zywiec

It took forever to get to Zywiec. My first train was late, so I ran around Katowice looking for the correct one. I found the right platform and there was a train leaving, so I assumed that was the one I wanted... I almost went to Prague. My actually train though kept stopping for 30 minutes at a time for whatever reason. I got to the town later than expected. But I got there, thinking "what now". I was in a city I knew absolutely nothing about and wasnt sure what I was doing there in the first place. I went left. Bought a map. Found a sign for the town center. It was almost a km away, but I didnt know how to take buses at all, so I walked. There was a gigantic park and some older buildings. One had a museum. The cathedral in town was built in the 1500s, but the outside wasnt too exciting. I went in and everything was gold-gilted with lots of statues. It also smelt like old people. I eventually reached the town square and saw the town hall which is an amazingly pink building. Honestly, i think that is a little bit of an odd color for a town hall. pink doesnt bring to mind prestige or anything like that. I started heading to the library since i wasnt sure where excatly I was starting, and figured that the library would have research about its residents. I found the tourist information office first. A polish woman pointed out a few cemetaries that i could visit, but told me the best way would be to go to the cemetaries office which was near the cathedral so i wouldnt be wandering so much. I couldnt find the office, and went back. So she called for me and it seems that the offices were closed for the day. just my luck. but i gave her my email so that she could call on another day for me. she said that she wanted to "help solve the mystery". but what mystery was it, i wasn't sure. she also said that i should get more information on my family. i'm actuallly not too sure if there is any more information on my family. but i headed to the further cemetary. there was a funeral going on. even though i had visited a cemetary in warsaw on all soul's day, i forgot how cemetaries in poland worked. the cemetaries are not grassy fields in which you only have to avoid the headstones. but rather, the graves are raised, so you have to avoid all the marble. and they are very very close together. and this cemetary just so happened to be on a hill so with the rain and the mud, it was slippery and dirty. and naturally, there were candles and flowers everywhere from last week's holiday. needless to say, i did not find my great great grandparents graves. before catching my train, i gave in and had a cheeseburger. i'm not sure why, but poles dont believe in grilling burgers and hot dogs, they nuke them. the woman in the resteraunt found it a novelty that i was american. although, she kept asking if i spoke italian, so i'm not sure she exactly understood.