Day 16 - July 13, 2018; Misfortune in Gdańsk

Today we had a misfortune in Gdańsk, hence the name of the blog. The day started out fine; we woke up, Isabella and I had our morning routine argument, and we went to the city. Then Mom called and said that she was waiting for another flight because her first plane to Copenhagen was late, so she missed her second plane. She also informed us that she was extremely upset. So were we. We got pastries for breakfast and sat down for a cup of coffee for the adults and some juice for me. Soon, we took Dad to a Costa Coffee and left him there for work. 

We went down a random street, going into a wonderful gallery, filled to the brim with lively statuettes, glass figures, and amazing statues that my parents, Mom and Dad, like. Grandma was, how should I say it? hesitant, to part with the gallery, but we insisted to go to another place instead. We went around the corner and came to a bazaar. It was oddly similar to the bazaar in Vilnius, Lithuania, with a big building that situated cheeses, sausages, meats, clothing and candy, and small hut-like tents that had fruits and vegetables, coupled with unfriendly faces of the grannies who sold the produce. 

There was nothing we wanted to get there, so we passed on to a playground. There were swings, a slide, a rock wall, a wall where you had to climb up using a rope, and some strange pieces of wood sticking out of the ground. The wood had steps attached to it, so I figured out that it was for climbing. We stayed there for a good few minutes until Grandma decided she wanted some of the stuff in the gallery. We went there again, getting about ten pounds of ceramics and glass. I joked that they had gotten half the stuff in the gallery, but it actually did see that way when Grandpa lifted the bag, grunting. We dropped the fragile mass off at Dad’s place in Costa Coffee, so that we could walk without the burden. 

We then completely switched direction and went to see a different part of the city. We saw a copper horse on the roof and a really big house, seeming like a castle. We went to another set of playgrounds. Then, Grandpa decided to go to the Marines Museum. I found a route on my phone, and we set off to the Museum. The reason that Gdańsk has a Marine Museum, is that they are situated near the Baltic Sea. There is even a river that cuts through the whole city. 

On the way, we got hungry, so we stopped by a restaurant for lunch. The food was ok. I mean, I’ve tasted better soup, but I’ve also tasted worse. Just then, Dad called Grandpa with news about our new apartment. He told us to meet the person with our keys. I led us to the assigned place, but there was no one there. Seeing a small cafe on the other side of the street, the cafe was almost seemingly invisible from the street, we went there to wait out twenty minutes for the key-person. We met a young woman with sizzling red hair. Grandpa almost mistook her for one of our relatives, but she was actually the girlfriend of the manager. She came up to us and asked us a weird question: if you were on an inhabitable island, and you could pick any three desserts to take with you, what would you take. Isabella was very scared, cowering behind Grandpa’s back. On the other hand, I answered her, "Poppy babka, and that’s it." Thinking on it more, I probably should have also said, chocolate potatoes and coconut macaroons. Anyway, Grandma got a small, two inch, spherical cake for us to share. We found out that the woman was from a very musical family. She had lived in Poland for three year, so her Russian was a bit accented, but she could speak two languages and was a jazz singer. 

After twenty minutes passed, we parted with the small, but lively bakery, and walked back to the apartment. We met the owner of the apartment. She was a plump lady with a Polish accent. She led us to a beautify square in the middle of some buildings. Isabella immediately loved that apartment, calling it Angel Lane. I don’t know what she thought. The apartment was indeed really, you know, amazing. Sporting a spacious bathroom, facing the door, and a small kitchen inside of the living room, plus a not very private bedroom. Actually, it was kind of cramped there. At least the view was of a private courtyard with a statue of Neptune, the protector of their city. 

After the first apartment, the owner increased her pace, walking down two blocks before reaching a small, overgrown courtyard. It looked a bit like my great-Grandma’s house, but it was falling apart more. Isabella immediately frowned and said, "I want to live in the other one." She didn’t even look in the second one! We climbed up two sets of stairs. The owner opened the door to the apartment, which by the way, was as good as any a hotel. After viewing both of our choices, we went to get Dad. We showed him the apartments , then, picking up our speed, we speed-walked all the way to where we had left our car the night before. We hopped in and drove to Grandpa, where we deposited his Kindle so he could read. Finally, we rushed off to meet Mom at the airport. It was about a twenty minute drive to the airport, so Isabella and I kind of, maybe, doze off. When I woke up, we were already at the airport. We grabbed our "Welcome Mama! 🙂" signs and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally, Mom came out. We were so excited to see her. There were many hugs and kisses exchanged. Since there was a car accident on the busiest road, the drive to the city was a long one. 

We dropped off our car and our bags in our smaller apartment. (Thank you Isabella! 😕) we walked along the same streets that we had walked with Grandpa and Grandma. But somehow, it was better with Mom. We went to a gallery were we got three ceramic souvenirs, a flying man, a horse, and something else. Grandma found a Lithuanian restaurant, so we came to join them for dinner. Mom and I shared five kibinis. Most of them, though not traditional, did taste delicious. I loved the corn/mushroom/cheese mix, and the cottage cheese one. On the other hand, Mom liked the weird Mexican themed one. We split up with my grandparents again, walking around the city, near the river, and ate Soprano ice cream at the first ever Soprano ice cream. Finally, tired from the day’s adventures, we went to our rented apartment. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 13, 2018.

Day 15 - July 12, 2018; Great Days(with Mom) Ahead!

What a great day. Today Grandpa, Grandma, Isabella, and I went to a Holocaust\Jewish museum near our apartment. First, there was a temporary exhibit on March 1968, when Jews in Poland were forced to leave Poland. It started with marches and protests from students. Then, Jews were forced to leave. You could even listen to the stories of Jews who escaped. After that we went to the permanent exhibition, which showed the plight of Jews, starting with the Medieval Times. Turn out, there was even a Jewish queen of Poland. 

When we got to World War II, it was all really sad. They showed a list of all the ghettos in Poland. I didn’t count how many there were, but it sure seemed more than a hundred. It could be informative, but we breezed through it since we were too sad to look. 

After the museum, we went to an exercising station, where Grandma and Grandpa met an old Polish woman who told them where a good place to eat was. We went to that place. The service was so-so, but the food was really good. I had a burger called burger Jaga the Witch. The server said, it’s gonna be a little spicy. I told her, I can handle that. Unfortunately, adult don’t remember that kids have more sensitive taste buds. As she only brought me a tiny glass of water, I had to change with Grandpa so my taste buds wouldn’t flat out die. While we waited for our food, I brought Grandma a “Inside Warsaw” magazine. She saw a cafe there she wanted to go to, called Aromat. 

After lunch, we went home for an hour. Later we set out for Grandma’s Aromat. It took us half an hour in the blistering, dusty heat, but we got there. I was a bit confused to see a tiny shop with about ten pastries and only one customer. Grandma got two almond croissants for the long trip we were about to have. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the trip. We were supposed to go to Gdańsk, pick up Mom from the airport, and travel around the city with her. We rushed home to wait for Dad and pack. Later that night, we set out for Gdańsk. 

The trip was long, so I spent the 2 and a half hours writing my blog that I missed (Sorry!). Later, we pulled into a crumbling neighborhood. It really looked bad until the street opened up and we saw Gdańsk’s old city. We parked, dropped our bags off at our niiiiiiiiiice apartment, and ... did nothing for the next ten minutes! But the apartment really was were basically in the attic, but it was very well made. There was a big kitchen, slanted ceiling, two huge bathrooms and two huge bedrooms, etc.. After our doing nothing (really hard work), we decided to have a late night snack and a boost of calcium. We went down the street and saw a pub. We sat down, and Dad ran to get Grandpa and Grandma from our apartment. Isabella and I ordered a cheese platter for the table, while Grandma had fish soup, Dad had ‘wings’ and Grandpa had apple crumble. The pub had a best beer in Gdańsk. It used to be a storage for goods, but was remade into a restaurant. Later, we went to our apartment. Dad went out on a stroll. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 12, 2018.

Day 14 - July 11, 2018; Dilly-dallying in a Dollhouse

Today we finally got Dad the thing he wanted from the bank. In the morning, it was raining, so the whole city was bleak and gray. We called an uber to take us to the national bank of Poland. In addition, even Grandpa accompanied us, something he usually doesn’t do. The reason being is that he says his joints hurt. So there we were, looking up at the massive modern-looking bank and hoping that this time, we could get Dad the things he needed. We went in, asked where  we could get what we needed and went there. After sitting in the same spot in line for ten minutes, we decided to ask around about where we could find what we needed. We were told by a mean looking old lady, that we would have to get a number and wait in line until we were called up. She pointed to a mechanism sticking out of the wall. You had to put in your business and then, only then, did you get a number so you could get in line. After this spectacle, Grandpa decided that he didn’t want to wait in line with Grandma, so we went to find gum. Grandpa and Grandma like to chew gum to cover up the smell after they smoke. I led us to a Biedronka, their ShopRite, so we could find the gum. After we were done buying it, we walked back to the rain that had started, to Grandma. 

After we got the things Dad wanted, our paths split. Grandma, Isabella, and I went to a Flying Tiger Copenhagen, a Target, while Grandpa, taking Dad’s stuff with him, went to our apartment. Grandma got Sasha and Vika gifts, while I looked for cute school supplies for next year. After that, we walked over to an exhibit in the Palace of Culture and Knowledge. The exhibit was for dollhouses from all over the world. The designs were very intricate and magnificent. They had games for everything; a church, a church with a coffin were you could put one of the dolls (I have no idea what they were thinking), a dollhouse with a dollhouse inside, and even a portable dollhouse. I loved one of the dollhouses that had a house built over horse stables. 

After the dollhouse museum, we found a nice, small cafeteria for lunch. I had a cutlet and rice with goulash, while Isabella had a cheese-filled crepe. Later, when all the food was eaten, Grandma decided to go to the park of fountains she was dying to go to for a long time. Of course, Isabella didn’t want to go because she wanted to watch movies or go to the mall all day long. Also, she whined, “I’m tired”. Well, it didn’t look like it when she was playing on the playground. We went to the park through some new alleys, looking at old buildings and old-looking buildings. When we finally came to the park, there was a playground. Of course there was a playground. We played there and I made some new friends, Victoria, and Gabby, both of which are from Kentucky. Soon, we called a taxi and drove home. 

We waited for Dad. When he finally came home, we went to Isabella’s promised mall. It was of modern build, tall and made almost entirely out of glass. To the untrained eye, one might suspect that it is almost identical to the malls in the US, but in reality, it is very different. First, we went to the supermarket on the bottom-most floor. After that, we went up again, to the kids’ slide that spans almost a story high. We went on it like four times each. Soon, there’s gonna be a better playground in front of the mall, but it is still being built. After we toured the whole mall, we walked home. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 11, 2018.

Day 13 - July 10, 2018; Captivating Copernicus

You know, Warsaw has a population of more than that of the whole Lithuania. So cool, right? Today we had so much fun in the Copernicus Center. First, we had breakfast, after which we called an uber to take us to the Center. First, we called an uber, but the uber driver canceled. Then, after the next one canceled, it started to get a little bit unnerving. Finally, after about half an hour, by which we could have easily walked there, the third uber arrived. First, Grandma thought that they weren’t coming because on their screen, the name shows up as Michael, but then we found out the it was illegal to park in the place where we were calling the uber from. Strange, the previous drivers picked us up from there just fine. 

Just as we were on the last turn to the Copernicus Center, our uber driver pointed out a huge green building. He explained that it ws a library with a huge garden on the rooftop. He told us that he enjoyed it more than the Center, because the Center was more for kids. Eventually, we drove up to the Center and got in line for the tickets. I think we might have missed the line an skipped it entirely, but I don’t know. The ticket saleswoman gave us a ticket and told us that the thing started by one but we had to be there at twelve. Ok, that’s fine. We’ll just wait for one and a half hours here. Thanks so much Ms. Salesperson! 

Then we remembered what the uber driver told us about the garden on the rooftop of the library. The five minute walk there was totally worth it. There were windows to the library below, and domes made of vines and yummy grapes. Finally, at around ten thirty, we called an uber driver to take us to a bank. Dad wanted us to get him something from a bank. He knew that the bank only took cash, and called me to specifically elaborate on the fact that he left 500 zlotys on the table. I told Grandma, but apparently, she wasn’t listening to me in the morning, so we couldn’t get Dad the thing he wanted. We even tried to get some money using Grandma’s card, but apparently, she know her pin. 

Soon enough, it was time to go to the Copernicus Center. I used my phone to find the best route for us to walk there, stopping by a cafe called the Caffe Kafta. I had a sandwich with mozzarella, ham, tomatoes. Anyway, I’m sure you don’t want all the unnecessary details about our food. When we finally came to the Center, one of the people who worked there told us to come back at 12:30. We went to the Planetarium again to pass the time. We came back to the Center at 12:39, but the lady told us to wait for ten minutes. 

Finally, we got into the Copernicus Center. There were experiments and showcases you could look at that lined the walls, and even spread out on two floors. It was all really cool, so I’ll only mention my all time favorite experiments. There was one were I had to manipulate color, sounds and vibration in a small room so Isabella would feel a certain emotion. It was really fun. Another one was where you had to lay on a wooden bed while someone pulled a lever which pushed out a bed of nails. The last one that I loved was a heat-vision simulation where you put your hand to a cold shape and then it showed up on your skin in the simulator. 

We called an uber, and went home to wait for Dad. When he came, e went to the old part of town again. Isabella had a Grasshopper Mint Cheesecake. Then, Dad and I ate dinner in a restaurant we had stumbled across with Grandma a few days before. I had tomato soup. It was ok. Then, we went searching for my perfect gift for Maya from Poland. Maya is my best friend in the whole wide world and I want her to have the best present I can possibly get. We didn’t find anything that was really interesting, so we went home. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 10, 2018.

Day 12 - July 9, 2018; Bialystok, Family, and Butterflies

Bialystok was much better in the morning. Cooler, at least. We waited until nine o’clock, when the earliest cafe opened, at the rented apartment, then walked to the cafe for breakfast. I had porridge with nuts and berries. Well, I was supposed to have porridge with nuts and berries. They lied about the nuts. Soon enough, Grandpa and Grandma came to get us. The reason being was that they were staying at our relatives. We went over to a park with a castle inside. The castle was yellow and had a nice garden before it. After the castle, which had murals pained on the sides, we went to another park in search of a playground. Eventually, I found one and led us there using nothing but a satellite. Okay, okay, fine. It was three satellites. You know a GPS uses satellites to find your location? Oh, you do? Oh, I didn’t know we had so many smart people in the audience. After about a half hour, we decided to go get lunch with Dad.

We walked back to the cafe. On the way, I found a wounded butterfly on the sidewalk. One of its wings was almost fully pulled off. I picked it up and walked with it until I came to a memorial of a person who was born the same year as Grandpa. I put the butterfly on a wild dandelion. (More on that later). Then we continued to walk to Dad. Grandma went into a church, followed by Isabella and I. It was really beautiful inside, not unlike the churches in Vilnius. This church also had gifts and necklaces for God. 

After leaving the church, we continued to go to Dad’s cafe,  stopping only by one gallery, which wasn’t at all interesting in any way. Dad told us to go to the Georgian restaurant I told you about in the previous blog. The manager was a really nice Georgian man. He actually was our waiter for the day. He was very pleasant to talk to. Grandma ordered a Hachapuri for Isabella and me, while I called Dad to let him know that he could come work here instead of that cafe. When Dad came, he got himself a spinach Hachapuri, while Grandpa ate a liulia kebab, a cutlet on a stick. All of the food was great, more so when coupled with freshly made kampot. The spinach Hachapuri came with a green, sour sauce that was good for dipping the Hachapuri in. I wonder wether I can re-create that sauce and Hachapuri at home.

Then, finally, we paid and got in the car to go to Asa’s house. There, we saw my Great-Grandma Lily, Natashka, and her family. Our whole wacky parade then drove to a restaurant. We may, or may not have gotten lost on the way. Hey, don’t judge us! The restaurant was fantastically fancy. Of course, I didn’t get anything to eat, what with a full stomach and all that. After we ordered, we went for a walk around the garden we saw behind the restaurant. We tried to catch some butterflies, but they were too elusive for us. Finally, everyone got food and payed, and we were able to leave. Grandpa, Asa, Alec, and my great grandma drove to Asa’s house, while everyone else went back to the city.

We got ice cream for half the group, excluding Dad, Grandma, and I. After that, we walked to the place where I left my butterfly. All that was left of her (or him), was a wing. My poor, poor little friend. Then, we went back to our car. As we were walking, a guy with a tan bulldog came along. And guess what! The bulldog had a black puppy. It jumped on my shoes and licked and playfully bit everyone. Aww! Then we went back to Asa’s house and picked up Grandpa. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 9, 2018.

Day 11 - July 8, 2018; Hello Bialystok!

Today we had a packed day. First, we woke up and ate breakfast. So interesting, right? Actually, I had quail eggs, which are like a fourth of a small chicken egg. Grandpa and Dad got into a really bad argument. Finally, Dad started to urge us to pack, since we were to go to Bialystok in the afternoon. He specifically told us to be home by noon if we went somewhere. And we did. 

Grandpa called an uber for Grandma, Isabella and I so we could get to the Copernicus Center on the other side of town. If you don’t know what it is, here’s a brief 5 letter definition from my point of view: It’s their Liberty Science Center. We had a really talkative uber driver, so we spent the next ten minutes listening to Grandma chat away in Polish. Sadly, when we got to the Copernicus Center, all the tickets were bought out. And it was only 9:45! Fortunately, one of the ticket booth personnel said that there was a free Copernicus Planetarium on the other side of the building. We rushed over there, but finding out that it was closed until ten decided to walk near the nearby river until 15 minutes was up.

When we got back to the Planetarium, a crowd was already beginning to gather. Finally, the doors were opened and we were able to squeeze through the door. We got to the front of the line, got our free tickets and went exploring. My favorite parts were about satellites, how to build a satellite transmitter, and this fun game were you had to move a board to a certain angle and push a ball with a certain speed so that it hit another ball instead of going to the bottom of the board. I explained it pretty badly, so think about it this way. You know the coin dropping thingie in the Liberty Science Center, where you put a coin at the top, push it, and watch it complete loops around  the center until it falls in. Isabella and I kind of maybe argued about that game, because I got the perfect angle, and she pushed it with just enough speed, but then didn’t give me any credit. Anyway, moving on. After the planetarium, we walked near the river again. Eventually, we came to a few trampolines, and a water fish playground. A playground with fountains and huge fish statues in it. Isabella got her dress completely soaked (of course), and I tried sunbathing on one of the fish but then found a bug crawling near me, so I jumped down. 

Afterwards, we got back home for our trip, but Dad said we still had time if we wanted to be in Bialystok by six, so we went for a walk, had ice cream, phoned Mom, and even walked around the whole old part of town. You know, I keep saying this, but it is really beautiful. We came back home and immediately left for Bialystok. The two hour trip was worth it. We got to the parking of our rented apartment, meeting the owner of the apartment before getting inside and touring it. There was one big bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, and a small guest room with a pullout sofa. The most annoying part, though, was the bathroom. The toilet was in one room, while the sink, washing machine, and shower was in another. I guess that’s an ok idea if you think about it, but when you finish using the bathroom, you need to wash the hands and also open the other bathroom door. Ew. 

After we toured the apartment, we went one block to the old square. It was waaaaaaaaaay livelier than Warsaw. More locals coming out on the streets and having fun. After touring the perimeter of the square, plus finding many ice cream parlors, but not one coffee shop for Dad to work in, we decided to do a search by car. We got in, and found one small shop before going to our relatives house. By the way, they are Grandma’s third cousins or something. Anyway, their house was so nice. They had a garden planted in the most spectacular was, making the neighbors seem almost invisible. In addition, they had two apple trees; one was not yet ready, while the other, beli naliv, was very good. We had dinner at their house, then tea with apple meringue pie, made from apples from their very own tree. 

Dad, Isabella and I left for the city again. We called an uber, since Grandpa and Grandma needed a way to get to the city in the morning. When we got to the city, we found two coffee shops, saw their cathedral and went to their park. It was all really nice, quaint and pretty. While were looking for a place for Dad to work, a Georgian restaurant manager called us over and asked what we were looking for. After listening to Dad’s speech about work, and a power supply, he said, “Well, we have five power supplies. How about you come here for work?” Dad agreed, also promising to get a Hachapuri for lunch. Eventually, Isabella started to yawn, so we had to get home. We stopped by a park so Dad could make a business call. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 8, 2018.

Day 10 - July 7, 2018; Rogaliks, Ricking and Rocking

Once upon a time, in the great city of Poznan, a baker made the first St. Martins Croissant, called a rogalik. Once upon a time, Grandma, Grandpa, Dad, Isabella, and I drove to that same city. It was a two and a half hour drive, during which we wrote our blogs and diaries, gazed at the countryside streaming by us, read, and played on the iPad. Getting to the city was no big deal, but the city itself was amazing. 

The old part of the city had a main square lined with small, two story medieval-looking buildings, though later, we realized that they were but a copy of the old buildings, since most of the square had been lost to bombing in the Second World War. 

Anyway, there was a street for pedestrians leading from our car to the square, so we decided to take that street to get there. On the way, we stopped by a storefront showing elegant rogaliks row after row. Dad got one to split among the five of us, but sadly, they did not meet our expectations, due to the fact that they were under baked. Then, we stopped for coffee and some real pastries in a cute store. I had what they called a Duck’s Foot. It is a pasty that is shaped in, well, a duck’s foot. It had sweet coconut and raisins inside. So good! Isabella got a cheese baguette. Unfortunately,it was covered in mushrooms, but she ate it! Dad had coffee and a cheese pastry, while Grandma and Grandpa shared a syrnik. But not the one Mom likes to make. Their syrnik was like a cheese cake made with cottage cheese. Then, Isabella sprayed soap on the back of my shirt, and I got very upset at her. 


Moving on, we finally got to the main square. There, every day at 12 o’clock, two 500 year old goats come out of some small wooden doors on top of the main church, and start butting their heads. And no, they are not real goats. After the goats retreated back into the building, the stampede of people trying to leave was incredible. Almost like school on a last day, except with more people, and a bigger space. We tried to get to a rogaliks-making class, but it started at 1:45, and you could only get tickets fifteen minutes before. 

Then, we went to the museum made out of their oldest castle. They let us climb to the top of the tallest tower and see the city from above. On Grandma’s words, “You can never see the beauty of a city unless you look from above.” Then we went down again, and posed trying to get a devil from leaving the room. We ran through the exhibits, as it was almost time to go, and walked down to the St. Martin Croissant class. Grandma had to come with us too, because children aren’t allowed to do anything alone. Ugh. You have to go to a museum with a parent, a class with a parent. It’s very annoying. 

Anyway, we got into the class, where a chef was ready to outfit us in bakers clothes. It was a very fun 50 minutes. We made fake croissants,because usually one batch takes a day to make. We used pizza dough instead of yeast or pastry dough. And we didn’t wash our hands. The chef only let us have three seconds of water, as it is the Poznan way to save everything, and to spend less money. I loved the part when he was describing the ingredients that went into the icing. “Powdered sugar, water and calories”. We also got a history lesson about Poznan. The room was 500 years old, with a ceiling that was decorated in a really beautiful manner. The colors were very vibrant. The chef said that this happened because there was wood hammered into the ceiling, so not light could dull the colors. 

After the class, we got Dad a rogalik, and got in the car to drive to the oldest church in Poland. We sorta got lost on the way, but that was good because there was a wedding in the church, so we got to see the bride. The church itself was very tall and even had a relic of a 300, or so, year old sword, given to a prince by the pope himself. After we visited the church, we drove to a park, where Isabella and I played on the playground and watched mountain skate boarders practice. 

After the park, we went to a Polish restaurant. I ordered bread with goose fat and pickles for the table. I got a sour soup as my main dish. The üher, the sour soup, it actually very good. It is served in every Polish restaurant in Poland. After dinner, we got into the car and drove home. A great ending to a great day. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 7, 2018.

Day 9 - July 6, 2018; Candy Galore

Have you ever wondered what happened to all the buildings that were destroyed in the war? Some of them were restored, others were left in ruin as memorials. 

Well, today, we visited the Castle of Warsaw, which was occupied by Nazis and then destroyed. Now, after several long years of rebuilding, repainting, and redecorating, the Castle looks as good as new. That is where we started our day today. The Castle was filled with riches to the brim, if you know what I mean. When the workers redecorated the Castle, I think they went overboard. Paintings and gold everywhere, probably not even in the same places it was before. What I loves most about the quaint red castle was the bookshelf in the King’s Study. 

There were three shelves. The first one was devoted to any extra books he had, the second one was filled with books about, The Dangers of Conference, The Dangers of Poison, so basically the Dangers of everything. The last shelf was reserved for the Bible only, because the polish people are very religious. What also piked my interest was the King’s Wardrobe. There, he would sit for up to two hours while he got dressed by only the finest of clothes, imported from France. Lastly, what was the most interesting was the King’s Bedroom. His bed was like a sofa, so tiny. He would sleep half-sitting, laying. I really don’t think that would have been that comfortable. I mean, he could have slept in another one of his 32 rooms. Did you know that it was very elegant for the walls of the castle to be lined in velvet? It was also very good in keeping out the cold during winter. 

After the Castle, Grandma and Isabella and I tried to go to the main bazaar on Aleja Jana Pawla to get fruits but were stopped because of road work. Instead, we got lunch, consisting of a cheese pizza (Isabella), cheese pastry (Grandma), and kebab (me). Later, when we got to the bazaar, using Waze and my navigation skills, (those were a long 30 minutes), we got small eggs the size of three-quarters of my thumb, raspberries, beans, white cherries, and wanted to get mushrooms. Sadly, the mushrooms were over the top expensive. 65 zlotys per kilo! That’s almost $16 per kilogram. Finally, we walked home and Grandma vowed never to walk of the big streets ever again; they are too dusty and hot for her. We got home, waited for Dad to come, and then set off to Isabella’s candy shop. I wrote about it in the previous blog. 

We took a short route to the old city, then walked through it instead of being on the big, dusty roads. Isabella then got made because Dad told her where we had eaten dessert without her. It was her fault. She didn’t want to come with us before. I marveled at some rainbow umbrellas hanging off a roof, whereas Isabella searched for her perfect desert. And she found it, it a cheesecake shop. Isabella got a small mint cheesecake with chocolate inside. Then, we walked over to the candy shop, where we watched in awe as three muscular girl made the lollipops. First, they made a huge design and covered it in white batter. Then, they covered it in a red and white border. They made small lollipops and handed them out to the kids in the audience. We got other lollipops for our friends, and I’m not saying who! When it was over, we walked around a new street, looking for a good dinner place. Dad asked Grandma if she wanted a beer, so we stopped by a good pizza place, “Flour and Water”. Dad got us a pizza for the table, and you won’t believe this. Isabella ate the mushrooms!

After we paid and started on the way home, Dad pointed out some drunk alcoholics and also some spots of red that were there the day before. When we came home, I drank all my milk, went to bed, but then woke up to talk to Sasha on Skype. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 6, 2018.

Day 8 - July 5, 2018; Zoo, Ogród zoologiczny, Зоопарк

Today it was so hot! So hot, that we barely got to doing anything at all. First, Grandpa called an uber to take us all, except for Dad, to the zoo. There, we got tickets and promptly went inside. It was very hot, and humid, too. I was annoyed at the amount of annoying school kids there. They were all yelling and getting in the way. My favorite animals were zebras, and four elephants, and some donkeys, and hunting birds. The donkeys were really cute because it was too hot for them, so they were rolling on the ground and scratching their backs, sending up puffs of dust. Actually, fun fact; during the war, the zoo was still running, mostly due to the fact that the ruling Nazis left it open in exchange for the pigs they grew to feed the army. Also, during the war, due to the shortage of food, city dwellers ate the animals in the zoo. 

After a while, we got so hot walking in the zoo, Grandma offered to get everyone a scoop of ice cream. I got mango sorbet, while Isabella got chocolate ice cream. She regretted it immediately. See, she always gets chocolate or Oreo ice cream because she thinks it looks cool, but she doesn’t really like it that much. Later, Grandpa called an uber again to take us home. We were two and a half kilometers away from home. We ate lunch and stayed home, waiting for the heat to cool down.

After it got cooler, we decided to go to a sculpture park Grandma found on the internet. Again, we called an Uber to bring us there. Grandma did not know where to go, so I had to turn on my navigation to get to the park. It was OK. 

The main feature of the park was a big loop around a grassy area, coupled with statues every fifteen feet, and a massive, Greek style two story exhibit museum.  The statues ranged from profiles of famous writers and philosophers to  modern works of art. After we finished touring the sculptures, we tried to get to another side of the park by going down some steps. Unfortunately, they led nowhere, so we had to take the long way to the other side of the park. There, we played on a playground and got an uber to take us to Dad. 

We ate dinner in a Georgian cuisine. It was so good! I had spicy lamb soup, Isabella had meatballs, Grandma had an egg hachapuri, Grandpa had spicy meat, and Dad had amazing walnut flavored sauce covered meat. 

After dinner, Dad, Isabella, and I walked to the old city. We went into a rainbow  🍭 candy shop. Flavors of every kind! You name it; they had coke, papaya, cappuccino, caramel, and even chestnut. Then we walked home. On the way, Grandpa called me because he couldn’t open the front door. It malfunctions. And that’s how this day went down in history; July 5, 2018.

Day 7 - July 4, 2018; Who Knew Salt Was Good for You? (Everybody)

Whew, what a day! Today we went to the Krakow Salt Mines. By we, I mean Grandma, Isabella and I. First, we ate breakfast at our hotel (Thanks Mom!), after which we called an uber to take us to the mines. The uber could not get into the space where we had parked, some sort of laws where preventing it. That meant had to walk to the closest area where the uber could park. Nothing like a morning stroll through a park with smokers everywhere. 

When we finally got to the mines, we decided to get our tickets. Initially, we had gotten them online, but we needed some sort of handheld ticket to get in. Grandpa walked us over to the “Online Registration” ticket booth, but the lady inside said something about not being able to do it, other booth, wrong company, blah blah blah. We went to find the correct booth, which was, as the lady said, near the train station. Here’s the thing, WE DIDN’T KNOW WHERE THE STATION WAS!!! The person in the booth just said, near the train station.

We had to stop for directions three times. During that fifteen minute period, Grandpa probably smoked I don’t know, like four cigarettes. He was soooooooooo stressed. When we finally went to the booth, it was closed. Finally, after a five minute wait, we went in and got some sticker to stick to our clothing so our guide knew who we were. Then we waited, and waited and waited. Eventually, our guide came and led us into the mine. We walked down stairs for what felt like eternity, but finally we reached the bottom. Our guide began telling us that we had to buy a sticker to allow us to take photographs. Ha! Who in their right mind would by a meaningless stamp for 10 zlotys? No really, please tell me. I took photos without the sticker and didn’t get in trouble. 

Every statue in the cave was made of salt. And no, it wasn’t the pretty white sparkling stuff e use in cooking snd baking, no. The whole salt mine was green-gray, but it was edible. The guide let us try some. It was salty. So yeah. We walked around for two hours, listening to the guide explain all the myths and stories of the mine. When we left the mine, we were so tired, and hungry. I gobbled down my tomato soup Grandpa got me in a manner of second. It would have been less, but the soup was very hot.

Then, we walked over to the train station, but the train was delayed by a few hours, so Grandpa had to call an uber again. We got back to the city, changed into better, more suitable for the hot summer, weather clothes, and went exploring. First, we stopped by Dad, who was working at a nearby Starbucks. Then, we went to a galleria, where we got Grandma a very fat horse for her collection. Afterwards, we ate at a very crummy Polish restaurant with Dad and drove back to Warsaw. And that’s how this day went down in history, July 4, 2018.