Krakow - Day One

Thursday - 5AM
Agnieszka, Rob and I wake up, pack up, and run off. Well, actually walk, and then take the street car, and then take the train. Destination: Krakow!
Once on the train, Agnieszka decides it would be much more pleasant and less crowded in the pregnancy and family car... which Rob and I thought would backfire. Ironically it did. For a while it was just the three of us and an actual pregnant chic and her boyfriend/husband/parter, but then a little ways down the tracks we picked up a 3 person family, complete with little boy and DVD player to torture us with little kid movies filled with really repetitive songs that are still bouncing around in my head somewhere.
10 or 11AM - Arrived Alive
First quest in Krakow was to rent a car, which turned out to be a more difficult and drawn out adventure than it should have been. The first taxi we took first took us to an autobody repair shop, and then to a rental dealership which we could not rent a vehicle from due to our lack of credit cards and the fact that none of us are 23. So we took another taxi to another place, which eventually rented us a sporty blue Kia. Rob was happy because it had a full tank of gas; Agnieszka was happy because it had a CD player. There was actually a CD in there... which I totally took - it was someone's sweet roadtrip mix.
The same people who rented us the car suggested an apartment we could rent fairly cheaply for the weekend. We went for some much needed sustenence in the form of pizza, and then checked out the flat. Fully furnished, has everything we need: Internet, kitchen, beds, blowdryer :)
So we are in #4 for the weekend, and I like it quite alot.
After I showered and they napped, we headed out to see Wawel Castle, which was beautiful, but the inside was closed by that time, so we are hopefully going back on Sunday to finish that adventure.
Back at "our" appartment, the other 2 crashed and I tried to sleep, but didn't get there until around 1AM due to too much coffee and happiness :P

Christmas and Cabbage Rolls

So here it is, Christmas, and I am sitting here in Poland, enjoying the full feeling after devouring cabbage rolls and mashed potatoes, and talking to my mother on Skype. Ahh.
Here, Christmas isn't overly Christmasy. And by here, I mean the Szlowieniec household. In order to deviate from the rest of the country - which is the most Catholic country, like, ever - they simply don't celebrate Christmas. There is no tree, no gifts, no Christmas Dinner, no stockings hung by the chimney with care. But there was wall painting, which I did my fair share of. They have been building their house for about 15 years and there is still much to be done, and so while we are here, Rob and Agnieszka and I are pitching in.
On Sunday we attempted to drive to Czech Republic for some skiing and snowboarding, but the car broke down on the way there, and we got towed back... it was a little saddening considering I had spent the whole previous day trying to mentally prepare myself for my first attempt at snowboarding, and for nothing, but in the end we had a good day at home just hanging out watching movies with Polish subtitles and then on Christmas Eve eve, we went out to the city of Wroclaw and saw some sights and Christmas lights and ate at Pizza Hut (random) where they put corn on the pizza (also random).
On Thursday we are taking the bus to Krakow and then spending the weekend there... Rob has a friend from home who also has a Polish girlfriend, and they happen to be in Poland at the same time as us, so he wants to meet up with them, hence the trip to Krakow. I'm just going along, taking pictures, and avoiding being in the way of all the couples and Christmas mush.
Africa tales yet to come... probably won't be posting them until after Poland due to limited Internet access (it's only available on one computer, and it's in Michal's room (Michal = older brother - he likes to tickle me).
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!