Don't forget to smell the flowers!

A reminder from Eliot to stop and smell the flowers. Perhaps spend 15 minutes or so at it if you have the time... Oh - isn't that the point of smelling the flowers? To take time for life's pleasures? Thanks for the reminder, Eliot.

Some Eliot Videos

Here are some videos of Eliot being Eliot. Perhaps of special interest to the grandparents.





In this video, Eliot proclaims that he is looking for gorillas at the beach. It's hard to hear him, though, with the wind and all.

Namur

On Sunday, we went to Namur, a major town in the French-speaking region of Belgium. First, we went to the citadel perched high above the two rivers that meet in Namur. Eliot liked playing with the shields in the tourist information center. The woman who worked there showed them to him in addition to the bead sliding toy.
Here is a view down on Namur from the citadel.

After coming down from the citadel we toured the old town on foot. The best parts were strolling by this river and visiting a park with a small duck pond.

Venice in Wallonia? Not quite, but pretty nonetheless.
A narrow street in Namur ending with a good view of the citadel.

Popperigne

The final town on our stop was Popperigne, which was behind the fighting line and where British and Belgian troops "rested." Talbot House (pictured left) was where many of them stayed.










A street in Popperigne, which was having a carnival unbeknownst to us before we arrived.

Ypres

A lot of expats we talk to like Belgium because it is right in the center of western Europe - so easy to get to other countries. Unfortunately, that same centralness is the reason why Belgium found itself in heavy conflict during both world wars. On Sunday, we went to Ypres, where the heaviest, longest fighting of WWI occured. The town was practically wiped out, surrounded by trenches and fighting. It has now been rebuilt and it is very nice. We came mostly for the museum about WWI, which we toured while Eliot slept.







Here is an arch the British constructed after the war. Inside, the names of soldiers who were known to die here but were never found are inscribed. I have a picture up of some names in the web album I will post.
The flag for the excellent museum about WWI in Ypres.
After the heaviness of the museum, it was great to enjoy a walk on the old town ramparts on a sunny late afternoon.

De Panne

Between Veurne and Ypres, we stopped at the coast in De Panne. Still a little chilly for the beach but it was nice to preview summer and see wind-powered buggies.

Veurne

On Sunday we went to three towns in the area of Belgium that saw the heaviest fighting during WWI - Flanders Fields. We started in Veurne, which was the least affected town of the three. It had a lovely square.
And, the trees were starting to flower!
This is the city park that had a few statues.
Another shot of the town square. Belgium has so many nice little towns like this. They are little surprises just waiting to be found.

Last morning in Krakow

Our last morning in Krakow was not very toddler-friendly as we opted for two tours. Eliot hung in there, though. We first took at tour of the area of Krakow that was designed and built under communist rule. It is a large residential community and steel mill. We drove out to the area in this Trabant, supposedly a family car, that was the most common car in Eastern Europe under communism. It's engine was very basic, dropping gasoline in by gravity...
Here is the main square of the well-planned area. The buildings were a little bleak, however. We had coffee at a restaurant where our guide gave us some more history and showed us some photos. Then we visited an apartment in the residential area that the tour company owns and furnished circa 1970. ELiot liked the ride on old-fashioned rollerskates that the guide gave him. He was dissapointed that we did not buy one of the mini-Trabants that were for sale, but they just did not seem very sturdy for him.
Returning to the old town, we walked over to this university with a very difficult to spell name. I could google it, but Eliot is going to wake up any minute now.... The main point of the tour was to see the tools Copernicus used when he was a student here. The historical tour was fascinating - see the web album for photos of some of the beautiful rooms. Classes had to continue in private homes during WWII and the university pulled through with its building, treasures, and traditions in tact.
Eliot and I exploring some of the science exhibits. This one was on the sense of hearing.

Krakow Aquarium

After dinner we took Eliot to a kid-friendly aquarium. He appreciated the break from sites of historical significance. Here he greets an eel.
He took a creative pause to color!
Very interesting snakes.
Eliot and Chris examine baby sharks.

Eliot feeds pigeons, Tarnow Poland

Tarnow

If we can we like to take little day trips from our big city destinations to help us get a feel for life beyond the city. For our Krakow visit, we chose a day trip to Tarnow, which is 50 km east of Krakow. Choosing this town solely on the recommendation of a tourist information office was a little risky since the town was not mentioned in our guide book. But - it only cost us about $5 for train tickets and we were off. We met a nice young woman on the train who was studying biotechnology and headed to Virginia in a few weeks for a conference. She gave us some tips since Tarnow is her home town. She pointed out there was no way she could live in Tarnow after her studies were over - just not any job opportunities for her. It was nice to have her around when some police came through the train asking for passports. She explained that she had never seen the police bothering with passports before and indeed the other women in our car just blew them off without handing over any documents. Interesting. Once off the train, we headed for the main square. Eliot charmed another woman, who gave him some chocolate. Finally, we made it to the square where Eliot rolicked with the local kiddos feeding the pigeons. Another mother gave him some bread to feed them because, as ususal, I was woefully unprepared to feed anyone besides our family.
A view of the square.
After persuading Eliot the pigeons were full, we took a short walk around town before lunch. We saw the remains of the Tarnow synagogue, destroyed by the Nazis. The town was once half Jewish.
This museum had an exhibit on gypsy life, including the wagons you can see in the background of the photo. Unfortunately, we missed it being open by ten minutes.

We had lunch in a nice little place - more pierogies. Eliot made a little friend, a four-year-old named Claudia who he was talking about into the evening. It was nice to see a slice of completely non-tourist Poland. He took a long nap and was sleeping when we got on the crowded train back to Krakow. He woke up on the train and asked if we could get off nearly every time the doors opened.... Finally we were back in Krakow where we went back to the great vegetarian place we ate at the first night. Yum!

Police crossing meadow......

Krakow IV - Walking during Eliot's nap

After a lunch of pierogies at the castle, Eliot settled down for a comfy nap in the stroller and Chris and I set out on a walk. We saw this hot air balloon that is tethered in one spot. I thought my dad would surely want to go on this if he were to visit Krakow....
We walked through one of Krakow's universities and saw students studying surveying.
We stopped to rest on a bench overlooking a large meadow. Upon hearing some commotion behind us, I turned around and saw a group of police dressed in riot gear walking with many, many men. They began to flood around the bench we were sitting on before we could move. We stood on each side of Eliot's stroller and watched in confusion as the quiet and calm flock of men passed around us. One jokingly stood by Chris, pretending that he was with us. Then he moved on. After the wave of police and men passed, I approached a dad standing nearby with his son and asked what was going on. The men, he said, were going to a soccer game under police escort so they did not tangle with the opposing team. Oh. We saw the stadium across the meadow and for the first time noticed all the police vans. As the cluster of men in black reached the stadium, there was some shouting and running and general commotion. People near us hardly seemed to notice, so this must be a common occurence. Seems like an interesting way to spend tax dollars - police protection for sports fans. I guess I would say it was quite a cultural experience.
Statue outside a university.

Eliot unwinds after the private apartments tour at the castle

Krakow III - Wawel Castle

After the market we headed to Wawel castle, perched above Krakow on a hill. Chris got some excercise pushing Eliot up the hill.
The cathedral was beautiful inside and out. I can't tell if Eliot is leaning towards engineering (he loves to examine the doctor's scale causing the doctor - not me! - to proclaim him a future engineer) or the clergy. He insisted that we go in the church, growing impatient as we waited for Chris to buy the tickets. He often insists on visiting churches and seems to like to be in them. Once inside this particular cathedral, he spotted the throne where the Polish kings were crowned for centuries and declared it "Eliot's!" Perhaps he is envisioning a career in royalty? Whatever he chooses, he has our support....
Part of visiting the cathedral is climbing the tower to see the really, really big bell. Eliot liked it. I was smiling thinking of my pet parakeet who liked to play with the clapper of his bell. This would have been a challenge for him.
The castle courtyard. We toured the royal apartments. Eliot was not too impressed with the seemingly (at to a toddler and his mother) endless rooms stuffed with treasures of artwork and furniture. The most interesting part for me were the tapestries that a Polish king had imported from Brussels. We went all the way to Krakow and saw tapestries made in our temporary hometown during its heyday of tapestry making. Eliot was most interested in the large bathtub that was installed for a country leader (no longer a monarch) in the 1930s. He wanted to investigate but, alas, a rope prevented him from clambering into the tub.