Yesterday I ran my first half-marathon of the year, but it was a ‘first’ in a few other ways, too. It was my first half-marathon in the winter time. Snow, mud, ice and all. It was my first marathon in the mountains. An elevation difference of only about 600meters, but still 600meters more than the…
We took both of our chocolate labs for a hike on Sunday. Ours is of course the larger of the two, Fado, the 6-month old pup Rico was a loaner from Ania鈥檚 mom 馃檪 I was actually pretty surprised to see the little one handle the hike like a champ. I was half expecting Rico…
For my newest Wine of the Month column over at WroclawUncut.com I visited Adoria Vineyards located just a twenty minute drive south of Wroc艂aw. And while you will have to wait for the article to be published (link will be provided of course) I wanted to post some photos ahead of time. EDIT:聽http://wroclawuncut.com/2014/05/16/wine-month-adoria-riesling/ Mike Whitney…
Winter in Poland is yet to show its ugly gray and cold self, but for the time being days here feel more autumn-like, and in some instances even spring-ish. Autumn, because with golden leaves everywhere it sure feels the winter is coming. Spring, because some flowers and trees already began blooming due to warm temperatures…
This having no window shades in my new apartment does have its advantages… a blinding sun 6am wake up call! Wait, why is this an advantage you ask? SUN, a commodity so high in demand yet not so much in-stock lately on the Polish side the globe. Once the WTF?? thought had passed, I jumped…
Located just a half hour ride from Wroc艂aw is an old granite mine near the town of Sob贸tka. I remember going there when I was a kid as my cousin Piotrek, a very skilled swimmer, cliff dived into the now water filled mine. Last Sunday our buddy Cichy asked us to come by and hang…
This weekend we took part in the B. A. Najborowski’s 9th Annual Family Boules Tournament. Located at the foot of the 艢l臋偶a Mountain, their home feels like a summer vacation house more than an every day residence. The tournament is part of the birthday party for my aunt Bo偶ena and her husband Andrew (the B.A.…
With another beautiful fall day upon us we decided to take trip up Mt. Sl臋偶a in search of a geocache or two. It’s been a while since we’ve taken a walk in the woods and enjoyed a good autumn day outdoors. It’s beautiful now with all shades of red and yellow everywhere we looked. We…
This past Thursday we visited my uncle Andrew who lives at the foot of the closest mountain to Wroc艂aw, 艢l臋偶a, in Sob贸tka G贸rka. It’s always fun visiting my family there; we take long walks in the forest that literally starts where his property ends, we chat with my cousin Monika, and my aunt Bo偶ena, who’s…
The Gorkauer B眉rgerbr盲u beer brewery was built in Sob贸tka G贸rka in 1817 by Ernst von L眉ttwitz. Beer there was brewed using traditional bavarian methods. His son, Wilhelm, expended the brewery in 1858. In 1864 tunnels were drilled deep into the granite rock of the 艢l臋偶a mountain to gain access to water rich in calcium which…
I’ve written about 艢l臋偶a, our holy mountain, in a previous post. The biggest town around it is Sob贸tka, and that’s where we began our short 22km bike ride. The town also happens to be where my aunt and uncle live, and it was a great opportunity to see them as well. With GPS in hand,…
About 30km outside of Wroc艂aw is the 艢l臋偶a mountain (pronounced Shleszha). At 718 meters (2,355 feet) it is the tallest peak in an otherwise extremely flat surrounding area. Well, it’s the only mountain within 150km of flat farmland. But making do with what we’ve got, we hiked it hoping for a little cooler weather on…
