Hawaii, Part 2

The weather was much nicer during our second week in Hawaii, so we were able to do more fun things outside.  One day we went north to Waimea to visit Aletta, the mother of Keegan's best friend from childhood, Bruce.  We had a nice breakfast at Starbuck's in Waimea and then went to the Spencer Beach Park on the west side of the island.

Spencer Beach Park

It was a gorgeous beach, and the weather was warm and sunny, but boy was it windy!  We got sandblasted on the beach but enjoyed snorkeling in the water.  There were a lot of fish and some coral and sea urchins.

Before we went to Hawaii, Sue had discovered that there was a very nice community pool in Pahoa, so we headed there one morning to swim a few laps.  Unfortunately, it was cloudy and drizzly, and the pool was unheated, so we were pretty chilly.  After we dried off and warmed up, we headed into Hilo to check out the shopping mall and see if we could find a place there for Sophie to play.  We had a great time!  We ate lunch at the Maui Taco Company, which was fantastic, and then Sophie had a chance to play in a big playground with all kinds of inflatable slides and bouncing areas.  Keegan and I did a little shopping, and when we were almost finished Sophie and I took a ride on the mall train.  Sophie was thrilled.

Riding on the train at the Hilo mall

As we spent more time with the grandparents, Sophie got more and more comfortable, and we knew that she was ready to stay on her own with them so Keegan and I could have some time to ourselves.  Our first outing was to check out the lava fields near Kalapana.  We hoped that we might be able to walk over the solidified lava out to the hot, still flowing lava from Kilauea.  When we got there, though, we found out that we would have to hire a guide to take us across the lava fields, much of which is private property.  We were disappointed, but we made plans to return another day for a guided walk.  And we made up for the disappointment by visiting the old black sand beach at Kaimu, which was beautiful, especially with the dramatic sunset that evening.  We had a lot of fun taking silhouette pictures in front of the setting sun.

Beautiful sunset at the old Kaimu Beach

Later in the week Keegan, Dad, Steve, and I were able to take the lava hike.  It was definitely a difficult walk over rolling, uneven and sharp lava outcroppings with our guide, who set a blistering pace.  The payoff was pretty amazing, though.

With Steve overlooking hot lava flowing into the ocean

Not only did we see red hot lave pouring over a cliff and into the ocean, but we also walked over scorching hot lava that had solidified only the day before.  We could even see red hot rocks glowing through cracks in the cooler lava on the surface.  I was happy to leave the hot area, where I could hear the lava cracking and popping.  The walk back was pretty arduous, and  when we finished all of us realized that the soles of our shoes showed the wear from miles shuffling over rough lava rocks.  My dad published a much more detailed account of our hike on his blog.

We also had a chance to do a much, much easier walk to see Akaka Falls, a tall waterfall cascading into lush green rainforest.

Akaka Falls

We saw some amazing bamboo and huge, prehistoric looking banyan trees.  One the way home, we stopped at the Hilo zoo again and gave Sophie a chance to play on their fantastic playground.

By this time, our trip was winding down, but we still had a lot more fun to cram in.  Keegan and his parents discovered an amazing hot pond, accessible only by Jeep.  It was toasty warm and a great place for snorkeling and swimming.

Keegan ready to swim at the tidal pool

We spent a relaxing morning there while my mom and dad enjoyed some time with their granddaughter.  Keegan and I had a chance to go out for dinner at a great little restaurant in Pahoa called Kaleo's.  We tried poke, a Hawaiian sushi salad with fresh avocado and raw tuna.  We had fresh fish and tropical cocktails and a bottle of wine and dessert.  There was live music and even a hula performance by one of the waitresses.  When we left, our waitress told us "You guys came to enjoy.  I like that."  And she was right!

Mom, Dad, Keegan and I heard about a New Year's Day Fun Run in Hilo, so the first day of 2012 saw us suited up in our running gear, ready to push Sophie in her stroller for a 5k run.  Keegan darted ahead of all of us with the stroller, and we all followed on a nice course along the bay.  After we finished, we walked out to Coconut Island to wade in the cool water, and then we spent the late morning/afternoon at the Richardson Beach Park.  It was a relaxing, fun way to end our trip.

Starting the new year right at Coconut Island

Runners and one rider after the New Year's 5k in Hilo

I hope we'll have a chance to visit Hawaii again when Sophie is a bit older - I think there is still a ton left to see and do.

Our Trip to Hong Kong

Last month, as you may remember, we went to Hong Kong.  Well, I'm finally posting about it!  I've also updated the entry from our first day there with a few photos.

On our first full day in Hong Kong, we decided to visit Hong Kong Disneyland.  We had heard from a lot of people that the park was pretty small, and that's true, but it was just the right size for us with Sophie in tow.  We took the subway out to the park and got there around 10:30.  The subway has its own special Disney line, complete with Disney-themed trains.

Mickey everywhere on the train to Disneyland.

We spent the day exploring the different themed areas of the park and enjoying a lot of classic Disney rides like "It's a Small World" and the spinning teacups.  I think Sophie's favorite was the carousel, which we rode twice.  She kept signing "horse" and saying "neee!  neee!"

On the carousel with Dada

She also enjoyed the Small World ride but was scared of the Winnie the Pooh ride, which had a really creepy dream sequence in which Pooh bear encounters all kinds of garish smirking toys.  Eeek.  Still, at the end of the ride, as she unburied her face from my chest, she signed "again! again!"

After lunch, we put Sophie in her rented stroller and walked her around until she fell asleep for about an hour.

All this fun is exhausting!

During that time, Keegan and I each got to ride Space Mountain, and I tried out the Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters.  Sophie woke up just in time for the afternoon parade, which I thought was a pretty good spectacle.  Sophie loved watching the floats and the dancers and clapped and bounced in my lap the whole time.

Sophie meets the dancers from the Lilo and Stitch float.

I have to admit that I was a bit wary of introducing Sophie to the hyper-commercialized world of Disney characters, but once we got to the park and especially during the parade I found myself super nostalgic and sentimental about my own childhood and all of the classic Disney songs and movies that I enjoyed as a kid (and an adult).  Even the jarring sight of four white Disney princesses waving from a sea of lesser Asian performers to the mostly Asian crowd during the parade barely dampened my enthusiasm.  We even considered buying Disneyland t-shirts but refrained in favor of buying Sophie a Pooh bear doll, which is now a treasured possession who sleeps in her crib every night.  Overall, I would definitely recommend Hong Kong Disney if you have toddlers, and I think it will be great for older kids too in the next few years when they open three new areas in the park.

Sophie loved Donald and quacked whenever she saw him.

No one is happier than a kid at Disneyland.

We barely had the energy to get back to the hotel and get down a conveyor-belt sushi meal before we tumbled into bed, ready for day 3.

On day 3, we spent the morning on Hong Kong island, taking the famous Peak Tram up to the Peak for great views of the city.  Sophie enjoyed all the escalators leading up to the viewing platform.

The family on The Peak

Hong Kong?  Yeah, been there, done that.

Back at the bottom, we swung through gorgeous Hong Kong Park for a session on the fantastic playground and a brief walk through the aviary.

Back at the hotel, I took Sophie to the hotel restaurant for a disastrous lunch (not much was eaten, a great deal ended up on the floor, and there were tears), while Keegan headed to the spa for a massage and soak in the hot tub.  I'm not sure who enjoyed their afternoon the most, as Sophie and I both got three-hour naps in.

In the evening, we tried went to the Temple Street Night Market, which we had heard was a must-see attraction.  Well, I'm not sure what we missed because it was terrible!  Stall after stall was filled with cheap plastic junk and tourist knick-knacks.  Most of the people shopping there were clearly tourists.  None of the food stalls looked remotely appetizing or toddler friendly, so we gave up pretty quickly and went back to the hotel area.  We found a Chinese restaurant for dinner, but it was a bit late to eat, and we spent most of our energy trying to keep Sophie happy while we scarfed our food.  We'll have to try authentic Chinese food again another time!

Sophie had her own special bamboo booster seat at the Chinese restaurant.

On our last day in Hong Kong, we decided to go to the Hong Kong Zoo and Botanical Garden.  We were definitely impressed with the gorgeous parks in Hong Kong.  The zoo was even nicer than Hong Kong park!

Keegan and Sophie at the zoo

The cages are a bit old-fashioned with bars and mesh grating, but the enclosures were clean and stocked with plenty for the animals to sit on/hide in/play with, so it wasn't a depressing experience.  There are a lot of birds, a few reptiles, and many kinds of monkeys.  Everyone's favorite was definitely the monkeys, who were swinging around like crazy in their cages.  I told Sophie that the monkeys were playing, and she said over and over "pay! pay!"  We had a great time watching them.

Then we found the zoo playground and had our own fun playing.

On our way back from the zoo, we took the famous Star Ferry from Hong Kong island back to Kowloon and saw the super-fancy center of Hong Kong with all its jewelry stores and high-fashion boutiques.  Then it was back to the hotel for my spa treatment.  I had a fabulous 45-minute massage and 45-minute facial and almost fell asleep.  Ahhh.  Then I met Keegan and Sophie for their post-nap trip to the pool.

In the evening we made a cardinal mistake in traveling with a toddler:  we left waaay too late for dinner.  We also seriously underestimated the crowds in the Mongkok area.  The restaurant we were aiming for, a vegetarian dim sum place, was closed, and every other place we tried had a long wait to be seated.

The bright lights and bustling streets of Hong Kong

So we trudged back to the hotel and ordered room service, which was a good recovery.

On Sunday morning, we headed back to the airport.  The early afternoon flight was a good time for us to travel because Sophie fell asleep fairly quickly and slept for most of the trip.  All in all, we were really happy with our relaxing vacation, and we felt pretty good about our first real tourist trip with a toddler.  Now we have to plan the next one!

Trip to Seoul

Because last weekend was filled with saying good-bye to John and Glenda, we decided to celebrate our anniversary this weekend instead.  We have been wanting to take the KTX fast train to Seoul for months, so we grabbed our chance and spent a short weekend there.

On Friday evening, Keegan and I met at the ferry terminal in Gohyeon (where the shipyard is) around 6.  We caught the day's last ferry to Busan and then hopped on a shuttle bus to the train station.  We made our train with five minutes to spare and settled in to our seats, which were roomy and remarkably comfortable.  Of course, it was dark out by the time we left, so we couldn't see much on our journey, and even when the train reached its top speed of about 290 kilometers per hour, we could barely tell.  The tracks were very smooth, and we just glided along through the dark night.  The train trip took about three hours, and once in Seoul we easily navigated the clean and modern subway system two stops to our hotel.  Counting our individual trips to the ferry terminal on Geoje, we took a bus, a scooter, a ferry, another bus, a train, and the subway to make it to our final destination.  If we had just figured out how to add a hot air balloon and a unicycle, I think we'd have covered every possible method of transport!

Since we hadn't had time to do more than snack during the many legs of our journey, we were quite hungry when we got to our hotel room around midnight.  So we decided to order room service.  I've never gotten room service before - I felt like we were in the movies.  The food was  not fantastic, but it tasted that way to our hungry mouths.  Shortly after our midnight meal, we hit the sack.

Our room service feast

On Saturday morning we woke up without a plan and got off to a slow start.  At breakfast, we planned our day, which involved going to Insadong, a neighborhood near that hotel that was recommended by our friend Fred and by our guidebook as a cool place with lots of interesting shops and restaurants.  We strolled there leisurely from the hotel, stopping to take pictures along the way.  

Insadong was indeed full of interesting things.  There are lots of tourist nicknacks for sale, but also a lot of beautiful handcrafts, including paintings, needlework, pottery, and beautiful paper lanterns and lamps.  I found a new dress in this funky secondhand shop, and Keegan and I picked out a table runner with a traditional Korean patchwork design, called "Bojagi."  

Paintbrushes for sale and a cool shopping center in Insadong

We had lunch at a vegetarian Korean place with delicious food.  We tried dim sum, a huge bowl of mushroom soup with noodles (a bit spicy, especially towards the bottom), and a plate of acorn squash with a filling of millet, walnuts, and cinnamon.  Mmmm!  The restaurant was otherwise a bit weird, with all of these books by "The Supreme Master Ching Hai," whose Wikipedia article includes such one-of-a-kind phrases as "Part Buddha, Part Madonna," and "transnational cybersect."  Her television channel was also playing in the background.  We tried to focus on the food.

Keegan meditates over our vegetarian lunch.

After lunch we did more wandering, this time to a temple nearby Insadong.  It was a fairly typical Korean temple, but in celebration of Buddha's birthday, there were colorful lanterns strung high over the entire courtyard.  I was happy that we visited at the right time to see such a festive display.

Buddha's birthday lanterns at Jogyesa Temple

On our way back to the hotel, we strolled along the Cheonggye Stream, where hundreds of Seoulites were wandering, enjoying the sound of the rushing stream and dipping their feet into the cool water during the very warm afternoon.  We also saw some women playing unusual traditional Korean instruments.

We spent the afternoon relaxing a little and then headed out for dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen.  I am somewhat ashamed to admit this, as I firmly believe that one should experience new foods and new restaurants at every opportunity, and as I also scoff at Americans who rave about eating at the Outback Steakhouse or TGI Friday's in Busan.  But apparently California Pizza Kitchen is my Achilles heel.  Actually, only the pizza was tasty, the rest of the meal was pretty lousy, especially dessert, The Worst Tiramisu Ever.  But it was fun to think of all the times we ate at the CPK in Norfolk and enjoyed ourselves.

We didn't do much in the evening either, just relaxed in the hotel and watched the "Sex and the City" movie on TV, which for some reason lasted FOREVER.  We gave up at midnight after a ridiculously long commercial break.  

In the morning, we woke up pretty early and decided to take a walk to a big park not far from our hotel.  The park is on a big hill with the Seoul Tower at the top.  Once we made it into the park, we found an absolutely gorgeous trail for walking, biking, and running, along with tons of people taking advantage of it.  It was nice to be out early and have a chance to see some more of the city.  I wish we had been able to go up to the tower because we both felt like we hadn't had a chance to experience the full size of the city.  Since the Seoul metropolitan area is home to almost a third of South Korea's population, we wanted a chance to be impressed by its vastness.  Maybe next time.

After breakfast, we started our journey back to Geoje, which was pretty much the same as our trip to Seoul, in reverse, with many different modes of transportation.  We were happy to get back to the needy kittens and our cozy apartment after our weekend of adventures.  We'll have to get back to Seoul again and see more of what it has to offer.

The Tale of the Honeymoon, Part IV

Krakow and the Trip Home, May 29-June 1

We were reluctant to leave Zakopane on Thursday morning, but also excited about returning to Krakow.  We successfully navigated our way back to Sylwia and Marek's apartment (well, the taxi driver did), and we settled in for an afternoon of relaxing, reading, and reacquainting ourselves with the world of the Internet.  We could easily have taken a bus into the Old Town, and I felt a bit guilty for not doing so, but I think we were both ready to just take a rest from being continually on the go.  Sylwia and Marek were both home before 6, and they had some ideas for the evening.

We drove into town, stopping at several sites along the way.  First, we stopped at an old quarry that has been flooded and now is a popular place for people living on the outskirts of town to picnic and swim (illegally).  I had been there with Sylwia the last time I visited Krakow.  Next we stopped at a place I hadn't been before, the Kosciuszko Mound.  The mound is a monument built in the 1820's to Tadeusz Kosciuszko, a Pole who fought in the American Revolution as well as leading an uprising during the time of the second partition of Poland.  It's a big, steep hill that challenged all of us who don't like heights.  But, as usual, the view from the top was worth it.  The entire city of Krakow was laid out before us, looking ridiculously tiny.  We took some photos and then headed into town.

In the Old Town, Sylwia was eager to show us a new hotel that has a spectacular terrace overlooking the market square.  The evening light was absolutely perfect for pictures with the beautiful Kosciol Mariacki in the background, and we then settled in for drinks.  Before we knew it, our quiet rooftop retreat became the scene of a very sophisticated (i.e. oddly dressed) gathering celebrating some recent exhibit at the National Museum.  One of the first couples that emerged from the elevator consisted of a woman wearing the most godawful yellow, ruffly dress which I thought of as "the canary outfit."  Her companion was an extremely hip-looking Asian fellow with spiky hair and a carefully mussed suit.  As we finished our drinks, we saw more and more outlandish outfits, matched with shoes so ugly that we knew they must be high fashion.  We left just about when things got unbearably posh.  I think all of us were a bit excited to have witnessed such a spectacle, even if we outwardly laughed at some of the most unusual garb.

By now we had worked up quite an appetite, so there was only one place to go:  Chimera, Krakow's famous salad bar, where just a few zloty buys a plate stuffed with 7 kinds of salad.  We ate in the atmospheric basement dining room and enjoyed our food immensely.  

After dinner, Marek offered to take us on a tour of some of Krakow's pubs and clubs, most of which he remembered from his university days.  Most of the bars in Krakow are in the basements of old buildings and are truly impressive, with room after room of vaulted brick ceilings and couches.  Keegan was duly impressed.  It was interesting to see the variety of bars you could choose from - some were so smoky you could hardly breathe, and others were curiously airy.  We went into one bar where all of the men had long, wavy hair and black t-shirts.  Some were full of young people dancing and others with older people talking earnestly.  It could take years to fully explore the bar scene and get to know which places were best to go when.  Good thing we had Marek as our guide!

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Miraculously, Sylwia and Marek made it out to work on Friday morning, leaving us with a huge breakfast (thanks, Sylwia!), and a free day ahead of us.  We decided to visit Wawel Castle.  We took the bus into town and crossed a bridge over the Wisla River to head up to the castle.  Once we got there, we realized that........the courtyard was full of schoolchildren!  Agh!  But we forged bravely on and managed to explore the beautiful grounds of the castle, the cathedral museum (with a whole room dedicated to Pope John Paul II), and the ticket office.  Finally we decided we'd try to see the cathedral.  The interior of the cathedral is really beautiful, with a number of royal tombs and beautiful carvings and stained glass.  My favorite is the tomb of Jadwiga, and early queen of Poland, whose white marble sarcophagus shows the beautiful queen in repose with a lithe and peaceful dog lying at her feet.  

I've always enjoyed visiting the bell tower in the cathedral because the massive church bells are impressive and because there's a stunning view of the Old Town from the tower.  This time, it was slightly less enjoyable.  We were, as usual, surrounded by a mob of school kids, so the wooden stairs and odd little passageways were extra claustrophobic, and we couldn't linger long in front of the view.  But I'm glad Keegan got to see it anyway.  

After we finished our cathedral tour, we had a quick lunch in a new cafe they've built in the courtyard, and I got to try strawberry pierogies!  I felt lucky that we were in Poland during strawberry season, since I've never gotten to have these deliciously sweet dumplings before.  I also had some truly delicious bean soup.  We finished just in time to take our guided tour of the Royal Palace, which was interesting.  Talk about some unique architecture and elaborate furnishings!  Our guide did a great job, but I absolutely loved to hear the way she said century. "The eighteenth cen-TCHREE!"

Free from the company of the hordes at last, we wandered up towards the Kosciol Mariacki to see about climbing up to the bell tower where the trumpeter of Krakow plays his bugle every hour.  Sylwia had mentioned that tourists could pay to climb the tower now, and I had never been, so I was pretty excited about this chance.  We headed over to the tower where a man selling postcards pointed us to the tower door.  There we paid a fireman (they are the ones who are in charge of playing the trumpet) 5 zl. apiece to climb up.  Good deal, if you ask me!  It was not obvious that the tower was open to tourists, so Keegan and I only encountered one other couple at the top.  The fireman told us we could open the windows of the tower to take pictures, and we had a great time taking in all the views of the city.  Then, finally, the fireman joined us at the top and opened the windows to begin playing the trumpet call, the hejnal.  So cool!  If you are ever in Krakow, I highly recommend climbing the tower close to the hour so you can see it too!

By the time we had a quick beer in the main market square, it was time to head back to the apartment to meet Sylwia and Marek for dinner.  We picked Marek up at his English lesson and then started a drive to find the ruins of an old castle that they had visited before.  It's a good thing we had "native guides" because we would NEVER have found this place on our own!  But it was beautiful, especially in the light of the setting sun.  We had a lot of fun scrambling around over the rocks, climbing up the ruins, and of course, taking a billion and one pictures.

After the castle, we headed on to the restaurant that Marek's uncle owns.  It is styled like the restaurants in Zakopane - all wood, with a huge grill and lots of "country" style.  We sipped some honey vodka and ate delicious homemade bread while we waited for our orders.  When they arrived, we were definitely taken aback - the portions were huge!  Sylwia's meat was the size of, well, a small animal, and my sausage was definitely more than a foot-long.  Keegan called it the amazing yard-long sausage.  We dug in with gusto, but I don't think any of us finished more than half of what was on our plates, even the men.  After we had all asked for boxes, the waitress came out with a cake with candles on it - I was so surprised!  As we dug into the cake, it headed past midnight, and it was officially my birthday.  What a wonderful way to start the celebration!

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Saturday started out with another huge breakfast, including the copious remains of dinner from the night before.  By the time we were all fed and packed and ready to go into town, it was after noon!  I had made reservations at the Hotel Copernicus, one of the nicest hotels in Krakow, as a birthday present, and we packed our bulging suitcases into Sylwia and Marek's tiny car so we could go check in.  The hotel was really beautiful, with an amazing atrium, a rooftop terrace with a gorgeous view of Wawel, and the coolest basement swimming pool you have ever seen.  There are pictures here.  I've always wanted to stay in a super-swank hotel on my honeymoon, and since it was also my birthday, I felt that a stay in the lap of luxury was just the thing.

After we were finished checking out the hotel, we headed into town for some refreshments.  We decided to visit the Jama Michalika, a famous hangout for artists and literati in 19th century Krakow.  Of course, it is also a must for a Michalik (even an ex-Michalik like me) visiting Krakow to stop in at this cafe.  We had some cake and iced tea in the cave-like interior, and enjoyed looking at the stained glass and interesting sketches on the walls.

Next it was time for some souvenir shopping.  I was able to find some beautiful amber jewelry, and we also fell in love with a pottery stall and bought a really gorgeous hand-painted soup tureen and a spoon rest.  After shopping, we split up with Sylwia and Marek and headed back to the hotel, where Keegan surprised me with a beautiful amber bracelet and necklace, and we enjoyed drinks on the rooftop terrace.  It was a beautiful afternoon, but also a bit melancholy since we knew we were leaving the next day.

For dinner, we met up with Sylwia and Marek again at one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Corleone.  The outdoor seating area there is one of the most pleasant places I've ever eaten - a secluded courtyard filled with flowers and candlelight. 

After dinner, I wanted to take Keegan out for drinks at u Louisa, which makes fantastic White Russians, and other good mixed drinks, too.  But when we got there, there was a particularly rowdy bachelorette party going on, featuring at least 10 girls dressed up with bunny ears and little bunny tails.  We decided a different scene might be in order, so we went back to Buddha and found a nice table in the corner of the upstairs at which to end our trip in style.  Ten days have never gone so fast, let me tell you!  

We were so happy with how everything turned out, and we really can't thank Sylwia, Marek, Sylwia's parents, and Jurek enough for their hospitality, good cooking, and chauffeuring services.  We'll see you all again, I'm sure, on our next anniversary trip to Poland!

The Tale of the Honeymoon, Part III

We've actually gotten some more news lately about the big move. We found out that they do have an apartment lined up for us. Apparently it has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and kitchen. That sounds surprisingly large to me. I wonder what it's like. We've also gotten several e-mails from people already living and working on Koje Island. They have a variety of advice about what to bring with us - mattresses (the Korean ones are apparently rock hard), familiar medicine, favorite foods. I wonder what my advice to newcomers will be after I've been there for a few years.

Part III: Zakopane, May 26-28

I wish I could say that our journey to Zakopane was uneventful, but I'll have to admit that we had a bit of trouble at the bus station in Krakow. We took the train from Tarnow to Krakow, and when we got off the train, I was completely disoriented. Buses to Zakopane used to be very easy to find, in a parking lot right in front of the train station. But they've changed everything around and added a truly enormous shopping mall to one end of the train station. It's very easy to emerge from the underground tunnel beneath the tracks and be immediately overwhelmed by floor after floor of shopping, with no friendly tourist information desk like before. Eventually we got straightened out and found a bus headed to Zakopane, albeit crammed full of Polish boy and girl scouts. (Isn't it odd when foreshadowing happens in real life?)

We asked the driver if there would be room for us with the group of kids, and he indicated that there would. We put our bags in the under-bus storage and headed on board, but the driver told us not to be so anxious and that the bus wouldn't leave for another 20 minutes. So we went to get a snack and use the bathroom, and when we came back 10 minutes later, the bus was gone! With all our stuff. Cue a tremendous sinking feeling in Ellen's stomach. Fortunately a nearby bus driver witnessed our distress and pointed us to where the bus had moved. We were able to get on and ride with our bags to Zakopane. We won't leave our stuff on the bus again!

The trip was disappointing because the weather was hazy and the views of the mountains were partly obscured. Also, we weren't able to sit together. I was sitting next to an adorable little boy who fell asleep on my shoulder halfway through the ride, much to the delight and hilarity of his fellow scouts. How embarrassing.

Finally in Zakopane, we took a taxi to the hotel Sylwia had recommended to us. It had a stunning view of the mountains and was in a quiet neighborhood a bit outside of town. We fought our urge to nap and decided to get a look at the town and then climb the ski slope to the north of the town (Gubalowka), from which we could get a great view of the Tatras. We walked down Krupowki Street to the ski lift and then started climbing. At the top, we not only had a wonderful view, but also the chance to ride the "gravity toboggan" a kind of rolling bobsled that goes down a curvy metal course with spectacular views of the mountains and the town below. Keegan was thrilled. Back in town, we had dinner in a suitably touristy restaurant, complete with a goralski (highlander) band and finally tasted real Polish kielbasa, straight from the grill, with mustard and beer, which is the only meaty dish that I really cannot resist. Fortunately, it is only truly available in Poland, so most of the time, I am not tempted.

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Tuesday morning we slept in and then headed to the bus station to catch a ride to Morskie Oko, the Lake Louise of the Polish mountains. It's a popular place for tourists in Zakopane, but I was not prepared for the number of buses we saw in the parking lot, or the number of schoolchildren we saw heading up the trail. The weather was warm and sunny, and the trail was long, wide, only gently sloping, and absolutely crammed with elementary, middle, and high school students traveling in packs of 30. I was really disappointed by the numbers of kids - we found out later that we had timed our visit right during the most popular time for school trips. The weather is usually glorious at the end of May, and high school seniors are busy with the Matura exam, so younger classes use the time to take a trip. What really rubbed it in is the fact that neither of us had ever had the opportunity to take a several-day-long hiking trip with 29 of our closest school friends. At any rate, we finally made it to the lake, only to find that the hostel, the viewing area in front of it, and the shore of the lake were absolutely teeming with kids. I have been to Morskie Oko three times now and have never seen it this crowded.

We didn't linger at the lake but instead decided to keep walking around the lake so we could climb a bit further to a second lake, Czarny Staw (Black Pond). Not as many kids made it past the hostel and the first view of the lake, so we were able to get some quiet. The trip up to the second lake was snowy and steep, but the views along the way and at the top were definitely worth it. In front of us, we saw Czarny Staw, still mostly frozen, and behind it Rysy, the highest peak in Poland, still covered in snow. Behind us, we could see Morskie Oko from above, with the schoolkids no more than quiet, tiny specks. As we congratulated ourselves for finishing the climb, we heard a helicopter and then saw a red rescue chopper emerge over the ridge. It circled the lake a few times, dropped off two men high on the slope of Rysy, and then landed near us on the lake shore. Everyone at the lake took a ton of pictures and was beside themselves with excitement. Finally, the helicopter circled back around and picked up the men before flying away. That's definitely the only way I'd ever get up Rysy's slopes.

On the way back the lake was quieter, so we had a chance for photo ops and a cold beer at the hostel before starting the long walk down. Back in Zakopane we had just enough energy for a plate of delicious spinach pierogi and some grilled oscypek (sheep's milk cheese) with cranberry sauce before falling exhausted into bed.

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On Wednesday we planned another hike in the Dolina (valley) Koscieliska, but when the bus arrived at the trailhead, we saw, again, hordes of schoolchildren. We had hoped that the day's misty weather and the fact that it was midweek would deter some classes, but our hopes were dashed. So we pulled out our map and chose a different hike, a trail that led to the top of a mountain called Czerwiec. This was one hell of a steep trail. Both of us were soaked in sweat and breathing hard as we moved at little more than a crawl up the trail. But eventually we emerged into a truly beautiful alpine meadow. I'm sure that on a sunny day, the views from that meadow were spectacular, but the misty view had its own charm, so we did our best to enjoy that too. Eventually, we approached the treeline and encountered another couple who warned us of snow higher on the trail. Indeed, we found a broad patch of snow covering a steep uphill and decided not to go any further, especially since the mist had gotten very close (we were essentially in the clouds) and we knew we wouldn't get much of a view anyway. We changed out of our sweaty shirts and settled in for lunch. As we sat there munching, we watched a man with a snow ax and good hiking boots come tearing down the snowy patch, almost at a run. I was astounded. Don't think I'll ever be that brave - sorry Keegan.

When we got down from the first hike, my legs were quivering with tiredness, but we decided to hike another little stretch of trail nonetheless. This stretch led up and over a ridge, and as we climbed into another beautiful meadow, the sun began to come out, the clouds began to clear, and we could finally see the huge mountain we had been climbing earlier in the day. I must confess that we were rather pleased with ourselves. While on this stage of the hike, we heard a cuckoo calling over and over again. I had never heard a cuckoo that was not actually a clock. They sound strikingly similar. It was hard not to feel that judgment was being passed when everything we did was accompanied by a running commentary of "Cu-koo, cu-koo, cu-koo!"

Back in Zakopane, we headed straight back to the hotel to take advantage of the pool and hot tub. I don't think I would have been able to walk on Thursday had we not taken the time to loosen up a bit in the water! After our swim, we went to a restaurant close to the hotel where Keegan tried beer with raspberry syrup for the first time. He liked it! We were in bed asleep by probably about 9:00. And thus ended a wonderful leg of our trip, one which we vowed to repeat on numerous anniversaries in the future.

The Tale of the Honeymoon, Part II

We just returned from Keegan's cousin Mandy's wedding in New York. The wedding and Mandy were absolutely beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes off her gorgeous dress. She and Gerard seemed very happy, and the party was a rockin' good time. Congrats, you two!

Part II: Visiting old friends in Debica and around, May 24-25

Saturday morning started quite early when Keegan's eyes sprang open at 7 a.m. The jet lag must have gotten to him, because usually I'm the one who wakes up annoyingly early. Fortunately for us, Sylwia prepared the most amazing breakfast, complete with grilled cheese sandwiches, breakfast sausages, several different salads, fresh veggies, bread, and coffee and tea. We knew that we wouldn't have to eat again for a long time.

Fortified for the trip, we loaded into the car to drive to Debica. Debica is about an hour's drive from Krakow, and it's the town where I taught English so many years ago. Our first stop on arriving was the apartment of Sylwia's parents. Sylwia's mother, Pani Zosia Wiktor, is a teacher at the school where I also taught, and she is the one who introduced the two of us. She was in the town of Rzeszow, grading high school exit exams, a truly gargantuan task. But Sylwia's father was home and quite busy in the kitchen. Our large breakfast not so far behind us, we sat down to yet another meal. Sylwia's parents are truly fantastic cooks, and their versions of popular Polish dishes are always my favorites. Pan Wiktor prepared some zurek for us, and then warmed some of his wife's delicious pierogi, both with cheese and potato filling and also with mushroom and cabbage, my favorite. After we were truly stuffed on those delicacies, out marched Sylwia's young niece, Justyna, who had been acting as our waitress, with small bowls of bean soup and then with bigos, a stew made from cabbage and sausage. Now almost certainly packed to capacity, we still felt it necessary to sample a few of the cakes that Sylwia had bought from a new bakery in town. Whew!

There was only one thing to do after a meal like this, and that was take a stroll around town. Justyna wanted to come with us, and she amused herself by running, jumping, climbing, and collecting a bouquet of wildflowers for Sylwia. I enjoyed seeing my old haunts again. There were many changes around town. For one thing, the teahouse, or Herbaciarnia where we spent countless hours meeting friends, eating crepes, and gossiping relentlessly, was gone! I was crushed. There was a rumor that it had moved to a new location, but we didn't see the new shop in our wanderings. I saw more new supermarkets in town, which made me a little sad, even though I would have loved the convenience when I was living there. There is a new statue of Pope John Paul II in its own little park, and the old Russian army tank that used to grace a hill in another park is gone. I felt a bit like the town was losing little by little the exotic, unique touches that made living there a real experience for me. I can only wonder how things will look the next time I make it back to Poland.

After our walk, we stopped for drinks at a new restaurant with a pretty outdoor eating area. Poor Justyna was put to work again, this time running up and down the driveway so that Keegan could practice his motion photography. Justyna was a real sweetheart. She is already studying English in school but was too shy to use it in front of us.

Pani Zosia returned from Rzeszow in the evening, so we trooped back to her apartment to share more food and to reminisce about school days. Apparently one of the teachers, Adam, still retains the nickname "One Teacher" (in English) from my days at the school. Most of the teachers are the same, but our old director has retired and been replaced with Joanna Dymitrowska, who was my liaison with the school when I first arrived in Poland. I was happy to hear that she moved up. Pani Zosia heartily approved of Keegan and told me that he was handsome, which I dutifully translated for him.

Finally, it was time to call my friend Jurek, who owns a hotel in Tarnow where we would spend the night. He arrived to pick us up and drive us the 20 minutes or so to the hotel. The last time I was in Poland, the hotel and restaurant were under construction, but now they are complete and luxurious. The hotel is tucked away in a quiet neighborhood and, as Keegan noted, is meticulously furnished and decorated. We shared still more food and some wine with Jurek and his hotel manager, Maria, until we were so stuffed and sleepy that we had to head to bed.

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On Sunday we had breakfast at the hotel before Jurek picked us up for a drive to Krynica. Krynica is a spa town in the mountains, about a two-hour drive from Tarnow. I had been there once before at Thanksgiving but was eager to see the town again when it wasn't so cold and snowy. We arrived in Krynica around noon and headed to the town's main pijalnia or drinking house to taste some of the town's renowned mineral water. Although we tried the mildest kind, it was hard to swallow the first sip without making a face - the water is bitter and tastes like, well, minerals, I guess. Blecch. At least we had some apple cake to help it go down a bit easier.

After the mineral water experience, we headed to a nearby ski slope for a little hike. We marched straight up the ski slope - do you realize how steep those are? I'm sure you can get some great speed going down on skis, but walking up on foot, not so much. We were thoroughly winded and drenched in sweat after just a few minutes. Still, the views were gratifying, and we enjoyed each other's company. At the top of the slope, we stopped for some grilled pork and french fries and cold beers and then commenced the trek back down.

After our hike, we took a brief siesta at a brand new hotel nearby. This place was swanky, and the parking lot was full of Audis, Mercedes, and BMWs. They are adding a truly impressive indoor pool overlooking the mountains this year - I was actually kind of surprised at the level of luxury available in Poland now. They are ever more capitalist, I suppose. We enjoyed sipping our tea in the warm sun and gazing at the surrounding mountains.

Jurek was eager to drive us into Slovakia to get a view of the Slovakian Tatra mountains. We rode for probably another hour, along a beautiful river and over a bridge where we easily crossed the border (things are very simple in the EU!) and soon made our way to a ridge with a gorgeous view of the surrounding countryside. Unfortunately, it was quite hazy (or, as Jurek would say, there was "a lot of smoke") and we couldn't see the tallest mountains. But we were excited about adding another country to our honeymoon trip and about the gorgeous castle we could see overlooking the town. We investigated the castle quickly, learned it was closed for the day, and settled in for the trip back to Tarnow. It was a long ride! By the time we got back, we were ready for a quick dinner, a short photo-sharing session with Jurek (stunning photos of his trip to Havana), and bed.

Pictures to be posted soon...

Pictures for Part I

Pictures are up on flickr to go with what I posted about our first day in Krakow.  They are here.

I think the best viewing is to choose the "Slideshow" option on the upper right. This allows you to look at the pictures in a larger format. When the first slide loads, click on the "i" in the middle of the picture to see the comments I've added for each photo. Sorry for micro-managing you, dear readers, but I like to see nice big photos and thought you might too.

The Tale of the Honeymoon: Part I

I failed conspicuously to keep a travel diary on our recent honeymoon. I suppose it's easier to write every evening when you're traveling with your parents and not with your husband of less than one month! So I am going to try to write an account of our trip here, before I forget some of the best details.

Part I: Travel and Arrival in Krakow, May 22-23

After our usual frenzy of preparations for traveling, Keegan and I managed to pull out of the house very early for our drive to Richmond. We arrived at the Richmond airport waaaay too early (better than waaaay too late, I suppose) and settled in to wait for our flight. As we sat at our gate, I saw what looked like a familiar couple walking down the terminal. Sure enough, upon closer investigation, the couple turned out to be Peter, our wedding officiant, and his wife Kim. They were on their way to another wedding (no, he was not going to officiate this one) in Texas. Virginia is indeed a small state.

The flight to Chicago was uneventful, but once we got to the Chicago airport, things got interesting. As you may or may not know, Chicago is jokingly referred to as the second biggest Polish city because of the number of Polish immigrants living there. As soon as we found our way at last to the Lot (Polish national airline) ticket counter, we were surrounded by Poles, and almost no one was speaking English. The flight to Krakow was jam-packed with people who looked, dressed, and sounded Polish.

I mentioned before that Keegan and I were not able to sit together on the flight, which was too bad. I was sitting next to a young boy whose mother was assigned to a seat a few rows back. After some clumsy attempts at Polish on my part, I was able to negotiate a switch and was a couple rows closer to Keegan, but his seatmate didn't want to switch. I was able to order all my drinks and meals in Polish on the plane, so I was happy that my Polish is still up to at least minor tourist tasks.

After a seemingly-interminable flight, the plane landed in Krakow, accompanied by the typical Polish applause for the landing. We wearily made our way through customs and the baggage claim and found ourselves in a huge throng of people, from which Sylwia and Marek emerged. It was wonderful to see them and to be able to load our heavy bags into their car instead of taking the bus. They drove us to their new apartment, which was still being built the last time we were in Poland. It's beautiful! They have made very good use of their small amount of space and have furnished things beautifully. Keegan said several times that he felt much better about the prospect of living in a tiny apartment in Korea after seeing the Smets' living arrangments.

Sylwia cooked us a "small snack" of delicious homemade pierogi ruskie (dumplings with potatoes and cheese), and we washed up a bit before heading out to Chlopskie Jadlo, a restaurant purporting to serve authentic Polish peasant cuisine. We parked near Wawel castle and walked our way through the Old Town to get to the restaurant. I hoped that Keegan was suitably impressed by the winding medieval streets, the huge market square, and the glorious Mariacki Church.

The restaurant was decked out like a Polish peasant home, complete with a giant bed in the corner. When Sylwia told the waiter that we had a reservation, he told her that we would be eating in the bed! Fortunately, it turned out to be two high-backed benches covered in "bedding" with a table in between, a very clever disguise. We got a sampler of four Polish soups, including what would become Keegan's favorite, zurek (sour soup), and barszcz (beet soup) and mushroom soup as well. The men were disappointed in the size of their entrees, and Marek mentioned a similar restaurant in a town close to Krakow, run by his uncle, where portions were much more generous. More on that later...

After dinner we went to a small bar called "Buddha," which reminded me a bit of the teahouse in Charlottesville. The walls were painted a deep red, and seating was very cozy. Keegan had a chance to try Zubrowka (Polish vodka) and apple juice, which he enjoyed. Afterwards, on our way back to the car, we stopped by an intriguing store with shelves lined by large glass bottles full of richly colored liquids. It turned out to be a bar with all sorts of differently flavored liqueurs. Sylwia quickly made herself popular by showing a group of rowdy American university boys to the honey vodka with the highest alcohol content. Not to be outdone, Keegan and Marek also ordered glasses. I had some coffee liqueur with about half the alcohol content and was immediately rendered zombie-esque. Time to go home and prepare for our trip to Debica on Saturday!

Honeymoon in Poland

We are having a wonderful time! Right now, I am sitting in our hotel in Zakopane in the Polish Tatra mountains, full of delicious Polish food and with very tired legs. Keegan and I have spent the past two days visiting with friends, eating ridiculous amounts of soup, good Polish bread, and delicacies from the grill, and hiking up ski slopes. I think they must be much better going down, because it's not so fun to walk up! The views have been rewarding, though. We are making good use of our new camera, which we have nicknamed "the most popular camera in Poland" because our friends Marek and Jurek both have the exact same model! Pictures will follow when we get back to Krakow on Thursday.

Z Krakowa

Czesc everyone! I am writing from Sylwia and Marek's apartment in Krakow just before going out for a traditional Polish dinner. Our flight went about as smoothly as possible with the only annoyance being that we didn't get to sit with each other on the long flight from Chicago to Krakow! We were able to get some sleep on the plane, though, and are feeling good. More updates to follow.