I once was lost but now am found

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me...
I once was lost but now am found
Was blind, but now I see.

T'was Grace that taught...
My heart to fear
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear...
The hour I first believed.


January 18

So I've heard that when you travel with someone you really get to know them.
And one of the things I've learnt about Jono is that he sings all the time, especially when he is walking places. Even if he just makes up the words. And one of the songs he's been singing this week is Amazing Grace.
And now this is the song I've been singing out loud all afternoon.

You see today was my challenge. I was on my own. With just a map. And for those of you who know me that's probably not a great thing. I'm not the best navigator/map reader/ place finder person in the world.

All week Jono has been testing me....Do you know where we are now? Work out where in the map we are? Letting me walk past the hotel and see how far I went before I realised etc etc

So today he went off to visit his cousin and I was on my own. And because Jono borrowed my phone so he could contact his cousin, I was on my own with just a map and no phone GPS or google maps to back me up.

soooo........

test 1: found my way to market square.. READING MAP .passed

test 2: realised after walking for 10 mins that it's actually quite cold and I forgot my beanie and gloves, walk for a few more mins and decide I need to go back and get them...... BE SENSIBLE  passed

test 3: found my way back to hotel by a different route without map. ..... SENSE OF DIRECTION passed

As I set off for the second time I wandered back through the market square, through gardens and then thought I would find myself a shopping centre before going to the city wall that I was going to go and see.
(Only needed a shopping centre to get a charger for my phone and iPad as I left mine in Helsinki. Damn those early starts- we had to be at the airport at 4am so I wasn't thinking too clearly and left it plugged in at the hotel.)

Found the shopping mall quite easily. It was huge. Wandered around the three levels for an hour. Found a charger. Had a quick drink and left the shopping mall about 1.30pm.

Now that's where the problems start. I left the shopping mall by a different door, but I knew that and thought I knew where I was.
I didn't!

Headed towards where I thought the city wall was when I realised it was quite cold and maybe I would go back to the hotel for a while and then head back out, so I crossed the road and headed back in the "direction " of the hotel.

After a few blocks I was getting confused so I stopped and got out the map to double check at the next intersection.
Hmmm. It turns out the city centre map is only useful to do this with if you stay within the confines of the city centre.
Once you have wandered out of the map, then it's pretty hard to figure out which way to go.
So I kept going, turning different ways every now and then trying in vain to locate a street name.

But after having had a bit of a panic earlier this week when I got rather lost at Stockholm airport and having talked with Jono about why I'd panicked so much, I'm pleased to say I didn't panic once.

I realised I must be off the map and that I could be going further off the map. I told myself that if I couldn't figure out which way to go by 3.30 when it starts to get dark, then I'd find a taxi.

I did, however, sing Amazing Grace a lot as I walked!

When I realised I'd been walking for an hour and I saw a sign pointing to Warsaw I thought I'd better find someone to ask, but I had to walk for another 20 minutes before I found someone who could help me in English. Turns out I was way off the map, but I was pointed in the right direction and away I went. A few wrong turns and a few more right turns and I found the hotel at about 4.30pm.

I am pleased I managed to get back here without having to resort to a taxi.
I am pleased Jono took the time to pass on his map reading skills.
And my feet are very pleased to be out of my boots after 5 hours straight walking!!