Sore

Those of you that know Laurel's and my regular life know that we like to exercise.  We actually like to think we exercise quite a bit, usually lifting weights 2-3 times per week and running 2-3 times per week (about 15-20 miles) per week as well.  In Poland, we haven't been able to find a gym that's as convenient for the lifting part of that.  Running works fine, of course, and there are gyms around, but none are nearly as convenient as the YMCA in Fort Wayne.  Thus, this week, we went to a gym on Saturday morning and did a very robust workout.  It's the same one I've referred to in a prior post.

Today, we felt the joy of muscle soreness.  Between the squats, deadlifts, and 11-story tower climb yesterday, inclines, declines, and sitting down have all become challenges today.  Laurel's best quote about it: "It's like I've run a half marathon, but just a little more painful."

Undeterred, today we up and down Wawel ("Vavel") hill three times, and climbed this:

We were standing in line for the tickets to various Wawel exhibits for about 45 minutes.  In the end, we wound up getting tickets and then leaving for lunch and returning to the castle, because the tickets have specific times for some exhibits.  We bought the tickets to the tower, and then only at lunch did it occur to us that we would have to climb many stairs for this exhibit.  That was our own fault.  The Dragon's Den, on the other hand, we did not know would have several stories of stairs built-in to that exhibit.

The Dragon's Den is essentially a small cave under Wawel hill; to get to the cave, you have to descend the hill in a spiral staircase several stories.  It's then a very neat (and literally cool - very refreshing) cave.  Check out a picture of it:

The remaining exhibits we visiting in Wawel were the royal treasury, armory, and private apartments.  They were exquisite, but also very strict about not allowing photos.  Thus, we don't have anything to share from that.  We did see a sword from the 17th century that was larger than Anduril.  This sword, obviously for decoration, was probably over 7 feet in length.  It was enormous.

After leaving Wawel, I also managed to get a haircut today.  Uneventful in the United States, getting a haircut here gave me pause, as I don't speak the native language.  However, we received a recommendation for a salon likely to have English-speakers, and sure enough they did.  It was a bit fancier than Great Clips (I haven't had my hair shampooed for a cut since I was about 10), but I'm happy that communication was smooth.

The remainder of the day was spent hobbling around getting food and chocolate.  Tomorrow it's back to work for me, and Laurel's activities will depend on her residual soreness.