| Swiateczna Choinka Sopocka |
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| Krzywy Domek |
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| Pier in Sopot |
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| Indonesian flag in Poland |
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| respect Poland :) |
About the
expenses, I didn’t spend that much money for this trip. However, it depends on
the country you go, moreover and depends on the person who is doing the trip.
Based on my experience traveling to Poland for 5 days 4 nights, I just spent
around 680zloty or around 170€. I guess this is quiet cheap, but I think it could
be cheaper than this. But it’s okay. For the accommodation, I used hostel and
Couchsurfing in order to get the cheaper price. Especially for Couchsurfing,
you don’t need to pay at all. Cause basically with Couchsurfing, you stay a
night in somebody’s house or apartment, so it’s more like sharing room with the
local people. You can get free accommodation and you can get the new experience
about the culture from the local as well.
For Hostel,
it’s also cheap because hostel define a shared room with other travelers in the
same big room. There are mix bedroom and female bedroom. But I prefer to book
female room because I’ll have more privacy than in the mixed-bedroom. Speaking
about hostel, I rent female room in a hostel called “Wigwam Hostel” when I was
visiting Wroclaw. Honestly, it was my very first time staying in the place
called hostel. Hehehe. Because for whole my life, if I have a vacation,
especially with my family, we always rent family room in a hotel. And if I go
traveling by myself in Indonesia, I call a friend or relative who lives in that
city and ask them whether I could stay few days in their place or not. So, when
I was staying in Wigwam Hostel, there was a lot of new experience that I got.
For example, meeting new people from another country. I still remember, when I
cooked in the hostel’s kitchen, I met a guy from Ukraine. He is student in
Poland, in Wroclaw for sure. But I forgot which university or major he studies
in. All I can remember that he looks like an actor who already passed away,
Anton Yelcin. Anyway, we were just talking each other about many stuffs, such
as he asked me about the living situation in Indonesia, or about the language.
He also asked what I studied in the university. When I said, “French Studies”,
he directly said something in French that actually romantic words. If I am not
mistaken he was saying “Ne me quitte pas” which means “Don’t leave me”.
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| the hall in Wigwam Hostel |
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| Wigwam Hostel's kitchen |
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The food ingredients that we cooked at the hostel's kitchen, we bought from here, Biedronka.
One of dashing supermarket in Poland :D |
For
Couchsurfing, it was also my very first time doing a thing like that. So, when
I was in Gdansk, a Polish guys was being our host. Based on Seto’s experience
using Couchsurfing, when we have a host for our stay, all we need to do is cook
for them, moreover a cook from our country. So, the simple one, he usually
cooks Nasi Goreng (fried rice) or Mie Goreng (fried noodle).
Then, I cooked the host Mie Goreng
but unfortunately I failed to make it nailed! The taste wasn’t that good.
Hahaha. Not just cooking, we also talked about many stuffs, such as the Second
World War that occurred in Poland. The host (I don’t really remember his name)
said, that it was very scary moment for Polish people. Of course, I could
imagine how terrifying it was. With all bombs, holocaust, etc, Polish people
must have something traumatic about the Second World War. Personally, before I
met this guy and before going to Poland, I didn’t have so much intention to
know more about the war. When I was in high school, I was in the Social Class,
so I learned History, include the Second War World. But I didn’t like so much
when my teacher was giving the lesson about the Second War World, because for
me reading the history about the war or even just watching a war movies, it’s
so boring for me. But I am wrong, since the Polish guy told me about the war, I
kind of regret. Thus, I intended to learn more and brows more about the Second
World War. I also told to the host that I really like a Polish movie called
“Ida”. I told in detail why this movie moves me so much. Really deep and full
of meaning.
Anyway, we
leave the topic about the war, how about we talk about the food? Yeeaayy! During
my trip in Poland, I didn’t try so many Polish dishes. But, I ate one
incredible food ever! Its name is Pierogi. Pierogi is more like dumpling that filled with various topping,
such as beef, duck, chicken, pork, even vegetables and fruits. But what I like
most is the topping with duck and mixed with apple (if I am not mistaken). I
also forgot what the Polish name with that one. The thing is, I really love it!
I ate one more portion afterwards! Cause it was really really addictive.
Hahahaha.
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| Pierogi |
Another
choice that you can try when you’re traveling to Poland is, eating in the fast
food restaurant or eating in Buffet. Speaking of Buffet, there are a lot of
buffet restaurants in Poland, especially in the shopping mall. So, it’s very
easy to find one if you are going to the city center in each city in Poland.
But I noticed something different with the system of Buffet in Germany and Poland.
In Germany, as much as you take from the buffet, the price is depending on the
plate you’d take. So it would be different with the small plate and the bigger
one. Sometimes, a German buffet restaurant put the price based on the dish that
we take from the buffet. If you’d take chicken, that would be more expensive,
but if you’d only take the veggies, than it’s cheaper. Average price of eating
buffet in Germany is 5€ to 8€. But in Poland, two times I ate in buffet
restaurant, the price of the food just depends on how much grams we take from
the buffet. I don’t really remember how much grams I did take but the average
price in eating buffet in Poland is around 15-30 zloty or 3-7€, so I guess it’s
much cheaper than Germany. But the beverage isn’t include yet. So it must cost
more than that for one whole meal in the buffet.
For
merchandise, there are so many souvenir shops in Poland in every corner of the
touristic places. There must be one or even more shops which stand there. And I
think the price is also cheaper than Germany. For example, I bought some post
cards. In Germany, one piece of postcard costs 50 cent to 1€. But in Poland,
the average price is 1-3 zlotty or only 0.50€ even could be less. So, it’s
cheap, isn’t it? There are also other souvenirs that you can buy beside
postcard, for example the magnets, cups, wall decoration, many more. It depends
on what we want to buy. For me, it’s so important when the souvenir is light
and cheaper. Hehehe.
Well, I
would like tell you a (little bit) funny story. So, when I was in Gdansk, I
tried to find a stadium that being used in the UEFA Euro Cup in 2012, named “Energa
Stadium”. I knew this is very ridiculous to just catch and find the stadium.
But all I can defend is because this is the good chance for me to, at least,
find one stadium that formerly used in the big event like Euro Cup. So, who
doesn’t want to, right? So, me and Seto were going there. We firstly looked up
in the Google Maps. Then we arrived the tram station nearby the stadium. Well,
I expected that I would see the very beautiful and full-of-light of the Energa
Stadium. Just like in the Google Images that I surfed few hours in the first
instance. But wanna know what I found there? I hope it would be “WOW”, but the
opposite thing occurred, “ZONK”. The stadium didn’t even visible! It was very
dark, no lights at all! Just some lights from the street. Hmmm, reality always
hits the expectation. Damn! Hahaha. But that’s fine. At least, I already knew
and see with my own eyes how big the stadium is, even I only saw it in the
distance. Well, God knows that I was trying. Hahahaha.
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| Expectation (image from Google) |
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| Reality |
Well,
that’s all I want to share about my trip in Poland last year. All I love about
traveling is not just can take many pictures that good to be posted in
Instagram or seeing the touristic places, something more. I really can see
myself when I am one the way to the destination, I learn more about myself for
sure. And also, how can I solve the problem if I had any problem when I am
traveling. To sum up, for me, traveling or doing a trip is the best moment to
know more about myself, best moment to learn about new place/people/culture,
best moment to taste the local food (yihaaaaa), best moment to run away from
any real problems in our real life, and also best moment to know how strong we
could face the barrier that we never found in the workplace or at home.
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| Museum of Architecture from outside |
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| a park nearby Museum of Architecture, Wroclaw |
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| You are authentically going to a place when you have a picture in front of somewhere with the local language hahaha :P |
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| Dziękuję bardzo, Seto! |
From my
Poland trip, I also found myself more enthusiast to the following trip,
especially in another country. It’s like “Owww, I can’t wait for my next trip!
What’s next then?” Because it could be very different between the places in the
country you live in and the country you are going to. That must be very
challenging, right?
So, do you
like my story? If so, please click like and you are openly welcomed to give
your comments or share your traveling story in Poland or maybe you have had the
similar story like mine. Please give your comments in the comment box down
below J
If you are
curious to my other traveling stories, you can click these links:
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| See you again, Poland! |
BAHASA INDONESIA VERSION
Polandia. Siapa sih yang nggak tahu sama negara ini.
Mungkin hampir sebagian penduduk Indonesia tahu negara satu ini karena warna
benderanya hampir sama. Keduanya sama-sama punya warna merah dan putih. Bedanya
kalau Indonesia merahnya diatas dan putih dibawah. Sedangkan Polandia
kebalikannya, putih lalu merah.
Sebagai diaspora yang sedang tinggal di wilayah Schengen, pasti selalu ada keinginan
untuk menjelajahi banyak negara yang juga anggota visa Schengen. Selama tinggal
di Jerman dulu (Agustus 2017 – Agustus 2018) tentunya selalu ada keinginan buat
‘mencicipi’ negara lain. Awal-awal tinggal di Jerman, masih agak khawatir kalau
mau bepergian keluar perbatasan Jerman. Takut ini lah, itulah, dan lain
sebagainya. Pokoknya kebanyakan mikirnya.
Suatu hari di bulan Desember, gue dikasih libur 2
minggu dari tempat gue kerja. Awalnya bingung mau kemana. Tapi untungnya gue
punya temen sesama warganegara Indonesia yang lagi tinggal di Polandia. Jadi,
nggak ada salahnya buat pergi liburan ke Polandia. Selain karena ada teman
disana, Polandia termasuk ke dalam daftar liburan Eropa gue. Ada satu alasan
kenapa harus banget Polandia, yakni karena gue salah satu penikmat film-film
Polandia. Ada satu film Polandia yang dari dulu gue favorit banget, yaitu “Ida”. Film besutan sutradara asal Polandia
Pawel Pawlikoswki ini menjuarai kategori “Best
Foreign Language Film” di ajang bergengsi Academy Awards (Oscar)
pada tahun 2015. Sejak nonton film ini, gue jadi penasaran sama yang namanya
Polandia. Saking favoritnya, kayaknya gue udah bolak-balik nonton ini lebih
dari 10 kali. Jadi, semenjak itu memang jadi kayak sebuah keharusan buat gue untuk
bisa sampe ke Polandia.
Akhirnya pada tanggal 26 sampai 30 Desember
2017, dengan penuh keberanian lebih tepatnya kenekadan, gue memutuskan untuk meluncur
ke Polandia. Gue pun ngasih kabar ke temen gue, btw namanya Seto, kalau gue akan ke Polandia selama 5 hari.
Untuk transportasi, gue naik bus buatan
perusahaan swasta Polandia bernama “Polskibus”.
Bus ini terjangkau banget, apalagi buat kantong mahasiswa. Tapi memang nggak
terlalu nyaman, contohnya sabuk pengaman yang cukup bikin sesak. Tapi yaa mau
bagaimana lagi, itulah yang terjadi kalau bayar murah. Tapi tenang kok, selama
perjalanan semuanya aman dan terkendali. Supirnya pun nggak ugal-ugalan atau
gimana-gimana. Nyaman banget bawa busnya dari berangkat sampai ke tempat
tujuan.
Tanggal 26 Desember 2017, gue meluncur ke sebuah
kota yang mana menjadi destinasi pertama gue di Polandia, adalah Wroclaw. Jadi, dari Berlin ke Wroclaw memakan
waktu perjalanan sekitar 5 jam menggunakan Polskibus yang tadi gue sebut sebelumnya.
Sesampainya di Wroclaw, gue nggak banyak jalan-jalan. Selain karena lumayan
capek akibat perjalanan jauh, juga karena banyak toko yang tutup dikarekanan masih
dalam suasana Natal. Akhirnya gue sama Seto cuma jalan-jalan sedikit ke pusat
kotanya dan juga ke Old Town (Rynek). Tapi keesokan harinya, tanggal 27 Desember
2017, kami berkunjung ke beberapa tempat, seperti Museum of Architecture, Salt
Market Square, Hala Targowa, Sky Tower, dan juga
Sungai Odra.
Keesokan harinya (28 Desember 2017) juga nggak kalah
seru. Pagi-pagi buta, gue sama Seto, musti bangun jam 3 subuh buat mengejar bus
yang akan mengantar kami ke destinasi berikutnya, yaitu Poznan. Bus kami berangkat
jam 4.45 subuh. Wadiwaw kan? Hahaha. Tapi meskipun kurang tidur, capek, dan
lain sebagainya, buat gue ini bener-bener seru. Ini sih yang beneran namanya liburan,
apalagi kami berdua perginya ala-ala Backpacker
gitu. Kebayang kan gimana susahnya bawa carrier
super besar dan berat? Akhirnya jam 4.45 kami berangkat dari Wroclaw ke Poznan.
Tidur yang belum puas akhirnya kembali dilanjutkan di dalam bus. Hahaha.
Sesampainya di Poznan,
kami masih dalam keadaan capek. Tapi nggak apa-apa, demi liburan seru, hajar
aja. Hahaha. Tapi sayangnya selama di Poznan, hujan turun seharian dan nggak
berhenti, bener-bener hampir sepanjang hari. Parahnya lagi pas malamnya, hujan
salju turun. Basah, dingin, capek, wah campur aduk. Tapi semua terbayarkan
ketika kami bisa ke beberapa tempat yang asik, seperti Liberty Square Fountain, Bamberka
Fountain, Poznan Town Hall, Old Market Square.
Ada hal unik nan menggelikan yang terjadi pas gue ke
Liberty Square Fountain. Tempat ini
semacam ruang terbuka dan terdapat bangunan yang terbuat dari kaca, juga
dikelilingi kolam air mancur. Disitu juga ada taman buat santai-santai atau
menghabiskan waktu luang gitu sambil baca buku, pokoknya masih banyak lagi. Sebelum
ke tempat ini, gue udah survei lewat Instagram. Kalau dilihat-lihat dari banyak
postingan, tempat ini cukup oke,
bangunan kacanya terlihat besar dan megah. Boleh lah buat jadi bahan upload ke Instagram atau sosial media
lainnya. Ternyata? Tadaaaaa. Aslinya jauh lebih kecil dari yang gue lihat di postingan
Instagram. OMG!!! Shock berat
beneran! Hahahaha. Tapi nggak apa-apa, masih beruntung banget kami nemu tempat
ini karena yaa yang tadi gue bilang, seharian itu Poznan hujan cukup banyak,
dan kalau mau kemana-mana tuh agak repot. Jadi ketika nemu tempat sesuai list-to-go dan ketemu, itu rasanya puas
banget.
Di Poznan kami nggak nginep atau booking hostel dan lain sebagainya,
karena kami memang niatnya cuma buat seharian aja. Tapi ternyata capek banget. Capeknya
bener-bener maksimal. Karena kami harus jalan kaki berpuluh-puluh kilometer
buat nyari spot bagus yang nggak cuma sedap dipandang, tapi juga bagus untuk di
posting ke Instagram. Hehehe. Dan kala itu, bus yang akan membawa kami ke
destinasi selanjutnya berangkat pukul 1 pagi dinihari. Jadi, karena udah capek
jalan-jalan seharian penuh, dan nggak tahu mau kemana lagi, kami akhirnya terpaksa
nunggu di dalem stasiun (bersebelahan dengan terminal bus) dari pukul 20.00
sampai keberangkatan berikutnya, demi mencari kehangatan dari dinginnya Poznan
saat itu.
Nah, destinasi kami selanjutnya adalah Gdansk. Wah, siapa yang nggak tahu sama
kota ini. Menurut gue ini salah satu kota dengan turis terbanyak di Polandia,
selain Warsawa sebagai ibukotanya. Gue sendiri pengen banget kesini karena
teringat akan UEFA Euro Cup 2012 yang mana tuan rumahnya kala itu adalah Polandia
dan Ukraina. Dan gue inget banget kalo salah satu stadion yang dipake saat itu ada
di kota ini. Ditambah Gdansk juga merupakan basecamp
dari timnas favorit gue, tim Jerman. Hehehe.
Di Gdansk juga gue banyak ke tempat-tempat
menarik, seperti Old Town, Dlugi Targ Street, Swan
Tower, Rybackie Pobrzeze, Jelitkowo, dan Stadion Energa. Jujur, di
Gdansk gue lebih puas karena tempat-tempat turistiknya bener-bener turistik
banget. Mungkin karena udah bisa ngebayangin sebelumnya kali yaa kalau Gdansk
emang salah satu kota di Polandia yang cantik banget dan emang yang wajib
dikunjungi, jadi semua rintangan yang gue temuin di Gdansk tuh nggak jadi
masalah, contohnya nahan dingin plus angin pantai. Yap, karena Gdansk deket
banget sama laut Baltik, jadi otomatis kena angin pantai yang semeriwing gitu.
Hahaha.
Nggak cuma ke Gdansk, ada satu kota lagi yang
sempet gue kunjungi, meskipun nggak masuk ke dalam daftar rencana perjalanan
gue, yaitu Sopot, kota kecil yang bersebelahan
persis dengan Gdansk. Kota ini juga nggak kalah cantik. Gue nemu tempat yang
unik banget, contohnya “Rumah Bengkok” atau “The Crooked House” atau
dalam bahasa Polandianya “Krzywy Domek”.
Gue nggak tahu persis isi di dalem rumah bengkok itu apa, tapi yang bisa gue
lihat dari luar sih semacam mall atau kafe gitu sih, jadi nggak terlalu spesial
menurut gue. Tapi yang pasti rumah ini unik banget dan pastinya juga nggak
boleh dilewatin kalau ke datang ke Sopot. Gue juga pergi ke Pier
in Sopot, yang mana katanya tempat ini adalah dermaga kayu terpanjang
di Eropa dengan panjang 650 meter.
Nah kalau ditanya budget atau pengeluarannya berapa untuk ke Polandia, pasti semua
bergantung dari mana berangkatnya dan kemana tujuannya. Tapi berdasarkan
pengalaman gue selama 5 hari liburan ke Polandia, gue hanya menghabiskan
sekitar €170 saja. Terbilang murah memang, tapi harusnya bisa lebih murah lagi
dari ini. Tapi untuk ukuran Eropa dan berangkatnya juga dari Jerman (Berlin),
jadi memang jauh lebih murah. Untuk akomodasi gue siasati pake hostel dan Couchsurfing. Selain murah dan
terjangkau, gue juga dapet temen baru baik orang lokal maupun dari luar
Polandia. Seperti waktu di Wroclaw, gue menginap di salah satu hostel yang
cukup terjangkau, bernama “Hostel Wigwam”,
gue dapet teman baru yang berasal dari Ukraina. Kami ngobrol-ngobrol waktu bikin
sarapan di dapur hostel. Kami ngobrol banyak hal, seperti dia cerita kalau dia
ini seorang Mahasiswa di Polandia. Gue lupa persisnya kuliah jurusan apa, tapi
dia bilang untuk sekolah di Polandia itu juga butuh visa, meskipun negara
mereka tetanggaan. Lalu, dia juga tanya-tanya soal Indonesia, bahasa apa yang
kami gunakan sehari-hari, apa yang kami makan sehari-hari, dan lain sebagainya.
Nggak kalah seru sama mas-mas yang gue temuin di
hostel, gue juga nemu temen baru waktu pake Couchsurfing di Gdansk. Buat yang belum tahu apa itu Couchsurfing,
adalah sebuah platform atau aplikasi dimana kalian bisa menginap tanpa bayar 1
koin pun di rumah seseorang. Gue sih kala itu baru pertama kali nyoba. Yaa
lumayan lah. Tapi memang kadang suka nggak enak sendiri. Maklum lah orang
Indonesia. Hahaha. Maka dari itu ketika gue nginep disana, gue kasih sesuatu ke
yang punya rumah. Nggak harus yang mahal sih, yang penting bermanfaat. Kalau
menurut pengalaman Seto sebelumnya, dia sering masakin sesuatu buat si tuan
rumah, kalau bisa yang ada hubungannya sama negara asal kita. Kalau kita dari
Indonesia, yang paling sederhana dan gampang yaa masak Nasi Goreng atau Mie
Goreng. Hehehe.
Masih soal Couchsurfing tadi, tuan rumah yang nerima
gue dan Seto sebagai tamu, orangnya sangat ramah dan baik banget. Dia juga
cerita banyak soal Polandia, termasuk soal sejarah Perang Dunia II yang mana
semua orang tahu bahwa Polandia merupakan lokasi dimana pembakaran warga Yahudi
terjadi pada jaman itu. Dulu waktu SMA, gue sama sekali nggak tertarik buat
belajar lebih lanjut soal sejarah Perang Dunia II, atau hanya sekadar nonton
filmnya, karena makan waktu dan ngebosenin buat gue. Tapi semenjak diceritain
langsung sama orang Polandianya, yang mana pasti nenek moyang mereka ngalamin
sendiri, gue akhirnya jadi tertarik dan jadi penasaran buat pelajari lebih
lanjut bagaimana Perang Dunia II itu sendiri.
Oke,
kesampingkan dulu soal Perang Dunia II-nya, lalu bagaimana soal kuliner? Selama
di Polandia, gue nggak banyak coba makanan khas Polandia. Tapi gue nyicipin
satu jenis makanan khas Polandia yang enak banget dan bikin nagih! Namanya Pierogi. Pierogi ini semacam dumpling atau kalau di Indonesia kayak
siomay atau dimsum gitu lah. Isiannya beragam, ada yang daging (sapi, bebek,
ayam, babi), sayur-sayuran, bahkan buah-buahan. Tapi gue paling favorit yang
isinya daging bebek yang di mix sama buah apel kalau nggak salah. Asli, itu
enak banget! Gue bahkan nambah 2 kali waktu nyoba ini hehehe.
Untuk menu makanan lain yang gue makan selama di Polandia,
nggak ada yang istimewa karena pada dasarnya gue memang cari yang murah meriah,
maka gue lebih sering makan makanan cepat saji atau restoran yang menyediakan
menu buffet yang mana jauh lebih
murah dibanding a la carte.
Ngomong-ngomong soal buffet, gue
menemukan sedikit perbedaan antara makan buffet di Jerman sama di Polandia.
Kalau di Jerman, harga makanan buffet tergantung besar kecilnya piring yang
kita ambil. Kalau ambil yang kecil, maka harganya akan lebih murah, kalau
piringnya lebih besar maka akan lebih mahal. Tapi ada juga buffet yang
menghitungnya sesuai dengan lauk-pauk yang kita ambil alias tergantung dari
jenis makanan yang kita ambil dari buffet. Rata-rata makan buffet di Jerman
adalah €5-8. Sedangkan di Polandia, uniknya adalah sebanyak apapun makanan yang
kita ambil, atau berapa pun macam lauk yang kita ambil, semua akan dihitung berdasarkan
berat isi makanan dalam bentuk gram. Gue lupa berapa ratus gram yang gue makan
di menu buffet ini, tapi untuk harga rata-rata sekitar 15-30zloty atau sekitar
€3-7. Sedikit lebih murah dibanding di Jerman, tapi kembali lagi itu bergantung
menu makanan apa yang kita makan. Ditambah lagi itu belum termasuk dengan
minum.
Untuk oleh-oleh, di Polandia ada banyak toko-toko
yang menjual cenderamata atau pernak-pernik khas Polandia. Terlebih dengan
harga yang sangat terjangkau. Kalau buat gue sendiri, barang wajib dibeli kalau
liburan adalah kartu pos. Selain murah, kartu pos juga mudah dibawa alias
ringan, dan bisa beli banyak untuk dibagikan ke teman-teman atau keluarga.
Untuk harga kartu pos, rata-rata 1-3zlotty, kalau dikonversikan ke Euro (€)
bisa 0,50 atau hanya dalam hitungan sen saja. Murah, kan? Untuk pilihan barang
yang lain, ada magnet kulkas, mug, pajangan dinding, pajangan meja, dan masih
banyak lagi. Tapi kembali lagi ke kita, mau pilih yang mana. Kalau gue tetap
yang terpenting adalah ringan dan harga terjangkau.
Sebenarnya ada satu kisah menarik ketika di Gdansk
yang nggak akan pernah gue lupakan.
Dimana saat gue berusaha sebisa mungkin mencari lokasi Stadion Energa,
stadion yang pernah jadi tempat pertandingan UEFA Euro Cup 2012. Memang sih
agak nggak penting untuk mengejar ini, tapi namanya penasaran dan mumpung di
Gdansk, akhirnya dengan semangat tapi udah kecapekan, gue dan Seto tetap cari
stadion itu. Kala itu hari terakhir di Gdanks (30 Desember 2017). Waktu juga
sudah gelap, dan tersisa 5 jam sebelum harus kembali ke Berlin. Dingin, angin,
capek. Tapi ternyata ketika sudah sampai di stadion, yang sebelumnya gue
berharap bakalan “WAH”, ternyata “ZONK”. Stadionnya memang megah, tapi dalam
ekspektasi gue kalau malam hari bakalan ada lampu-lampu yang menghiasi bangunan
stadion dengan cantiknya, tapi ternyata nggak sama sekali! Gelap semua, kecuali
lampu jalanan. Hmmm, kecewa berat! Realita memang sering nggak sesuai dengan
ekspektasi, yaa. Tapi yaudah lah, mungkin lain waktu kalau ke Gdansk lagi dan
ke stadion itu, harus pas siang hari, biar lebih keliatan dengan jelas bangunannya,
meskipun hanya dari kejauhan.
Ya, begitulah cerita gue selama di Polandia. Jujur,
gue cukup puas liburan ke negara ini. Bukan hanya soal murahnya, tapi juga ada
ilmu-ilmu yang dibawa dari Polandia ketika balik ke Jerman. Ilmu yang gue
maksud adalah soal sejarah Perang Dunia II yang sebelumnya gue ceritain. Gue
bener-bener nggak tahu sebelumnya gimana tragisnya Polandia saat itu, atau
gimana kronologisnya. Dan ketika kembali ke Jerman, gue jadi tertarik buat tahu
lebih banyak soal sejarah itu, terlebih Polandia menjadi saksi sejarah Perang
Dunia II yang nggak bakal dilupakan oleh masyarakatnya.
Tentunya gue juga jadi lebih semangat buat melakukan
perjalanan yang lain yang lebih menantang lagi, terlebih ke luar Jerman. Karena
menurut gue, akan sangat berbeda atmosfernya jika jalan-jalan hanya di dalam
Jerman dengan ke luar Jerman. Dengan bahasa yang berbeda, budaya yang berbeda,
makanan yang juga berbeda, pasti akan jadi tantangan tersendiri.
Ngomong-ngomong soal jalan-jalan di Eropa, setelah
Polandia, gue telah melakukan beberapa perjalanan ke beberapa negara berbeda.
Seperti ke Republik Ceko, Austria, Prancis, dan Italia. Mau tahu keseruan gue
mengunjungi negara-negara tersebut?
Silahkan klik ini untuk tahu cerita gue ke tiga kota berinisial P. Apa aja sih? Yuk langsung klik disini!
Atau klik disini untuk cerita perjalanan gue ke 3 kota di Jerman dan 1 kota di Austria.
Juga cerita seru gue ke Milan, Italia yang bisa
kalian akses dengan mengklik link ini.
Atau juga perjalanan gue ke dua kota yang berbeda di Jerman. Klik disini dan disini!
Perjalanan keliling Eropa emang nggak bakalan bisa
dilupain sampai kapanpun. Nggak cuma bagus buat Instagram, tapi ada banyak
cerita dan tantangan yang membekas dan bakalan diingat sampai kapanpun. Semoga
suatu hari nanti gue bisa balik lagi ke Eropa dan melakukan perjalanan lainnya
ke negara-negara yang belum gue kunjungin dan yang pasti juga nggak kalah menarik!
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