post from Poland 2 (jumping storyline)

Now you are catching me at the pool. Tata (dad) is in the water with the kids at it is helping the kids work off some energy so we’ll have a good rest tonight. I’m looking on from the universal weight machine.


The ride from Bialystok was pretty good. I was getting my miles and km reversed. First I thought we’d be in the van for 10 hours, but it was about 7 including lunch, potty stops and gas. The countryside is very similar to Wisconsin – generally flat, similar climate but smaller farms.

Wroclaw is gorgeous – just a gem. We’re right in the center of old town where the main square is referred to as the Rynek (rin-eck). It is exactly what you think of when you think of old style Europe in regards to Polish/German urban architecture and streets. The area has all cobble stone streets and bringing it to the modern age is the light rail. I haven’t been able to tell if there is housing here or if most people live beyond the tightly-knit set of streets of old town.

So some news about us and the kids. In the apartment in Bialystok we had a general routine of getting up when the kids woke. Tim was in one room with the boys and Emilia and I were in the smaller room.

After drowsily waking, we’d gather in the kichenette for a little breakfast ranging from yogurt, fruit, cereal, and bread with jam – jam and bread (sound of music sidetrack caused by the architechure if Wroclaw, though I’ve never been to Salzburg.)

Then we’d work on getting everyone dressed and teeth brushed. Depending on our plans for the day, we might have a little time for coloring at the kitchenette table just so we wouldn’t get too wound up and picking on our siblings while we waited for our guide to pick us up.

On the first day with the kids, Lech our guide, took us to town. We had lunch – the kids had chicken kebab and rice, mom had a hamburger with sweet pickles. We wandered up and down the main street to check it out. Bialystok is about 200,000 people if I’m getting this right. We looked for a prepaid cell phone and window shopped.
Lech dropped us off at the park between town and the adoption center, which we observed, is the location for older kids/pre-teen and maybe teens in orphanage care.

We wandered around the small zoo, and Emilia took photos of every yak, deer, pigeon, bison, swan, pony, donkey, and badger in the place. Around the corner there is a little play area with forts and a cool thing we didn’t have as kids – a seat attached to a pulley hanging on high tension wire. The kids jump on and fly for about fifty feet. Great fun for everybody especially mom. Companies should have them in their office lunchrooms to blow off steam and have a little thrill in the middle of the day.

Lech picked us up to go back into town to find a cake shop. We were privileged to meet the children on Michal’s sixth birthday.

We’re getting out of the pool now – more later