The City, the Castle, and the Park
(A punny on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.)
Stare Miasto
Or "Old City", at the center of which is a beautiful town square. We set out on our journey and walked 1.2 miles from our apartment to get there.
We've soon discovered that the hardest part about these long walks is convincing Flo that it's important to stay close, and to keep in the stroller while we are moving to our next destination. She loves running about, particularly chasing the many doves.
Stare Miasto is ringed by a shaded, nature path, as shown on the following map. People flock through this area, many sit on the many benches that line the path, and some have a picnic on the wild grass.
Near the center of the square, a man put on a bubble show for the kids. Flo had some fun with that. We even got a photo of the famous Catholic Basilica.
Zamek Królewski na Wawelu
That's Wawel Royal Castle in Polish. This was a totally different day and we walked 5 miles in total for this one (we are learning to walk a lot - our next mission is to figure out the bus system, almost got that one down). We first walked to a hole-in-the-wall pierogi restaurant and fed the whole family for $8.50, including drinks! Well, water was about $2 of that.
We then headed off to see the castle! We had some fun roaming the grounds. Flo didn't want to turn all the way around for this shot :)
We later climbed one of the towers that they have on tour.
Of course she had to find herself a throne. After all, she's the princess of this tower!
Don't forget Lawrence, he had some fun moments too.
After our tower flight, we sat down for a few nice scoops of ice cream on the castle grounds.
Because Flo was up a lot the night before and was pretty tired, this photo does a great job of summing up her attitude. At one point, she ran off while Tymber and I were planning out our next spot around the castle. We were frantic, looking everywhere for her amidst the dense crowds. I found her inside a nearby building running up some steps. She gave us quite the scare!
The Dragon's Den
Our last adventure at the castle was to walk down a narrow tower, just for a staircase that looped all the way down into a natural cave that led out of the castle.
None of our photos turned out that great in the cave, but Flo had fun acting like a dinosaur.
And our triumphant exit!
The dragon actually wasn't all that impressive to me, but it did shoot some flame out of its mouth every 15 minutes or so.
A Quiet Break After Church
On Sunday, after going to church, we decided to add a quarter mile onto our walk home, by heading up the street to a local park. We're glad we did. The weather was perfect and the thick foliage made it even more fresh.
Flo got to stretch her legs.
There were some beautiful vines on an old brick wall. There was also some old construction that appeared to be abandoned, but was perhaps once a grand estate.
Lawrence sure had a good nap.
I'm so grateful to be married to Tymber. She is an incredible woman. I love how much she strives to be a better parent. She teaches me how to be more humble and patient. Though times are most often not perfect, I am filled with gratitude at the joyful moments we create together and the wonderful little family we are starting.
