I can’t think of the last time I visited a friend living in a place I hadn’t already been. And after my arrival in Warsaw I quickly started regretting not visiting more friends. My friend Anemona and her mom picked 3 of us at the airport, took us to drop off our kit, and whisked us out to a night of epic partying. We started the night out with a large group of friends, and as the night went on the group continually changed. By the time we arrived at the last bar (where vodka shots were £1, one of which you see being handed to me above) we weren’t sure who were original friends and who were people we had just started talking with and had decided to join our group.

At some point in the night we encountered a hen party, leaving me with the souvenir of a bride’s veil at the end of the night. We ended the evening running around a very deserted downtown Warsaw – bottom photo – and catching a cab home at dawn. A crazy evening I would never would have had were it not for some good local buddies showing me their home town.

I’m headed off tomorrow for my next adventure: a road trip through Poland to Horní Bečva, a little town in the mountains of northeastern Czech Republic. My team mates will be my old friend Ilana from uni and flatmates Alina, Anemona, and Marcin. Anemona and Marcin are playing host on this trip as they are both Polish, and Marcin goes to art school part time in Horní Bečva. I’ll do my best to keep you updated with sights and tales along the way, but I’m not taking my laptop on this one, so no promises.

I’m really excited to get an insiders view of Central Europe, which seemed like a tough nut to really crack while I was there a few years back. Also, I giggle with excitement about the name Horní Bečva, which is pronounced, and I’m not making this up, Horny Bithchfu.

Map of our basic route: