We are back in Europe and it is everything we were hoping for. We recognize letters if not words and there is a logical pattern to ordinary activities. This is the easiest time we have had since Australia.

Old town Krakow is a sweet old medieval city with a castle, soccer stadium, and central square. It looks like a lot of other European cities built in the 1600s, but that doesn’t diminish its fairytale feel.

We tried to time this trip to avoid winter, but here we are in Eastern Europe with snow on the ground and three more weeks of official winter remaining. Honestly, it is nice to take a break from sweating and the scenery is still pretty. We are staying warm with scarves and coffee and rejoicing that these old buildings have modern insulation.

60 miles south Krakow is the cute mountain town of Zakopane. Our first impressions of Poland are positive so we want to explore leisurely with a few days of hiking and relaxing in a snowy chalet.

It cost $10 to get here, $25 a night for our cabin, and $15 a night for restaurant dinner and drinks for two. I love this place. The food is delicious and we have only accidentally eaten a fish paste once.

We did a bit of hiking, but we don’t have proper shoes so we slip a lot on the ice. The strategy is to get a running start before the slide or to keep a low center of gravity while kangaroo hopping down a slope.

Prior to this trip, I don’t know that Poland would have been on our travel list, but I a so glad that we are here now.