The coach to Warsaw (which was going onwards to Minsk) took 12½ hours and crossed the Czech-Polish border through the Krkonoše mountain range (where despite being 20˚C and in the sun, snow and frozen lakes were still easily seen), and then across the Polish countryside and through the cities of Łódź and Wrocław before finally reaching the Polish capital. Whilst at the border, our passports were checked (despite both countries being in Schengen) and a Belarussian without an EU visa was found, searched and deported.
















At the coach station in Warsaw, I was met by Halina, another friend from The Party House last semester, and I was taken back to her house where I was staying for the next few days. Whilst Prague had felt very Central European and rather modern, Warsaw on the other hand felt like it was very much behind the Iron Curtain. The next day we walked around much of the city, seeing the football stadium which is due to hold the opening match of Euro 2012, the Old Town, the Parliament and the city park, finishing off by eating dinner in the Złote Tarasy shopping centre, which felt rather like being inside the Eden Project.


On the second day we went to see the Palace of Culture & Science - a Soviet style building that overlooks the entire city. And then took a bus to see Wilanów Palace - second home to many Polish kings, followed by a walk in the evening down the river to see all the lit up bridges.

Having seen everything already, we decided to go to Krakow before taking the coach to Ukraine, and so took the train and spent the next day walking around the Old Town and the castle, which houses Pope John Paul II's former Cathedral.