Christmas

As many of you know Genna and I met my family in London for Christmas. We spent time in York and then went up to Edinburgh and St. Andrews. After that they joined us in Poland for a few days before going home. It was a whirlwind, but it was great to show them a little of my life here in Poland. Thanks for coming it was great to see you!

Our first day we went to the Tower of London, The British Museum and Harrods. 

 The second day we did our usual walking tour and enjoyed many of the iconic London sights as well as a little down pour in the middle of the tour. Nothing brings a family together like walking around a city soaking wet. 

The third day was Christmas so we stayed at our hotel and didn't do any sight seeing. Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, we took a bus north and then our 5th day was spent in York. 

York was awesome, really beautiful. It's a walled city, so there is literally a wall that goes around the entire "old town." I enjoyed walking up on the wall and looking into the city. The day we were there is was unbelievably windy. I think some members of the group thought we were going to blow down off the wall, but we were alright! York has so much character and lots of charming cafes and restaurants. It is a place I would love to visit again. 

Dublin

We flew to Dublin for a long weekend in early November. The first day the weather was great. We weren't sure if we would get lucky the next day so we jumped on a tour of Howth. Just a short train ride outside of Dublin. The day was filled with lots of walking and beautiful views of the green landscape contrasted by the rich blue sea and sky. The day was amazing and I fell head over heals for Ireland. 

We lucked out the second day and had another perfectly sunny day. The day was low key and enjoyable. We took in a walking tour and strolled around the city. 

I enjoyed lots of great fish and chips! 

Our last day was spent at Guiness. There was fun self guided tour through the brewery. The finale was enjoying your beer in a round room on the top floor with windows all around. It was a Monday so there were very few other people there. We spent along time enjoying the view and our Guinness.  

Beautiful Budapest

We had November 1st off of school for All Saints Day. On Halloween night we took the train to Budapest. It was our first time in a sleeper car and I found it surprisingly easy to sleep. It was a great way to travel after many overnight bus rides that have been less than comfortable.

The Danube river runs through Budapest. At one time Buda and Pest were two separate cities. The Buda side is hilly and the Pest side on the other hand is completely flat. Our first day we went on a walking tour and saw many of the main sites of the city. My favorite was Matthias Church. I adored the colorful tile roof. 

The food in Budapest was rich, warm and perfect for a fall weekend. This garlic soup was my favorite it was served with a piece of fried bread that had cheese and sour cream on top. 

Budapest is known for its many thermal spas. We went to the largest one. There were lots of different pools at different temperatures. My favorite was the warmest one outside. I could have stayed all night but we all got really hungry and left after just a few hours. 

 Genna wasn't feeling great the last day. We went to the top of  Gellert Hill and I carried Genna's bag to lessen her load. I felt a little like a pack mule walking up the hill. 

The view from the top was outstanding and was a great ending to an excellent weekend. 

Where has the time gone?

I clearly have not been in the habit of blogging this year.  Monday marks the start of the second half of the school year. I hope this new semester brings new motivation to share pictures and stories from this little adventure. 

So far this school year we have been to Budapest, Dublin, London, York, Edinburgh, and Barcelona! Every city has been unforgettable. It is just too much for one post so, I will have to keep posting to get caught up! 

School News:

1. We got a new water cooler! 

This isn't just any water cooler. You can chose still, fizzy, hot or cold water. Thrilling, I know. 

Sadly, even with all these intriguing options I continue to drink still, cold water. 

2. Halloween 

Magda decided we needed to do something special for Halloween the day before. We had a pumpkin carving competition and Halloween Bingo extravaganza.  Genna and I decided that we should wear costumes to pull the day together. We quickly stopped at a second hand shop on our way to school and dressed like Adrian. The kids loved it and we were mistaken to be Adrian multiple times during the day. I wasn't sure if it was good that I executed the costume so well or bad that I was mistaken for being a man. Either way, it was a fun day at work. 

3. Thanksgiving 

We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Primary School students. It was a great day. I directed my first play. The 3rd graders performed the 1st thanksgiving for the rest of the Primary School. They did a great job. It really came together at the last minute. Thank goodness! 

Then we had stations and the students thought about what they were thankful for, and made Thanksgiving crafts. 

My favorite part of the day was a Thanksgiving dinner with the whole school around one big table. We had turkey and many other common Thanksgiving foods. The kids were great sports and eagerly tried many foods for the first time. 

We ended the day by watching Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving! 

3. A Mouse in the House! 

Over Christmas break Kat left some chocolates in her locker and a greedy mouse found them. She discovered the "torn up" chocolates right before a lesson and thought that maybe an insect had eaten them. I knew right away it was a mouse, but assumed the mouse had eaten the chocolates and left the staff room.

 I carried on with my day about an hour later I was teaching a lesson with another teacher and asked her to go make a copy during the lesson. Usually this takes less than 2 minutes, but she was gone forever! She came back into the classroom and told me that there was a mouse in Kat's locker. I thought that Kat and Genna had told her about the chocolates and they concluded it must be a mouse, but no she meant at that moment there was a mouse in Kat's locker. 

When Kat finished her lesson she and Genna investigated the locker further. As Kat started pulling papers out Genna saw the mouse in the locker. They proceeded to slam the locker closed and stand on  chairs in the staff room. Adrian and our cleaner, Maria, attempted to get it out of the locker but in the process it escaped and hid behind the lockers. The rest of the day we could hear it scratching. Ewwwww! 

Later in the week the mouse was trapped and there has been no evidence of more mice since! 

As much of the USA has been experiencing the coldest winter in 50 years, here in Poland it has been unbelievably warm. In Bielsko it has only snowed only once this year and it was while we were in Barcelona. Most days are right around freezing or a little warmer. It has been a little sad to not have snow, but it has been really great to have so many sunny days! 

That's all for now. More to come soon! 

Birthday Bliss : )

My 26th year is off to a great start! Genna made an authentic Anne Nelson Apple Pie on my birthday, It looks like it went up in flames, but don't worry it was just the flash. 

Over the weekend we stayed in a cute cabin and enjoyed the beautiful fall colors in the mountains.

 Blowing out my mountain cheese birthday "cake"

 A huge thanks to Genna, Adrian, Iza and Kat for organizing the amazing weekend! Thanks to everyone for the cards, gifts and kind messages. Your love was felt from near and far!