Jun 21, 2017 - Winkle Pickers

A small anecdote that the guide told us when viewing a carving on our walking tour. It showed people with rather pointy shoes. The story was that it became all the rage in the 15th Century, and people tried to outdo each other by getting longer and pointier shoes. They were known as poulaines or pikes ( Poulaine referring to Poland). So much so that they got so long and (apparently) so pointy that the had to had strings attached to the points to hold them up and allow them to walk! Winkle pickers - winkles being a popular English seaside...

Jun 21, 2017 - Clean your nose with a toothbrush?

A $&@%¥! Early start this morning - breakfast at 6:30 and on the bus at 6:50! Bolting food is not our normal practice. It was a half hr drive to our first tour - the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The day was fine and expected to be warm ( make that hot!) The salt mine has been in operation for over 600 years and is still operating. It is on the UNESCO world heritage register…….For reasons that became obvious later. We were told that the temp was about 10 degrees, so J and C took jackets. I don't need one as I am made of wool! We went down in multi...

Jun 20, 2017 - Auschwitz

Up early for a 7:30 start - on the road to Krakow, Poland, via Auschwitz. Lots of road works so it was slow going. A pitstop at a Maccas ( got some good flat white coffee there) and another stop about 11 near the Polish border. (Got Subway for lunch!) Then we kept on until we reached Birkenau - a quick stop to look at the iconic entry arch with the single rail line entering the camp. It was very hot and There were many tourist buses and tourists there. Then we went the short distance to Auschwitz. Here we joined an official guide and a...

May 11, 2017 - Krakow

Up for some breakfast in the square (nice breakfast buffet) Then it is off exploring more of the city, today Robert heads out to explore on his own checking out the many things to see and I head out just wandering about the city at a very relaxing pace, as this is my second time in Krakow. After a great day wandering the streets and the many churches I head back to the hotel and wait for Roberts return, we then head off to a Polish restaurant for a great meal our last night in Krakow a glass of wine for Robert and would you believe a beer...

May 10, 2017 - Krakow

The day starts off with breakfast from a restaurant near the hotel then it is off exploring the city, First stop is in the square where our hotel is located we stop at a bronze map of the square and take some pictures of it, we have a couple small stuffed lions traveling with us, you can see them setting on the map .(As Robert and I are both Leo's they travel with us), LOL. Next stop the main square with the St Mary's Basilica, a walk round the market place doing a bit if shopping, lots of horse drawn carriages the teams of horse are nice,...

May 9, 2017 - Krakow, Poland

Today was a easy day with a trip down to the lobby for breakfast and back to room to get my travel blog up to date, it is a cold morning out so it was a good time to do it. With the tour yesterday was able to see the most important parts, and now it is off to Krakow by train. We have a noon check out, met the rest of our group jump in 3 taxi and it is off to the train station, we got the faster train only a couple stops getting us in Krakow around 4pm, a walk to our hotel in the old walled part of the city, got checked in, then off on a...

May 8, 2017 - On to Warsaw

Up early down for a coffee and a roll as we are leaving before breakfast at the hotel, back to room finishing packing and check out of hotel, a short walk to the tram station, to get to our train station for a 6 hour trip to Warsaw, Poland. Today it is very over casts and some light rain, so a good day for a train ride, when get into Poland our passports were checked by the border police, getting into Warsaw we got taxis to our hotel, got checked in and out for some dinner before we meet our local guide (Jack) for a walk about the old city...

Nov 27, 2016 - The Great Escape

This vacation is a brief work escape. Lately I've been traveling with Lisa which eliminates my compulsion to do these journal things but not this time so we'll see how this goes. I should be back in the States on Saturday so thus is very short. Saturday I worked at the zoo and then headed for BWI. I bought a round trip ticket to Berlin the week before for $450. It was on Wow Airlines which is European cheap airline like Ryanair but they fly to North America. What don't you get? Luggage (I have my tiny backpack ). Food or water. (Yep water...

Oct 11, 2016 - Poland Days 9-12

After leaving Budapest we start the drive to Poland. The scenery will change from mountainous to flat. For lunch we stopped in a mountain town called Donovaly in Slovakia. The weather was really cold during the night and as you can see they had their first very early snowfall. Some people on the bus had never seen snow. We arrived in Krawkow late afternoon and had a polka dinner party scheduled. The entertainment was great and they even got everyone up to dance. The food was typical Polish. Mushroom Soup in a bread bowl that was a big as a...

Oct 5, 2016 - There's a lot of time on a train to write quite a bit....

So, it’s become a thing….. at least for this part of my journey….that I seem to like writing journal entries on the train. I guess it makes sense – lots of time (and it’s only going to get longer!) and the opportunity to think about what I’ve just being doing / feeling like / seen. I’m currently sat on the 18h40 departure from Warsaw to Moscow. I would write down the train type but I literally can’t read a single thing on the ticket…. Other than the date and time of departure (which was pretty handy). Everything else is in Russian…. Dad...

Aug 28, 2016 - Warsaw

Arrived Warsaw 26 August after a long - 81/2 hour - bus journey from Vilnius. Comfortable bus with intermittent wifi but no coffee and tea like the one from Riga. Mostly agriculture - corn - a few orchards. Flat country in Lithuania with more undulating hills in Poland. Nice apartment on a noisy street but if one closes the windows it is OK for sleeping. Warsaw is a lovely city - with again a very sorry history - which today seems sophisticated and reasonably prosperous. The Old Town was almost completely demolished in WW2 and has been...

Aug 9, 2016 - Gdansk, Poland -- July 3, 2016

The larger Cruise ships need to dock in Gdynia Poland which is about a 45-minute drive from downtown Gdansk. We decided to tour on our own so we took one of the ships shuttle busses to downtown Gdansk. It was a pretty area with a canal and some interesting buildings but it was a weekend and there seemed to be something else going on because it was wall to wall people. We walked around for 45 minutes or so and went back to the bus and returned to the ship. I don’t think I even stopped for an ice cream! As we were heading back to the bus we...