Unexpected Detour

Ok folks this blog starts stressful and ends well. 
So lets just get straight into it.

Picking up from our last blog we (Mahina and I) were sitting at the Krakow airport waiting to board our flight any minute after a beautiful couple of days in Poland. 

Soon, we worked out that we were not going to board our plane and in fact our plane had not even left London 2.5 hours ago. There were no staff at the terminal and no announcements made, only the TV panels changed to indicate that there was a delay sufficient enough that food vouchers would be provided (no audio announcement of this either), at this point, very late in the evening, the majority of the airport shops were shut and the remaining ones didn't have what I would identify as "food".
Then one staff member appeared and started handing out food vouchers and word of mouth spread that that is what was happening so people started forming ques to get their vouchers.

Mid way through handing out food vouchers they decided that the plane that had not left London was never going to arrive and that they would cancel the flight. 
At this point the air carrier's policy changed - they no longer had to provide food vouchers. So the lady with the vouchers put them away. Only some of the passengers had got the vouchers and they then scurried away to get food. 

By this point our 9 pm boarding time was now 11 pm, and sitting around waiting for anything useful from the airport staff shortly turned into 12-1 am due to lining up and being processed through customs again. We went through customs again as we needed to have our flights rescheduled back out at the customer services area that was manned by two useless people that couldn't say anything useful in any direction. 

Above: You can see on our faces how impressed all the passengers were about the whole situation at well past midnight.. All hungry and thirsty and thoroughly pissed off.

This is where my blood starts to boil and I would like to mention that the air carrier was RYAN AIR and I wish them nothing but bankruptcy and hope that they step on a lego or some other such inconvenience (I Mahina second this statement) 

I can not describe to you the following occurrences except to say I was prepared to go to a Polish jail and was provided the opportunity to do so by 3 big customs officials. 
3 am was when we finally got served. They told us the next available flights to London would not be for 2-3 days (Around the same time Mahina had to be on the plane to Australia) . They were already redirecting people through Germany etc. and even they were all booked up before we got to the service desk. 

I had a hire car parked in parking back in the UK that I was paying for that would continue to cost money and we were going to miss out on our planned trip the Cambridge and Dover.

Note from Mahina: So while all this was going down I completely trusted my friend and left her to fight all the battles. I stood in line with our luggage and she was off! I have known Mercedes for a very very long time, so I knew when it came to things like this with legal authority and a persons rights, there is nobody I would ever trust more than Missy at this moment. So tbh I felt calm, a little distressed but mainly calm (if I was not with Missy though, this would not have been the case).

I was busy documenting everything, looking after peoples bags. Then went to rest my ankle and a group agreed to look after our luggage. I returned only to find one guy (around the same age as us) moving Mercedes luggage so I told him off and he replied back with a smart comment. Around this time Missy returns to find me in a foul mood with headphones on and after she asked me what was wrong and heard what had happened, that was it, she told them off. Few moments later those same guys then buggered off to the Pub in the airport and left there luggage in line for someone else to look after. But by this stage we were near the front of the line, otherwise we would've moved his luggage out. 

Missy had also had not eaten, the airport customer service team or Ryan Air team had not walked around and even offered anybody bottles of water, or anything to drink. So if there is one thing I know, you don't mess with an angry Spaniard that is hungry and on top of that thirsty! We had no bottles of water packed in our bags or food. My poor friend was on the verge of tears due to how badly we were being treated... so I decided to chip in after she was nearly arrested. And like 2 peas in a pod, we were off!  

There was no way I was going to let Mahina miss that plane home, so I had to get creative. 
An idea struck! Madrid! - they had not thought to funnel the redirections through Madrid so there were still flights available to London from Madrid in the timeframe that we needed. 

As you all know I have family there, so that would save us some money on accommodation that Ryan Air was suppose to provide but refused (I hope their toilet paper tears vertically!). Also if I am going to be so inconvenienced i'm going to make a holiday of it! So i will ask to redirect through Madrid with a day to look around and will get the night time flight (which had better take off!).  

This my friends is where this blog gets good again. 
By 4am in the morning we were in our hotel in Krakow very ready to sleep!! 

Our flight to Madrid wasn't until the afternoon that day which served us well as we need to sleep in and relax a bit. We ended up starting up a lobby party with some of the other disgruntled inconvenienced passengers that were waiting for their rerouted flights etc. 

Below: I also took this opportunity to raid the hotels' first Aid kit and wrap Mahina's ankle from all her encounters with old mate gravity.

So we arrived in Madrid. Lets take it from here. 

My wonderful Auntie picked us up from the airport in the evening and took us home. We were hungry and managed to have a late night cook-up before we went to bed for yet another night of much needed sleep. 

Note from Mahina: OMGOSH I AM IN MADRIDDDDDDDD!!!! I still can't believe I got the opportunity to step foot in Spain! Everything happens for a reason, even though I was really devastated I didn't get to see Dover or Cambridge (I had watched many documentaries in preparation for it). From the moment I landed this place felt like home and Missy's aunty felt like my own. I'm so grateful to my friend and her family for looking after me, giving me clothes and even underwear since we had next to nothing on us. 

This is where we can now start to laugh about the whole thing again! 
Because we had not planned to be abroad as long as it was looking like we were going to be. We need to start to wash our clothes in the shower an hope that they would dry by morning. So this is what we did in our Polish hotel but unfortunately not all out clothes were dry so we had to bundle them all in wet. so at who knows what hour of the night I had to ask my Tia (aunty in Spanish) if we could put on a load of washing then we had to stay up long enough to hang it out to dry. for the second night in a row we went to bed hoping that enough items of clothing were going to be dry enough to wear. 

So the joke was that what if the clothes would not be dry enough in time? What would we do tomorrow. 

Well when you put heads together with my Tia we always end up with some funny solutions. 

The Plan B ended up being... We will wear our bed sheet like togas and get on the bus that runs from her front door to the entrance of Primark (a very cheap clothing store) where we would obtain replacement clothes. 

The idea of us two weird travelers that do not look Spanish traversing the middle of Madrid butt naked in our bed sheets and nothing else was the comedic relief that we needed after the trauma inflicted on us by Ryan Air (I hope they start pooping in a public bathroom and then realise too late there's no Toilet Paper).

Note from Mahina: I was laughing at this and thinking to myself ahhh yep they are definitely Mercedes family haha! 

So in order to make the most of the the time that we had in Spain we were up at a reasonably early time and caught the bus into the the center of Madrid. 
The plan was to have breakfast which was to introduce Mahina to the real chocolate and Churros. The problem was as soon as we got off the bus the first thing we spotted was Primark. 

That was it all plans were canceled (my eyes lit up like a fat kid looking at a doughnut)  the Harry Potter Tour I had told Mahina not to buy her souvenirs there as they are too expensive (best advice ever) but that we would get them from Primark. 

Here we were faced with a mega Primark so it was shopping for us. The problem is that we had the rest of the day ahead of us and anything that she bought now we would have to carry all day. 

So she did her best to leave some of the Harry Potter Merchandise in the store for other people and we were finally on our way!



Above: Me keeping occupied while carrying some for her shopping!

Once were were done shopping Mahina needed her coffee fix

Then it was my turn to do what I needed to do... and that was to visit the area of Madrid where it was made known to me by my creative Tia that there is a treasure trove of materials, ribbons, zippers, hooks, clips etc.

I found my favorite ribbon shop and set about getting 1 meter lengths of what ever caught my eye. 

Left: The zone that all the creative shops are in.

Above: Mahina in my ribbon shop... I am not sure what that look on her face says... " damn that's a lot of ribbons!"

By this point in our adventures to say that we were extremely tired would be an understatement, so the following sequence of events may be out of order but here it goes. 

I remember walking to the very center of Marid where they have the statue of the bear eating from the strawberry tree (it is on the coat of arms for Madrid) ... I think we did this on the way to the ribbon shop. Then by this point I think it was rightfully lunch time and having missed out on breakfast we were certainly ready for food. 


So we walked through this over-priced market meant for tourists and rich people to drop their money. But Mahina couldn't take it any more and had to eat something! She bought 1 olive... I don't know what it cost here but I remember thinking I would rather go hungry!

I wanted to get out of the center a bit and away from the touristy places before finding a place to sit down and eat, so as a result I think we also wondered through the 'Plaza de espana' (Plaza of Spain) heading toward the royal palace and Tia's home. 

Above: The illegal street vendors that were displaying in the plaza. When the police come they will grab the strings on the corners of their sheets and run.

Halfway there I think I remember Mahina threatening a strike from exhaustion and hunger so we found a place that was cheap enough but not too touristy so we sat down to do our best at trying all the traditionally Spanish food. 

I personally love the fried "padron" peppers but I had to make sure that she tried as much traditional Spanish food as she could eat so there was tortilla and paella as well. 

Note from Mahina: The fooood oh man. One thing that Missy told me from the moment we landed was get ready for the food because Spanish people do not make bad food. And once again she was correct. The Paella, those fried pepper things, Missy ordered some Spanish ham for me (sorry mum and family, I keep hearing delicious things about it from my work mates so I had to try), the croquettes and everything else. Even just the fact I was drinking Sangria in Madrid was overload for me! I get super excited and grateful at even the smallest of things so just this one meal alone was enough for me to think to myself 'I am so blessed in this life with everything around me.' I still to this day miss this meal I had and the whole vibe of the place. Madrid you have won my heart. 

After this it was a walk to the royal palace to have a look and see if Mahina could get in. Thanks to Mahina's urge to deprive the rest of Primark Madrid of anything Harry Potter (haha woohoo) I made the journey back to my aunties house to drop off the purchases and was going to meet Mahina back at the palace later. 

Back to me: So before I explored the Palace and Cathedral I walked with Missy back to the shops and we decided to have a girls afternoon and get our hair done!  

(Mercedes: oh yeah I forgot about this!)

Missy went a bit lighter with layers and after much convincing I got my hair done as well. I was really scared though because I have very thick, coarse, curly, Polynesian hair. Whenever I go to a salon back home in Australia they constantly talk about how thick my hair is and others don't even know what to do with it all. So I stay away. However Missy says "This is Madrid! Look around you, you fit right in here! They have the same hair as you and trust me they are used to it!" After the others in the Salon all agreed with her I felt at ease and was excited! 

Missy then told me after it that some of them thought I was rude because they were talking to me in Spanish but I was not replying until she had to tell them I was not Spanish. So we got our hair done, with fresh cut, colour and blow out. I was off to walk back to the palace alone and Missy went to drop off my goods to Aunty's home.  

When I arrived though I had missed the time cut-off for entrance and wasn't allowed in. So I just explored, took photos, vlogged and just took in the whole atmosphere. The guy playing some kind of instrument (accordion), the gypsy in the corner outside of the church begging for money, the students, the couples... it was magical to me. 

When I got back to the palace it seems as though there were about to close so I had to wait for Mahina at the exit until they kicked her out/ she reappeared. 

With sleep in in the morning and the days adventures the last thing left to do was head back to Tia's apartment and relax before the rest of the family arrived for a last minute organised catch-up party while we were in town. 

All in all it was a pleasant detour if we don't consider the reasons why we ended up there. 
I can not stress enough how happy it makes me when I read in the news that Ryan Air has lost $20 million and is in financial turmoil. Good! Karma! 

Mahina: Sorry this is a long blog but I just want to quickly chip in again. Before Aunty dropped us off to the airport at 6am in the morning she hunted down a Churros place for me! By 7am I was sitting drinking an espresso (still the best coffee I have ever had) and eating fresh Churros and chocolate (all the weight I had lost in the UK I put back on in one day in Madrid lol). The sun was not yet up, the guys were hot and all speaking Spanish, I was loving it lol. 

Oh and we had dinner with Missy's cousin and two aunties! I felt at home, I tried pipas for the first time, the dinner was so yummy and the atmosphere was warm. These are some of my best memories and what I would have wanted from Spain. 

Thankyou so much to the MalaxEtxebarria family, you have imprinted on my heart and even though it was probably nothing to you, it is a special memory for me. Muchas Gracias. 

Well that is the clinchers that I had left you all hanging for last blog I hope it did not disappoint, but I also would advise never to book with Ryan Air... unless you like this sort of drama!!

Ok well I think that is it for this blog and for Mahina's trip to the good old UK. By the time we got back to the UK it was time to get her on the plane back home, and hope that she didn't have any other flight cancellations. Well if she did, she can fight that battle alone! I'll be buggered if I could do it twice in a lifetime let alone twice in such a short period of time. 

Thanks for reading and I am sorry that it has take so long to publish... the trauma was still too real and even now I am glad to be done with this blog. 

The next series of blogs though are definitely well underway as we are off on a massive adventure to India, Australia and then Thailand. In fact I am writing these finishing touches from India where we are days away from a pretty awesome Punjabi wedding. 

P.S: 
Nah just kidding! There's more! Looking for photos for this blog I saw that at some point in our beyond-tired wanderings around Madrid some things were purposefully blanked from my memory... We somehow ended up herding ourselves across the city to see the Madrid Bull Ring - Another institution that I hope crumbles and falls.... and be damned with culture and sport blah blah blah! Bull fighting needs to go the way of female genital mutilation... HISTORY... 

Here in India where I am finishing this blog, cows are sacred and holy and then to look back and think what the Spanish do is barbaric! The same animal, two different cultures!

Ok now you can go! See you in the next blog and thanks for reading!
From Mahina, Ciao! (I need to learn Spanish..)

A Polish Wedding and then a disaster!

Hello and welcome to another blog from the adventures of me (Mercedes) and Mahina, because Kyran got stuck working he is missing out.  

Quick recap of our adventures so far:
Day 1: Harry Potter Tour
Day 2: London
Day 3: Stonehenge, Bath and Glastonbury
Day 4: Hampton Court Palace and plane to Poland
Day 5: Part 1 - Auschwitz
            Part 2 - That is what we are up to now!

We are up to Day 5: Part 2 as Part one was a morning visit to Auschwitz which was enlightening but a heavy subject to follow with a wedding so I decided to break it into two separate blogs. 

So welcome to the happy upbeat part of Day 5!

After we finished at Auschwitz we had a car drive for 2 hours to get to the Polish town of Nowy Sacz that the wedding was in. 

I am glad that we didn't drive straight down to the wedding location from the airport at night as the scenery was absolutely beautiful and it would have been a shame to have missed it. 

The drive was scenic and we had our lunch on the drive there which consisted of a packet of chips and a pastry or two. 

On a side note I found it near impossible to be Vegan in Poland!! Everything had dairy! Breakfast was cheese and a yoghurt thing with herbs in it.

The bread isn't the fluffy white stuff that us westerners are use to either, Polish bread will give your teeth a run for their money.
In fact it was hard enough to be vegetarian but that is a line I would go hungry and die before I cross so vegetarian was as low and I could go! Just to be practical ya know?

Right on with the blog!
After a melancholy morning and both Mahina and myself processing what we had experienced in two completely different ways it was a quiet drive but a tense one, as we were almost running late for the wedding, pretty much exactly on time. By exactly on time I mean that we were arriving just as the bride should have been putting on her shoes and walking out the door. 

This would have been fine if I was just a guest but I was one of the unofficial photographers and wanted to get the good old ' getting ready' photos. 

Well we arrived not dressed for a wedding, I had to fly in and get my wedding attire on and then get snapping with the camera... 
Makeup? what makeup? 
Hair? That will have to do!

A few quick photos before the wedding of the family blessing given beforehand and then it was time to get to the church!







NOTE* I have been told that this was not a fully traditional Polish wedding but that there were elements of it there. 

First to the church
We arrived at the church and it was a more informal matter then I have experienced in all the western weddings that I have been to. 
My friend already had a baby so I think that they decided to go for a practical wedding rather then a decked-out fancy formal wedding. 

The church like many of the churches that we drove past in Poland was very modern. In my travelling experience, Roman Catholic churches are usually  massive awe-inspiring old relics, for lack of a better way to describe them. But in Poland they all seem to be fairly modern, which led me to feel a more friendly and less formal interpretation on religion from the feelings that they inspire. 

Wedding:

Well back to the wedding. The bride and groom walked down the isle together - which I am not sure if this is traditional, but from a western perspective it was unconventional - but lovely!

Awww don't they look so happy!

Funny story: From the moment we got to the church I got the vibe that not many people were interested in being at the church but were there as a matter of formality - because with no church there can be no wedding party!

I kept being told: "wait for the party" "that will be the good bit!"

But let me quickly cover the service and then we can get on with the party!

The service was in Polish as was the rest of the wedding, so I was more observant of actions and rituals. 

I think I may have got a little carried away with taking photos too. I am sure that the priest gave me a death stare that said 'sit down and shut up' because of the camera's 'clicking' sound of the shutter.  

Again this was a foreign country with foreign language and culture to me so on one hand I was trying to be respectful and experience the wedding, and on the other hand my armature wedding photographer in me wanted to capture the moment.

I won't bombard you with photos don't worry but I will share some as a point of example. 





Left: Another thing that I had not seen before was the covering of the hands to bless the rings (I think, it was in polish so I am just guessing here)

Right: Then the kneeling part of the service I have not seen before either... this could be a catholic thing though. I do not profess to be knowledgeable on catholic weddings either.

Bottom left: I am joking here but I think they got a two for one deal on the services as they took the opportunity to baptize their new little son on the same day as the wedding. 

So it was literally one service for the wedding and then a side service over near the baptismal and that was it!

It was a shorter sort of wedding. There was singing and kneeling and ceremonies, so there were some traditions. But my understanding is that the traditions really start with the party. 






Party time!

My first few comments from the party are:

• I learned that Vodka needs to be drunk cold and straight - These Polish people don't mess around, none of this mixing drinks business. Cold vodka straight down and if you're weak then a chaser. 
• You don't need to speak the same language to make friends and have a good time - everyone was lovely and welcoming to Mahina and I, and we were dragged into our fair share of dances and drinks. 
• Polish people are crazy - Mahina and I thought that we knew how to party, but boy were we wrong... I think that we tapped out about 3 am. After a lot of food and drink... but let me explain!

From the beginning:

When we arrived at the reception we all gathered around and waited for everyone to arrive outside the venue. 

There were no after wedding photos which shocked Mahina and I the most I think. 

We were all "what about the photos? go stand near that hedge over there an we will take some photos"

But these Polish fellas were not interested at all. It was party, party and party. Nothing else on their mind.

So with no luck luring anyone to a bush for photos we all gathered around the venue entrance while the bride and groom waited at the door for everyone to arrive. 

I think this is something along the lines of carrying your wife across the threshold but once everyone was around it was a 'shot' with arms interlocked and then they smashed the glasses on the ground in front of them. Then the groom picked up his wife and carried her inside and it was done. The formalities were over and it was party time!!

 Above the broken glasses. See the fancy looking glass sweeper brush and pan?

I could describe the looks on Mahina and my faces as shock from the spontaneous smashing of the glasses that we were not expecting. Through to the amazing luxurious interior of the venue to when we found our spot at the table with our names, we were sat right beside the bride and groom. This in both western and Island cultures from what I understand is a huge privilege, and believe me Mahina and I were really honoured!

Mahina

Hey everyone! Its Mahina! I'm just quickly going to add on my bit for the wedding so far and my perspective on things. Coming straight from Auschwitz to the wedding I was so grateful for the long drive! The drive was absolutely breathtaking and I only wish I was in the drivers seat (but no no this was not happening as I have never ever experienced driving on the right side of the road. This was a culture shock for me. Missy was used to it. But i just felt like I was in a rollercoaster!) 

Poland is an amazing and beautiful country. There was ALOT of Political posters around on nearly every blank wall there was. Apart from that, the greenery and natural beauty of the place was stunning. When we arrived I didn't realise it was such a formal wedding and what I was wearing I felt would be fine in a wedding I was used to but did not realise I looked out of place in this wedding lol. After some cranky moments and a stern growling from Missy I went in and had the time of my life regardless whether I was wearing a dress and sneakers lol.
Everything was a culture shock for me. Sitting at the very front of the table next to the bride and groom was a huge honour. Not even in my brothers wedding did I sit so close. This in my culture is an extreme honour meant only for those in high-places in our community or the head of the bridal party. They told Missy and I that we were honoured guests, we had our name on placecards and everything! So we made a pact to eat and drink everything that was given to us, dance when we're told and make the most of it. And phew... Missy drunk and ate for the both of us... it was full on! Back to Missy...

Another funny story: I'm an unruly, unrefined Australian from the country. Mahina an Islander from Australia. Neither of us had any upbringing in the finer things so when we sat at the table and there were 3 forks and 2 spoons and little glasses and big glasses and wine glasses we were feeling a bit out of our depth!

I luckily had once been to a semi-formal occasion as a young entrepreneur and was lucky enough to have a mentor sit beside me who gave me the invaluable advice of "start from the outside and work your way in" as a means to work out what cutlery to use and when.

With this theory conveyed to Mahina we then deduced that if there are three forks that must mean 3 courses. Right! 

(Quick note from Mahina; when I landed in the UK and Missy took me out to experience an English breakfast, I told her that I can't eat with a knife and fork. Missy taught me how to properly eat and I was practicing most of the trip. And boy was I grateful when I saw the set-up at this wedding. Missy had a good laugh though lol) 

So we must pace ourselves. The food started coming and coming. But noted we must pace ourselves. Then there was desert. Ok the food was over, time for chatting and dancing and having fun. 

We made friends with the two guys across the table from us (uncles I think) and every time they had a shot they would pour us a shot. But they didn't speak English very much so 1, 2, 3 shots more... we couldn't do this ... at this rate Mahina and I would be goners before long. 

So the plan was devised. Fill the shot glasses with water they won't remember if they poured them of not! Woot woot! Down the hatch with H2O shots! 

(Quick note from Mahina again: LIES! Hahaha Missy held her shots very well and gave them a run for their money. Myself on the other hand told Missy I am a light-weight and if I was to last this night I can't keep taking shots. So she devised this plan. We did get caught a few times though much to their horror haha)

And we were back on schedule to see how a Polish wedding party happened. Well then there was a giant conga-line and they would walk past the table and pick up anyone and everyone until we were playing a giant game of snake!

Party Party Party... then everyone quietened down... I guessed we were up to speeches and finishing up. 

So we took our places back at the table ready for speeches. NOPE we were definitely not at that point yet... In fact I don't remember any speeches... Mahina was there any speeches?

Mahina: Hahaha reading this blog I am cracking up because she can't remember because she had to drink for two (I was on sneaky water shots). But yes there were speeches however they weren't till midnight when everyone was well and truly drunk. Missy goes to me "what a great idea! Get everyone drunk then do speeches!' However all the speeches were in Polish so we couldn't understand. But they would do a speech - then everyone stands up and sings a song - repeat process. I felt like I was in the Disney Cartoon 'Anastasia.' 

Mercedes: It was food time again! And the food started coming out again! Our friendly "uncles" were emptying the vodka bottles at a steady pace (with a little help from us). 

This was it! a Polish wedding! Perpetual eating, drinking and dancing non-stop. I think at midnight the cake came out. 
What was surprising was that the kids were keeping up! They were dancing and not wearing out at all! 

Meanwhile Mahina and I were dying on the inside after soooo much adventure over the past few days... We can do this! keep partying!

A word from Mahina: So pretty much it was eat - take shots - lights off, dance time. Repeat process until early hours of the morning. Noone is allowed to leave before 2am. As soon as I had food and some shots all my nerves and social anxiety was gone and I was a dancing, socialising Queen haha. As un-co as we both are, we got right in there and joined in and danced the night away. Lights on = we have to eat again. Lights off = work off the food you've just eaten.

The whole night was amazing and so much fun! I am so grateful to have tagged along. Missy got some great photos of the bridal party as well. They were intrigued by our culture and backgrounds, I got asked to do the Haka a few times, they then attempted to do the haka lol. It was a great memorable night that I am glad I was able to be partially sober for lol.

Back to Mercedes...

Haha - I guess I should also mention the bathroom photo shoot... Yea with our liquid encouragement from the uncles and a trip to the little girls room arising we were surprised to find the bathroom just as fancy as the rest of the place if not more!


So woohoo more photos!


Alrighty then! We should move on from the wedding as were still have more of Poland to cover!

At about 3 am we could not keep ourselves awake so we ended up sneaking off to bed which was in the room above the party and kindly provided for us by the bride and groom and was equally fancy as everything else!

The party went all night! We could hear it, and I can not believe the stamina of the Polish folk, they are all mad!

Well we woke up late morning and didn't really have a plan for the day. 
We knew that we need to be at the airport for a 9pm flight that night, so we might as well take in some more of Poland while we were here.


It seemed that everyone was waking up when we were, so we all had breakfast together and then decided to go get ice cream at one of the local famous ice cream parlours. 

It was a beautiful day! With winter soon approaching it was nice to have some warmth and sunlight!

Then next minute while we were standing in the plaza eating our ice creams and deciding what to do next  this military procession started up so we thought we might check it out! 



It was some sort of a funeral! though we don't know who... 

After the procession we decided it was probably about time that we headed into Krakow so it was goodbye to our friends (new and old) and we were on the road again. 

Above: A pit stop because it was such a beautiful day and there was a lovely lake so we thought we would stop and take some photos and breath the air. 

Krakow:

Poland is an amazing beautiful country!

We got to Krakow parked the car and went for a walk to the center. 

Here are some of the photos that we took along our walk.

Above: For when your kids can't breath the air

 The streets were so typical of the tourist photos that you see of Europe - Amazing

Above: One thing that I did find interesting was the way that they were building this bridge. 
I mean you do see this style of bridge around, but I have never seen one under construction!

We also popped into some of the churches that we saw along the way

The Castle: The dragon

At the far end of Krakow overlooking the Vistula river is Wawel castle. It was built at the behest of King Casimir III the Great, it consists of a number of structures situated around the Italian-styled main courtyard. The castle, being one of the largest in Poland, represents nearly all European architectural styles of medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in the country. In 1978 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Centre of Kraków. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wawel_Castle


A note from Mahina: It was at this Castle in this 'dragons den' spot where I had fallen over the cobblestones and my stuff went everywhere. I then proceeded to fall over another 2 times. Missy had tripped i think 6 times but never quite stacking it completely. I had acquired all those skills and sprained my ankle. Under the Castle there was a crypt, where over 800 years of historical people have been buried - bishops, monarchs, and military leaders and heroes have all ended up here.

Well that was it - we had seen what we could see of Krakow with the time that we had. The sun was setting and it was time to drop the car back and get to the airport. 

Below: Sunset from the top of Wawel Castle #nofilterneeded 

Below: Photo editing at the airport while waiting for the plane. This is where this happy story ends and the reason I have put off writing this blog series for so long. 

Like some one once told me. I suffered trauma on a cellular level! stay tuned for all the juicy detail in the next blog of why it all went horribly wrong at the end.

Well on that note, that's it for this blog we are going to leave you hanging. Thanks for reading and stay tuned to hear what could have been so traumatic not seconds after this last photo was taken!