Dzien Dobry (Hello!!) from Poland!

Well, since Sarah is done with her 2nd Master's Degree, we have taken a trip to Poland to celebrate. This is my second time visiting Poland, and Sarah's third. It has been nearly six years since either of us have been back here, but it is as beautiful and fun as ever. We flew from Indianapolis, IN late Tuesday night, December 26, 2006, and arrived to the Balice airport outside of Krakow, about 1:30 PM Krakow time. After going through customs, we met our "travel agent" Tomek Warzecha. Sarah met Tomek during her first visit to Poland when she was studying abroad during the time she was at Purdue. Our first four days (Wednesday - Saturday) were spent at his home town of Jadlowa. It is a small village in a rural area of Poland that is about 120km east of Krakow.

We had a wonderful time spending a lot of time with Tomek, his neice Ola (short for Alexandria), his mother Maria, and his Siamese cat Zyza. We ate many wonderful meals prepared by both Tomek and his mother Maria. Home-cooked Polish food is the best!!! On Thursday, we took a trip and climbed to the top of a mount that had a church and very large cross at the top. It was a beautiful day, and we could see the Polish countryside very well. Later that night, I sat and spent time with Ola, Tomek's neice, helping her learn more English, while she helped me brush up my Polish! Unfortunately, neither of us remembered much of either language the next day ;). On Friday, we walked around in the snow that fell the night before, and took a trip to the nearby village of Jadlowa. It is a quaint village, but has a warm, inviting appeal. We walked to visit the nearby churches, shops, and to visit Tomek's brother Frank's home. It was a beautiful home. It is amazing to think that most people that live away from the larger cities in Poland build their homes mostly by themselves!

On Saturday, we made our way from Jadlowa to Krakow via train. On Saturday night, we checked into our hotel, ate dinner at a small cafe near the market square, and walked around the old town. Today, we attended mass at a very small church, St. Giles, where the mass is performed in English. After mass, we met Tomek again, where we spent a couple hours wandering around the Wawel Castle, the market place, and the Florian Gate.

Next on the agenda, since it is New Year's Eve, is to attend a New Year's Celebration in the market square. They will be ringing in the New Year 2007 with a large concert (rock music, dance music, etc), lots of firework, and just lots of fun in general!!!

See you all in the New Year!!! Happy New Year 2007!!!