This just in: Polish girls are hot -- really hot!;-)

Hey guys!

I'm coming to you live from beautiful Gdansk, Poland! This town on the Baltic seaside is a neat combination of Strasbourg, France, and Innsbruck, Austria. I arrived yesterday afternoon, and I'm really liking it thus far. I'll be visiting Westerplatte tomorrow, where WWII began on September 1st, 1939, when a German battleship began pounding the Polish garrison.

Warsaw was nice, though the tourist infrastructure leaves a lot to be desired. People in Warsaw get mad when tourists talk about how everything is better in Krakow. Well sorry, folks, but you have a long way to go to make the Polish capital user's friendly enough to rival Krakow. Still, although many people kept telling me to skip Warsaw, I'm really glad I began my Polish journey. While it's true that there is not that much to see and do, you can still fill up a good two days and have a great time. The weather was on my side, as it only rained during the evening while we were watching the soccer game. I visited every major sightseeing stop in the Old Town and along the Royal Way. Checked out the Palace upon the Water in Tazienki Park. Missed out on the Warsaw Uprising Museum because the fucking thing is closed on Tuesday. Felt like such a dumbass, but I'll get to go when I return to the Polish capital to catch a flight to Helsinki. I had to see the Warsaw Ghetto Monument (though it's nothing to write home about) and the Jewish Cemetery (the largest in Europe). If you're thinking of going to Warsaw, book a bed at the very cool Oki Doki hostel. The girls at the reception are so helpful, it's unbelievable. They deserve the kudos! And the 3,50 zl for half a liter of beer during the daily Happy Hour is a must!;-)

It took me 14 hours and three flights and a sleepless night to get to Poland, and now that I'm free of jetlag it's all good! Still one day to go in Gdansk, and then I'm catching an early train to Wroclaw.

I've been reading Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, and boy am I underwhelmed. Please tell me that something happens at some point. . . I'm about 350 pages in, and I've considered abandoning the book a few times thus far. This one I will leave at a hostel along the way, as I'm not lugging this brick around Eastern Europe with me, whether I finish it or not. . .

As for the whole "hype" thing, I reckon this story has reached proportions none of us ever envisioned. Well, that's the internet for you. All I'll add on the subject is that I don't ascribe a negative connotation to hype, as I feel that hype/buzz can be a good thing. I could write another post on the topic, but I don't have the time, the money, or the inclination to do so right now. I'm on vacation, after all!:-) I've tried to check the comments that were added, and now I'm told that this thing has been linked all over the place. I doubt that Simon Spanton had any idea of the can of worms we would be opening by posting our email correspondence.

Please don't spell-check me, as I'm typing as fast as I can! And enjoy my review of Butcher's Backup, which I really enjoyed!

Talk to you guys later! Gdansk awaits. . .