Sooo...since the last post, Kaley and I have found ourselves impressed with Poland. Although harder to understand the language, I think we both agree this country has more of a 'feel' or character to it, not to mention great food! We spent two days in Krakow, which was spectacular. We visited an underground salt mine, as well as Auschwitz. To say the least, travelling in this part of the world, tracing history and following in the footsteps of those who were murdered in the exact spots we were....was exteremely intense. It was moving, strange, and ultimately made us think. It was great to learn so much about the war, the holocaust and the Jews in Germ/Pol from both perspectives...something we don't really learn in Canada. We left Krakow for Zakopane, where we are now...nestled in the Tatras mountians bordering Slovakia. In fact today, we took a rafting trip down a river that goes into Slovakia. It is truly an amazing thought to ponder the beauty of creation and of course our creator who made all of this to work together and for us to enjoy. Hopefully I can post some pics from here later. Till then, this is all I've got, in no particular order.


We have no clue what this says...which is pretty much the case with every sign we've seen so far. Dan...or anyone...feel free to help!

Sorry about the sideways....this is a really big donut/pastry thing bought at a market along the Baltic sea North of Hamburg.

Same place...just different food.

At the Wernigrode castle overlooking the Harz mountains.

Again, sorry for the sideways-ness, we just had to show you a common sight for us as we tried to make our way thru the trails on a hike in the Harz mountains.

If pictures are all you were waiting for, you may stop reading now. If you would like some more facts to enlighten you about this part of the world, carry on....

Fact: Kaley would rather walk up 900 stairs in a salt mine than take the lift built for 4, with 8 others packed in like cattle.

Fact: All Irish men are still considered leprachauns and hilarious.

Fact: Some Irish men giggle uncontrolably in their sleep.

Fact: The Irish national anthem cannot be sung properly without some sort of accompanying percussion instruments (ie. drum, pencil, fingers on the table...)

Fact: Polish trains may seem to be booked full, but given the correct amount of $, exceptions can be made.

Fact: J and K are the most common consonants in Polish and are best used in within a heap of z's and c's.

Fact: The Tatras mountains are absolutely spectacular...(pics to come hopefully)

Fact: Sometimes what you think is a one hour bus ride turns into a 6 hour bus tour....who knew?

Miss you all very much...I am having a blast, but having someone from home with me certainly makes me long for home! We leave for Wroclaw tomorrow and are then on to some crazy natural rock formations in Czech.

Rachel for both of us