The Freezing City of Warsaw

We arrived at Platinum Residence Apartments, checked in and headed straight for the gym... the spa was calling our names. The place was amazing and we ended up spending all morning in there, switching back and forth from the jacuzzi to the steam room. It's crazy how tired a few bubbles and a hot steamy room can make you feel. So, we crawled back to the room, attempted lunch and ended up napping.

It was mid afternoon before we awoke from our slumber and the thought of going back out into the cold made us shiver. But, it had to be done... we had touristy things to do and places we wanted to see.

Layer upon layer of clothing were put on and we jumped in a taxi. It was only a 30 minute walk but just the few steps from the lobby to the taxi made our faces numb. Thinking ahead, the warmest place we could think to go to was Warsaw's shopping mall, The Golden Terrace. So that's where we headed first.

The Golden Terraces Shopping Mall, Warsaw, Poland

Obviously Aga had been here before, but I was blown away by the size of it and the architecture was incredible. It felt like we had stepped into a whole new town encapsulated in a giant glass dome.

We had a little wonder around, doing some of our best window shopping, before realizing how peckish we both were. So we made our way up to the food court and hunted out a good spot to eat.

Sphinx Restaurant, Warsaw, Poland.

Recommended by Aga, we ended up in a place called Sphinx. A nice, dark, hippy looking place with fairy lights everywhere... cheap too! Anyway, we shoveled down our nice, big two course meals and waddled out of mall both looking 5 months pregnant.

We spent the next couple of hours wandering around the city taking in the sites before we literally couldn't handle the cold any more. It took us so long to find a taxi we almost gave up on life, we thought we was going to die of hypothermia. THEN, like a gift from above, we saw a taxi parked up on the road with his lights off. As we approached, his lights turned on and he began to pull away... no! Don't go! Belly's full and body's numb, we attempted to run for it. As he drove towards us, there's no way he could of missed our frantic waving.. and he didn't.

Really Cold, Warsaw, Poland.

A short ride home made us realize that we pretty much walked all the way back to the apartments anyway. We got in, run ourselves a bath and cracked open a bottle of wine. What better way to relax and defrost our frozen bodies.. besides, it's not like we spent enough time in water today!

Bath Time, Warsaw, Poland.

The full album of our visit to Poland, along with all our other travel photos are here on our Facebook page. >> Your Traveller <<

And don't forget to 'Like' our page to keep up with our upcoming travels! 

Dobranoc...

The Digs are of A Platinum Level

After spending a lovely couple of days with family it is time to unwind by ourselves for a few nights in the comfort of a luxury 5 star apartment.

We've spoilt ourselves a bit and booked a Superior apartment at Platinum Residence, which you can check out Here. If your coming to Warsaw any time soon and are looking for a spot of luxury, we definitely recommend staying here.

Platinum Residence, Warsaw, Poland.

For what you get, its not very pricey at all... It has everything we need and it's slap bang in the middle of town. We are on the 18th floor too so the views of the city are amazing.  We have no complaints so far, although we have had to pay extra for the gym, swimming pool & WiFi.

Anyway, you should check out our apartment! The full album, along with all our other travel photos are here on our Facebook page >> Your Traveller <<

And don't forget to 'Like' our page to keep up with our upcoming travels! 

A Warm Welcome

Okay, so this evening, after a pleasant 2 hour flight, we touched down safely in Warsaw.. let the vacation begin.

 Modlin Airport, Warsaw

We stepped outside the airport and it was absolutely freezing! Like... unbearably cold! Luckily, Aga's dad was already waiting in the lobby for us. So we grabbed our bags and made a run for the car before our nipples fell off. 

It was about an hour drive to the Lubanscy household, so we spent the time catching up with Aga's dad. Obviously, Aga was translating everything for me as I'm still a beginner in Polish... by beginner I mean I can say hello and that's about it. Hah!

Anyway, as we pulled up to the house, Aga's sisters were both sitting at the window peaking through the curtains, waiting for us to arrive. We were greeted at the door by the rest of the family and was given the warmest welcome with hugs all around. Aga's step mum prepared a table full of amazing Polish dishes and we were given hand painted gifts from Aga's little sisters as they sung 'Happy Birthday' to me in their best English.

I can already tell it's going to be a lovely couple of days here. Looking forward to meeting the rest of the family tomorrow over a big family meal...

For now though, it's been a long day, so we are gonna have a quick shower, jump in bed and catch up on some much needed kip.

 

Polska is Booked

Here we go! We've booked our plane tickets from London to Warsaw. Our first real bit of travelling together. We can't wait to kick back and do nothing for a week.

So we're gonna be spoiling ourselves to a lovely 5 star apartment right in the city. Spa, gym, swimming pool, casino, ROOM SERVICE, and views across the city.

Counting the days till 15th November... 

The Waiting Game

There has been few smiles the last couple of months... the excitement of possibly travelling together has been overshadowed by the stress and anxiety of not knowing if the visa application will be accepted.

But... it's done. Its completed! We have scanned, photocopied, printed, uploaded, downloaded, jotted down, scribbled out, emailed, signed, stamped, sealed and posted. And we are shattered!

Now what could be better than a little trip to Poland to visit Agata's family, celebrate my Birthday, see the lovely city of Warsaw and de-stress our little heads whilst we wait to hear back from the Embassy.

Time to book some flights..!

Woaahh! This is Tough!

Now this was unexpected! After Dave got his Visa so easily its hard to believe how many requirements the Australian Government are asking me to complete. Do I look dodgy or something? 

Money:
Before sending my application off I need prove that I have $5000AUD in my bank + additional money for the flight back which is about $1500AUD. That’s over £3500, and of course let’s not forget the cost of the Visa which is £242. Quite a lot of money to have upfront, especially for a student; straight after university... I have more debt than savings right now, ha-ha!

Permission:
I have to obtain a letter of support from the Government of Poland, however I have lived in UK for the past 7 years, so we don’t know if the process will still be the same for a Polski living in the UK and there isn't a number to call to find out... We will have to get in touch with the Australian Embassy based in Berlin. That’s where I have to send my application in the end anyway. They must have answers for us.

Qualifications:
So many different courses and certificates to prove I have functional English... I haven't heard of any of these! But since I have gone through senior school and gained a degree at university in England I'm sticking all my certificates for that in my application instead. Fingers crossed my ESOL certificate and my 2:1 Psychology degree will be enough. 

Identity:
Of course they want photocopies of every bit of I.D that I have! Birth certificate (translated into English), my passport, my Polish identification card & 2 passport sized photos with my signature on the back.

And of course I have the 30 something page application form asking me every question imaginable. This is ridiculous! I want this more than anything but it just seems so difficult. It feels like they want to know every detail of my life. It feels like this whole process is going to take forever. 

We've wrote a list of all the things we need to do, all the money we need to save and are preparing ourselves for a stressful couple of months!

A Step in the Right Direction

What the hell! We have just found an agreement between Australia and Poland which came out 2 days ago!!!

Its giving 200 Polish citizens the chance to move to Australia and stay on a 12 month Working Holiday Visa.YES! Oh my god! Perfect timing! It’s possible now, right! Even though the list of all the requirements needed to apply for the visa is pretty long, we wasn't going to give up. Before now it could only be a dream...

But hold on a second, did we read it right?! It says the agreement is only 200 visas for the whole of Poland; a country with nearly 40million people! - 200 visas! Are they kidding?! 

Our heads are filling with panic again. What if there are none left? What if we won’t get one? What are we going to do then? With the Visa costing a non refundable £242 just to apply, it would be a bit of a gamble.

Screw it, this is our dream. Time to apply!