How to lose 5 pounds in 3 days, walking

I've been too busy with work for the last two days to do a decent update, and there hasn't been as many new and exciting things to blog about either.

I got to work very early Monday morning, I even had time to stop in a bakery along the way and get one of their tasty fruit filled pastries, much like a jelly doughnut, but more Polishy. I had a long day, accomplished a lot, but took a fairly long lunch with Paul. We rode the tram into Rynek Glowny and found a place to sit at one of the outdoor cafes. We talked as we waited to be acknowledged, waited to get our order, waited to get our food, and then waited to pay the bill and leave. I found it excruciating, even though it was a beautiful day and in such a wonderful setting. I'm having a hard time reprogramming myself to be patient. While I was feeling antsy I noticed the sculpture of Piotr Skrzyniecki, described by Roman Polanski as "a hippie before his time", outside a nearby cafe. Someone had placed two beautiful roses in his arms and I think it made for a very nice picture.

That evening after work I walked with Marcin back to his new flat. He is having the whole interior redone. There is still a lot of work to be finished, and he is not happy with his contractors' progress, but it already looks like it will be very nice when completed. He has a large attic space at the top of a 100 year old building not far from Rynek Glowny. He told me recently that he met his building community and that there is an English author buying one of the flats on his floor, Alison Bond. Sounds very exciting.

After visiting his place Marcin asked what I'd like to do for the evening and I mentioned wanting to maybe see one of the man-made mound monuments around Krakow I had read about in my guide books. Marcin offered to take me to one he had been to before and show it to me, and he suggested we walk there. I had no idea how far away it was. We walked down to the park along the Wisla river and he showed me a sculpture dedicated to Dzok and the amazing loyalty of dogs. The story goes that he was walking with his master near this spot when his master was hit by a car. The ambulance came and took the man away, but left Dzok. Dzok never left that spot, waiting for his master to return, but he had died in the hospital. Other people tried to lead him away, but he would not go. So they built him a doghouse and fed him until the day he died still waiting for his master to return.

We followed the river park past the base of Wawel hill where supposedly the dragon's den was at the time King Krak was building his castle on the hill. Now there is a statue of the dragon that breathes fire at night.

We walked further on and on and on and eventually into some very nice looking tree lined neighborhoods. Later we passed a very crowded cemetery. Further on still we reached the base of Kopiec Kosciuszki and the fort encircling it. We climbed the stairs to the fort and bought a couple tickets for access to the mound 10 minutes before it closed for the evening. Another steep climb and we were at the top overlooking the city. At this point I was very tired and hungry, but I was enjoying the view very much.

After a brief rest at the top and making a plan for grabbing something to eat in old town, we wandered back down the mound and out the way we came. Thankfully it was all downhill to the nearest tram station back to old town. I was glad for the rest in the tram car. My feet felt like they had been worn down to stumps.

The first place we tried for dinner was closing up for the night, so we moved on and found a restaurant that was mentioned in one of my guidebooks, Chimera. I was starving and Marcin encouraged me to order the large meal which consisted of my choice of six different dishes together piled high on one plate. I couldn't finish, but I was very happy. Marcin ordered as much as me, and packed it away quickly and efficiently cleaning his plate long before I gave up on mine. Somehow I still seem to outweigh him by 30 pounds. Marcin reminds me a bit of my old buddy Todd Davenport. He was the same way.

After dinner we said "do widzenia" and went our separate ways. After my long weekend and the evening's walk I was ready for a solid night's sleep. I'll post about Tuesday soon. Czesc.