The dismal month of November

It's gotten cold and rainy here, and I swear it's even darker and cloudier than Oregon. We've cut back on our big trips, instead visiting places like Kensington Palace and Hyde Park in London and taking kid-friendly outings. The newness of being here is wearing off, and real life must go on. There are no half-term breaks this month so we must carry on through December before our next big trip (to Denmark and Germany.)

Kensington Palace is on our Historic Palaces membership, so we drove into London to check it out. http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories/palacetimeline.aspx for those who are dying to know more. It's a typical palace museum, with a huge section devoted to Princess Diana (you can even sign a memorial book with a note about how much you love her....weird.) It's located in Hyde Park, though, which practically everyone has seen at one time or another in a movie or on tv. Lots of famous people live in the mansions along the outskirts of the park, although of course we didn't see any. The park itself is one of the largest green spaces in London, and it's history is long, beginning when Henry VIII acquired Hyde Park from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536 to use as his hunting grounds. There's a really great Peter Pan-themed playground there, which we couldn't tear the kids away from. But of course it was quite cold and windy, so we're looking forward to going back in warmer weather (it'll be on the list of tours for any visitors that come our way.)

Another really cool thing here in Surrey is the farm-park. It's usually a combination of a giant indoor play structure and acres of outside playgrounds mixed in with a working farm and petting zoos. We like Horton Park (http://www.hortonpark.co.uk/) and Bockett Farm Park (http://www.bockettsfarm.co.uk/) It's kind of like the pumpkin patch farm Halloween activities we have in Oregon, but year-round. It's a great opportunity for kids to go absolutely wild, and it doesn't break the bank. The first time I took the kids to Horton Park, we spent 5 hours there and I was bored out of my mind. I've since remembered to bring a book--because there are so many playgrounds and animal activities, they play and play and don't need any attention from me. I'm somewhat inspired to open something like it myself back in Salem, but of course I don't have any land, any business sense, or any money. :-)

October - Polish Trip, Part 2

After Jaslo, we headed south for Zakopane, which is in a big valley near the Tatra Mountains. It is a popular center for mountaineering and skiing. It is also an historic home to the Gorales, a highlander ethnic group living in southern Poland and known for their traditional wooden houses (as opposed to most of Poland, which is filled with brick or cement homes.) Zakopane was a real surprise as I basically picked it out of the guide book at random, and it was our favorite part of the trip. Very charming town, could have been ultra touristy but felt authentic. We spent a couple of days in a nice two-bedroom hostel and just hung out with the kids. We hiked up to the mountain ski-resort area, enjoyed the downtown scenery, and ate an authentic Gorale meal (meaning, a huge platter of meats and potatoes, downed with a side of beer) on our last night. (I will also post a video of the traditional live music we heard on our last night, when I can fix the uploading difficulties I've been having.)

Traditional costumes.












Traditional wooden buildings.

Left: As we hiked up the mountain pass, down came a nun (followed later by some monks.) We were puzzled, but further up, we came across a beautiful monastery set in the middle of the woods. What a setting!

We took a bus back to Krakow, where we spent one more night before flying home. The weather had greatly improved, so we spent time in the square, which was a completely different experience than the week before: It was filled with people, people walking, talking, sitting at the outdoor seating of the bars and restaurants. There were street performers of all sorts (the kids were facinated by a fire-eating troupe.) At Emma's request, we took a horse and carriage ride around Krakow, a real treat, it turns out. It was a beautiful, clear night, and we were cozy under fleece blankets in a leather-trimmed carriage. (A funny side note is the group of extremely drunken young men who were everywhere in the square, wearing large colorful blankets with pictures of naked women and sports team emblems, yelling, chanting, singing and dropping to the ground for push-ups...Erik was finally able to ask someone about them. It turns out, they had recently finished their mandatory tour of duty in the Polish army so were celebrating by wreaking havoc in Krakow.)

We returned safely home, exhausted but glad we went.

October - Trip to Poland!

10 days in Poland in the winter with two children - a bit ambitious for our first trip “abroad”, I think. We flew into Krakow about 8:00 p.m. and needed to reach our hostel in downtown Krakow, about 15 minutes away. After getting our luggage and translating some signs, we walked down to the train pick-up just as it was pulling out of the station. We then missed the next bus and though paying $50 for a taxi as ridiculous. Ended up waiting in the rain an hour for the next train in. We arrived at a completely deserted downtown Krakow station about 11:00 p.m., gathered our luggage and our children, and started the several block walk to our hostel. Luckily, we had the stroller with us so Jake was able to sleep through it all. Emma was such a great sport, pulling her little suitcase along the cobblestone roads in the pouring-down rain.

We finally found a building with the correct address but looking like something straight out of a horror movie. Turns out, Erik had previously made reservations over the internet at a local hostel, but received an email two days before we left saying they had overbooked so could we please stay at a sister hostel a few blocks away. He agreed and got the address. So, back to the dark and creepy-looking building….we entered, stood in a dingy hallway with flickering lights, trying to figure out what to do next, when we hear a shaky little voice piping up, “I really don’t like it here, can we please stay somewhere else? I’m scared.” The little trouper Emma had finally hit her breaking point. Erik finally figured out that this “hostel” was located three floors up so left us with the stuff to go up and figure it out.

He returned with this news: The hostel is actually just a bunk room, which was currently full of a group of women and they have no reservation under the Jensen name. It’s 12:30 a.m., we’re tired, stressed, hungry, but, speaking for myself and Emma, very grateful that we didn’t have to stay there. We walked several blocks back to the downtown square where we had seen several large hotels, real hotels. We were incredibly lucky to find that Hotel Polonia, a rather grand old hotel, had a room available at a reasonable rate. We trouped upstairs, only to discover that a “double room” actually means two twin beds pushed together. At this point, we’ve been through enough that I don’t even blink, just drag the bedspread onto the floor, throw a couple of pillows down and make a bed for Emma and Jake while Erik and I collapse onto the twin beds.

Not an auspicious start to our trip. The next day, it rained. All day. We managed to get out and explore the square (pictures to left and right). We ate at a milk bar (a traditional Polish cafeteria) and Emma and I browsed the market stalls. I was tempted by the Polish pottery, but in the end I knew I couldn't travel around with it so I only bought a couple of small things. We stayed another night at the hotel, and then left for Pulawy.

Right:Wawel Castle and Church in Krakow, in which the beginnings of the residence of Polish rulers on Wawel hill go back to an early Romanesque stone building from mid 11th century.

Left: Feeding pigeons in Krakow Square.






Left: Emma and Jake in a fairly cozy, private train car.



Right: Many Communist-era buildings across the land still exist. Not all are as dull a this one--often they are painted in a rainbow of colors.


We arrived in Pulawy to visit our friends Andrey and Ania, who we met two years ago when they came to Salem for a year on a teaching fellowship. They were wonderful hosts. They showed us around their mid-sized, charming town and surrounding castle ruins in the countryside. Oh, and the food! We ate so well there--Ania continued to produce plate after plate of delicious food--meats, cheeses, and dessert at every meal. We stayed two nights and left on a morning train for Jaslo, where we were going to attempt to visit some of my Polish relatives on the Konieczny family side. Andrey was a huge help, as he was our translator by phone with Tomek Cholewiak, our contact in Jaslo. He spoke no English, so through Andrey we were able to tell Tomek when to expect our arrival. He kindly offered to pick us up at the train station.





Left: Andrej, Ania and Hania


Right: Jensens (obviously)--isn't the scenery behind fantastic?

So, on with our trip: We had a bit of adventure getting to Jaslo--as in, we got on the wrong train during a transfer in a small town after leaving Pulawy, which was going the opposite direction. But before that, while we were waiting for our (wrong) train, I got a great picture of this (hopefully you can read the graffitti):

As I was taking the graffitti picture, this woman came walking by, homemade broom in one hand, cleaning supplies in the other, a scarf over her head, and those stout Polish ankles covered in bobby socks:

Continuing: So after we realized we were on the wrong train, we got off at the next stop in a random town where we spent some time paralyzed with indecision. We finally found a bus to Jaslo, but had the added complication of needing to call Andrey to ask him to contact Tomek so he could translate our new travel arrangements. But it worked out fine, we arrived in the late evening and were met by Tomek, with hugs and big smiles and virtually no spoken words, shortly after. I'm not sure how we communicated, but somehow we managed. He took us to a hotel, waited for us to check in, and then took us out to his house, where he lives with his mother and father, brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Not dirt poor, but not rich, either. I think they all lived together because of tradition but mostly because of money. Turns out, none of them knew any English (they learn Russian or German in school, it seems) so we made use of the Polish-English dictionary as best we could. Polish is not an easy language to read and pronounce, though, so we did a lot of writing Polish phrases down to get our point across. It was difficult, and stressful, but they were so nice, friendly and generous that we couldn't help enjoying ourselves (even though it felt like something out of the Twilight Zone!)

We arrived at the house about 8:30 pm to find the coffee table in the living room absolutely covered with foods: sliced meats and cheeses, bread, crackers, sausages, drinks, desserts...and they had already eaten, so it was all for us. We sat there, awkwardly, eating and drinking as the grandmother kept urging "Eat! Eat!" in Polish. We complied, in order not to be insulting. Most of the evening is a blur...we stayed for a couple of hours, Emma played with the shy 6-year old grand-daughter and Jake played with her toys. Tomek, as it turns out, is an almost identical replica of Uncle Paul, who would be his second cousin once removed or something along those lines. He even laughs and talks like Paul (except in Polish, of course.) It was very disconcerting. It shows how strong a gene line can be, across the generations and the oceans. They had some pictures in an album of when one of their older relatives, mabye the grandma's sister, came to visit Portland, Oregon--she was standing with my Grandma and Grandpa Zegar at Multnomah Falls--crazy. I wish we could have communicated better, but maybe someday we'll visit again, after we've had some Polish lessons.

Left: Some of the family and our picnic on the coffee table.

Right: Emma with Natalia (who eventually warmed up to Emma.

Left: Tomek in Poland.

Right: Paul in Oregon.

(Will someone email me a better picture of Paul? This is all I have.)

October - The Battle at Hastings Re-enactment

The first weekend in October, we attended the famous reenactment of the Battle of Hastings, which took place in 1066 AD when the invading Normans defeated the English. This was an absolute hoot—people dressed up as knights, wenches, blacksmiths, demonstrations of ways of life during that time, a mock tent “village” with people living, sleeping and eating the way they would have 1000 years ago. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hastings)

The buildings behind it is Hastings Abbey, which was built after the battle to commemorate the victory.

Jake's Big Battle Scene!

So there are two fighting sides here: one side has round shields and one side, diamond-y shaped shields. Jake is on the round shield side, and you can’t see him at first, but he comes out after the rest of the kids (wearing a tan t-shirt) and joins the melee. If you track him through the crowd, you'll see he's just running around like a crazy man. He's eventually told by the man with the red sleeves: “You’re dead! You’re dead!”, meaning he should fall over and pretend he has been killed by the enemy. Jake refuses, and continues to wail away at anything that moves. Keep watching, and you will see him at the far end attack a spectator. The man in red then notices that Jake is the only diamond-shield left, so encourages the rest of the kids, all the “enemy,” to attack Jake. You can hear me screeching with laughter in the background (isn't it fun to hear yourself on a recording? I think to myself, that can't possibly be what I sound like, how can anyone stand to hear my voice? :-)

Another battle scene

UK Signs

Laura and I got a big kick out of the graphic nature of some of the signs here. For some, it's not the wording so much as the pictures that depict what might happen to your person if you disobey. (I plan to add some more that I still need to take pictures of, so if you're really that interested, check back.)

Thoughts About England

Random thoughts:

1. Already mentioned the odd restaurant hours--but grocery stores, even large chains, also have limited hours. For example, the Waitrose grocery store closest to us doesn't open until 8:30 a.m. and closes at 6:00 pm on Saturdays and 2:00 pm on Sundays. Now, I'm not opposed to limited hours so their employees don't have to work all the time, but I didn't realize how I took for granted that I could run to Safeway at 6:30 in the morning or 9:00 at night to grab a few things. Now I have to plan more carefully or go without more often.

2. The plus side? Grocery stores offer home delivery and a huge selection of items. I would never consider groceries delivered at home in the US, but here, a couple pounds delivery surcharge makes it well worth it to avoid spending $8.00 a gallon on gas and navigating the crowded roadways. Not to mention not having to drag whiny kids through the aisles.

3. Another plus? Along with handicapped parking spaces, stores have "child-friendly" parking spots. They are always close to the entrance and are extra big. Obviously, you have to have at least one kid with you to use them. It's pretty cool, though.

4. Cars can park wherever they want--on sidewalks, medians, even on the road itself. It is your own responsibility to drive around the parked car, usually by using the oncoming traffic lane. But do you wait for oncoming traffic to subside? No, no, my friends, you do not. You just cram your way through with mere centimeters to spare, and oncoming traffic moves over to the shoulder but doesn't slow down. And it's all done in a very polite, very British manner. There's no honking, no yelling, no raised fists. We all wave at each other as we barrell along, thanking each other for making extra room.

5. Forget being a pedestrian in this scenario. Just run away, because no one is looking out for you.

6. Interesting that hardly any people put up Christmas lights or decorations. Christmas is very mellow here as a holiday season...you can't even go shopping for two days after Christmas because everything, and I mean everything, is closed. They do, however, love their "Christmas Grotto", where you can visit Santa for anywhere from $20-$40 per child.

7. Everything in England is smaller--the appliances, cars, roads, shops, parking spaces. There's not a lot of open space, which you miss if you're from a state like Oregon. There's something something innately crowded about southeast England, which I find nerve-wracking.

8. British people are very polite, at least on the surface. I find that I often feel abrupt and abrasive in a peculiarly American way and I often find myself wondering what they're really thinking. There is a certain way of talking about things and of doing things which I don't seem to get--I get the feeling that flexibility and spontaneity are not highly valued. At the risk of sounding like an ethnocentric American, it seems to me that the culture of England does not embrace imagination or inventiveness. However, I do find Brits to be patient and kind during everyday life. No one drives rudely or carelessly, no one rushes to be first in line at a shop, in fact it seems like no one is ever in a rush. It's a refreshing change of pace.

9. Houses anywhere outside the inner London area have quaint little names, not numbered addresses. In my immediate neighborhood: Toad Hall, Park Cottage, Magpie Cottage, West End Hill, etc. However, once you find the street you are looking for, there is no way to know where the actual house is located because there is no numerical pattern to follow. It can be very frustrating, but generally you will ask for landmarks so you can narrow down the location...as in, Sandgate is two driveways before Claremont Avenue (coming from Cobham), right by the 40 mph speed sign and just after West End Lane.

Laura's Last Weekend - Dover Castle

Laura really wanted to get to Ireland or France, but plane tickets, which can often be as cheap as $10 round trip (ryanair.com) from London to other European commnities, were not at all cheap so we needed to come up with a plan B. We decided to make the 1.5 hour drive to the coast to see the famous "White Cliffs of Dover" and tour Dover Castle. We arrived on Saturday and explored the town until we could check into our bed and breakfast.

Left: A view of one of the large ferries that makes the trip across the English Channel to France and back.

Right: The boardwalk lined with elegant old apartment buildings.

Laura and I thought we'd go out for one last night on the town--unfortunately, it was the first of many times that I would discover that restaurants in England do not operate during "normal" business hours. Generally speaking, you can't eat out at just any old time of the day--you won't find anything like an Applebee's or a Red Robin, something open all day and night. If you're going to eat out, you need to plan to eat breakfast from 7:30 to 9:00, lunch from 11:00 - 1:00, and restaurants don't open again for dinner until 6:00 p.m., earliest, and often only serve food for an hour or two, then switch to alcohol only. That may not sound like a big deal, but if you have kids and need to eat early, or you happen to be off-schedule in your meals, you're pretty much out of luck. So what does this mean? We couldn't find a place serving food when we were ready to eat at 8:00 p.m.--after walking the High Street for what felt like hours, we discovered that the entire town was absolutely bursting at the seams with young, rowdy, drunk college students. We found a random bar that was still serving food, spent an hour gawking at the "pick-up" scene, then called it a night. Talk about feeling old--I really did that night!

The next day, we spent several hours at Dover Castle, up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and a site of historical importance. Portions of the castle were built during Roman times, added to after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and used throughout history up through World War II. Although I'm not a huge war history buff, it was really interesting to tour the "secret wartime tunnels" and the undergound hospital built into the cliffs and used during the way. If you are interested in reading more about it:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/server/show/nav.14571

Left: A small portion of Dover Castle added in the 1700's.

Right: "Secret" wartime tunnels added to the cliffs during WWII.

View from Dover Castle.

Fourth Week of September

Laura's time here is running out--she'll be leaving at the beginning of next week. We are still spending a lot of time figuring out logistics and the kids' schedules, running errands, and basically not having very much fun. Erik signed up for a phone line and internet service a month ago with BT (British Telecom)--we still haven't received any service and haven't heard a thing from them. They are impossible to contact via email so you have to phone them, but how do you do that when you don't have a phone line, I wonder...

The weather has been so beautiful that we decided to take a quick day trip while Emma is in school to see the oldest Roman wall remains in the UK.

Hadrian's Wall - Built by the Roman Empire in AD 122, 75 miles across the width of England. Roman Emporer Hadrian was experiencing military difficulties in Britain and from the peoples of various conquered lands across the Empire so he was keen to impose order. The construction of such an impressive wall was probably also a symbol of Roman power, both in occupied Britain and in Rome. (More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadrian)

Jakob had a fabulous time running the length of the wall and back. After walking for about half an hour, we reached the ancient amphitheater (right). As you can tell, the weather was perfect!

Third Week - Last week in September

Another weekend, another trip. We're excited to be here and the weather has been so nice that we are going to take day trips as much as we can. We visited the southwest coast of England, a town called Brighton. It was a popular health resort during the 18th century and is now one of the most famous UK coastal cities.

Old hotels along the boardwalk

Brighton Pier (arcade and rides)

More boardwalk action

Royal Pavillion built by King George IV in 1815

More about Brighton if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brighton.

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We stopped in a town called Lewes on the way home--it's a classic example of a small English village, complete with its own ancient castle surrounded by English houses, pubs and shops. We had a great burger and pint at a pub after walking around taking in the sights.

Thomas Payne lived here

Lewe's Castle

Emma found this door to a "secret garden" behind the castle

Lots of cool narrow alleyways

Virginiai Wolf lived here in 1918