Headed to Krakow (Poland)

Posted on May 9, 2016 by David Cross

We trekked east to Krakow today.  A little rain, but nothing miserable.

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The waves of yellow rapeseeds (canola oil) was quite scenic as we drive for 5 hours.  Some fields were a mile long. Sorry for the window reflection.

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As we got close to Krakow, we could tell it was a lively town and not like Warsaw.  A 24×7 “Vegas Club” set the tone early. Not sure how much fun a 10×10 with no internal toilet could be a hot spot…

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Then, hotel choice.  This hostel was tempting…

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But we decided to stay at the Sheraton along the river where all the runners hang out (stay tuned on that one!).

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Krakow has more tourists for sure, but it was a definitely a fun city.  It was fortunate to not have been destroyed in WWII.  The market square was full of activities and is actually larger than the market square in Venice…but less pigeons.

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Music, dancing and lots of people selling Chinese made tourist souvenirs…

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We also walked through the oldest university in Poland where Copernicus studied…the architecture was quite unique.  Check out the water downspouts…almost reminded of Cathedral of Notre Dame…

Stay tuned for more fun, you can guess what is next!

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Old and New Warsaw

Posted on May 8, 2016 by David Cross

Our hotel is the oldest in Warsaw: Hotel Bristol.  Awesome blend of history and modern luxuries.

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It was spared from the WWII bombing because it was a Nazi headquarters during the times of occupation.  Lost of history.

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It is also right next door to the Presidential Palace.  Very convenient to have security nearby and not require private bodyguards during our stay.

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We visited Chopin’s memorial in a national park in Warsaw. He died at age 39 due to tuberculosis. We learned on this trip that he only liked to play for small audiences and never for large venues.

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The large ghetto in Warsaw was destroyed in 1943 due to Jewish uprising and all people we killed with very few survivors.  We visited the memorial and museum in the center of the former ghetto.

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Approximately a year later, the Polish underground uprising resulted in 150,000 civilians killed and almost 85% of Warsaw burned or destroyed by the Nazis as retaliation.

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Some things like the old town area were completely rebuilt after the war.  The old town market square was a delight to visit.  Kind of like the main square in Venice, but with a Polish culture.

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Much of Warsaw still have the Soviet style houses and buildings today, but much is slowly disappearing and many things from that area retained only for historical exhibits.

Hint: The Soviet history is not very popular in Poland.

If interested, you can see the run we took in Warsaw as well!

From there, we went to Krakow.

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Poland Government Protests

Posted on May 7, 2016 by David Cross

This afternoon, we did a little window shopping and sightseeing in the old city part of Warsaw.  Very pleasant area of the city with many cafes and places scooping out gallons of ice cream on the warm spring day.

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We took a diversion down a side street to check out some loud music and a local band was setting up.  Great sound and beat…too bad we did not understand Polish.  Did you know that Polish is the second hardest language to learn after Hungarian?

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They seem to be setting up for all the protesters forming out in the streets based on how many beer stands they were setting up.

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Our main goal was to visit the Polish Army Museum that was next to the National Museum.

DSC00086Some (old) and (worn) pieces from the days when Poland was part of the former eastern block nations aligned with the Soviet Union.

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They also had a middle ages festival going on to teach kids how to make weapons and sword fight.

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The highlight of the day was the open invitation to participate in the massive anti-government protest filling the streets of Warsaw.  We joined in, but was not sure what we chanting and yelling about.

We were in the news: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f57f61fe77b24fa482b13a70a4c8cd29/poles-hold-large-anti-government-protest-favor-eu

 

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Warsaw Running Club

Posted on May 7, 2016 by David Cross

We woke up bright and early in the gorgeous weather this morning to join all the runners in Warsaw…but we could not find any.

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We ran down some the main streets towards the river which should be full of running trails.

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Nice scenery, but Warsaw only seems to be popular with the bikers.

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But it felt great to get in a nice 10-12K to kick off the weekend! 🙂

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Running around the world is always fun.  Some of my other favorite spots:

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Arrived in Warsaw

Posted on May 6, 2016 by David Cross

We successfully made it to Warsaw, Poland – but with only one of our suitcases.

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Checked into the Hilton in Warsaw. I had so many frequent hotel points, could not resist using some of this trip.  Not the best location due to all the construction, but not too far from many places.

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Now, where to go and eat here in Warsaw…go local on the first night or go exotic in a place near the hotel?  Definitely a modern city here in Poland.  They even seem to be building an American style football stadium nearby.  I thought only Americans and Canadians played that type of football?

You have to love visiting Europe this year with the strong dollar.  Bought a decent bottle of Chilean wine, two Gatorade’s for running tomorrow and a sparkling water for ~ $10.  Cannot complain.

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It seems that people love craft beers here in Warsaw.  You have to make sure they are proper though.

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We took a walk around the neighborhood.  There is definitely going to be some great architecture and history to view in this city.  We think the church is the distance is where the former Pope John Paul came from…but not 100% sure as our polish is not too good.

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On the way back to our hotel, we found a partial remains of the ghetto wall that existed in the city during WWII.  Very shocking stories behind the two ghettos.

Interested in hearing more?  Check out the next few days in the subsequent blog posts:

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The (Snow) Storm is Coming!

Posted on January 22, 2016 by David Cross

We went hiking and snowshoeing this morning on a very fun and gorgeous hike on some of the mountain trails around Lake Tahoe.

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Our Guide

The views were amazing when you get up on top of some of the trails.

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Took a quick view with my GoPro Hero.

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The storm is coming!

The challenge is a storm was quickly coming into the valley…you can see it in the distance starting to cover the lake and the top of the nearby peak.

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Because the weather prediction indicates snow was going to dump several feet across the valley tonight, we decided to escape.

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So we headed to Reno to get some sushi and call it a day.

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Adventuring in the Tahoe Snow

Posted on January 22, 2016 by David Cross

Here is our trip report up the mountain from the sunny warm south.

Hanging out on the beach when it is full of snow.  Water skiing anyone?

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Lake Tahoe

So we went exploring the wilderness, just like the movie Revenant…

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Cross Country Skiing

I have to admit, when you live at sea level and you get adventurous at 2500+ meters (8,000 feet), you need to breath more more actively and heavily.  It is just like Machu Picchu in Peru…

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Stick your cans of beer in the snow to keep them cold

When you are cold, go in the hot springs in the mountains to warm up!  I mean hot tub…

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Suspicious antennas

I think the top floor is a restricted SCIF being used by the NSA to collect signals.  Look closely…

OK – the next day we took a great hike up the mountain which you can see in this blog post.

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From the Sun to the Lake Tahoe Snow!

Posted on January 20, 2016 by David Cross

We decided we should explore both ends of the spectrum with our time off…

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So we headed up into the mountains!

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And there is a lake nearby…might be a little cool to do any water skiing, but looks fun for a hike or snowing…can you see the lake in the distance?

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Can you guess where? 🙂

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Exploring the Dominican Republic

Posted on January 13, 2016 by David Cross

Today, we toured around the island a little bit…to check out the local culture and lifestyle.

Lots of Russian immigrants and economy based on their influence here in the Dominican Republic.

Did you know that a “Car Wash” in the Dominican Republic is more than a car wash…it is kind of like the shady “massage parlors” in the US.  Nope, not interested, now you know why there are so many on the island!

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Numerous cocoa (chocolate) and tobacco farms on the island.  And yes, cigar rolling is a cottage trade and industry for many around the island.

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Checked out some of the older churches built back in the 1500s.

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A lot of Spanish colonial history here – still a lot of tension with the Haitians…even though they have been independent from Haiti for several hundred years.

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The military control and guard the beaches here.

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Sometimes the waves and currents can be a little too rough for even surfing.

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Amazing view here along the coastline!

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That is why the wild donkeys like to hang out and live here greeting foreigners…

Interested in learning more?  Check out my two other postings from our visit:

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Relax by Day, Party at Night in Dominican Republic

Posted on January 12, 2016 by David Cross

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The Dominican Republic is definitely a place you can relax, take a nap or read by the pool.

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We did a little of all the above…and snuck in a little workout as well to enjoy a drink by the pool later 🙂

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and then when the sun goes down, the music starts.

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and the dancing is infectious when on vacation…hard to take pictures when you are moving to the fast paced music!

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And when there is music, you run into famous musicians like DJ Ashba who was unfortunately not playing the guitar tonight, he was on vacation like us 🙂

 

 

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