If I Ran the Zoo...

Life's been pretty hectic lately, with all the studying and fake half-marathon training I've been attempting. Everyone seems to be stressing, I feel like I live in a zoo! I do happen to know some monkeys... =P

The next stop on my trip, surprisingly enough, was Poland! Shocking, I know! I spent most of my time with family, therefore all my pictures are of wrinkly, old Polish ladies or drooling, hyperactive babies. I'm going to reach deep, deep, deep into my "Pictures of the Most Wonderful Place" Archives and show you places I've been throughout my entire life rather than just from this summer. I know you want to see my old, wrinkly relatives but too bad.

If you're in Poland during the summer, you HAVE to go to the beach. You're not getting the full Polish experience if you don't. Personally, I like Kołobrzeg, Mielno, and Sianożety. Łeba is also nice, which has these really cool migrating dunes that are a must see!

Let's get one thing straight: It's no tropical land with beautiful, clear water that's almost the temperature of the air...HA. Hilariosity. The Baltic Sea is dark and freezing.

Why go to the beach then? Because of this:


There are so many people there, it's the Baltic Sea and a Sea of Rainbows on the shore of it! You can meet a lot of crazy and interesting people there!

It's the cutest, really. They have those bouncy things...moonwalk type things that children can jump on.

There are also young people trying to make some extra summer cash walking around with coolers selling ice cream, corn on the cob (yes, that's right haha), and even pastries. I guess Polish people are just weird but that's how it is, and it's all delicious! So if you're on the beach and you're hungry, just listen for someone saying in a very enthusiastic, booming voice "Kukurydza! Lody Bambino! Jagodzianki!", which kind of sounds like this: "Cuckoo-rids-ah! Ludih (short i sound) bombeano! Ya-goj-onkee!". Polish food in general is delicious, and I'm not just saying that because I grew up eating it, so hit up the restaurants around the area if you want more than a snack.

Polish people are also very young at heart so renting what look like children's bikes is a big thing. They're so much fun. It's perfectly acceptable for people my age to do it, I promise.

Just like any other beach in the world, there are stands set up to sell trinkets and rinkets and whosits and whatsits for all of your guilty pleasure fulfillments! (I really tried with that one...).

Currently, the U.S. dollar is about 2.88 złoty so it's not so bad with the exchange rate. I remember the good old days when it was slightly over 4 złoty to a dollar...sigh. True, Poland got better economically but a lot of the change is due to OUR economic problems...ELECTIONS ARE COMING UP, YOU KNOW WHO TO VOTE FOR! Oh wait, this isn't a political blog...

Where was I? Oh yes...I will show you pictures now!

It was the attack of the ladybugs! Which, btw, Polish people have a song for, as they do for a lot of things American people would find strange to sing about...like goats and snails and handkerchiefs.

These are the migrating dunes I was talking about in Łeba.





Yes, those are people, not ants.

No, these aren't the drooling, hyperactive children in my family...they're just hyperactive.
I know it's a lot to read, so to make up for it, I'll make my next post basically all pictures :)

:))))))