We began the trip in Szaflary, where my great-grandfather lived!
A walk through Szaflary.
Some farm equipment in Szaflary.
Anna walking through Szaflary.
Szaflary.
The Szaflary cow came right up to Anna.
You can almost here Anna say “awww!”
The Szaflary cow just wanted a little salt off my hand.
Cows should roam free!
A rooster roams a front yard in Szaflary.
A “mansion” in Szaflary.
Grandpa Pavloski says those hook things on all the roofs prevent big sheets of snow from forming.
The road in Szaflary facing south to Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains.
The view from our balcony at the bed and breakfast in Szaflary.
The moon over Szaflary.
We crammed onto a tiny bus (actually a van) to get to the Tatra Mountains the next morning.
The “bus” ride was quite an ordeal. Here, Anna holds up a stop sign.
Zakopane!
Gorgeous day for a hike!
A mountain sidewalk.
My view. For about 8 hours. Not really, though, cus I sped past her most of the time like a chipmunk.
Nice boulders!
Not sure what Anna heard in that cave, but it looks like it freaked her out.
Nothin there but some sticks.
Yeah, pretty. See that bottle in her backpack? One false move and it toppled into the stream.
... and this is where our water bottle fell as she was posing, the water that was supposed to sustain us all day.
There it goes!
And here I go, trying to rescue it. This caused quite a scene.
The rocks were slippery and the water blended in with the crystal clear stream around it, but I managed to snag it.
Awkward.
”Now I am going to pour this on your head.“
The Tatra Mountains.
People were drinking the water. Why not?
The water was crystal clear.
Gorgeous! And the background looks nice, too.
Anna blocking my shot.
It's a popular spot, but 99% of the tourists were citizens of Poland.
One of the many waterfalls. Two of the many tourists (I was the only one not speaking Polish, though).
One of the many waterfalls.
Wet 'n wild times at one of the many waterfalls.
Shveaty.
OK, time for a short break.
I'm drinking hot ginger wine. Sounds gross but it was quite good. Anna didn't like it, though.
What Anna did like was this shot that she took.
Ready to continue our adventure.
Give her a push!
Our “little” peak in the Tatra mountains.
Our “little” peak in the Tatra Mountains.
Snack break.
The view from our “little” peak in the Tatra Mountains.
Anna trying to look sexy or exasperated, I'm not sure. The fleece and shorts ensemble IS undeniably chic.
It was as dangerous as it looks.
Anna wasn't enthusiastic about risking our lives for this photo op.
I look like I just took a Valium. Those are houses in the valley behind me.
Lookin' gooood.
Getting back down was kinda tricky.
No elevator.
The trail down from our little peak (Giewont is in the background).
Yea for “stairs!”
The path back to civilization.
Eating at a restaurant in Zakopane.
The view from our table at the retaurant in Zakopane.
A house in Zakopane.
Anna's “Heidi” shot in Zakopane.
Strange fuzzy bean-like plant in Zakopane.
Excited to be in Kraków.
A stroll through a park in Kraków.
Dogs in a park in Kraków.
Flowers everywhere!
My hostel room in Kraków.
My hostel room in Kraków. My luggage for the 9-day trip consisted of the backpack in the bottom-left corner and my camera bag.
View to the northeast from my room (714) at the Piast (hostel).
View to the southeast from my room (714) in the Piast (hostel).
My hostel bathroom in Kraków.
Breakfast at the Piast with Anna's friend, Olga.
The old fortress north of the Rynek.
A typical street near the Rynek.
St. Mary's Basilica on the Rynek.
The Rynek (town square).
The Cloth Hall in the center of the Rynek.
A statue in the Rynek.
Inside the Cloth Hall in the Rynek.
Nice.
Part of Jagellonian University.
The photos didn't come out well at the Wieliczka Salt Mine because I didn't have my flash with me.
Random cemetery on my way to the Kosciuszko Mound.
The Kosciuszko Mound.
The view from the Kosciuszko Mound.
The view from the Kosciusko Mound--The Piast is the yellow building behind the two tall white buildings with blue bars near the top of them.
Random cat I met on my way from the Kosciuszko Mound to the Piast.
The wall of the Jewish Ghetto in Kraków.
A park near the wall of the Jewish Ghetto in Kraków.
This is the house where the commandant at Płaszów would snipe at workers in the camp behind it.
The caretaker's house for the Jewish cemetary on which the Płaszów concentration camp was built. It probably become the home of an SS officer.
A snail on the site of the Płaszów concentration camp.
Płaszów Concentration Camp Monuments.
Płaszów Concentration Camp Monument near a burial site.
Finally, time for me to try Zapiekanka.
Mmm ... Zapiekanka: A toasted bagette smothered in cheese, mushrooms, ketchup sauce, and other ingredients of your choice.
This was not the first or last time Anna enjoyed Zapiekanki.
Time for dessert!
The first bar on our crawl was “Alchemy.”
I was unimpressed with Alchemy.
Tell a story, Anna!
Good story.
Anna takes down her first shot of Vodka while on the crawl. If I recall correctly, however, she couldn't down it in one gulp--weak!
I think Anna is starting to feel the effects.
Trying to open a bottle of wine with a fork.
This is what many of the building addresses looked like in Kraków.
The cars just parked on the sidewalk cus there's nowhere else to put them. This was the largest passenger vehicle I saw in nine days, except for ONE SUV.
A large park just south of the Piast. Wawel is in the background.
Ulica Kanonicza near Wawel.
Wawel.
The Wawel dragon would breathe fire every once in a while, but it was pretty lame. I was all geared up to see an animatronic dragon.
View of Wawel from inside the gift shop.
The Wawel Cathedral.
Wawel Royal Castle Galleries.
View of Ulica Kanonicza from Wawel.
View of the Kosciuszko Mound from afar.
Auschwitz I.
Auschwitz II.
Auschwitz II - Gate.
Auschwitz II - Selection point.
Auschwitz II - Gas chamber.
Nowa Huta - 1949 Club.
Spotted in Nowa Huta - Perhaps the communists had a thing for furry aliens?
Anna standing in her favorite spot near the Rynek.
Anna standing in her favorite spot in the Rynek.
Horse-drawn carriages were plentiful in and around the Rynek.
Stairs in Isabelle's Museum.
A shield in Isabella's Museum.
Some armor at Isabella's Museum.
We stopped for a drink at an Irish Pub in Kraków for the sake of both sides of my ancestry ...
... and it was good.
A pierogi hut--for to eat pierogi!
Mmmmmm.
Outside a restaurant just south of St. Mary's Basilica.
Czekoladowy Sklep E. Wedel!
I like to have Anna carry my things.
On the train to Opole to visit Anna's family.
Anna's homework face.
Anna did homework on the train while I slept.
Anna and her uncle Pawel in front of the house.
Anna drinks from one of the many 1.5-liter bottles of water we went through.
The house was swanky!
I slept in the garage--or what used to be the garage but is now super swank.
On the car ride to Wrocław.
The Wrocław Cathedral.
The View from the Wrocław Cathedral.
Walking through the Wrocław Rynek with Anna, her uncle Pawel, and her cousin Ewelina.
Stopping for ice cream in the Wrocław Rynek.
July 26 happens to be Anna's name day!
Family fun at the bowling alley.
Meals were quite the formal affair in the Nawojski house.
Meals were quite the formal affair at the Nawojski house.
Luka.
Anna's Grandpa gets ready to take Luka for a walk.
On a Sunday morning stroll.
Watch your step--no one cleans up after their dogs in Poland.
On a Sunday morning stroll--Anna points out a tree full of butterflies.
Butterflies were all about this tree.
A convent in the hills on the way to the airport.
LOT Polish Airlines is pretty terrible, but I made it there and back in one piece.
