Athens Cat
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Krakow 2025
The changes in Warsaw between the time I first explored the city in 1996 and finally returned with my family in 2017 were enormous: it was almost an entirely new, entirely different city. I’m sure the changes in the intervening eight years have not been as drastic, but certainly it has grown: new skyscrapers, old buildings torn down or renovated, more diversity in its populations--all the changes I observed in 2017 continued to some unknown end.
Krakow, on the other hand, is a city that seems to have changed little in those years. The Old Town has a lot more variety in its culinary offerings; the prices for apartments in that part of town are likely out of reach for the vast majority of Cracovians; there’s much more diversity in the population of the city and in the tourists who visit it; some buildings have been renovated a few new structures have appeared. Still, it is by and large the same city I visited first in the summer of 1996.
The kids and I explored a bit of Krakow today since we were already so close having taken K to the airport for her return to the States. (The kids and I will be staying another two weeks.) L’s knee is still giving her problems (it all started last week in the mountains), and the forecast predicted severe thunderstorms and continuing rain starting around two, so we made a short day of it. We really only went to two major tourist attractions: the sukiennice on the main rynek for the Girl to get a few more gifts for friends, and Wawel because, well, it’s Wawel.
Along the way, we of course stopped in several shops that lured the Girl’s attention with vintage dresses or exotic plants, and we took a break in a charming little cafe just off the rynek for coffee (three lattes, please). All told, we spent there only about four hours--certainly not enough to do the city justice at all, but we’ve all been there so many times that it felt fine just reliving a few highlights. Besides, relief for an aching knee is more important than any tourist attraction.
Athens Day 5: Lake Vouliagmeni
We made it to the required attractions here in Athens; we visited an island; we drove up to Delphi and experienced the charm of Arachova. It's been go! Go! Go! We're tired, and today was a day to relax. Do we go to a beach? Do we head to an island for more discovery? In the end, on L's urging (she's picked most of our adventures, and she's chosen excellently), we went to Lake Vouliagmeni just south of Athens. We considered renting a car, but who wants to drive in Athens again?
"It would take an hour and a half by public transport," we told the kids, not sure whether or not it would discourage them. It did not. "That's fine." So our journey today was a typical city journey: we walked a few blocks to our Victoria (Βικτώρια) metro station where we took the metro a few stations to catch the 122 bus down to Vouliagmenil. We weren't the only ones with that idea, though, and soon the bus was positively packed as we crawled through southern-Athens traffic.
"This gives you an idea of what it was like for me to be a student in Krakow," K explained to the kids
Once at the lake, we discovered what the Garra Rufa fish do: they're also known as doctor fish or nibble fish, and they do just that. Within moments of entering the water, I looked down to see they'd completely covered my legs. Once I eased into the water completely and relaxed, they swarmed my arms, my chest, my back. It was strangely addictive.
We ended up staying there for hours: none of us really wanted to leave.
