I do think cruising with small children is an easier form of travel. The logistics are just more straightforward: your accommodations and consistently toddler-friendly dining travel with you. On balance, this is both good and bad. On the one hand, it saves time and effort spent on ‘everyday life’ activities. On the other hand, caring for a toddler forces you to live more like the locals (in terms of engaging in kid-friendly activities and the chores of daily life). That said, I wouldn’t hesitate to drive again.

The trip had far more highlights than lowlights. Indeed, I think every place we went is now firmly affixed to the “return” list, especially Bavaria and Poland. And, while we were lukewarm on Berlin initially, it has a lot of cultural venues that are worth exploring. Thus, while it’s not the prettiest city, it’s certainly worthy of another in-depth visit. Realistically, it will likely take us another 3 years or so to finish the 157×50 (err 39? 40?) goal. So, if we’re not back in Central Europe before then, I suspect we will most assuredly return soon thereafter.

Finally, this trip reminded me just how much we like experiencing new places. I think that’s been one of the great advantages of the 157×50 project’s goals. By definition, you’re forced to expand your horizons and travel more widely. Fortunately (or unfortunately), once you’re on that path the thrill of exploring becomes addictive and you find yourself thinking: “why not drive from Budapest to Turkey?” or “maybe we should island hop through Indonesia?” Of course, we’re not hostel-dwelling, backpacking vagabonds. We’re far more (and unapologetically) bourgeois by this point in our lives both by choice (why inconvenience yourself when you needn’t have to?) and necessity (traveling with a toddler, while I’m sure it’s technically possible w/ backpacks and in hostels, I think you’d have to be stark raving mad to do it). But, I digress…

Final score: +6 countries and +1 state for us; +13 countries and +1 state for Emerson!

Up next: the Caribbean over Thanksgiving.

Olomouc's Socialist Realist astronomical clock

The onward drive to Poland was slowed down by road work and at one point a sudden and inexplicable closing of the highway near Ostrava just before reaching Poland. This caused much confusion to the GPS unit, which wanted to keep routing me back to the aforementioned closed section of highway. For a while, I tried just ‘driving toward Poland’ hoping this would cause the recalculation to ‘catch on.’ No such luck. So, I eventually just stopped the car and added a waypoint inside of Poland and away from the non-existent highway. All told, I think the detour added 30 or so minutes to our travel time. This was only the second time that the GPS (briefly) failed us on the trip, and it’s really made the journey virtually stress free (especially as I’d pre-programmed all of the key destinations in the “favorites” list before our departure from home).

We’re staying at another Radisson Blu in the heart of Krakow. It’s a fine hotel choice in a great city. While we didn’t have a chance to explore too much of the town yet, what we’ve seen we really like! And, we don’t regret for a single moment the decision to come here (though it involves two fairly lengthy driving days for us). It’s full of character and very beautiful. We did manage to make it to the swoon-worthy Main Market Square.

Libby and Emerson in Krakow...

We also had what might just be the single best meal I’ve ever eaten in Europe… and for an amazingly low price. We happened upon a place called Miod Malina (“Honey Raspberry”) that’s seemingly recommended in all of the guidebooks and generally requires reservations. We lucked out and grabbed a table for four (the advantages of eating early on toddler time) before the crush of patrons really started. The restaurant does both Polish and Italian dishes (sometimes as a fusion) remarkably well. I won’t belabor with details but highlights included: gorgonzola, pear, and cranberry crostini, tomato soup w/ dumplings (out of this world good—Emerson shared this with me), potato pancakes with meat stew, meat stuffed dumplings with caramelized onions, and a warm Krakow-style cheesecake (somewhat akin to New York-style with a more assertive/tangy cheese flavor). Amazingly, we had all of this food (plus the stuff I didn’t mention)… basically starters, mains, and desserts for everyone plus drinks for about $55 (with tip). That’s $55 total, not per person… for one of the best and more expensive restaurants in town. Clearly, Scandinavia this is not…

Raspberry Panna Cotta at Miod Malina... excellent food and service!

We’re looking forward to tomorrow!

Today’s box score: +1 country (Poland); +2 for Emerson!