I finally took my roller blades out for a spin today. For the last 8 weeks I've been watching others skate around Krakow, but I've always been doing something else.
I walked to the Planty (just a block or so from my apartment) and donned my skates and helmet there. I can't even remember the last time I roller bladed - I think it may have been two years ago at the Beach in Toronto, but I am not really sure. Anyway, it came back to me fairly quickly, although I felt awkward and don't want to imagine what I looked like.
The Planty is a 4 or 5km stretch of park that circles the Old town and recreates what used to be the medieval wall around the city. Most of the park contains a lovely, smooth, asphalt path that is a pleasure to skate (and walk) on. However, every so often (more often then I'd like on roller blades) the path is interspersed with cobblestones in a somewhat decorative pattern. Sure it's pretty to look at, but it's not fun with roller blades on.
Throw in massive groups of walking tours, who take up the entire width of the path, and multiple roads to cross (including tram tracks), and it's a bit of an obstacle course.
But I managed to go around twice without harming myself or running into any tourists. Tomorrow I think I'll try the Blonia and Park Jordana, which are a bit farther away, but have fewer cobblestones and tourists.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Well I didn't melt . . .
But it might have been better if I did. I am at work now, and I am soaking wet. GRRR!
Rain
It's raining. Really hard. Cats and dogs, buckets, downpour, I don't want to go out type of rain.
The rain woke me up at 5:30 am, pounding on my skylight, and pinging off my tin/steel? roof. When I got up a half an hour ago at 7 it seemed to have stopped, but I was fooled into a false lull.
I'm in the habit of checking the weather online before I go to work in the morning and when I checked 5 minutes ago, it said light rain. HA!
Apparently June is the wettest month in Krakow. I believe it. It seems to have rained almost every day this month (okay I am exaggerating), but thankfully usually just for a brief period every day.
Enough procrastinating. I'd better get going and get ready for work. As my friend K reminded me in one of her posts about running in the rain, we aren't gingerbread men, and we won't melt in a little rain.
I hope.
The rain woke me up at 5:30 am, pounding on my skylight, and pinging off my tin/steel? roof. When I got up a half an hour ago at 7 it seemed to have stopped, but I was fooled into a false lull.
I'm in the habit of checking the weather online before I go to work in the morning and when I checked 5 minutes ago, it said light rain. HA!
Apparently June is the wettest month in Krakow. I believe it. It seems to have rained almost every day this month (okay I am exaggerating), but thankfully usually just for a brief period every day.
Enough procrastinating. I'd better get going and get ready for work. As my friend K reminded me in one of her posts about running in the rain, we aren't gingerbread men, and we won't melt in a little rain.
I hope.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
I'm still here
Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole week since I have posted. I don't know where my time goes . . . It seems like I am always writing blogs in my head, but I never get around to actually putting them online.
As usual, I've got lots to report. In the past week I hosted my first Polish party - vodka, pickles and all, had my first encounter with the Polish medical system, finally rode my bike, and went on an 8 hour hike in the Tatra mountains.
I also found time to work, pick up my Polish PESL number (I am not actually sure what it is, but apparently it is important), buy a DVD player (which isn't compatible with any DVDs I currently own), and work some more.
I'll tell you more, particualarly about my trip to the Tatras, but it's late in Poland now, and I should really start getting ready to go to bed.
As usual, I've got lots to report. In the past week I hosted my first Polish party - vodka, pickles and all, had my first encounter with the Polish medical system, finally rode my bike, and went on an 8 hour hike in the Tatra mountains.
I also found time to work, pick up my Polish PESL number (I am not actually sure what it is, but apparently it is important), buy a DVD player (which isn't compatible with any DVDs I currently own), and work some more.
I'll tell you more, particualarly about my trip to the Tatras, but it's late in Poland now, and I should really start getting ready to go to bed.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
A near perfect day
I just woke up from an early evening nap, after a fresh-air filled early summer day, and am feeling fuzzy but very content.
My Polish friends took me on an excursion out of the city again today (the third they have treated me to in the past two weeks), to the nearby towns of Wadowice and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.
Wadowice is the birthplace of Pope John Paul II, and is a pretty enough place, but filled with pilgrims. We stopped in Wadowice only long enough to admire the square, see the baroque church the Pope was christened in, and eat the pope's favourite cream cake, kreemowka.
We then drove to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which I thought was just a monastery. It took me a while to understand that it is a series of 40 chapels scattered throughout the surrounding countryside and has something to do with the stations of the cross.
Regardless of its religious significance, it was the setting for a perfect walk in the country. After visiting the main Baroque monastery church (from 1702), we started walking up a fairly steep hill into the forest. I thought we were just going to the top of the hill to see another church, so was surprised to see a series of small chapels nestled in amongst the trees. The chapels varied in size and style, but were all built between 1600 and 1632. I am glad I didn't really know what we were going to see, as each time I saw another chapel it was like finding another Easter egg in the hunt.
As we continued walking, we left the forest and walked through fields. We stopped to buy freshly picked cherries from an 81 year old woman, who had just picked the cherries herself. A few minutes later we sat in the grass under a tree and ate them, seeing who could spit the pits the farthest, and laughing at 11 month old Julia enjoying her first taste of cherries.
We then wandered by three sheep, who made me laugh with each baa they uttered. Their bleating really did sound like BAAAAAAA, but they had such dramatically deep voices that I couldn't help but giggle.
As we continued on the route, we encountered several groups of pilgrims, who sang as they walked. Magda told me they were singing hymns, but all sad ones in accordance with the stations of the cross. However, to me, they sounded quite joyful and it was lovely to hear the music periodically throughout our journey.
At one point Magda suggested we gather some of the wildflowers that were growing along a wheat field we were passing through. So the two of us started picking chamomile (I thought they were daisies), some pretty blue flowers, and stocks of wheat that had strayed onto the path.
I never really thought about the Polish countryside before moving here. It's unexpectedly lush and green, and deeply forested in many places. The areas near Krakow are full of rolling hills, dotted with red roofed houses, and like Krakow itself is, to me anyway, incredibly picturesque. The views from the monastery on the hill, and through the wheat fields were so lovely, that I was continually exclaiming aloud.
I never think of myself as a country girl (and I highly doubt any of you do either), but today will stay with me as one of my favourite memories, along with other walks in the country in the Cotswalds, the Lake District, the Scottish highlands, Austria and Tuscany.
My Polish friends took me on an excursion out of the city again today (the third they have treated me to in the past two weeks), to the nearby towns of Wadowice and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska.
Wadowice is the birthplace of Pope John Paul II, and is a pretty enough place, but filled with pilgrims. We stopped in Wadowice only long enough to admire the square, see the baroque church the Pope was christened in, and eat the pope's favourite cream cake, kreemowka.We then drove to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which I thought was just a monastery. It took me a while to understand that it is a series of 40 chapels scattered throughout the surrounding countryside and has something to do with the stations of the cross.
Regardless of its religious significance, it was the setting for a perfect walk in the country. After visiting the main Baroque monastery church (from 1702), we started walking up a fairly steep hill into the forest. I thought we were just going to the top of the hill to see another church, so was surprised to see a series of small chapels nestled in amongst the trees. The chapels varied in size and style, but were all built between 1600 and 1632. I am glad I didn't really know what we were going to see, as each time I saw another chapel it was like finding another Easter egg in the hunt. 
As we continued walking, we left the forest and walked through fields. We stopped to buy freshly picked cherries from an 81 year old woman, who had just picked the cherries herself. A few minutes later we sat in the grass under a tree and ate them, seeing who could spit the pits the farthest, and laughing at 11 month old Julia enjoying her first taste of cherries.
We then wandered by three sheep, who made me laugh with each baa they uttered. Their bleating really did sound like BAAAAAAA, but they had such dramatically deep voices that I couldn't help but giggle.
As we continued on the route, we encountered several groups of pilgrims, who sang as they walked. Magda told me they were singing hymns, but all sad ones in accordance with the stations of the cross. However, to me, they sounded quite joyful and it was lovely to hear the music periodically throughout our journey. At one point Magda suggested we gather some of the wildflowers that were growing along a wheat field we were passing through. So the two of us started picking chamomile (I thought they were daisies), some pretty blue flowers, and stocks of wheat that had strayed onto the path.
I never really thought about the Polish countryside before moving here. It's unexpectedly lush and green, and deeply forested in many places. The areas near Krakow are full of rolling hills, dotted with red roofed houses, and like Krakow itself is, to me anyway, incredibly picturesque. The views from the monastery on the hill, and through the wheat fields were so lovely, that I was continually exclaiming aloud.
I never think of myself as a country girl (and I highly doubt any of you do either), but today will stay with me as one of my favourite memories, along with other walks in the country in the Cotswalds, the Lake District, the Scottish highlands, Austria and Tuscany.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Friday nights
I have rarely been lonely or homesick since I arrived in Krakow seven weeks ago. But when I am, it's usually on a Friday night.
Friday nights seem to have a special buzz everywhere, and Krakow is no exception. People leave work a bit earlier than normal, ready to start their weekends. Everywhere you go, people are in couples or in groups, and the air is festive and electric. When you are alone, it seems like other people are having a particularly good time.
I knew before I left that Friday nights would be the hardest for me. In Toronto I often met friends for dinner or a movie after work Fridays, celebrating the end of the work week. Fridays were never really planned (like a Saturday night event often was), but were just casual get togethers, low-key and spontaneous.
But even at home, Friday nights were the nights I would feel sorry for myself for being single. I once remember someone telling me that one of the best things about being married was always having someone to go to a movie with - perhaps he was thinking of Friday nights.
When I was worrying about my move to Krakow before I left Canada, I told myself it was only 104 Friday nights. And somehow that seemed like a manageable number.
And now it's Saturday morning (disregard the date on this post - I think it's on California time), all is well again.
Friday nights seem to have a special buzz everywhere, and Krakow is no exception. People leave work a bit earlier than normal, ready to start their weekends. Everywhere you go, people are in couples or in groups, and the air is festive and electric. When you are alone, it seems like other people are having a particularly good time.
I knew before I left that Friday nights would be the hardest for me. In Toronto I often met friends for dinner or a movie after work Fridays, celebrating the end of the work week. Fridays were never really planned (like a Saturday night event often was), but were just casual get togethers, low-key and spontaneous.
But even at home, Friday nights were the nights I would feel sorry for myself for being single. I once remember someone telling me that one of the best things about being married was always having someone to go to a movie with - perhaps he was thinking of Friday nights.
When I was worrying about my move to Krakow before I left Canada, I told myself it was only 104 Friday nights. And somehow that seemed like a manageable number.
And now it's Saturday morning (disregard the date on this post - I think it's on California time), all is well again.
Those crafty Swedes
I was at Ikea again Thursday night, buying more glasses and dishes for a small party I am having tonight, when I was excited to find pet supplies. There are several pet shops in Krakow, but the cat toys tend to be wind up mice and of the hard variety. My cats, particularly Small, love to carry their toys around with them, and then rest their chins on them.
Ikea (pronounced eee-kay-uh here) had several soft cat toys in stock, along with crazy things like cat tents, and cat loungers, which I did not purchase (although I was tempted). They even have litter boxes in a lovely shade of green!
I didn't realize until I got home that the toys actually had catnip in them. Flannery and Small spent the rest of the evening in a blissed out trance, rubbing the toys over their faces and then cuddled protectively around them.
Small is happy that she can cart toys around again. She just walked by meowing proudly to show me her toy.
Ikea (pronounced eee-kay-uh here) had several soft cat toys in stock, along with crazy things like cat tents, and cat loungers, which I did not purchase (although I was tempted). They even have litter boxes in a lovely shade of green!
I didn't realize until I got home that the toys actually had catnip in them. Flannery and Small spent the rest of the evening in a blissed out trance, rubbing the toys over their faces and then cuddled protectively around them.
Small is happy that she can cart toys around again. She just walked by meowing proudly to show me her toy.
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