Vatican City - Poland (the Irony of it)

As we walked from the central station in Warsaw I noticed several monuments that were covered in candles and flowers. Too tired to investigate, we continue in search of a suitable hostel. On our way, Ali notices a person handing out free newspapers and decided to take one for her collection. It wasn't until we saw the picture of the Pope on the cover that we realised he had died. I found it ironic and almost satisfying that we visited the Vatican City and St. Peter's Basilica just days before his death. Knowing that the Pope was from Poland, we anticipated an interesting few days in Warsaw.

The first hostel we visited had no dorm rooms available so we made our way to the next one on our list, Nathan's Inn. I couldn't be happier here. The hostel has done everything right - it's very new and cheap too! (about 9.00 GBP a night). We get free laundry, free internet, free tea and fresh filter coffee, 24 hour unlimited hot water showers in nice newly rennovated bathrooms, lockers and comfy beds. Needless to say I was a very happy chap.

However, finding an open bar on a Sunday night in Warsaw the night after the announcement of Pope John Paul II's death wasn't easy. Me, Ali, Blaise and Sylvan (friends we met at the hostel - Blaise is a law student from Switzerland and Sylvan is from France but is teaching in London) went in search of basically anywhere that would serve us a drink. The city was extremely quiet as most businesses closed in respect of the recent news. We eventually found a small Turkish bar hidden away down an alley just off the main street complete with water pipes and patterned floor cushions. Taking into consideration that this would be the only good night to stay out late, we continued down the street (following the directions given to us by the Turkish barman) until we arrived at a small club. The four of us where soon joined by eight friendly locals who kindly offered us shots of their vodka.