Krakow, Poland

Czesc! (Hello!) Well, here I am in Krakow, Poland after a full day of plane rides and and airports and taxis. HJ and I left yesterday for our European Tour (sounds official, huh?). We will be here for 5 days while he trains some people at the Poland branch of his company, then we are meeting up with 4 of our friends to go to Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, and Munich. We are thrilled to have this time to spend together, and also to be able to travel. I have broken the long (very long) blogging silence to keep a log of our trip. I should be able to post pictures starting tomorrow (I forgot my USB cord tonight). So, here are some of the high points of the trip thus far...

1. All of our flight were on time. Actually we got one flight 3 hours early at no additional charge. This is astounding to me because my family has a travel/restaurant curse, so this would have never happened to me before I got married. Thanks, HJ!

2. We flew from Memphis to Amsterdam. ( I wanted to title this post "Amsterdam am I jet lagged", but thought it might be slightly inappropriate, but I guess you all know now anyway). The Amsterdam airport had these great chairs, "comfort chairs", were you could sit an catch up on your sleep. This would never happen in the US, but I am realizing that Europeans in general take their rest and relaxation seriously.

3. We had to fly in a teeny tiny plane from Warsaw to Krakow. I was terrified at first, because I don't like planes where the propeller has to get going before you can take off. The whole flight was wobbly, but we made it with no damage.

4. Our hotel is nice, with free breakfast.

5. Krakow is beautiful. Today we got up and explored a bit. I love to watch all the interesting people- men in suits going to work (at 11 am), women with scarves and so many different shoes, kids on a field trip all wearing ties but nothing else that resembles a uniform. My favorite part of travelling outside of the States is realizing that there are other people out there. People who are so different- strange language that sounds like so many consonants strung together, strange clothes in layers with boots and hats, strange habits and customs-and yet they are still so much like us. They still work and talk and laugh and love each other. They still envy and lust and hurt each other. It is humbling to remember that I did nothing on my own to be born into a wonderful family in the US. God has so richly blessed me, but it is only to His credit, and for His glory that he does any of it. He can save me or an old man in Poland or a child in Africa, and it is all just because he loves us.

OK, that was a long one. I'm sorry for the tangential writing. I did want to keep a few things consistent in my travel blogging, just for record sake. So, here goes:

Things we visited today in Krakow: Cloth Market, Old Town, Bell Tower, Gallery (a huge mall)
Things I ate: peiregowa (dumplings with meet and cheese), goulash, Italian ice cream, truffles, lots of coffee
Currently reading: More Love to Thee, Sense and Sensibility
Random Impression: People here like to wear tight pants and clothes that don't match (I fit right in with the not matching). Also, bangs are big (I hope this trend doesn't find its way to us.)

That's all for now. Good night!