Athens

It was an early start today and a layover in rainy Vienna en route to Athens. We arrived to a very hot and dry Athens. The bus to town was long but a good way to get a feel for the city. Our hotel is great. We had a fancy lunch with views of the Acropolis and a swim in the indoor pool. Tomorrow we hit the sights !

Wawel Castle and more exploring...

Today we took another walk to Wawel Castle and visited the Cathedral. The kids got to see the Royal Tombs and we climbed to the top of the Dzwon Zygmunta (the bell of Zygmunt). It is a very narrow and steep walk up, however Luke was nervous about going deaf because he was afraid the bells would ring at any moment ; ) We skipped the dragon's lair today as it was very busy and opted of the way out into the square. We passed a cupcake shop that the kids could not resist! We also managed to find the restaurant where we had our first date(and its still open!)  We packed today and got the place ready for painters. Off to Athens in the morning!

Gearing up for Greece

We had a good day today getting organized for Greece and getting the flat in order...we are having it painted while we are away so it will be perfect for our return.   Kids did some postcards to friends and earned some zloty for doing chores!

Sunday with friends....

Today we met at Park Jordana(the Central Park of Krawkow) with Piotr and Tomek his wife Kasia and two kids (Gabriela and Franek).The weather was very nice and hot. The kids had fun playing at the playground then they got the be "boat drivers" on the pond and also tried the Aqua bubbles on the water. Fun day out!

Relaxing Saturday in the Rynek...

Today Ross and I tried out our new running route around Planty (the park surrounding the city). It was short and sweet(only 2.2 miles) with lots of interesting Krakow scenery from nuns along the path to sleepy backpackers, men sleeping on benches and even a couple heading to church for their wedding!

After lunch at home, we headed into the Rynek for a cool drink and ice creams - watching the world go by!

Home sweet home

Here are a few pictures of our flat after some cleaning and settling in for a few days. We haven't completely unpacked and still finding a place for everything until the painting is complete, but enjoing it nonetheless...

Wawel Castle and family visit

After having our internet installed (most important)....Today, we ventured to the Wawel Castle for a tour around the grounds, the court yard and of course, the dragon's lair and the fire-breathing dragon (Smok Wawelski)....Luke and Liam's favorite part. We will do a tour of the castle and cathedral another time when the tourist season is over ; ) 

Tonight, we had such a fun night at my cousin Michal and his wife's Alicja's house for dinner and a play date. Once we got orgnized and found the right tram and were on our way, things went smoothly. Despite some minor language barriers, the kids had fun. Lily had a great time enoying some of Kamila's toys(little ponies and loopsies galore!) - she is 7 years old and their two year old son Adam got along famously with their boys on their terrace. Twister turned into a fun wrestling game. The rain did not bring them down...

Settling in well to our new life in Krakow

It was a rainy day, but the kids were excited to get their very own umbrellas (rarely used in Colorado). We made another run to the store for groceries and more household items-all made more eventful with pouring rain and walking all the bags home...Tonights non-traditional Polish cuisine was sushi ; ) Then ice cream for dessert followed by an evening walk through the main square, past some old haunts and showed the kids the Florian Gate and the Barbakan. Turned out to be a nice and dry evening after the rain. Looking forward to more exploring tomorrow.