Lake Balaton and Budapest

What a spectacular day we wake to! The fall foliage is just breathtaking. We take a short ride to the shore of Lake Balaton and it is really quite beautiful.

Fot: Balaton Lake, Aneta

We snap a few photos and then get on the road for Budapest. What a spectacular surprise! I had no idea Budapest would be so beautiful. Everywhere the eye falls there is something more beautiful than before. Aneta is disappointed that I seem to like it better than Prague but I have to admit this city really captured my heart and imagination.

Fot: Linda and Alicja at the old bridge

We park in the Buda section and walk across the bridge connecting it to Pest making the combined cities on two sides of the beautiful Danube River Budapest. Did you know that? I didn't.
We can see a lovely castle on top of a very high hill that people are taking a funicular or bus up to visit. We, of course, walk! The hill is 70meters high and it takes us a good while to make the trek. There are many shortcuts with lots and lots of stairs that will get us there more quickly but I avoid stairs at all cost when possible! So we wind our way along the narrow streets and finally the wider and well traveled bus route to the top of the hill. We do not go inside the castle as Aneta informs me, a little disdainfully, that this castle is new and therefore not worth a visit. There was some sort of exposition in the 1990's in Budapest for which a temporary castle was erected. It met with such a positive response from the public that the city fathers decided to build a permanent castle on the hill - or something like that. I could have the dates wrong but whenever it happened it was disgustingly recent apparently and therefor falls into the category of "tourist trap."

Fot: Aneta and Ania at the old bridge; Alicja

So, having made the entire comb up the mountain, I was faced with making my way back down to river level. That was going to involve stairs no matter how you sliced it. We headed down, down, down with Alycia holding onto my arm to keep me from pitching headlong into the abyss. At the bottom, which arrived more quickly than imagined it would, we located a traditional Hungarian restaurant and went inside for a meal. We all ordered Hungarian Goulash, which was very hot and spicy but delicious - that is until I was about a half hour out from lunch when I became quite suddenly ill. Not a pleasant experience. The restroom I tried to get into wanted 1.80 Hungarian whatevers and all I had was Croatian Kuna or Polish Zlotys. The girl was unrelenting (I should up-chucked on her shoes) and Alycia was furiously digging around in her purse hunting for the money. She finally came up with the right coin and I rushed through the turnstile where I was stopped and told by the three gatekeepers to take toilet paper from a giant roll attached to the wall outside the toilet booths! I reeled off as much as I could carry in both arms, to their collective horror, and escaped inside.

Fot: Parliament in Budapest, Linda

Moving right along we walked the length of the Danube water front from the bus station back to the bridge, crossed the bridge and were back to the car after 4 hours of walking. From there it was just drive, drive, drive to get back to Poland at some kind of decent hour. That decent hour turned out to be 10:30 PM after a stop at - of all places - McDonalds! for a quick bite to eat. Frankly nothing ever tasted better to me, I am embarrassed to say. I even got to have a coke with ICE - a full glass.

I fixed my sofa bed in the living room of Aneta's flat and turned out the lights. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow I think. Aneta's husband, Witek came in sometime in the night because I heard the key in the lock, and he was here the next morning, but I have no idea what time it was.

Loved Budapest, loved Croatia, wish it had lasted longer.
Linda

Home again, home again, jiggidy jig

We aren't out of the parking lot until around 11 AM today but heading back to Poland. Aneta has a plan for us to see Lake Balaton in Hungary but we drive and drive and it seems like we are never going to reach our destination. We finally pull off the highway at some obscure village that turns out to be a thermal treatment resort town. We found only a pizzeria open so end up eating dinner there - pizza of course. They have wired Internet and a computer in the eating area for customer use. I go on line and check for news from home. Nothing much on this day. We continue on toward Lake Balaton, which Aneta tells me is "Hungary's sea." The lake is apparently very large and in this landlocked country it is their main water feature. At 7:30 pm it is pitch black dark out and we have been in this interminable car for 8 hours. Aneta pulls off at the first sign that says Lake Balaton thinking finding lodging will be easy. After a few misses in that area she stops at a bar and goes to ask where we might stay. She does not speak Hungarian and finds communicating a real challenge here. We wait and wait and wait some more. She doesn't come back and we can't see her. Eventually - about the time I was getting ready to go looking for her - she reappears and jumps in the car exclaiming, "those people really wanted to help me! They called all around to find us some place." She had address and the name of a hotel that definitely had rooms available for us. She reprogrammed the GPS and off we went on our search. The GPS took us down the most funny little streets, winding through residential neighborhoods until Aneta announced, "I don't think this is right." Just then we spotted the hotel looming over the rooftops of neighboring houses, neatly tucked in to a residential area. They were expecting us and had two nice rooms ready for us - a suite for Aneta, Alicja and Ania and a single room with a king size bed for me. The price? $57 Euros a night per room - about $80. This was really on the high side from what we had been paying but Alicja said "We'll take it!" She was sick to death of riding in the back seat with a cranky two-year-old trying to keep her occupied.

We deposited our belongings and then Aneta suggested we go to the lobby bar and get a nice glass of wine after our long day of driving. They had a nice play area for the little one directly adjacent to our table in the lobby bar so it worked out very nicely. The hotel was decent. A bit spartan but comfortable and clean. I tucked in for a nice sleep all alone in my little world for the first time in a very long time. They also had wireless Internet and I caught up on Brian Williams and the World News for an hour before I turned off the lamp and went to sleep.

Tomorrow we will see Lake Balaton and head for Budapest where we plan to walk the city and take in some of the main sights before heading on back to Gliwice.

Happy reading!
Linda

Murter, Murter, Where in the Heck is Murter?

The gale that kicked up at bedtime last night raged unabated throughout the night. The rain pounded the roof tiles and beat against the window of my bedroom accompanied by howling winds that made it feel like the house was going to lift off its foundation and carry us away.

Ever positive that she alone controls the weather, Aneta assured us that we would have a fine day for visiting the island of Murter, north and west of Skrodin. So we loaded up the car with our supplies, wrapped ourselves tightly in layers of warm, water repellant, clothing and headed out. The GPS directed us out of town along a country road and we blindly followed the directions. After many twists and turns and ever narrowing lanes we began driving on a dirt road. Not gravel, mind you, dirt! This continued for quite some time until we were finally redirected onto a newly blacktopped lane that eventually fed us onto a main highway. Phew! We thought. We sailed along heading west toward the island when we were suddenly confronted with a sign indicating that the road was closed. Another car pulled around us and we thought, "oh boy, a local who can let us know if this is a real road closure." Wrong. The driver turned his car around at the barricade and headed back the way he had come. We, on the other hand, had a brief discussion and decided that the other lane of traffic was open and we should drive around the barricade and see if the road was really closed up ahead. So we did. And it was. However, a nice man working in his yard saw us turning around to go back and came over and spoke to Aneta. He told her there was another way to get through and gave her directions. We struck off over a dirt path, up a hill, down a hill, through what looked like a major road construction work site full of heavy equipment and finally popped out on a paved highway with signs that said "Murter"! Aneta and I congratulated ourselves on being such adventurous girls and then Aneta leaned over and said, "I think that guy from the black car is following us." Sure enough, the fellow who had turned back at the barricade had rerouted himself to our tail lights and followed us all the way through the questionable detour. He stayed on our tail all the way to Murter!

Murter is a seaport town and charming. It looked like many small sea coast towns along the Oregon Coast; wet with rain, windy, peeling paint on wooden boats, etc. We found a bakery and purchased our habitual morning sweet breads to eat as we walked. We explored the marina and the pier and then headed to an outdoor coffee bar/cafe for a hot drink. Inside would have been more comfortable from the weather but they still allow smoking in cafe's in this country and outside was the only place for us to be to get away from a cloud of blue smoke.

Fot: Handsome man for whom Linda's heart pounded harder, Linda

We shared the outside covered area with two men. One man was older and had been blinded in one eye. His face was fairly badly disfigured. The other man was probably in his 40's and so drop dead good looking I could barely take my eyes off him. He was dark, had a beautiful square jaw with a deep dimpled cleft in his chin, black eyes and hair and chiseled features. I mentioned my fascination to Aneta and she wrinkled up her face to indicate she didn't quite agree! Then she said, "It is good thing we don't share same taste in men." Anyway I surreptitiously took a photo of the restaurant that just happened to include this Greek God. I'll look at him and appreciate his beauty on my own time.

Fot: It is a little bit raining weather, Alicja

The muffler on the car is broken. It concerns Aneta who doesn't like the content roar as she is driving. I tell her it sounds like a Porche and she doesn't buy it.

Fot: Betina's narrow street, Aneta

Aneta asks around for somewhere she can get the muffler fixed and someone tells her there is and AutoService in Betina. We finish our coffee and head back to the car for the trek to Betina. Before we leave the parking lot, however, Aneta and her mother are drawn to an open air market featuring fresh fruits and vegetables. We select some grapes, pick up a couple of tomatoes and some cucumbers for the ubiquitous Polish breakfast. The girl in the store sees Aneta under the car trying to wrest the broken tailpipe from its moorings when the girl from the store runs out and hails down a car with a coupke of men in it. They stop and jump out to hep Aneta. They are successful where she has failed in getting the broken part off the end of the muffler. They also tell her about the repair place in Betina so we load up and head out. Aneta finds the place easily from the directions she has been given and the man in charge tells us to come back in a hour and a half and he will have someone available to fix our problem. So we decide to walk around Betina in the wind and rain and try to enjoy the scenery over the choppy sea. The wind surfers are out in force and para-sailers also, taking advantage of the wind. We walk the length of "the most romantic city on Murter" - according to the girl from the bakery we visited earlier. We climb a long hill up to the church only to find it locked up tighter than a drum. We descend to the narrow cobbled street again and make our way out to the end of marina/pier where the wind has whipped up into a regular gale. We hurriedly seek refuge among the buildings along the narrow street as we try to find a restaurant where we can get in out of the rain and wind. We are already completely back to the main square before that happens, everything else having closed for the season with big "See you next summer!" signs on their doors. We eliminate the coffee bar on the far side of the square because it looks closed and opt for a decent looking place to our right on the corner. We enter and I am quite pleasantly surprised,thinking the restaurant looks very nice. I comment so to Aneta who again wrinkles up her nose and tells me "it is very Communistic."

"Really?" I say, "What's Communistic about it?"

"The red colors everywhere, the style of the furniture. It's Communistic style," she announces with assured disgust. Aneta doesn't like anything that smacks of the Communist influence anywhere in the world, it seems. I think the doer is sort of post modern and very nicely done at that. It is interesting how different eyes see the world. Our meal was very good and we ate with relish. As soon as we were finished Aneta jumped up and ran to take the car to the repair shop. When she returned she announced that it would be another hour and a half before we could get the car. The three "A's" decided to take a walk in the other direction from the restaurant toward the north end of the marina. I asked the waitress if they had wireless Internet and she said, "No,but they have across the street." I went over to the Polo Bar and ordered a coke, which I neither wanted or needed, and sat down at the table closet to the door so I might have a chance to keep breathing and looked at my email for the first time in a week. The room was filled with gawking men smoking cigarettes and filling the room with a constant blanket of smoke. I nearly choked to death in the place but I managed to identify a few important emails that needed a response and dashed off a couple. Email is almost my only lifeline in this place and a week without being able to check for messages was quite disturbing to me. I hate being so "wired" to this modern world but it is the only way I can keep up with my children and grandchildren, who have forgotten what a phone is.

Eventually Alicja and Ania showed up to sit with me and we immediately moved to the cold, wet tables outside because it simply would not have been civil to subject the baby to that horrible atmosphere. We huddled under an umbrella waiting for Aneta to return with the repaired car. Finally she came whizzing around the corner and stopped. We bolted for the car and jumped in as fast as we could.

The car sounded very different, I must admit. I asked Aneta how much it cost to get it fixed, as I was prepared to pitch in my third of the cost. It was about 75zl -or $25! Can you imagine getting anyone to work on your car for an hour and a half in the US for $25? I thought not.

We headed back to Skrodin for our last night in the comfort of Anna's lovely apartment but we violated the GPS instructions and headed on the highway toward Sibenik and then doubled back to Skrodin to avoid the muddy non-road we came over on the inbound journey. It took the GPS guy a while to get over the fact that we weren't going to turn around at the first available opportunity but he finally figured it out about the time we turned off the highway toward Skrodin.

We had a very late, light supper at around 8:30 pm after Aneta got the baby settled down and asleep for the night. We enjoy a nice visit around the kitchen table before heading off to bed. I really hated to think about leaving this place as the bed is the most comfortable I have slept on since I left the US.

That's all for this round folks. Happy reading!
Linda

Old Town Sibenik

"Sibekik is the youngest town in Dalmatia, first mentioned in 1066 as Castrum Sebenici. It is located on steep slopes, surrounded by city walls and crisscrossed with narrow streets, stairs and squares. The old town was flourishing under the Venetians in the Renaissance and lots of palaces and forts date from that period along with the landmark of Sibenik, the Cathedral of St. James- the main architect was Juaj Dalatinac. Parts of the city walls were dismantled during the Austrian rule in the 19th century, but the old town has largely preserved its Renaissance spirit." Get to Know Guides.

Seeing Sibenik is one thing, walking the entire old town is quite another way to experience this remarkable city. We parked at the marina and hiked to the top of the 70m hill, upon whose tops sits the Fort of St. Michael. This journey required the climbing of narrow cobbled streets, many, many, many sets of ancient stone stairways and more winding narrow alleys than it seems possible to imagine. Each street was a cornucopia of delightful surprises from expensive clothing and jewelry boutiques to an ultra modern Nike Store tucked into an ancient stone building. Check out my FB page for a photo of one of the clothing displays in a tiny boutique of hand made designer clothing by Kobe. Each piece is unique and is a collage of various prints, fabrics and adornments.

Fot: Old Town Sibenik, Aneta

Aneta tried on a cute little dress and bought it! She said, "something no one else in Gliwice will have." She also found the beautiful black leather handbag she has been searching for since our official tour ended on September 27th. This new handbag was to be her personal reward for a job well done and she has at last succeeded in finding the perfect bag and parting with her hard earned money to own it. Alicja also found a cute little cardigan sweater in a nice tourquoise shade and an eclectic black and gray neck scarf to wear with it. Okay, I didn't come away empty handed either - but it wasn't clothing. I found a beautiful all leather, black and tan handbag, large enough to hold my iPad, a wallet, two cell phones, a camera, my sunglasses and a tube of lipstick for 120Ku or $20! It really is the perfect bag and I am thrilled with it. The leather is fine and soft and the design is Italian, although the bag was made in Croatia according to the attached tag.

We moved slowly onward and upward toward the landmark St. James Cathedral and was it a stunning surprise. I've visited a great many cathedrals in Europe over my life of travels but this was the most beautiful I think I have ever seen. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2001 and well deserved.

The Cathedral in Sibenik, Aneta

The Cathedral is a splendid blend of Gothic and Renaissance styles and stands as an architectural masterpiece dominating the main square of the old town. The building is made entirely of stone without the use of any mortar! The stone masons cut and chisled each stone to perfectly fit together. The Cathedral was constructed between 1431 and 1536 under the watchful eye of master sculpter and architect Juraj Dalmatinac, who personally sculpted the 71 human heads that adorn the outside of the building. The Cathedral is surprisingly light inside with skylights and a glass dome towering over the three story high Sanctuary. Of course no photos were allowed inside the Cathedral but I will take away some incredible memories in my mind's eye of this beautiful place.

We continue our climb toward St. Michael's Fort the current version of which was built in the 18th Century. Archeological explorations at the site indicate that this site was used during prehistory of the late Bronze and Iron Ages as well as in Ancient times associated with pre-Christian worship. It is first mentioned in a decree by King Petar Kresimir IV in 1066. The fort dominates the skyline of Old Town Sibenik and the climb up is worth it for the views alone. On the way we passed St. Anthony's Cathedral and Ancient Garden where we stopped to rest and get a coffee at the sidewalk cafe. It was a welcome respite after such a long and difficult climb up the East side of the fortress hill. 

Old Town Sibenik, Aneta

Apparently there is easier access from the West side of the hill but you miss the old town that way. While we were enjoying our coffee a little mother cat - black and white like my grandchildren's cat, Socks - came over to visit and ask for something to eat. Alicja got our her stash of bread and broke off a few small pieces and offered them to the cat. This cat was so hungry she literally gulped the bread down and looked up hopefully for more. The young woman running the coffee bar saw what was happening and poured a bowl of milk for the cat and set it out on the walk in front of the cafe. The cat immediately began drinking and was still at the bowl when we gathered our belongings and continued on our path upward. Of course news travels fast in a small village and an absolute army of cats was making its way down the hill toward the restaurant as we walked up. We encountered one group of five pure black cats, four kittens, probably about 12 weeks old and their mother, who was still allowing them to hang out with her for the time being. They attached themselves to us and followed us all the way up to the Fort. One of the kittens was missing one hind foot and the four wrestled and chased each other tackling and hissing and rolling along as we worked our way up the hill. They were awfully cute and acted like most brothers and sisters of about 4-5 years of age! They were so hungry and so hopeful that we had something for them to eat. It made me feel bad not to have anything to offer them.

Fot: St. Anne's Cemetery, Aneta

We reached St. Anne's Chapel and Cemetery just below the Fort, which is sometimes called St. Anne's Fort because of its close proximity, and climbed another billion stairs to get up into the cemetery to see the tombs of prominent citizens throughout the ages who are buried here. I can't say as I recognized a single name since they were all chiseled on the marble in Croation! By this time the wind had risen to a fever pitch and a good storm was blowing in off the Adriatic Sea. The sky was filling quickly with dark black clouds and I wasn't even wearing a coat. The Fort was another long climb up many more stairs and it was getting colder the higher we went. Alycia had gone back down to find the cafe and get a juice for Ania but she got lost and couldn't find the cafe. She was waiting for Aneta and me at the bottom of the stairway up to St. Anne's Chapel. We walked on to the entrance to the Fort and realized that if we continued we were going to be caught unprotected in a bad storm so we abandoned our trek at this point and made a hasty descent into Old Town. We found a Pizzaria that also served spaghetti (absolutely nothing else, however) and settled into the warm cavern, made to look like a ships interior, and ordered a nice meal. The spaghetti was good and Aneta had a Margherita Pizza, which she pronounced "good" as well. Alycia had spaghetti in a cream sauce and I had spaghetti Bolognaise. Both were quite good. Full and warm, we continued our long walk back to the car. The storm hit just moments before we reached the car and the rain came down sideways carried by a strong wind. We hurried into the car for shelter and warmth and started our short journey back to Skrodin.

I was anxious for some quiet time at the end of this day and took my sore muscles and tired body into my bedroom where I promptly fell asleep, fully clothed, and slept for 3 hours! When I finally crawled out of my haven Alicja had prepared a light super, the baby was asleep at long last and a tired Aneta came downstairs to join Alicja and me at the table. We had a nice conversation with Aneta interpreting between Alicja and me all evening, poor thing. If Alicja and I could actually talk to each other I think we would be good friends in no time. We agree on most things and genuinely like each other to the extent we are able to communicate! The topic tonight was child development related to some of the frighteningly torrid tantrums Ania has been engaging in of late. Poor Aneta is beside herself as to what to do. I told them about Dr. Harvey Karp's theory for breaking the tantrum moment so communication can occur and Aneta is anxious to give it a try tomorrow.

Off to bed to rest my weary head and listen to the storm pound the daylights out of this old stone fortress we are staying in.

Linda

R&R: Is This What Vacations Are For?

Fot: A view from our balcony, Aneta

We packed, we moved to Skradin. We are happy. Aneta announced that today we would "just relax and enjoy this place." And that is exactly what we did. We unloaded (or rather Aneta uloaded) the car and moved into our new apartment in this delightful small village at the water's edge. Aftr settling in we went straight up to the third floor balcony and sat out in the sun enjoying the view of the harbor, a neighboring island , the swans skirting the edge of the pier hoping for a tourist to toss some bread their way, and the occasional comings and goings of locals on the street below.

Fot: Skradin, Aneta

Our view includes the back of a house that is well over 100 years old and has some damage in the upper right hand corner that has been patched with stones and rocks of various sizes. This, Anna tells us, is the result of the war. There is also a very old structure jutting out from the back of one of the newer street front buildings that features an interesting wooden roof that looks like it was built with remnants from the Ark. Beyond the varied rooftops we have a wonderful view of a small island in the lake with a nice restaurant evident. This island is only accessible by boat and if you happen to want a ride and you can find a boat getting ready to head back out of the lake to sea you might be able to hitchhike a ride. Otherwise you can call the restaurant, reserve a table and the owner will send a small boat over for you. We enjoy what is left of the morning, savoring the peaceful atmosphere.

Fot: Skradin, Linda

Finally we decide to take a walk around the village and traverse the cobbled street from the apartment toward the village square. Once in the square we make an effort to find the City Museum mentioned in one of our guide books but, oddly enough, no one seems to have heard of the City Museum. (Turns out it is housed in the church that dominates the square and wasn't open while we were in Skrodan.) We hang a left and head down the long narrow, cobbled, main street of the town. There are some amazingly well supplied jewelry stores featuring hand make artisan type jewelry - beautiful one-of-a-kind pieces at one-of-a-kind prices - several Coffee Bars with outside and inside seating, a bakery, a small grocery, a meat market with one single piece of ham in its otherwise empty cases, an art gallery/sales shop, a post office, a restaurant and a hotel. There are many green doors leading to apartments in the upper areas over the store fronts and some larger entries that open into interior courtyards that serve several dwellings built into the hillside. Every block or so there is a very narrow street or steep flight of stone stairs leading up away from the village toward the historic fort. One wider staircase has signage indicating it leads directly to the fort. There are probably 300 stone steps in this staircase - not something I was in any mood to tackle! There are no handrails on any of these stairways or walkways, something I have observed is more common than not in Poland. You see a new house, for example, sitting on a nice piece of land, with a concrete staircase going up the outside of the house to an upper floors and no banister, sides, or hand rail of any kind. It gives me vertigo just looking at them!

Once we reach the end of the village the road continues out into the countryside. Having made an unscheduled stop at the bakery, we sit down on a roadside bench and eat our croissants and sweet breads. There are feral cats everywhere in Croatia.

Fot: Cats are everywhere, Linda

I think I took enough photos of them to make a calendar of Feral Cats of Croatia for Christmas gifts. This village is no exception and we are visited by the damaged, the hungry, the young, the nursing mothers and the teenagers all looking for a handout. We find ourselves sitting beneath a pastoral hill that has a very old wagon parked or displayed just above where we are sitting. Of course Aneta and I both take photos of it before we start our long walk back to the apartment. Aneta suggested we take the car and go a couple of kilometers up the road to a neighboring village where our hostess, Anna, says she was born and grew up.

Fot: Skradin, Linda

 That was the plan. It never materialized. Once we got back to the apartment we were hungry and weary. We walked across the street to a Pizzaria that indicated they had several kinds of lasagna on the menu at a reasonable price. We placed our respective orders for Lasagna Bolognaise and a glass of wine and took our seats on the patio. The air was still warm but began to cool quickly as we sat waiting for our dinner. We watched three older men (I'm careful now about these age descriptions, being fully aware that I am one - "older" that is) playing cards until the wind kicked up and sort of made it hard for them to keep their cards on the table. They left and we went inside just before our meal was served. The warmth of the interior was very welcome and comforting and our lasagna arrived as soon as we sat down. Now, you know how once in awhile you order something in a restaurant and it is just so good you think about it for years afterward? Well that was my experience with this lasagna. I had Tortellini in Vipatino, Italy, and Prime Rib at the Dorchester House on the Oregon Coast, that fall into this category. Now I have added a $10 cassarole boat of lasagna from the Pizzaria in Skradin to the inventory of meals I dream about. We all overate to be sure but we went home happy and sated looking forward to a good nights sleep in our very own private rooms! We were not disappointed.

Tomorrow is our big day in Sibenik and we need our beauty sleep to get ready.

Linda

Exploring Sibenik the Riviera and Archipelago

Backing up a piece from yesterday's post I want to share an experience we had while driving to Croatia. Everything was going along swimmingly when we were suddenly stopped about and hour and a half out of Split by a highway closure. The closure was prior to crossing through the mountains through a series of tunnels traversing approximately 10 kilometers. The detour took us over the mountains along an extremely winding,narrow road with no guardrails and precipitous drops to the sea far below. I was driving Aneta's 5 speed Honda on this stretch of the journey. Up, up, up we went, shifting down to make the steep climb, over and over again. Then down, down, down we went shifting down to keep from hurtling off the cliff or burning out the breaks. It was a harrowing ride to say the least. The result for me was spasms in my lower back on the left side from so much clutch work. They lasted all the next day, which was our long walking day in Split. Fortunately there weren't a lot of stairs to negotiate in Diocletions's Palace as every time I did have to go up or down a few stairs I seized up in a horrible back spasm. Poor Alicja ended up being my hand rail for the day and I thank her for her tender concern. Amazing which muscles speak up when you haven't used them for a good long while. The drive, however, was spectacular in terms of scenery. We saw parts of Croatia we never would have had the opportunity to see otherwise and except for the fact that it took us four hours to travel 160 Kilometers it was worth both the nervous making drive and the back spasms.

KRKA National Park

Croatia has several spectacular National Parks, of which KRKA is the most visited. Our location in Brodarica is very convenient to KRKA and that is our destination today, our second in Croatia. We arrived in Skradin well before noon and Aneta purchased tickets to the park. We still had two hours before the next boat left to take tourists up the lake into the park. We walked around this adorable little town and immediately felt at home. There were many interesting shops, art galleries, restaurants and a fort from Roman times. The church in the town square was quite lovely and the old clock tower watching over the town is impressive. It turns out that they light the entire tower at night and it can be seen from fairly great distances away from the town. It serves as a beacon to yachtsman who flock to the area during the summer months, Aneta located an apartment for rent and went to check it out. Then she came for us and we all had a look. This was an amazing place with three bedrooms, a large and very well stocked kitchen, a nice bathroom with a large deep soaking tu and shower and an upstairs veranda with a spectacular view of the harbor and the sea beyond. The owner, Anna, agreed to rent it to us for 200ku a night, the equivalent of $33 a night. We still had one night paid at our abode in Brodarica so we told Anna we would be back the following day and would take the apartment for three days. Mind you there were 3 adults and a 2-yr old in our party. We were able to shop handily for groceries in the village so we could cook our meals in.

At 1:30 we boarded the boat for the National Park. The trip was well worth the $13 it cost for the boat ride and the day in the park. We were deposited at the landing at about 2 PM and made our way along the neatly manicured walk way to the falls. This is truely one of the most magnificent viewscapes I have ever seen in my life. The water cascades down limestone escarpments building new as it erodes old in the constantly changing landscape. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced. The water is so clear you can see all the fish swimming along and the rocks and mosses along the bottom. Beautiful swans glide gracefully over the calm surface of the pools below the falls. We had quite a day of climbing stairs and walking well maintained trails as we made our way to the top of the mountain.

Fot: Krka National Park, Aneta

We stopped at the top for a cold drink before making our way out through the matrix of wooden pathways and bridges that take you across the river and the falls and drop you down through the quiet forest to the boat landing again. The walk only takes about and hour if you don't stop but we took two and a half hours to make the journey and got some spectacular photos along the way. We waited a few minutes for the boat to arrive and return us to Skradin and our car.

Fot: Krka National Park, Linda

We decided to have dinner in Skradin and Aneta chose the Continental Restaurant, which it turns out is also on the list of top 20 restaurants in Croatia! This one, however, had prices to match its stellar, and in our opinion, undeserved reputation. I had roasted lamb chops. Everything on the menu was ala carte so you paid through the nose if you wanted a salad or a vegetable with your main course. Aneta and her mother had chicken, which they pronounced "good, but not great." Ania had a tantrum for dinner, followed by french fries, which she refused to eat. Fortunately we were the only guests dining at the Continental this night so the disturbance was manageable as far as other guests were concerned. Poor Aneta spent most of the dinner hour outside with Ania trying to get the situation under control.

The sky was now threatening rain and we made a leisurly walk back to the car in near record time! As we pulled away from Skradin and up the hill on the opposite side of the lake we could see the clock tower lighted up like a Christmas tree. It was really stunning. We look forward to our day in Skradin tomorrow.

Linda

Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia and back in 9 days

Wow! Aneta said this morning, "We were gone 9 days and it went so fast." She is right. It seems like we just got there and we had to turn around and come back.

Croatia was spectacular. I can't begin to describe the stunning beauty that surrounded us on every front. The color of the water along the coast line is such a brilliant blue with rich shades of turquoise and aqua near the shore. The towering Karst formations of the mountains speak in hues of gray, shimmering white, red, ochre, black and green. The vegetation testifies to a colorful summer season as it segues into a mild fall, with cascading drapes of purple Bougainvillea, turning brown, trailing down apartment walls and red Geraniums struggling to keep their blooms as their leaves wither and drop, leaving them looking a bit naked. The leaves on a few trees are beginning to change color to soft shades of yellow and gold before they drift down to coat the welcoming forest floor in the Krka National Park.

In this country, still badly scarred by over 5 years of war in the 1990's, we found the peace and tranquility we were hoping for on this vacation. At first the many buildings and houses without roofs, and with crumbling interiors, just blended into the landscape still dotted with Roman Ruins until we realized that these ruins were the result of a protracted war in this, the former Yugoslavia.

Fot:  "Zlatna Ribica" , Aneta

After traveling all night from Knurow, Poland we reached Brodarica, a tiny hamlet located at the edge of the Adriatic Sea. Aneta parked the car and jumped out to check apartments for rent in the area. She felt it would be wise to stay in a small village rather than attempt to find reasonable loading in Split, still another good hours drive down the coast. She checked a couple right on the beach and found them lacking in one way or another for the handsome price of 10 Euros per person including the baby. We walked across the highway and found a decent apartment for 10 Euros per person - nothing for the baby. Our apartment had a decent kitchen, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a lovely curved veranda with a spectacular view of the sea. We paid for three nights and went to find dinner. Keep in mind that we had been driving for 20 hours by this time. Aneta and I took turns driving and I did get 2.5 hours of sleep between 7 AM and 9:30 AM when we stopped for fuel, propped up in the passenger seat with a baby's stuffed toy behind my neck to keep my head upright. Aneta didn't sleep at all during the entire trip. Aneta's mother, Alicja, slept in the backseat with the two-year-old, Ania next to her in a car seat. No one slept much or well to be sure.

We asked for a restaurant recommendation and headed off to Zlatna Ribica (Golden Fish), which we later learned is considered one of the top 20 restaurants in Croatia. It was moderately priced considering it's particular fame and wall of awards. I had Scampi Risotto with a mixed green salad. Aneta had spaghetti and her mother had roast chicken breast. The baby had what she always has, a serving of french fries. Aneta had tea and Alicja and I had a glass of wine. The bill came to 275 Ku, which translates roughly into $46. We ate by the open window looking out at the harbor and beautiful sea beyond. The weather was about 75 degrees with a balmy breeze. There was one other couple with a small child in the restaurant; other than that we were alone in our revery.
We ate up, paid up and headed straight back to the apartment. I literally shucked my clothes and crawled into bed at 5 pm without even stopping long enough to brush my teeth or wash my face. I slept for 15 hours straight! While I was sleeping, Aneta, Alicja and Ania (hereafter to be known as the 3 'A's')went grocery shopping so we would have something for breakfast.

Fot: View from our veranda, Aneta

We were up by 8 and after showering in a really substandard shower stall, big enough for a person not exceeding 25 lbs in weight or 2' in height, we enjoyed a light breakfast on the veranda while the sun shone on us and the sea sparkled like a blue blanket covered with glitter. We enjoyed two cups of coffee before heading off for Split and a day exploring the unbelievable remains of Diocletian's Palace.

Fot: Split, Aneta

Split is a remarkably beautiful city located at the edge of the sea with lovely hills rising gently away from the shore, dotted with beautiful old buildings, many dating from Roman times.
We find parking fairly near the Palace and walk a few blocks to the entrance. Entering from the Golden Gate we find ourselves in the main narrow street that runs through the palace from East to West. The narrow cobbled street is lined with a mix of souvenir shops and upscale boutiques. We window shop our way along the street, stepping into courtyards to take photos as we go. This is one of the biggest, largely intact ruins from Roman times, existing anywhere in the world today. The palace retains almost all of the original walls that encircled the original palace. For a small fee visitors are able to visit Diocletian's rooms in the palace and/or visit the subterranean areas of the original palace, which now house a museum with archeological artifacts found in the area. We did neither as the part of the palace that is available at no cost would take several days to explore and we had a two-year-old riding in a backpack which somewhat limited our options.

Fot: Split, Aneta

Making our way to the Silver Gate we found a sidewalk cafe where we could order a meal and a coffee. I think we ate a meal, but I have absolutely no idea what it consisted of at this point. I do remember that I had a coke and asked for ice and the waiter brought me an entire tumbler full of ice! There was an amazing artist set up near the gate with beautiful pencil and watercolor drawings of Split, the palace and various sites around the area. Each of us made a purchase as his work is really outstanding, original and signed. The cost for a watercolor of significant size was approximately $20. We also found some really wonderful wood carvings and children's toys that were very special. The jewelry was magnificent everywhere we looked but we successfully resisted becoming the proud owners of any. Alicja found a pair of lovely pottery urns for vinegar and oil. There were several shops with beautiful Bas Relief depictions of the regional architecture and interior scenes from the palace. Eventually we made our way out the Small Gate to the seaside and walked along the promenade until we found a decent ice cream shop. We parked our weary backsides on a nice bench facing the harbor and ate our ice-cream in relative silence. After over four hours wandering the maze of cobbled streets and courtyards inside the palace ruins we made our way out, across the nearby park, and back to the car. It was a long time for me to be on my feet, on pavement and I paid dearly for it the following day.

We wound our way back north along the coastline to our little apartment in Brodarica. We stopped for pizza just before we arrived back at the apartment and enjoyed a really good meal. The Italian influence here is very evident and the food is terrific. As soon as we got back and climbed the 3 flights of stairs to our abode I fell into bed for another nights long sleep. I think the 3 'A's' went grocery shopping again while I slept the sleep of the dead for the next 12 hours.

To be continued!

Linda

Croatia Here We Come!

This has been a busy week and a half since our return from the official tour and we have taken advantage of the time to catch up on our rest where and when we can. We are readying ourselves for a Friday departure for Croatia.

This past Sunday was national election day in Poland. Everyone is talking about the low turnout and wondering why there is such voter apathy in this country. Sound like home? Sure does to me. Here is a country actually recovering from 40 years of occupation by the Soviet Union and doing an amazing job. Their institutional memory seems to have faded rapidly around the notion of freedom. Freedom is a delicate thing and one that I firmly believe requires people to participate at the voting booth. I don't have much luck with that belief at home and I guess things aren't that different abroad. But mark my words, countries that do not pay attention to their government, however badly you might think it is running, stand to lose their freedom. History shows us that there is always some power hungry nut case waiting in the wings somewhere trying to take over the world. It is so easy to become complacent. Especially when things are going along nicely and you have a job. The situation here seems to be that, while most people have jobs, the wages are low and the standard of living remains relatively fixed for the majority of people. Yet they are as wired to the western world as any country could possibly be. The Poles are eager to raise their standard of living but feel hampered by the slow pace of change under their current leadership. If they could look at this country as I have over the past five years they would realize that huge changes have taken place and and their economy gives the appearance of being on a real upswing. Patience dear friends. I realize that the major changes are taking place in the cities but those of you living in rural areas are also doing much better than you were five years ago. I see the evidence everywhere I go. Remodeled flats, new furniture, nearly everyone with a car (to the point where parking is a nightmare in the projects that were planned and built when no one had a car), modern appliances for sale in the stores, shopping malls with upscale shops being built right and left. Progress is happening. It is just that when you are living in the middle of it you don't notice it that much.

There is a part of me that wants to say, "stop. Don't go there. What looks like progress isn't always a good thing." A friend of Aneta's told us recently that Walmart has put out feelers for some construction contracts in an area of this friends expertise. Everyone is pretty excited to think that WalMart might come to Poland. My take on that is NO! Please don't encourage WalMart to come into your communities. The jobs don't pay well, the merchandise all comes from China, they undercut everyone else for price and put small businesses out of business right and left. Please don't go there! But they probably will and who can blame them? They have lived under such a system of austerity for so many years that just thinking the world giant WalMart might want to come to your neighborhood makes you feel all grown up. And unless something drastically changes in the way people live in these tiny little flats there won't be any market here for a Costco or other bulk retailer any time soon.

Fast food restaurants are springing up like mushrooms on a forest floor. There are KFC's, Mr. Burger, McDonald's and multiple others everywhere you look. But you still don't get ice with your soft drink at the theater. Go figure. Things here are such a mixed bag right now. One foot in another century and the other foot leaping off a cliff without looking to see where you might land.

Aneta and I finally made it to the "cinema" last week. We saw Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris and both just loved it. My first big surprise was purchasing tickets and having the cashier turn a computer screen around with a seat map and ask me where I wanted to sit. Assigned seats at the movies. Imagine! Such order and precision about something that in the US is the every man for himself seating system. Yet people park their cars on the sidewalk, tuck them in to the most amazing little spaces anywhere they can find an opening, and walk off. There is zero order to the notion of parking your car, but parking your hinny in a theater seat is serious business.

Next I went to the refreshment stand to get popcorn and a soft drink. I could see from the beautiful posters showing me what choices I had that I was going to get a soft drink cup full of ice and soda. That didn't happen. I said, "I'd like a medium popcorn and a Pepsi Light with ice."

The young man behind the counter said, "we don't have ice. If you want ice you have to take your cup over there to the Nescafe and they will put you some ice."

I said, "you're joking, right? You want me to carry my soda over to another restaurant and ask them to give me ice?"

"Yes (tak), he replied."

"Great," I said, "I suppose they will give me two pieces if I ask real nice, too, huh?"

"Tak, Tak," he said with greet enthusiasm, completely missing my sarcasm and very excited that I could be satisfied.

"Forget it," I said, and walked away.

"Wait, wait," he called after me, "what is problem?"

"The problem is," I said evenly, "that I can't believe this country. Your advertisement clearly shows a cup full of ice and you want me to take a warm pepsi to a neighboring restaurant where they will put in two tiny ice cubes that melt on contact. Just give me water."

"Do you want the popcorn?" he asked.

"Sure," I said. "Give me the popcorn."

Of course the popcorn didn't have any salt or butter or even that horrible movie theater butter that is so bad for you. It was just plain, dry, boring popcorn. Then I spilled half of it on the floor as I was navigating my assigned seat in the theater. The water was good.
And they gifted us an entire page of McDonalds coupons - all showing a lovely soft drink in a cup filled with ice! They don't serve ice with the pepsi light at McDonald's either, however, as they only offer it in a can.

Aneta's in-laws "Frank" and "Maryann" invited us to Pszczyna to see the castle and museum that Aneta and I had made an aborted attempt to see a few weeks back. I never know what the agenda is on these outings as the planning is all done in Polish, of which I understand exactly nothing. So off we went, packed like sardines into the little Nissan coupe. Aneta, Maryann and Ania in her care seat stuffed into the backseat and me riding up front with Frank who speaks zero English and understands even less (is that possible?). I knew it was going to be a long day. I did, however, understand vry clearly when Frank blurted out, "look Ania a cow!" Don't ask me to repeat the phase in Polish but that is what he said, I'm certain of it. That was the extent of my participation in the conversation on the hour ong ride to Pszczyna.

Once we arrived and parked the car, Frank and Maryann took Ania and went to the large beautiful park to keep her entertained while Aneta and I toured the castle. I was really a spectacular visit. The castle has its origins in 1424-1449 and has sequed from gothic to renaissance to baroque. It is lovely and completely furnished with many of the furnishings of the last occupants, Kaiser Wilhelm II and the `Princess of Pless', Daisy of England. It really is one of the most intact and lovely palaces I have seen here.

This week Frank and Maryann invited Aneta, Ania and me to lunch at their flat. I had no idea I would have to climb up five floors of stairways to get there! Talk about working up an appetite before lunch. There are no "lifts" in buildings under 6 stories tall so if you have a top floor apartment you lug everything up all those stairs every time you go grocery shopping or buy a new lamp or whatever. Almost finished me off. And believe this: top floor apartments are considered desirable! Thank heaven Aneta lives on the ground floor - we only have to go up one flight of stairs! Remember that floor numbering here goes 0, ground, 1-2-3-4 and no elevators.

The meal was delicious consisting of traditional Silecian Dumplisgs, roasted pork and beet salad. For desert Frank managed to produce some delicious glazed donuts filled with raspberry jam.

Last Saturday was a major big deal party for friend Chris and friend Agnes, who share a birthday on October 4th. There were 12 adults and 5 children crammed into a very small living space with a large table laden with cakes of every manner and variety. Of course the ubiquitous Vodka - and not just any Vodka I was told - Polish Vodka. They were an eclectic mix of people from a coal miner with a school teacher wife who spoke very good English, to a successful woman Engineer and her equally successful husband, in some type of marketing career. There were three adult students, Aneta, tour guide and partner in an auto parts business and her fireman husband, Witek's cousin Ella who is the Executive Director of an S.O.S. home for displaced children and me, an old retired person with gray hair! The order of service for food was unusual by US standards. They began with cake, next served toast points with sausage and pickle or little roll ups with raw salmon or ham, followed by a pasta salad, followed by a hot sausage with melted cheese casserole. All the while saying "na Strovia!" and tipping back a shot of vodka every little while. I asked for a glass with ice so I could mix a vodka tonic. That went over like the party joke of the year. I got a glass of warm tonic water then they came and put two tiny ice cubes into it, which promptly disappear of course, and raised a regular hulabaloo when I up ended my shot glass and poured the vodka into the tonic. I clearly committed heresy and they will be talking about the crazy American into the middle of the next century. We left the party at 10 PM and walked the 5 blocks or so back to our flat. The night was very cool but it felt good after all the merriment and good will that was being tossed down in close quarters for the previous four hours.

Aneta has taken Ania to her regular Thursday swimming lesson tonight and I have dinner ready for when they get home, which should be any minute. I had my English student for an hour lesson this afternoon. She is doing better and she is very happy with her opportunity to spend time with me. It takes a little pressure off Aneta and she says she is learning right along with her student. Another of Aneta's English students is coming by to discuss politics with me this evening. That should be interesting. I know virtually nothing about their political situation here except what I've overheard about the low turnout for their election. I am looking forward to the visit. Signing off for now.

Linda
Well, I used to have gray hair at least. Yesterday Aneta took me to "the best hairdresser in Gliwice" who absolutely skinned me and dyed my hair orange. I am sick to think I have to go Croatia looking like this but it is what it is. Aneta got her hair colored a lovely chestnut brown and a very modern and stylish haircut. She looked beautiful and I looked like a train wreck. Such is life.

Last Day Lag and Travel Fatigue

We left early this morning for Warsaw after another lovely night at the Niepolomice Castle and breakfast in the courtyard chamber room. Actually this could be the day we had the castle tour and if it was I apologize for getting mixed up and putting it on yesterday's blog. It has all started to run together for me I am afraid.

Anyway we have a long travel day today to get back to Warsaw, given the condition of traffic in this country. When we were here in 2007 I did part of the driving of the van and I was quite struck by the poor condition of some of the roads. This time every road in Poland seems to be the throas of construction. It will be nice to return one day when the infrastructure has caught up with the needs of the 38 million people and scores of visitors who live here and use these roads.

Naomi insightfully commented one day that visiting Poland was like seeing a culture across three centuries still functioning in all three. She was absolutely correct. I have given that comment serious thought and it is clear from our journey into the mountains that there are enclaves of people in this country still living and working the land under conditions and with farming equipment and implements that were in use three hundred years ago. And yet, when you see the building of the beautiful architectural wonders creating a new and modern skyline in Warsaw you know this is a country moving along at a greet clip into the 21st century. Then when you live, as I do, in a flat built in the 1940's or 1950's under soviet occupation where everyone still hangs their laundry out to dry on the small veranda, few take advantage of the modern appliances we take for granted in the USA and people walk, ride the bus or share cars with their neighbors as easily as you might lend a cup of sugar, you see how locked into the past century these people are culturally. Many people here have cars now but I'll wager that two car families are as rare as Norwegian Racing Ducks. But I digress.

Our journey back to Warsaw was pretty quiet. Half the group was getting over their ailments and the rest of us were just beginning to feel the effects of onset of this nasty cold/throat thing. We arrived at the DeDek Hotel around 3 PM. After unloading and settling into our rooms we made our way over to the restaurant for a late lunch/early dinner. The casual atmosphere in this lovely restaurant provides a very soothing space to take a meal. We were very hungry and ate with enthusiasm. Once sated Mary announced that she was begging off the evenings outing to see Carmen Lunares at the 7th Annual Cross Culture Festival in Warsaw. She went to her room to try and get some rest before her early departure for the airport at 3:15 AM. The rest of us finished up our meal, enjoyed desert and then went to freshen up before we went for one last outing together.

The concert was adjacent to the Palace of Culture and Technology, a gift to the Polish People from the Soviets, built with Polish money and Polish labor. Many Poles appear not to think of this huge edifice as much of a gift. We entered the performance tent and took our seats in great anticipation. Carmen Lunares is a world famous Flamenco Singer and we were anticipating something wonderful. WE also were to hear Barbara Fortuna, which was a barbershop quartet of sorts from Crete. They were fabulous with their acapella voices in perfect harmony but Annie said they weren't her cup of tea. Then Carmen came on and began to sing. When the first song was over about 100 people jumped up and hastily left the building. This continued through the next four songs as well, until the audience had dwindled considerably. We made it to the end but we sent Aneta for the car before the last number. As we gathered under a tree on a street corner waiting for our ride we pondered what we had just heard and witnessed. This woman was the headline performer for this festival and one of us particularly enjoyed her performance. She had a backup singer who was much better and another man from her rhythm section who danced the Flamenco to our collective delight. Carmen, herself, was a colossal disappointment. We felt bad because we know Aneta wanted this last night to be the crowning event of our trip and it fell far short of the mark. We all agreed, however, that Aneta had outdone herself in arranging for guides, entertainment, memorable experiences and excursions that we will remember a lifetime. All in all the tenor of the group seemed to be that the trip was spectacular and this one disappointing performance would not spoil the memory.

Back to the hotel and off to bed. Aneta had to rise at 3 AM along with Mary and Laurie to take them to the airport. She returned and slept for an hour before rising agin to take Joe, Naomi and Annie to the airport at 5:30 AM. Joe and Naomi had opted to extend their visit over the weekend and so stayed behind for a sleep in and late breakfast. I joined them in the breakfast room at around 9 AM and Aneta joined us shortly thereafter. She stayed with our travelers at the airport until they were through security and in the boarding area.

Aftr breakfast Joe, Naomi, Aneta and I went to Wilanow to visit the Royal Palance and gardens there. It is in a suburb of Warsaw and ws quite the nicest surprise any of us could ever have hoped for. The place was stunning in its beauty. Built on the style and floor plan of Versailles, although on a smaller scale, it had the impact of a real royal palace from my fantasy world. Since I am fairly certain I was a queen in a former life I keep hoping I will recognize my palace one of these days! This one came close to my dream palace. I could easily envision living there. Trying to be mindful of the time and Aneta's long drive back to Gliwice, I urged Fran and Dennis to hurry through the gardens so we could get them back to Warsaw and their hotel so we could get on the road. That was more of a challenge than any of us ever imagined it would be. We simply couldn't find any way to get to the parking for their hotel and the traffic was its usual snarled mess. Everyone was getting anxious before we finally just parked in a driveway and unloaded them right onto the sidewalk just a shaort half block from the hotel. Of course a car that wanted to use the driveway came up as soon as we stopped and was quite aggressive about us getting the van out of there. We hastily said our good-byes and Fran gave Aneta a lovely gift of a mug with the SEattle skyline on it and a beautiful Christms `ornament that says Seattle so she will think of them every year when she hangs it up. Aneta was so touched by Fran's thoughtfulness. She also received a nice CD from Mary as a thank-you for the trip and she was equally touched by that gesture. Joe and Naomi invited Aneta to stay with them in their home at the foot of the Olympic Mountains in Western Washington and she is looking forward to a trip to the US so she can take them up on that offer! Fran has also offered her lodging in her part of Washington and Laurie extended an invitation to Colorado. You may all rest assured that one day Aneta will take you up on your generous offers!

Aneta simply fell in love with everyone in this group and can't stop talking about what a wonderful group you all were. She is anxious now to get her next tour planned and is counting on your good will to spread the word to others so she can build her business dream. E talked this week about the words of Steve Jobs, so much in the news, to follow your heart and intuition about how to live your life. Aneta just wants to travel and show people her beloved Poland. We both learned so much on this trip and we hope you did too. We learned a lot about things we need to change or refine for future groups and we so appreciate your patience when things didn't go exactly according to plan. If missing out on the Papal Cream Cake was a real bummer to anyone just let us know. We'll send you a piece! (Just kidding! It takes two weeks for a package to post from Poland to the US and I doubt the cream cake would be edible at that point.) Just plan to come back and make sure you get it the next time!!!

We hope you all had a happy landing and are acclimated to your daily lives again without incident. Life is good here and I will post regularly. Pleae join the blog so it looks like we have more than one member!

Linda

Krakow is full of Surprises!

We breakfast at Niepolomice in a lovely room off the courtyard that has been refreshed by a late night rain shower. Breakfast is very good in this lovely castle. We are scheduled for a guided tour of the castle and museum at 9 AM.

Fot: Niepolomice Castle, Linda

We gather in the courtyard and are given a brief history of the castle before we climb a series of stone staircases to the veranda that encircles the courtyard.

Fot: Niepolomice Court Jester, Linda

We make our way along the marble walkway past mysterious doors and chambers that will soon open to us. Our guide first takes us into a room full of costumes, weapons, trophies and other accouterments of palace life from the earliest periods of this castle to the near present. There are many lovely and interesting objects of art and great value. The jewelry is stunning. We move on into other chambers more typical of the living quarters of the roayls who inhabited this palace. Finally into the room that served as the legal court and audience room for the king and queen. The palace is very lovely and the reconstruction has been carried out with the utmost attention to detail, although it is clear none of the furnishings are original to this castle. Our tour ends with a question as to whether we want to see the art collection. We eagerly assent and an entire new wing of the castle opens to our eyes. This is an amazing experience. The art collection is vast and magnificent. There are many portraits of Polands royals and other important political and literary and scientific figures of their history. noticeably absent , to me at least, was any likeness of Chopin. I was struck, over and over again, by the images of Jan Sobieski III, who looks exactly, and I do mean exactly, like Aneta's father Witek Weclawek. I finally went to find Aneta and took her one of the marble busts to show her what I was observing. She had to agree that it looked like a bust of her father but she assures me that there is no royalty in her background whatsoever. I respectfully disagree with that pronouncement! Somewhere in her genealogy there is DNA from behind the barn or something!

Get me in a really good art gallery and it is hard to pry me loose. Aneta gently encourages us to move along quickly as we have a 10:30 appointment with "The Crazy Guides" who are taking us on a tour along the "communistic route."

We hastily make our way to Nowa Huta for our tour with Aneta making cell phone calls to the guides to get them to wait for our late arrival. They are very relaxed about the whole thing and basically say , "no worries." We are about an hour late arriving and we are hustled directly into a restaurant that survives from the communist era as the only restaurant that was allowed to be built in this area that, at one time, housed over 17,000 people.

The Crazy Guides are two young college students with good English skills, neither of which was alive during the communist era. But they have learned their history well and provide us with a photo and dialogue overview of what Nowa Huta was intended to be. This was a communist vision of an ideal city for the workers. They buildt a huge steel factory on the outskirts of the development, layed out a fabulous street plan with wide, elegant boulevards, leading, like the spokes of a wheel, into a lovely center square. Public buildings were to be erected to provide all the services the people would need. Multiple high rise apartment buildings were put up and properly decorated with renaissance style adornments to make them look lovely, substantial and appealing. Lower floor apartments were large and reserved for government officials, of course. Upper floor flats were small and housed several families at once. The nirvana plan was never fully realized as pollution, acid rain and smoke from the factory made living in Nowa Huta very unpleasant for the farmers and villagers who had been recruited to a better life in this new city. The communist also left out a church. Much to the dismay of the people in this largely Catholic nation this was an unacceptable oversight. The people began a campaign to build a church putting all of their money into this project. They were finally given permission to build but outside the boundaries of the city proper. This in a city where one single streetcar served 17,000 people and cars were as scarce as hen's teeth. The town still exists but with a population reduced to around 3-4 thousand. The mill closed for a time after the communists fell and has been purchased by a private company and reopened with modernization and mechanical upgrades that have eliminated most of the jobs. All the streets and boulevards had the names of communist party heroes. The main street leading from the factory into he center has been renamed Ronald Reagan Boulevard. All the other streets now bear the names of Polish Poets, heroes of the Warsaw Uprising and other significant figures in Polish history. While at the restaurant we were encouraged to order a drink - anything we wanted - Vodka was recommended! It wasn't even noon yet and we weren't really a drinkin' bunch. The guides were quite disappointed in our reluctance to drink Vodka.

Fot: Communistic bathroom, Linda

Anyway, that over, off we went to visit a typical flat of the workers where we were showed the Vodka distillery in the bathroom along with a very funny looking little automatic washing machine. The kitchen was enormous by flat standards that I have seen but we were told it had to accommodate several families. The living space was adequate for one family but certainly not more than one. We were told that up to 12 people occupied a single flat during the communist era. Then we were served a drink. A shot of Vodka to be gulped down in a single swallow. Some of us did the deed and others politely declined. The Vodka was served with a dill pickle.

After leaving the flat we were taken to an area near the entrance to the factory. Our guides were nervous about us getting too close as it is now privately owned and apparently the owners are not very friendly to tourists who want to take photos of the place. (Industrial espionage fears?) Nothing to fear from this group but they wouldn't know that.

Fot: Crazy Cars, Linda

Back into the funky little plastic car, operated by two lawnmower engines, and the psychedelic van with the red velvet interior and shag carpet that served as the transport vehicles for the tour. These two cars survive from the communist time and are quite interesting. The car is so small it is hard to imagine it as a passenger vehicle - let alone one designed to haul four people! The van held the remaining 5 of us and it was crowded as well. What an amazing experience this tour turned out to be. Peter and Sara were our guides and they did a superb job of both explaining and driving these unsafe and ridiculous vehicles. Leave it to our Aneta to come up with something as interesting as this for our travelers!

We returned to Krakow proper and headed straight for 'Yesterday and Today' again for lunch. We took a little more time today to enjoy our lunch in this delightful neighborhood cafe that obviously caters to locals. Dennis, Fran, Aneta and I sat outside under an umbrella table and enjoyed our lunch in the sun of a beautiful fall day. After lunch we walked across a busy street and down into an underground underpass that took us across the railroad tracks and popped us out right at the Jewish Square. This square contains the memorial of chairs sitting throughout reminiscent of the personal furniture and belongings left there as the Jewish people were rounded up in this square to await deportation to the camps. Across the street on the corner is the Apothecary Shop of the pharmacist who was also a hero to the Jewish people during the time of selection. We took a few photos and walked a bit around the Jewish Quarter while we waited for Aneta to bring the van. Aneta picked us up where she had dropped us off before lunch and then took us to old town Krakow for another afternoon of shopping and independent sightseeing.

Joe and Naomi scored the wood carving they had been hoping to find in Zakopane and they are thrilled. Mary bought the handbag like the ones the rest of us had snagged the day before. She also bought a nice picture of a cat from one of the artists set up in the square. I found a beautiful wallet in purple to compliment my new handbag. Fran found a couple of nice gifts for folks at home who were caring for her cats. Aneta disappeared for the afternoon and we were really left to our own devices. As the afternoon lingered we gathered in the same sidewalk cafe as yesterday to wait for Aneta. She arrived acting very mysterious. She wasn't in any hurry to get us back to the van so we laughed and sipped our various drinks and waited for what was yet to come.

Fot: Carriages in Krakow, Linda

One thing about Old Town Krakow is the abundance of beautiful carriages drawn by horses making their way up and down the streets and around the square. The horses are beautiful and very well cared for. We watched this procession as we enjoyed the oncoming evening. Finally Aneta asked us to drink up, pay up and get ready to move. We obliged and she led us to a side street at the end of the square where we were loaded into two of these beautiful carriages for a tour of Old Town Krakow. What a beautiful sight and what a relaxing ride through these cobblestone streets, people watching and gazing into shop windows at the latest offerings in fashions and art and housewares. Finally back to the square where we thought our ride was surely over. We were so wrong. The carriages turned down the side of the square and just kept on going toward Wawel Castle. Once they exited Old Town Krakow and crossed the busy intersection from the town they pulled up in front of a small restaurant and stopped. We all disembarked feeling like kings and queens for a day. Aneta took us inside 'The Horn of the Ram' a charming restaurant that served gluten free meals so Joe could eat without concern.

The waiter brought wine and filled everyone's glass - except Dennis who doesn't drink wine and Aneta who never drinks when she is guiding or driving. We skipped the appetizer this night as it was clear that everyone was overeating and feeling the effects of all this wonderful rich food. We enjoyed a lovely salad and a nice main course of baked chicken followed by a nice desert. Aneta disappeared again and returned laden with gift bags. She delighted everyone by presenting them with thank-you gifts as a memento of their trip with Unique Grand Tours. Fran got the mixings for the hot mulled wine from our night in the Goral Restaurant in Zakopane. Dennis got a Polish Jazz CD since he had expressed his interest in Jazz as a music he enjoyed. Naomi received a pair of Polish Pottery salt and pepper figurines of a grandmother (Babcha) and grandfather (Dziadek) since her journey was in honor of her grandparents who came to the US from Poland. Joe got Polish Jazz for the same reason as Dennis - he likes Jazz. Annie received a lovely handmade wooden box with an inlaid horse head on the top as she talked much about her daughter's horse and love of horses during the trip. Mary also received a Polish Jazz CD, as did Laurie. I received a beautiful three strand amber necklace that beautifully compliments a pair of earrings I purchased in Sopot on our first trip to Poland in 2007. What a thoughtful and lovely woman Aneta is. I think I speak for all of us when I say this was a very special trip, made all the more so by Aneta's planning, attention to detail and to our personal needs as individuals. (I am going from memory on the gifts folks, so if I got anything wrong please post a comment and correct me. Aneta is away today and I don't have her for a reference guide.)
Linda