Back in Hamburg safe and sound . . . the rest of Kraków coming soon!

This post is a day late in coming, but I was WAY too tired to do any blogging when Marni and I got home last night.  It took me an hour on Facebook and email just to console everybody and prove to them that I wasn't mortally wounded or deathly ill!  Sorry if I caused anyone to freak out . . . I really am okay, I promise!  I've got a bruise, and I'm still tired (mostly because I slept so much while I was sick that on our last night in the hostel I was wide awake and couldn't sleep at all, so I'm definitely still sleep-deprived).  Bump on my head is tender, but I'm feeling fine other than that.  I just finished Skyping with Mom and Joanna, and we concluded that I seem to be functioning and talking and thinking normally . . . it was really great to finally get to talk to them after all the chaos of the past few days.

Today I went to school (I purposely got to class late--I needed the sleep more than I needed an extra hour to paint!) and then to the art store for more paper.  It was a beautiful day today!  Windy but sunny, not too cold, and now spring has officially sprung!  The trees have not only flowers, but leaves!  Everything is green.  It's beautiful!

By the time I got home it was after 3.  Indra came in the kitchen while I was getting a snack and told me that her parents were coming to visit for a few hours.  They were going to get dinner and she said I could come along if I wanted.  I needed to go to the supermarket and the bank, but I did want to meet her mom and dad, so I waited for them to come.  When they finally arrived, they decided to go get dinner right then, and I decided to go with them.

Indra's parents are really cool.  I liked them immediately.  She has told me a lot about them, especially her dad, because she and her dad are very much alike.  We went to a nice little Italian restaurant just across the street on the canal, and we had a delicious early dinner and a really good conversation.  After we finished our tomato salads, pizza, and fancy pommes frites (french fries), we got into a discussion about our beliefs and the differences between them.  Indra and her dad are, I think, on a generally higher intellectual level than I am, and it's been a while since I had any kind of philosophical or critical-thinking discussion, so my brain went in knots a few times!  But it was really fun.  We talked about different religions, about what we believe personally, and kind of threw out questions for each other to consider and answer.  It could have gone on much longer, but we decided to postpone it for when we visit Indra's house in a couple of weeks!  I respect Indra's dad a lot, partially because I know Indra respects him a lot and partially because I he is extremely talented in a lot of things.  He is an artist and does all kinds of work--painting, sculpture, furniture, mosaics.  You name it, he has probably attempted it at some point.

Here we are outside on the dock after dinner:

We went to Rewe afterwards, so I got my groceries after all!  But more chores to do tomorrow, like laundry and cleaning up my room . . . boring.  I'm excited for the Good Friday service with City Light in the afternoon, though!  That should be great!

By the way, the atmosphere around here today was really exciting, almost electric.  People were coming and going everywhere: rushing out to finish errands because all the stores will be closed tomorrow; packing up to leave for weekend vacation trips; going out for walks or bike rides or other recreational activities because the weather is so warm.  Yay for spring and for Easter!!!!

Photos and the rest of the Kraków story coming tomorrow, hopefully . . .