Krakow (December 2016) Poland

With 2017's destinations planned, we knew it was only right to get Baby I used to flying, holidays, hotels and different cuisines.  At only 10 months old, this was daunting for us as well as her.  We decided to return to a familiar location, one that we knew the hotel, knew the food and knew the city well enough to navigate round, Krakow.

An early morning get up interfered with all our sleep, and security at the Airport was not the quickest especially getting Baby I in and out of snow suits and collapsing the pram time and time again, not taking into account that I had been knocked off my bicycle only a couple of weeks before, so struggled to carry luggage or even help out.  Once we had cleared the final stages before we were due to relax, we noticed that there was no time for that as boarding had already commenced!

We boarded our flight in a fluster, disturbed a seated passenger to squeeze into our window seats and prepared for the horror that all other new parents had warned us of.  As we approached the runway, the plane engines revved and our little angel closed her eyes.  She fell asleep for pretty much the entire flight only to wake 15 minutes before landing.

Back to the Hotel Galicya, little had changed since our last visit, but that was what we wanted.  We donned our woollies and headed of toward the Rynek Glowny and the Christmas Markets.  Baby I has an aversion to hats and gloves in the UK, but we had hoped that the fresh cold air in Poland would give her incentive to keep warm.  How wrong we were! Within minutes of leaving the hotel, she was hatless and her little fingers exposed. An amble round the Christmas Markets, and a little hot drink for Clare, a piwo for me a couple of sandwiches for lunch and it was time to head back to the room. Baby I had not really eaten much, so we decided to chill out at the hotel after a long day and try to get some food down her.  Clare, whilst a rep in multiple holiday resorts, had advised parents on holiday with young children who were suffering with the change in climate and food to venture to a McDonald's "Restaurant".  Having not really ventured into this global franchise for a long time, I reluctantly ordered a Polish Happy Meal for my ailing princess.  Inside the Happy Meal was a 3D book for animals, all in Polish, and this was perfect for Baby I who loves books, it was reading it to her that was the problem.

We tried to incorporate new experiences in the already familiar location instead of continually treading old ground.  We had seen varying dragon designs on all the Christmas Markets and the Cloth Market on each time we had come to visit, but never really understood why.  So finding Smok the fire breathing dragon near Warwel Castle gave us a little insight, but why this is a staple character in the Krakowian fable lore, but, I am sure Google will help with that.  Our other new destination was Oskar Schindler's Faktory in the old part of the Jewish Quarter.  Looking at his life, Krakow and Poland through World War II and how the Jewish community was treated and how the Factory worked.  This was all vastly interesting, but also a little over powering.  One group of English Tourists complained about us taking Baby I there as it was "not a place to bring children".  First of all, was I supposed to leave her in a box outside for collection at a later time? Secondly, why should children be hidden from the past? This is something that never should be seen in her life and exposing her to harder times in life give her the strength to make positive decisions in life, plus she is 9 months old, so hardly at the life changing stage, she was happy to look at the lights!

Isabella started to eat fully again by the end of the week indulging on the Christmas Market delights and treats.  We had put her rosy cheeks down to the cold weather and her loss of appetite down to the country difference, but it turns out that she was teething and her 7th tooth was breaking through.  This also made us think that taking everything into account, she was a pretty good travel baby and we are looking forward to our next venture, our new country for the year.