No terrorist activity or kidnappings, just a grounded plane in Gdansk, Poland, being de-iced in the middle of a fierce blizzard. A plane that had just circled Warsaw for over 2 hours unable to land then diverted to this obscure airport on the edge of the Baltic Sea.

Of course we should travel to Eastern Europe in the middle of winter, perfect time of year really.

After what seemed an eternity the plane was back in action to attempt our third landing into Warsaw, hours later than our original arrival time of early afternoon we touched down safely into the beginnings of our Eastern European adventure . . . with nowhere to stay.

It hadn’t really worried us that we hadn’t booked any accommodation, we figured that it was hardly going to be full and overflowing with backpackers and our ORIGINAL arrival time would have given us plenty of time to find somewhere to sleep.

What did worry us was the look of deep concern that swept over the face of the English lady who was sitting beside me on the plane when I told her of our lack of planning. She lived in Warsaw with her doctor husband and informed us that a few of the hostels closed down over winter or had reduced opening times, she scribbled down her phone number in case of emergency and bid us good luck.

Freezing in the street we were trying to make sense of our map and by now getting a little anxious and frustrated, covered in snow and searching streets for their name so we could pin point where we were. Finally, thanks to the navigational skills of my travel buddy, we set off in the right direction of a hostel.

As we trudged through the snow what first struck me was how modern all the buildings and architechture was. I hadn’t really known what to expect from Poland, which was exactly why I was there, but the setting that surrounded me was completely different to what I had envisioned in my head. Later I learned, through a screening at the Warsaw Historical Museum in the Old Town, that 90% of the city had been destroyed in the Second World War.

Bunk beds sorted in a very quiet hostel we headed out to satisfy our grumbling stomachs and have a wander through the city. Everything seemed deserted in the centre, hardly a person to be seen. I suspect the residents of Warsaw were a lot smarter than two young Australian girls sightseeing in a blizzard though.

We quickly learned that most people in the city didn’t speak English, we hadn’t really expected them to either but deciding what to eat off a traditional polish menu was a little tricky. Close your eyes and point was my solution, but I was a little worried about what I was about to eat. I was really hungry and there was no telling what it could be. Whatever it was it turned out to be pretty tasty.

Introducing ourselves to some official looking guards out the front of some sort of palace we posed with them for some mandatory cheesy tourist photos. We tried to find out from them what the palace was as every second building looked very regal, again language barriers meant they just smiled blankly back at us.

It’s very funny how you think speaking English in an accent that you think sounds like them might help you too.

It just doesn’t.

Our guide books back at the hostel told us it was Radziwill Palace which is occupied by the Polish president. Strolling back we turned our heads upwards, there was one very tall, odd looking building that you couldn’t see the top of because of the heavy fog. The Palace of Culture and Science was built in the 1950s as a gift of friendship from the Russians to the Poles. I think I would have been a bit offended if someone gave me a present that looked like that and then made it the tallest building in the country just to rub it in. It does look very out of place and tacky, just like the orange and brown colour scheme in kitchens from the seventies.

Warsaw was shaping up to be quite an interesting experience, unlike any place I had been before. We explored the city over the next few days making ourselves well acquainted with the cheap beer and vodka along the way. A lasting impression that stayed with us was Lazienki Park, not for the snowfights and trees either. We stumbled upon a place called the Old Orangery, which was housing some visual art exhibitions.

It was our last day and the exhibition really summed up our time in Warsaw for me. It had been a completely surprising trip and a real eye opener. We paid our five zlotys entrance fee and walked through. Television screens everywhere were showing continuous images of naked men in some sort of public bathing house. Lots of close ups of very unattractive and overweight men having a wash. Nice.