Hanukah and Skiing

Our latest update includes Hanukah in Krakow and Skiing at a small Polish resort called Bialka. Our pictures of both are posted below.


HANUKAH was simple but enjoyable. This is the first Hanukah since I was a kid that the kids actually opened presents almost every night. Something small, like a video, book, or a pen that says Krakow. Chris got me a traditional Polish sweater (kind of like a zip up cardigan like from dads in the old movies in the US). Chris received a beautiful Amber (common local stone) bracelet that Ariana and I selected at the Christmas market in the open air market in the Rynek (city center). Yes, it may be cold and snowing, but the market is large and open air! The kids are enjoying their new legos (nothing Polish about that) too.

Chris also made homemade potato latkes (see pictures below) with her new food processor. But as with so many things in a foreign country, nothing is as simple as it sounds. She went to the store and bought a food processor, only to find out when she got the box home that the processor was missing, only the attachments were inside. Oh...the signficance of the "red dot!" She returned it a couple of days later and found out that the red dot meant that it was a floor model, so the merchandise was actually on the floor, not in the box. Apparently, the check out lady should have noticed that and informed her, not that we would have understood a word she was saying. Ultimately, the latkes were fantastic, and made for a great 3rd night of Hanukah, and a fun memory.

We also went to the old Jewish district called Kazimierz for a lighting of a large Menorah in the main plaza there. Maybe about 300 people there. As you can imagine, there are not a lot of Jews left here, and more than 95% of the population is Catholic. It was an interesting experience though hearing this Israeli rabbi singing the Hanukah prayers in Poland.



SKIING was a fun day. We drove less then 100 kilometers away, and it took about 1 hour 45 minutes. The roads were clear of ice and snow, but they were small and kind of winding. The resort is quite small with really only one run open this time of year. The lifts were new and even had some features that I have not seen in Vail. For example there are gates that automatically open to let you in to the final chair entry point. And there is a "moving sidewalk" that you get on just before you sit on the chairlift, and that sidewalk deposits you exactly where you need to be standing.

Both kids skied well, picking up where they left off last year. This was a school sponsored trip so there were about 20-30 other kids there as well. Ariana got to ski with a couple of her buddies, but mostly we skied together as a family. It snowed most of the day and was just below freezing, but the conditions were totally comfortable.

And finally, on the bus home, after a fun day on the slopes, Ariana informs me that she has to go potty (this is why parents should always ask about that right before we leave on roadtrips...but whatever). So, the bus driver informs us, through an interpreter of course, that it would be about 15 minutes before he could stop. Well, about 5 min into that 15 min period, Ariana could not hold it any more. So, Mom, Dad and Ariana jump off the bus and stumble down the snowy slope beside the road while the bus closes the door and pulls away to our surprise. Luckily he just pulled around the corner at the stop light ahead. So, all's well that ends well!