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It was in 2005 the last time I took a long haul flight. Coincidently it was also with NUSCO to Switzerland for a performance cum tour. This time round, it was with another mission - to compete in the 32nd Bydgoszcz Musical Impressions.
Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland, with a population of around 360,000, making it the 8th biggest city in Poland. All of us had a hard time pronouncing the city name, and hence named it B-Town. :)
We set off on 28 June 09, and began our 12-hour flight to Frankfurt, before transiting to Warsaw. It was long and tiring, but little did we know that the next 10+ hours would be worse than that.
The airport in Frankfurt was so huge that I wanted to curse. The security checks were super slow and queues were long, so horrible that Iris and I almost missed our flight. Enough said.
When we reached Warsaw, we were greeted by the extremely helpful English interpreters assigned by the festival organiser. Laura and her nephew, Artur, have made our stay in Bydgoszcz pleasant, which made it even more memorable.
It was another gruelling 5 hours from Warsaw to Bydgoszcz. The bus was poorly ventilated, and the journey was bumpy. We were literally melting in there. Toilet break at the gas station was one hell of an experience too. 46 people queuing up for only 2 cubicles, and we had no Polish zloty to pay for the toilet usage. We had to resort to tricking, by not closing the doors for the next user. It took us almost half an hour. With no money to buy food for lunch, we were starving. By the time we got to Bydgoszcz, it was already evening.
The hostel was erm.. old. haha.. Another 'memorable' experience. Room was dusty, and the beds squeaky. Iris and I would wake each other up whenever we toss and turn in our sleep. I'm thankful for having my backpack when it comes to climbing up the stairs to the 3rd storey, where our rooms were. :D
The toilets.. only 4 shower cubicles in the entire hostel for the females. Doors were translucent. Haha, I shan't elaborate further.
Bread with cheese, ham and butter were served for dinner. The Polish hardly eat anything warm for dinner, not quite like us the Asians, our dinner is usually the heaviest meal of the day. Not surprised that the Polish call their dinner 'supper' instead.
To understand a country's culture, supermarkets are a good way to find out. That was our evening walk. :)
The next day morning, we had our rehearsal for the competition at the Music Academy.
Small as it was, the acoustics of the 140-seater auditorium was good.
After our rehearsal, we had some media interviews by the Polish regional and state radio stations. I suppose they were pretty curious about the Asian culture. Just like how some other cultures seem exotic to us. :)
Iris, Mr Lum, Artur and I had to meet the mayor at the city's office. We took a walk under the hot sun to the Old Town Square, where the office was. The meeting with the mayor together with the other groups' representatives was more like a dignified gift exchange session. Haha.. And we had a TV interview as well, totally caught unprepared.
In the Old Town Square, I discovered that Polish people like eating ice-cream. Of all kinds and flavours.
The afternoon was then spent in the square, for the festival's inaugural concert. Very colourful. Just look at the photos, and you'll know what I mean. :)
Somehow all the old town squares in Europe look similar. But what I like about Bydgoszcz is that it's rather peaceful, and not so tourist-y. I hate crowds.
And the cobblestones give all the old towns a very unique feel. I like. :)
And pigeons fly high in all the old town squares too. Haha..
During the inaugural concert, all the participating groups were there to receive a token of appreciation from the city. According to the Bydgoszcz's culture, the host would give a big loaf of bread to show their appreciation to their guests.
Don't ask me why. haha..
The friendly Laura brought me and Iris around the Old Town, and that was the only few times we got to explore the city.
Bydgoszcz has an iconic bronze monument across River Brda, the Przechodzący przez rzekę (Crossing the River). It was presented to the citizens as a gift, on the occasion of Poland's accession to European Union.
Europe seems to embrace the culture of graffiti art.
The sun was setting, and here comes the golden hour! :)
Most of our time were spent during the actual festival events. Quite a pity, because I think Bydgoszcz would have other nice places to walk around too, other than the Old Town Square.
To end this post, this raspberry ice-cream from Bydgoszcz was superb! :D
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