After six days out in the sticks with the Angloville gang, I headed back to Warsaw where I met up with a CouchSurfer named Dora. After grabbing some Vietnamese eats, we headed out for a night on the town. Why I decided to leave my camera at home on this night, I will never understand.
First stop, the infamous "Bajka" (FairyTale) Cafe, one of the oldest cafes in Warsaw still in operation. At first glance, there's nothing special about the place but, as I was about to find out, it is its clientele that makes it so unique.
As we entered, Dora pointed out Rysia, Warsaw's most famous transexual. Ok, no big deal, I've seen transexuals before. Pretty sure I have, anyway. We ordered a few pints from the old ladies behind the bar. They were so sweet - just how'd you imagine two old Polish ladies working behind a bar to be. We took a seat and as Dora began filling me in on all the crazy characters in Warsaw, one decided to sit down in between us. He reminded me of a disheveled, and posibly drunk, Colonel Sanders. He was wearing an ill-fitting suit, had spastic mannerisms and, overflowing white chest hair - he was a character and definitely worth having a chat with.
After kissing Dora's hand, he introduced himself. His name, believe it or not, was Grzegorz... that's Greg in Polish! Once he learned that we shared the same name, his excitement level went through. The. Roof. We were brothers! We're buddies for life! He kissed my head (and nearly tore it off my shoulders).
He would kiss my head several times that night.
With Dora's help translating, we stumbled through a half-baked conversation, peppered with loud outbursts of "We are buddies for life!" immediatly followed by...you guessed it, a kiss on my head. At one point, he took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on me. Dora and I were both under the impression that he wanted me to have them but, as I was thinking what a cool souvenir they were, he snatched them off my face and put them back in his pocket. His "craziness" soon attracted the attention of one of the grandmas. She came over fully prepared to toss Grzegorz out on his ear, but we assured her that he was doing no harm. As a possible thank you for prolonging his stay, he ordered a few pints and offered me one. It was a nice gesture but one that wasn't going to last.
After becoming excited again and slapping my hand, he spilled his own pint all over his shirt and pants. Instead of heading to the bathroom and cleaning up, he took back the pint he had given to me! A real brother wouldn't do that, would they? We took that as our cue to leave.
We said goodbye to Grzegorz, who seemed strangely accepting of our departure, and made a b-line for the door. As we left, Warsaw's most famous transexual gave me a big smile. It was the perfect end to my Bajka Cafe experience.
My next stop was some sort of hipster gallery opening, where I would meet Dora's sis, Ewa, and their friend, Aga. I would end up staying at Aga's (also known as "Milkshake") house the following night and I will tell you this, it was a night I will not forget. Here's a pic of her skates...
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