Break for the Weekend

So you thought I was going to update the blog daily until I was current...fooled ya!!!! I guess I got caught up in all the fun of the weekend - not!!!

The weekend was especially quiet since Craig left for Taipei on Friday. I suppose it is best to say nothing spectacular happened since Craig is known to read my ramblings. I would hate to chafe him - or is it rub him the wrong way? My brain isn't quite fully functioning even though I have been up since 7:30 this morning - that dang dog!!!

Since no one really cares about my bland weekend I should get back to the business at hand and talk about our visit with Deborah. Because her visit overlapped a couple of days with Michael's stay we had no choice but to put Michael out on the porch. Good thing the weather was good and the bugs stayed at bay. If he didn't particularly care for the arrangements Oliver did - as you can see from the picture!

As per Wrocław custom Deborah had to have her picture taken with the "lucky" statute. She was an incredibly good sport about it as you can tell from the picture I've posted. Beyond the mandatory photo-op we we enjoyed visits to the Panorama and the National Museum. Since Craig had to work we saved the real cultural activities for after-hours so he could share in the fun. For instance, smalec at the Spiż (she played along) street entertainment (one act bordered on crude - but very funny) and indulging in real Polish food (without the customary shot of vodka)! I guess we can forgive her since she did try smalec!!!

Deborah and I took a day-trip to Auschwitz/Birkenau. As moving as it was the first visit it was equally as moving this time. We were able to visit some areas of both camps that we didn't see with Michael. Wow...it still blows me away!

Not letting road construction and detours get in our way we were able to successfully navigate to and from Auschwitz/Birkenau in about 11 hours!! Craig's short-cut was anything but so our trip down was a bit longer - maybe a better description would be slower. The return trip included an unexpected detour. Deborah proved to be a master at map-reading!! A quick bite at a local pizza place brought a long day to a good close!

Since it was a national holiday on Friday, and the plant was closed, we were able to hit the road early for a 4-hour trip to Prague. The weather didn't really cooperate but we managed to get some shopping done, some beer drank and some good Indian food in our bellies. My simple advice to anyone heading to Prague - DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT DRIVING!!! The town is a maze of one-way streets, small alleys serving as roads and not enough parking for all the tourists. Craig maintained his calm even though I knew he was simmering inside. Oh heck, what is 1-1/2 hours trying to find the hotel when you only have 24 hours in town?

Although one day is clearly not enough time in Prague we were able to enjoy the sites on the square, wander across the Charles Bridge and get up to the Prague Palace. The weather gods were on our side and the Saturday downpour didn't hit until we were heading out of town so we were able to get some great pictures.

Now that we've had two visitors I'm anxious to test drive my hostess skills on someone else. Any takers?????