AndrewHL's Guestbook

The beauty of the Netherlands
The windmills are lovely.

Amazing Architecture
Thanks for taking us along.

Serenity
Lovely even on a cloudy day.

Very cool
We hope to go to Poland soon.

Gnomes
An adorable collection of gnomes.

Copernicus
I had totally forgotten that Copernicus was Polish. I had come to think of him as a Greek/Italian scholar. Torun look like it's packed with history and character :)

El Galeon
What an amazing ship.

I look forward to visiting Poznan this fall!!!
Poznan was the first capital of Poland with King Boleslaw "The Brave" Chroby. becoming the first king of Poland. You missed getting a picture of his statue! We are going there to get a picture of his statue, as he is both Linda and my 29th great grandfather. His sister, our 28th great grandmother, was Świętosława "The Haughty" (and "Sigrid" in Sweden and "Gunhilda" in Denmark) Mieszkówna of the Piast Dynasty, and Queen of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and England. Firstly, she married King Eric "The Victorious" of Sweden (28th ggf), with whom she had a son, King Olaf III "The Treasurer" (27th ggf). King Olaf III had two daughters, Princess Ingegerd who married Prince Yaroslav "The Wise" Vladimirovich of Kievian Rus (26th ggf) and Princess Astrid who married King/Saint Olaf II Haraldsson, King of Norway (32nd ggf...vikings had shorter generations than other as they were always killing and being killed). King Olaf II was killed in the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. His younger half brother King Harald III "Hardrata" Sigurdsson of Norway (31st ggf), known as "The Last Viking," was wounded fighting by his side, but escaped to Kiev where he was welcomed by his relative Prince Yaroslav "The Wise." He then traveled to Constantinople where he was commander of the Varangian Guard who protected the Byzantine Emperor. He returned to Norway after 16 years where he was crowned king. In 1066 King Harald III was killed in the Battle of Stamford Bridge by the army of King Harold II Godwinsson of England (29th ggf), who himself was killed in the Battle of Hastings by William the Conqueror (26th ggf) a couple weeks later. Secondly, she married King Sven "Forkbeard" of Denmark, Norway, and England (28th ggf) with whom she had two sons; the oldest Harald II became King of Denmark, and Canute. She told Canute that if he wanted to be a king he would have to conqueror another country. So, he invaded England with the help of the fearsome Polish cavalry provided by his uncle, King Boleslaw. He became King Canute "The Great" of England (27th ggu), and with the passing of his brother Harald II, he also became King of Denmark and Norway. So, Polish Świętosława was the Queen or Queen Mother of four countries, but not Poland itself! We are also related to the first kings of Hungary and Serbia, so will also visit there, with the statues of many of these kings at the Heroes Monument in Budapest, including Köten Khan of the Cumans, our 25th great grandfather. We are enjoying following the footsteps of our ancestors!

Holy Trinity Ceiling
This looks as if it is embroidery rather than painted. Could this be so? Beautiful in either respect.

Strolling
We love strolling around after dinner. The city always offers a different vibe after the sun goes down.

Huevos
I love food photos! ... This looks perfect.

Camino de Santiago...
The Camino Frances is one of many routes to Santiago de Compostela...the one with the best logistics and with more people for those of us who are extroverts! While you can start anywhere (like your front door), most long distance walkers start in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, France, or if they want to avoid the very difficult walk over the Pyrenees, start in Pamplona (where I started).