While Mark's been away...

Mark flew back to the US/Texas last Saturday and so I have spent a whole week in Poland without Mark...I would much rather have him here but I have been actively engaged and the week has flown by....I'm so happy he is returning home tomorrow!

Last Saturday I participated in a "Walk Warsaw" event sponsored by the International Women's Group I joined a few weeks ago. Since Mark was gone early on Sat. I invited one of Mark's co-workers, Claire to come with me. She is a single young adult from Scotland...she said "yes" to the invite and enjoyed seeing a few other Marathon employees on the tour also.

We toured the historical street.... Krakowskie Przedmiescie....the Royal Route that leads in one direction to Old Town and in the other to the King's Palace in Wilanow.

We began at the Copernicus statue. Copernicus was Polish though he never lived in Warsaw...but the owner of the building behind it thought a statue of him would honor him nicely.

Here is our guide...her name is Kasia (short for Katarzyna - a very popular Polish name). She is pointing to the street we will be walking on...this picture shows the street hundreds of years ago.

The large church to the left is the Church of the Holy Cross. Inside this church is a urn containing the heart of Fryderyk Chopin. Below is a monument to him that is in the church.

The University of Warsaw is the largest and most prestigious institution in Poland....only some of the buildings are situated on this street.

Church of the Visitation (below)

Another beautiful church...at times Chopin would play the organ at this church when he visited Warsaw. The original organ he played is pictured above.

There was once a public bath at this location...now it has been turned into a restaurant and boutique...the original tiles are still on the walls, and the pool above is where one of the baths was. This was one of my favorite spots to see...

I'm standing next to the statue of the mermaid in Old Town...the mermaid is a symbol of Warsaw, Poland and there are a number of mermaid statues throughout the city. The weather was perfect and I loved learning more about this historical city and area!

I am starting to take Polish language lessons twice a week. I have now had 4 lessons...I am beginning to recognize many more words when I see and hear them. I take the Metro, then walk for about 20 min. My class is located on the 4th floor in a historical part of town.

I pass a few of these buildings close to where my class in located.

When I leave my class I see this palm tree in the middle of a major intersection. Actually, it is an artistic creation - it's plastic. It's on a street I walk down named Al. Jerozolimskie (Jerusalem Avenue). In 2002 the artist was inspired by her visit to Israel and wanted to create something that would remind the people of Warsaw of the origin of the street's name. This area used to be a Jewish community during the 18th century.

To get to my Polish class, I enter the building and go up to the 4th floor in this tiny elevator...the first time I came this door was closed and it did not look like an elevator...I climbed the 4 flights of stairs. Maybe you can fit two people inside...and then we are standing very close to one another.

Earlier I shared there are cobblestone sidewalks and streets everywhere. On my walk to class this week I saw someone actually creating a new sidewalk stone by stone. Here is one pile of stones.

Here the stones are delivered on pallets.

A few days later I saw progress had been made on this sidewalk.

While Mark was away I also ventured to a new post office that Mark said was near our home. Everywhere people talk negatively about the post offices (even in the travel books of Poland). I was not too excited to go...but since the last time I went to a Polish post office was in Feb. I thought it was time to try.

I wanted to mail a birthday card and didn't see a place to drop it off. It took me 5 min. to walk here and 20 min. of waiting. I had practiced my Polish and the postal worker said in Polish "very good"! I was happy! I only wished I had practiced saying "I need to buy stamps" because no one was in line behind me.

The post office is not in a new location...Mark said there used to be a ski jump on top of this building and they recently removed it. The post office is no bigger than my kitchen but if they have the services I need then it will be good to use.

I have started Nordic Walking once a week...I have now gone twice. It is another "small group" from the International Women's Group. I take the Metro and get off at the southern most stop...walk a bit, join the group and then we walk for a little over an hour...about 5.5 Kilometers. We walk through a forest and it is so beautiful! I feel I am getting a great aerobic workout. Nordic walking consists of using hiking poles that resemble ski poles.... and it's amazing what the poles do to your walking pace and rhythm. I paused to snap this picture...where we are walking it is SO green...the leaves are starting to turn colors and lots are starting to fall to the ground. I am not in this picture as I am taking it. :)

I decided to "reward" myself for doing so well since Mark was away...also because I had worked on some big family projects and I'm starting to see progress...what better way to treat myself than to find another Polish pottery shop! What a surprise when I found a little one tucked away one Metro stop away from where I live! I bought these 3 serving pieces...I will most definitely

be returning to this quaint 22+year-old shop.

Report without pictures - Today (Saturday) I participated in a service project for our church congregation (Warsaw II Branch). The project consisted of cleaning the building where we hold our services. I had organized it and it was successful...I forgot to take any pictures though. 23 people were in attendance, serving and working together.

I have had a good week...and I am so very glad Mark returns home tomorrow!!!

Our "mini-get-away" ... to Krakow, Poland

We are ready for our get-away-trip to Krakow, Poland! Our adventure began when we walked over to the train station which is next door to Mark's office. We had purchased our tickets a week before so we didn't have to wait in lines. Our first challenge was understanding what platform we were taking and what side to board the train on...

We made it on board...a good thing we were observant...the train was only there for 5 min. Mark wanted to go exploring on the train...to see the other cars, compartments...they are all quite different. I didn't care for going in between the cars...we were in a compartment that seated 6 people and we were glad we had window seats.

The ride to Krakow should usually take about 3 hours...but our train took 4.5 hrs because of construction on the primary railroad tracks. The time went by quickly and it was fun to see the countryside around and away from Warsaw. The picture below is out of the back of the last car in the train.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn...our room was on the 3rd floor, 2nd from the right window above. We walked everywhere...and it was a less than 10 min. walk to the main square.

Below is the view across the street and from our window.

Friday a.m. we were up early...heading for breakfast, walking around the main square.

Stopping on one of our walks...cobblestone streets are everywhere in Poland...especially in Krakow! They are quite beautiful and varied in their patterns and sizes. You always have to be careful though because they are not even and often loose...but they are pretty.

Our first breakfast...Mark has an "English breakfast" and I have a "French breakfast". They were both delicious!

We walked over to the Wawel Royal Castle...we didn't take a tour but just walked the grounds. They were lovely! This was once home to the Jagiellonian kings, a place for coronations and burials and it is considered by Poles as a spiritual shrine. It was built in the 1500's...they have done a good job in preserving it and making it into a museum.

We took a 4 hour bike tour of Krakow in the afternoon. The tour started in the middle of the Main Square...we rode, got off and listened and rode again..there were about 15 people in our group...the biggest challenge for me was manuevering around the many pedestrians. We had perfect weather and it was great being outdoors all day! We were the only two wearing bike helmets - which we had packed from Warsaw.

Church of St. Mary on the Main Square built by citizens of Krakow in the early 1300's..and continued being built for almost 200 years.

A view next to the Vistula River...and a beautiful bridge we passed under. The Vistula River is the longest river in Poland and never leaves the country's borders... it eventually goes through Warsaw and up to the Baltic Sea.

A statue of Copernicus...a student at one of the oldest universities in Poland...Jagiellonian University.

This dragon statue sits next to the Vistula River...Mark thought of "Pete's Dragon" when he saw it and I thought of the newer movie, "How to Train A Dragon". The legend tells the tale of a young cobbler living in the city of Krakow. He worked out a clever plan to destroy the dragon, which was living in a cave beneath King Krak's castle and terrifying his people. To the left and below the statue is the dragon's cave.

After our 4 hour bike ride we went to the Cloth Hall. It is a beautiful Renaissance building that replaced a once Gothic market hall. It was built in the 14th century and was an important place for trading. It was destroyed by fire then rebuilt again.

Today the ground level has small shops going down the sides of the hall...merchants are selling their wares...mostly traditional Polish souvenirs.

Here I am checking out some Amber jewelry...it is really quite beautiful! It comes from the Baltic Sea...I didn't buy any but one day I am hoping to do so before leaving Poland.

We were able to take a tour of the underground levels at the Cloth Hall. Five to six years ago excavation work was done and fascinating discoveries were found...we saw areas of the market that were here hundreds of years ago...they have done a very nice job in presenting and preserving what they have discovered.

Saturday a.m. we took a 45 min. bus ride to the ancient Salt mines...in the town of Wieliczka and took an almost 2 hour tour. We walked through chambers, chapels and areas that were over 700 years old!

There are many statues inside carved completely out of salt...here is one about a famous story. A 13th century Hungarian princess called Kinga was on her way to marry a Polish prince. On her way, she stopped and threw her ring into a well, wishing good fortune and prosperous times for her new country. Soon people started digging around the well and they discovered rich veins of salt...that well is now the Wieliczka Salt Mine!

There is a huge chamber with salt carvings made into the walls...we are standing in front of one of those carvings...Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus traveling together.

We have found on many Market Squares....people enjoy individual entertaining. They place a box, hat or bag in front of them hoping passer byers will listen, watch and throw in a few coins. On this day we saw this man being held up by what appears to be..just a pole. It was entertaining to see and we could not figure out how he managed to stay up!

An older couple entertained us while we ate an outdoor lunch. The Polish music was quite entertaining!

Here we are being entertained by a Folk Show during our dinner. The food was good, and entertainment was great!

Mark was selected to participate in one of their dances...he did very well!

We ate our last breakfast meal outside which was located on the balcony/terrace of the restaurant.

We have had a good couple of days together...it was good for Mark, myself and the two of us together!

Mark is in front of the Krakow train station...this was smaller than the station in Warsaw and as a result...much easier to get around and figure out. Our train arrived early so we had plenty of time to board.

How lucky we were to have the 6-seated passenger compartment all to ourselves! A fun, unexpected treat...loved the ride, the view and the safe return back to Warsaw. All went well except Mark left his baseball cap and straw hat on board the train...I'm sure he will find another one in the near future.