Our guide book describes Lodz as follows, "As Polish cities go, Lodz is about as strange as it gets. For starters, its name is pronounced "woodge". Secondly, Lodz looks as though it has been dropped from a great height and left to lie where it fell - visually it could politely be called gritty. Thirdly, behind the obvious grime is a treasure trove of delights - palatial mansions, Art Nouveau buildings, progressive galleries, gigantic 19th century redbrick factories, and a creative energy that can be felt around the world." I think that sums it up pretty nicely! However, my world consists of 6 blocks of beautiful pedestrian streets, an ice skating rink, aquarium, park, science exploritorium, huge indoor children's play area complete with a train, trampolines, and go carts, Imax theater and regular cinema (all in English), climbing gym, pool, bowling alley, coffee stores, ice cream shops, huge mall (including Zara and H&M! Hooray!), and great restaurants (including 7 sushi restaurants! Hooray again!). So far I love it! It is not a town for tourists that is for sure... but has everything we need and then some. It is built for a long cold winter with plenty for us to do.
I have found an English speaking music class I will take the girls to tomorrow. Hopefully there will be some English speaking mommas there that can guide me on other things to do in town. Then we are off to Krakow on Saturday morning for a long weekend, hopefully making it to the Slovakian border for some skiing.
Maggie is having a blast and is so excited by everything. She is just thrilled to be with her daddy. Katherine is adorable crawling around the apartment getting into everything.
I will take pictures of all the grit and grim tomorrow when we are out and about. You will be impressed by all the grey!
