Well, I'm settling in. I love the place, both the hostel, itself, and the surrounding area. I spent a lot of time yesterday wandering around. I found a quality grocery store about 1.2 km south. About .3 km north is 'Old Town' where my wife and I honeymooned in 2002. It has gotten much, much more developed and is worth seeing if you are in Eastern Europe. I am on a street called Krakow Prospect. That is not the Polish spelling or pronunciation. But I just can't seem to easily retain all the extra letters.
'Old Town' is a central courtyard about three blocks by three blocks with two offshoot roads in each direction. One of them enters a large square with a large 'cultural museum'. It then turns into Krakow Prospect. There is no automobile traffic on it and it varies in width from about 50' to 150'. Immediately to the south of 'Old Town' is the Royal Palace. Then going south there is the Main Library, one of the grand churches of Warsaw, then the Presidential Palace. The other side of the street is restaurants and shops with hotels above, of which one of them is mine. Immediately to the south are two grand, five star hotels, Hotel Bristol and Raffles (yeah the same one). Farther south on both sides of the street is the Ministry of culture and something (not sure what). Another church. Then the Polish Academy of Sciences (huge building) and then the University of Warsaw.
Farther south Krakow Prospect turns into Nowy Swiat (new world) Road that is lined with high end shops and fancy restaurants, etc.
I have decided to stay in Dream Hostel until February 3. Then, I may stay in Warsaw, go back to Brest (if I have the visa), go to Vilnius or possibly Prague. To be honest, I could live in Dream Hostel quite easily. I have no real desire to leave. The room mates don't bother me and, well, the price is definitely right.
In Brest, my two bedroom apartment was $200 per month. I paid about $50 in utilities and my groceries were about $150 per month. So, my fixed costs were $400 per month and I spent about $100 discretionary for a total cost of $500 per month. Dream Hostel is $340, so it is $90 per month more. But, then, no place is cheaper than Belarus, except perhaps, Nepal and a few places in India.
I got some food and it is very cheap. I do not expect my grocery budget to be much more than Brest and maybe even less. I just came from there. I got a 500ml shower gel, 1.5# of chicken thighs, 7 polish sausages, 20 medium eggs, 2 different kinds of ramen, and 2 500 ml cans of beer. It came to a little over $8. So, I am lowering my daily food budget from $10 to $5. My single frustration is that, so far, I cannot find any sugar-free soda. Otherwise, 4 fried eggs and a kielbasa for breakfast, mushroom soup and ramen for lunch and chicken thighs for dinner.
I learn, think and write during the day and sight see, socialize and watch movies during the evening. If I socialize I can have a beer or two and at $.50 each not feel guilty. Nice life, I think. And, at $500 per month, very manageable for nearly anyone. Of course, U.S. Passport holders can only stay for 3 months out of 6. But I may try Odessa, which also allows 3 months out of 6. One could bounch back and forth indefinitely and with $40 train tickets, no transportation issues.
Oh, by the way, the bulletin board said that Friday and Saturday night are beer pong. But, last night anyway it didn't happen. The coffee shop was busy but subdued. I talked to one young man from Mainland China, a Greek, an Italian and the 'successful blogger' who is from Russia. All conversations were short and mostly I watched a Hallmark RomCom.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Thursday, January 9, 2020
Warsaw 1
After two failed attempts to leave Belarus headed to Bangkok, my visa was about to run out and I made a quick dash to Warsaw, Poland where I am authorized until April 13, 2020. I'll first give you a quick rundown on my failures and then I will report from Warsaw, Poland.
Attempt One:
For some reason the cost of a plane ticket from Minsk, to Bangkok is $150 more than from Vilnius, Lithuania to Bangkok. So, I decided to take a train from Brest to Minsk and another from Minsk to Vilnius. However, when I got to the border I got stopped. Apparently, last year when I decided to extend my stay in Belarus another year they put in a stamp that said I was allowed to stay there another year, but not a visa. So, when I got to the border, they told me I couldn't leave because I didn't have a valid visa. So, I had to go back to Brest and get that fixed. Extra time and money because I bought a non-refundable airline ticket.
Attempt Two:
Then, this last Tuesday, I decided to not screw around. I spent the extra money to fly directly from Minsk. There was a layover in Moscow, so I checked to see if I needed a transit visa. I was told that if my connecting flight left within 24 hours I would not. However, when I got to Minsk Airport they told me that I didn't need a transit visa from anywhere in the world EXCEPT Minsk airport. Because I didn't have a transit visa, they wouldn't let me on the flight.
So, I took a train back to Brest and bought a train ticket to Warsaw, Poland and that worked. Here I am. My train left at 7:11 A.M. local time and the only tickets available were in sleeper cars; I got an upper berth. It was hopelessly tight. Plus, a Russian man and a Russian woman had the two lower berths and they started jabbering non-stop. So, I stood in the hallway and watched Poland fly by at 130km/hr. It is a dreary country, especially in the winter time. The country side is littered with broken down houses, apparently owned by subsistence farmers. It is very different from the beautiful Kolkhoz and high end dacha of the Belarusian countryside.
As we entered the greater Warsaw Metro area, the broken down houses were replaced by drab, soviet-era apartment buildings of monumental proportions. We have them in Brest, too, but they are being replaced with modern high-rises and western style houses, many of which are very large. Not so, it seems, in Warsaw.
The train station is enormous and modern, with a major bus depot and a beautiful new mall. When you cross the Belarusian-Polish border the clocks go back two hours. That is for two reasons. One, Belarus wants to be on the same time zone as Western Russia and Belarus stopped with daylight savings time. So, I arrived in Warsaw a little after 9:00 A.M. and had a lot of time to kill. I stopped at a coffee shop with overpriced coffee and awful Internet. However, it did give me an opportunity to notify everyone that I had arrived safely.
This was of particular importance because you definitely don't want to be an illegal alien in Belarus and I was close. It isn't like the U.S. where they are likely to give you health insurance and a driver's license. Rather, they fine you 550 Euro and kick you, permanently, out of the country. If they determine that it was a willful overstay, they may throw you in jail for awhile first. Anyway, I did get out with two days to spare and I am now good to stay in the EU until April 13. Why I get the extra days, I don't know. If I count out 90 days, I should expire on April 7. However, I definitely want to get to SE Asia on or around Feb 3, when my next SS comes. I am trying very hard to stay on my SS budget. Partially, that is to build up more cash reserves (one needs to be a bit more careful when semi-retired) and partially because I want to try the DN way, for awhile, anyway.
I stayed at the mall until about 1:45 P.M, because my check-in at the hostel was 3:00 P.M. The map said that it was 5.5 km to the hostel and I thought that a walk through Warsaw would be interesting. If all one sees is airports, train stations and hotels, you really didn't see the city. I ended up walking about 9 km because Warsaw streets change names without warning. So, I missed a critical turn. Plus, there is no grid numbering system. You are on street A and the numbering starts at 1 and goes to whatever in increments of 1. Then the street suddenly becomes B and the numbering starts over at 1.
I kept walking looking for my street, but never saw it. When I reached the Vistula river I understood that I had gone too far. I found a young lady at a bus stop who spoke very good English and knew the city. Turns out that my street changed names and didn't change to the name I had written down until a few blocks after the turn. However, she informed me, my turn off was at the one and only palm tree in Warsaw. That will make it easy going forward.
However, it was a long walk back and that added a minimum of 3 km to my trip. It was kind of worth it, though, because there is a major bridge going over the Vistula river and the river flats. It is one of the few architecturally interesting things I had seen to that point. A plaque, in both Polish and English, told me that the bridge was built in the early 20th century. There was a long story explaining why the Nazis didn't bomb it. But I didn't read that part. I had things on my mind; after all, I was lost in a foreign non-English speaking city.
As I said, I wanted to see some of Warsaw. However, I really didn't want to walk 9 km with a full backpack and pulling a wheeled suitcase, but that is what happened. I have not yet recovered completely from the exertion.
Warsaw is a strange mixture of prewar (though the Nazis took out most of it), dreary Soviet Style housing and monumental public buildings and some post-perestroika architecture. Again, Brest is in a modern building boom compared to Warsaw.
My surroundings, other than the bridge, were pretty dreary until I turned at the palm tree onto Nowy Swiat. Then the world changed. It was probably about 2km to my hostel and the architecture is breathtaking. Something funky is happening with my phone, but once I get it fixed I will post photos. The street is Warsaw's equivalent to Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Rodeo Drive in L.A. or 5th Avenue in Manhattan, save that the architecture is even more spectacular.
There are endless restaurants on the street, as well. The prices are low, compared to the U.S. or Western Europe but about twice those of Brest. But then, in Brest, a couple can get a full dinner (with wine and desert) at a top restaurant for about 35USD. I have budgeted $10 per day for food and, as you will learn, that will not be penurious. In fact, with the kitchen that I will discuss in a bit, I probably won't spend even that.
The Dream Hostel is right on the street (I'll post the name of the street later. It is long and very slavic) with a pleasant facade. It is four stories, but it does have a lift. They rent dorms for $11 per night and single rooms from $25 per night. I got a bed in a 6 bed dorm for three nights because I just didn't know what I'd get. I wanted enough time to scope out the options, but not so long that I was stuck in a mistake.
The Hostelworld.com rating was 9.2 which is extremely high for the site. I checked in and went up to my room. The beds are pleasant enough with lighting and outlets right in the bed chamber. There is a curtain for some privacy. There is an ample size locker under the bed that locks. There is a 2.60USD deposit on the key. I shared the room with two other men who were pleasant enough and I immediately started thinking about running out my time here. There are hostels here for as little as 7USD per night, but I suspect that this place is worth it, given the amenities.
The three dorm rooms on my side of the fourth floor share two bathrooms, which is OK, I guess. The showers are pleasant enough but, because there is poor ventiliation, they are musty smelling. As a guy, it isn't very important to me. There is a very nice coffee shop on the 4th floor, Scandinavian style furnishings, but with 8 over sized and and very puffy chairs. There is another 25 table style seats over 9 tables, as well. One is an 8 seat conference table. There are electrical outlets everywhere and free water all day. There is a very nice kitchen with refrigerators and cupboards where guests can keep their food. There also is a laundry that costs 3.50USD to use and I most certainly will.
They serve three different breakfasts for 5.20 USD, but if you order it the night before it is 3.90USD. I ate it this morning and the girl was nice enough to exchange the toast for an extra egg (my keto diet). So, I had three eggs (over cooked) a small kielbasa, three pieces of bacon and an arugula salad. Plus you get all the coffee, water, tea and juice you want. I'm full and may not have lunch, other than a snack. There are no really close grocery stores, I'm told. But, I am a walker, so the approximately 1.5km to the nearest one is not a big deal for me. I will probably go later in the day. I will only need eggs, sausage or bacon, instant coffee, and maybe some chicken for lunch and dinner.
As I said, I will be in Warsaw for 25 days or so and I am thinking about staying in Dream Hostel the whole time. I will likely put myself on a 20USD daily budget, so one can stay here very nicely for about 700USD per month. A private room would be another 450USD but, honestly, my two room mates are nowhere near 450USD annoying. One, a Polish guy, lives in U.K and talked my ear off about stuff he knows little about. I hope he is mostly talked out. The other guy came in right as I was falling asleep, got into his bed and never made a sound. Not awful. By the way, I put on my sound masking earphones and played relaxing music. I heard nothing and slept very well.
I must say that a bed, a laundry and a coffee shop that is open 24/7 for 330USD per month is quite a deal. Oh, one other thing - virtually everyone speaks English here. There are a few Brits and an American or two. But I have already met a Russian couple, a guy from Hong Kong and a German. It is diverse, but English speaking. Outside of the hostel, English is spotty. I asked a girl at a fish place at the mall food court if she spoke English. She said yes, but after about 30 seconds I asked her if she spoke Russian. She said yes and that went much better. In this better part of town, I'd say about 25% speak passable English and, of those who don't, about 30% speak passable Russian.
Another aside - if you look at the photos from hostels, you would conclude that everyone is 20-something, playing beer pong and partying until the wee hours. From my experience here, that is not accurate. My room mates are both in their 40s. At the coffee shop I have seen a 60-something pair of women, a Russian woman in a shubka (fur coat) in her late 50s, an apparently very successful DN woman in her late 30s or early 40s, like me, pounding away on her laptop. There are young people, but they do not party hardy...at least so far. There are a whole lot of East Asians. According to NomadList.com, Warsaw has been rising rapidly in the ranks, with the weather listed as the most significant negative. If Dream Hostel is a representative example, I understand why.
Since this blog is called The Nomadic Polymath, I hope I will get some readers who are either DNs (Digital Nomads) or want to be. So, my intent is to give some pretty comprehensive information about each place that I visit. There are always surprises and DNs need to be flexible. Hopefully, events like this last one where I have two days to leave the country in a panic are kept to a minimum. However, the life of a DN is to go to countries where only a handful of people speak one's language and get it to work. I believe that is why these hostels and coworking spaces are so popular. They allow you to experience the local culture but to have a culture friendly haven to which one can return.
If you decide to spend some time in Warsaw, I would definitely give Dream Hostel a big thumbs up. The coffee shop is a great place to work and you can save 100USD to 150USD per month in coworking space rental. It is quite possible to live here for 700USD per month and if you stay 3 months and have a 1,000USD budget, you will have 900USD for your exit. BTW, 1,000USD is kind of the minimum income required for the DN lifestyle.
Expect 'Warsaw II' in the next day or so.
Attempt One:
For some reason the cost of a plane ticket from Minsk, to Bangkok is $150 more than from Vilnius, Lithuania to Bangkok. So, I decided to take a train from Brest to Minsk and another from Minsk to Vilnius. However, when I got to the border I got stopped. Apparently, last year when I decided to extend my stay in Belarus another year they put in a stamp that said I was allowed to stay there another year, but not a visa. So, when I got to the border, they told me I couldn't leave because I didn't have a valid visa. So, I had to go back to Brest and get that fixed. Extra time and money because I bought a non-refundable airline ticket.
Attempt Two:
Then, this last Tuesday, I decided to not screw around. I spent the extra money to fly directly from Minsk. There was a layover in Moscow, so I checked to see if I needed a transit visa. I was told that if my connecting flight left within 24 hours I would not. However, when I got to Minsk Airport they told me that I didn't need a transit visa from anywhere in the world EXCEPT Minsk airport. Because I didn't have a transit visa, they wouldn't let me on the flight.
So, I took a train back to Brest and bought a train ticket to Warsaw, Poland and that worked. Here I am. My train left at 7:11 A.M. local time and the only tickets available were in sleeper cars; I got an upper berth. It was hopelessly tight. Plus, a Russian man and a Russian woman had the two lower berths and they started jabbering non-stop. So, I stood in the hallway and watched Poland fly by at 130km/hr. It is a dreary country, especially in the winter time. The country side is littered with broken down houses, apparently owned by subsistence farmers. It is very different from the beautiful Kolkhoz and high end dacha of the Belarusian countryside.
As we entered the greater Warsaw Metro area, the broken down houses were replaced by drab, soviet-era apartment buildings of monumental proportions. We have them in Brest, too, but they are being replaced with modern high-rises and western style houses, many of which are very large. Not so, it seems, in Warsaw.
The train station is enormous and modern, with a major bus depot and a beautiful new mall. When you cross the Belarusian-Polish border the clocks go back two hours. That is for two reasons. One, Belarus wants to be on the same time zone as Western Russia and Belarus stopped with daylight savings time. So, I arrived in Warsaw a little after 9:00 A.M. and had a lot of time to kill. I stopped at a coffee shop with overpriced coffee and awful Internet. However, it did give me an opportunity to notify everyone that I had arrived safely.
This was of particular importance because you definitely don't want to be an illegal alien in Belarus and I was close. It isn't like the U.S. where they are likely to give you health insurance and a driver's license. Rather, they fine you 550 Euro and kick you, permanently, out of the country. If they determine that it was a willful overstay, they may throw you in jail for awhile first. Anyway, I did get out with two days to spare and I am now good to stay in the EU until April 13. Why I get the extra days, I don't know. If I count out 90 days, I should expire on April 7. However, I definitely want to get to SE Asia on or around Feb 3, when my next SS comes. I am trying very hard to stay on my SS budget. Partially, that is to build up more cash reserves (one needs to be a bit more careful when semi-retired) and partially because I want to try the DN way, for awhile, anyway.
I stayed at the mall until about 1:45 P.M, because my check-in at the hostel was 3:00 P.M. The map said that it was 5.5 km to the hostel and I thought that a walk through Warsaw would be interesting. If all one sees is airports, train stations and hotels, you really didn't see the city. I ended up walking about 9 km because Warsaw streets change names without warning. So, I missed a critical turn. Plus, there is no grid numbering system. You are on street A and the numbering starts at 1 and goes to whatever in increments of 1. Then the street suddenly becomes B and the numbering starts over at 1.
I kept walking looking for my street, but never saw it. When I reached the Vistula river I understood that I had gone too far. I found a young lady at a bus stop who spoke very good English and knew the city. Turns out that my street changed names and didn't change to the name I had written down until a few blocks after the turn. However, she informed me, my turn off was at the one and only palm tree in Warsaw. That will make it easy going forward.
However, it was a long walk back and that added a minimum of 3 km to my trip. It was kind of worth it, though, because there is a major bridge going over the Vistula river and the river flats. It is one of the few architecturally interesting things I had seen to that point. A plaque, in both Polish and English, told me that the bridge was built in the early 20th century. There was a long story explaining why the Nazis didn't bomb it. But I didn't read that part. I had things on my mind; after all, I was lost in a foreign non-English speaking city.
As I said, I wanted to see some of Warsaw. However, I really didn't want to walk 9 km with a full backpack and pulling a wheeled suitcase, but that is what happened. I have not yet recovered completely from the exertion.
Warsaw is a strange mixture of prewar (though the Nazis took out most of it), dreary Soviet Style housing and monumental public buildings and some post-perestroika architecture. Again, Brest is in a modern building boom compared to Warsaw.
My surroundings, other than the bridge, were pretty dreary until I turned at the palm tree onto Nowy Swiat. Then the world changed. It was probably about 2km to my hostel and the architecture is breathtaking. Something funky is happening with my phone, but once I get it fixed I will post photos. The street is Warsaw's equivalent to Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Rodeo Drive in L.A. or 5th Avenue in Manhattan, save that the architecture is even more spectacular.
There are endless restaurants on the street, as well. The prices are low, compared to the U.S. or Western Europe but about twice those of Brest. But then, in Brest, a couple can get a full dinner (with wine and desert) at a top restaurant for about 35USD. I have budgeted $10 per day for food and, as you will learn, that will not be penurious. In fact, with the kitchen that I will discuss in a bit, I probably won't spend even that.
The Dream Hostel is right on the street (I'll post the name of the street later. It is long and very slavic) with a pleasant facade. It is four stories, but it does have a lift. They rent dorms for $11 per night and single rooms from $25 per night. I got a bed in a 6 bed dorm for three nights because I just didn't know what I'd get. I wanted enough time to scope out the options, but not so long that I was stuck in a mistake.
The Hostelworld.com rating was 9.2 which is extremely high for the site. I checked in and went up to my room. The beds are pleasant enough with lighting and outlets right in the bed chamber. There is a curtain for some privacy. There is an ample size locker under the bed that locks. There is a 2.60USD deposit on the key. I shared the room with two other men who were pleasant enough and I immediately started thinking about running out my time here. There are hostels here for as little as 7USD per night, but I suspect that this place is worth it, given the amenities.
The three dorm rooms on my side of the fourth floor share two bathrooms, which is OK, I guess. The showers are pleasant enough but, because there is poor ventiliation, they are musty smelling. As a guy, it isn't very important to me. There is a very nice coffee shop on the 4th floor, Scandinavian style furnishings, but with 8 over sized and and very puffy chairs. There is another 25 table style seats over 9 tables, as well. One is an 8 seat conference table. There are electrical outlets everywhere and free water all day. There is a very nice kitchen with refrigerators and cupboards where guests can keep their food. There also is a laundry that costs 3.50USD to use and I most certainly will.
They serve three different breakfasts for 5.20 USD, but if you order it the night before it is 3.90USD. I ate it this morning and the girl was nice enough to exchange the toast for an extra egg (my keto diet). So, I had three eggs (over cooked) a small kielbasa, three pieces of bacon and an arugula salad. Plus you get all the coffee, water, tea and juice you want. I'm full and may not have lunch, other than a snack. There are no really close grocery stores, I'm told. But, I am a walker, so the approximately 1.5km to the nearest one is not a big deal for me. I will probably go later in the day. I will only need eggs, sausage or bacon, instant coffee, and maybe some chicken for lunch and dinner.
As I said, I will be in Warsaw for 25 days or so and I am thinking about staying in Dream Hostel the whole time. I will likely put myself on a 20USD daily budget, so one can stay here very nicely for about 700USD per month. A private room would be another 450USD but, honestly, my two room mates are nowhere near 450USD annoying. One, a Polish guy, lives in U.K and talked my ear off about stuff he knows little about. I hope he is mostly talked out. The other guy came in right as I was falling asleep, got into his bed and never made a sound. Not awful. By the way, I put on my sound masking earphones and played relaxing music. I heard nothing and slept very well.
I must say that a bed, a laundry and a coffee shop that is open 24/7 for 330USD per month is quite a deal. Oh, one other thing - virtually everyone speaks English here. There are a few Brits and an American or two. But I have already met a Russian couple, a guy from Hong Kong and a German. It is diverse, but English speaking. Outside of the hostel, English is spotty. I asked a girl at a fish place at the mall food court if she spoke English. She said yes, but after about 30 seconds I asked her if she spoke Russian. She said yes and that went much better. In this better part of town, I'd say about 25% speak passable English and, of those who don't, about 30% speak passable Russian.
Another aside - if you look at the photos from hostels, you would conclude that everyone is 20-something, playing beer pong and partying until the wee hours. From my experience here, that is not accurate. My room mates are both in their 40s. At the coffee shop I have seen a 60-something pair of women, a Russian woman in a shubka (fur coat) in her late 50s, an apparently very successful DN woman in her late 30s or early 40s, like me, pounding away on her laptop. There are young people, but they do not party hardy...at least so far. There are a whole lot of East Asians. According to NomadList.com, Warsaw has been rising rapidly in the ranks, with the weather listed as the most significant negative. If Dream Hostel is a representative example, I understand why.
Since this blog is called The Nomadic Polymath, I hope I will get some readers who are either DNs (Digital Nomads) or want to be. So, my intent is to give some pretty comprehensive information about each place that I visit. There are always surprises and DNs need to be flexible. Hopefully, events like this last one where I have two days to leave the country in a panic are kept to a minimum. However, the life of a DN is to go to countries where only a handful of people speak one's language and get it to work. I believe that is why these hostels and coworking spaces are so popular. They allow you to experience the local culture but to have a culture friendly haven to which one can return.
If you decide to spend some time in Warsaw, I would definitely give Dream Hostel a big thumbs up. The coffee shop is a great place to work and you can save 100USD to 150USD per month in coworking space rental. It is quite possible to live here for 700USD per month and if you stay 3 months and have a 1,000USD budget, you will have 900USD for your exit. BTW, 1,000USD is kind of the minimum income required for the DN lifestyle.
Expect 'Warsaw II' in the next day or so.
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