Thursday May 18th

Mam-Maw Clemmie’s 83 Birthday and our adventures with the Grand Bazaar

What better way to start a day then to sleep in while mother and mam-maw went and had breakfast? What better way to spend your birthday then to go shopping? We started off not really knowing whether or not mam-maw would enjoy this adventure but we knew she loved these tea cups that the carpet man introduced us to the previous day. Here is where the Grand Bazaar adventure starts! Over 4,000 shops under cover with guess what?? Yes you guessed it – carpets! There are also tons and tons of more things to get. The main task is navigating your self around narrow walkways connecting all the stores together. This is nothing like a mall. There are tiny little shops strung together on narrow back roads that happen to be covered. Their merchandise is most hung outside their shops which make the walkways more crowded. This is where we started our quest for Turkish tea glasses like the carpet man had. We weaved up and down the narrow walkways checking everything out and trying to remember how to get back to certain shops for purchasing. We were searching for just the right tea cup and saucer for the perfect price. The perfect price doesn’t just land in your lab you have to have skills to bargain with the vendor to get the perfect price. You must be willing to walk away from your desired item to see if the vendor would actually come down to your price. This is not an easy task because you don’t want to offend them by going too low but at the same time you can’t afford their asking price nor are they expecting you to. Of course it comes down to “Deal or No Deal!” As it turns out, mother’s shrewd bargaining skills worked wonders for Mam-maw but when she needed a good deal it became tougher. I on the other hand seemed to fall into the bargains just because I didn’t have any money and keep on having to walk away. Suddenly, they would call me back (“Hey lady”) and yell a price that was lower than I had ever thought to suggest. It was OUTSTANDING!

We learned how much the word “No” drives them nuts. They want a deal; they don’t like “no deal.” They will even drop the price (even on things you don’t like) in half or even less to make a sell. If you like to bargain look no farther than Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar.

With so much walking, bargaining, and brain activity we had to stop for some lunch. We picked a small little courtyard that looked like it had potential. We should have known something was awry when everything we tried to order was no longer available and it was only 2pm. This explains our next adventure to try Turkish pizza. I ordered to Turkish pizza with salami and mom and mam-maw got the cheese one. Once we ordered we sat around, chatted, figured out what else we needed, and watched men drill holes in cement walls. Not so relaxing but we had ordered our food so we stayed and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. Did I mention that we waited? We almost got up and left but finally the pizzas arrived. We made jokes about it coming from Pizza Hut in New York that is how long it felt like. Finally the moment arrived for us to discover a new food, Turkish pizza. It smelt and looked so good, maybe due to how famished I was by that time. I took a huge bite and soon realized that mine wasn’t cheese and salami but fried EGG and salami. Not really what I was expected nor wanting. Needless to say I didn’t eat much of it. Mom and mam-maw’s pizza on the other hand was pretty good. So, they let me have some of theirs thank goodness.

Once we finished eating, it was back into the Bazaar we went. We had figured out what all we could spend and what we really wanted. We went back into the maze with specific conquests on our minds. We navigated our way around until we got to the specific shops we wanted to buy from. We bargained and bargained and we all walked away with smiles on our faces and gifts in our hands.

The day was not over with. We had one more adventure to pursue. Leaving the Grand Bazaar, we made our way down the crowded narrow streets of Istanbul. Have you ever thought of stopping by a road side cart and purchasing a cucumber and then watching the vendor pill it for you? Well, we didn’t do this; however, we watching many men purchase one and have photos to prove it. We walked past these guys, past the shops with puffy wedding dresses, past the guy selling corn, and went on down the hill to a special market, the Egyptian spice market. WOW did this place have a unique smell to it. These spices come from all over the mild east, like saffron from Turkey, Iran, or India. We were on a mission though for pure Turkish oil of oregano for Hazel Middleton. We entered a tiny stall and proceeded to converse with the owner about the purest oil. We instantly made friends with this guy and he became family because he said “my place is your place.” He kept going, “my money is your money”. So I asked him for some and he showed us his empty pockets. Mom asked him for Turkish delight and he immediately pasted out samples. The sample we had was delicious and he had us hooked. We got some oil, some Turkish delight, and even some apple tea spices. Upon finding out it was Mam-maw’s birthday, he threw in a free package of all kinds of different spices.

After all this shopping and bargaining we were exhausted and ready to head home. We were almost there when we stopped real fast to take a photo. That wasn’t the starting point of our next encounter. This older gentleman across the road was laughing and goofing off with us while we were taking goofy photos and then proceeded to come over. He chatted my grandmother up and even got in a photo with her. He not only wanted to be in a photo with her, he even asked if he could marry her. Of course we wanted to know what he would give us for her hand and he offered her 4,000 Marlboros. Yes that is right he offered us 4,000 cigarettes. That, however, wasn’t the end of it. Guess what he does for a living….yes you are correct he is a carpet sells man and wanted us to come into his shop for just a second to look at his beautiful carpets. You know they are all one of a kind. We graciously bowed out and headed to the hotel and to bed.

(Get this Mam-maw has now received 4 proposals of marriage since we have been here!)

On our way to Istanbul

Today we woke up in Poland and went to bed in Turkey! We left mom’s apartment, spic and span, and headed to catch our flight leaving at 10:30. We arrived in Istanbul at 5:00pm (Turkey time). Istanbul is 8 hours difference from Texas and an hour different from Poland. It was really cool flying into Istanbul. I was even able to take some photos of this HUGE city from the airplane.

(will have to forget pictures while here since internet is really slow and not working all that well....will put some pictures from Istanbul on when I can...sorry! They are really cool!)

Here are a few facts about Istanbul for you to enjoy.

- 17 million people live here. Yes that is right I said that there were a few people who live here. Adding to that number at all different times of the year, are thousands of tourists. (This means that there are cars everywhere and people everywhere, plus shiny taski (taxis) everywhere.)

- Out of the 17 million, 99.9% are Muslims which leaves room for approximately 300 Christians. So, if you haven’t realized it yet, Christians a few are far between and Muslims are everywhere. Those stats are representative of the Whole country of Turkey!

- Like Texarkana, there are two sides to this huge city which is separated by a channel called the Bosphorus, which connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. Unlike Texarkana, which is in two states, Istanbul is in 2 Continents, Europe and Asia.

- FYI, Istanbul was called Constantinople until 1923.

I was so excited about getting this new city and country. We jumped in our hotel shuttle and headed to our hotel to check in and relax for a few minutes. After an hour of relaxing, we head out into the night to get some dinner and look at some sites. We walked up the hill from our hotel and come to this HUGE mosque – called the blue mosque. Right across the road was another huge mosque (I will tell you about that another day). We received a free tour inside the mosque. Before going in, you have to take your shoes off and cover your head for respect. The inside is absolutely beautiful.

Ginny Phipps will completely understand and be able to relate to this next story because she was here with my mom a few weeks ago. It is hard to understand unless you have experienced it yourself; however, the story still needs to be told. The free tour of the mosque was nice; however, inside my mom was grinning/chuckling because she knew what it was leading up to. Once our tour of the inside of the mosque was finished, his ploy started, to visit his carpet shop. (He even promised me a flying one! Hehehehe) Mom knew what would happen next but felt like Mam-maw and I needed to experience this. Mom had warned me about this but nothing can prepare you for the REAL thing! We followed this man and his cousin (the family enters the picture now) to his carpet shop. On the way he even threw in some spiritual insights regarded respecting your elders and those who all believe in God are brothers/sisters. We were ushered into a sitting area surrounded by lovely carpets on every inch of the walls and stacked all along the walls. Has we sat down the gentleman finally let go of my Mam-maw’s arm, let me tell you she didn’t look to happy but enjoyed the hot apple tea we were served. (It was great!) While we sat and enjoyed our drink, they proceeded to enlighten us about all the different kids of carpets from different countries, different areas in Turkey and different ways they are made (materials, dyes, etc.) It was very interesting, informative, and they were all so exquisite but as the time goes by the pressure increases to determine what you like and what size. Until this point, prizes are never mentions. I on the other head just sat back, relaxed, and had a good time because no matter what they said or offered I could only afford $5.00 worth of stitching and Mam-maw cannot be persuaded to buy something she doesn’t want or need. So their attention turned to my mother, who loves the carpets and is very interested in their speeches but at the same time she can only afford $10.00 worth of stitching. My mother’s favorite was a beautiful carpet that costs $2,000 and is too big for anyone of our suitcases and we are too broke for them to ship it to us. J So then mom started to back out, but did it respectfully and even asked for the guys card (you know like we will come back to get one in a day or two when we can then only afford $2.00). Mam-maw was relieved when we finally exited. The guy wanted to take us to dinner but we decided to go back to the hotel instead. We said our good byes finally and we were out of there. (To my disappointment, no one flew on a carpet during the whole hour we were in the carpet shop!)

P.S. I was so caught up in telling my carpet story I forgot to add in one thing. In the middle of this carpet experience, the guy asked me if I was married and I said no not yet. He then asked if I would marry him and I said that I think my boyfriend would have a big problem with that. The next question was “how many camels?’ (He was meaning how many camels he would have to pay, like a dowry, for me to become his wife) I told him I had an offer of 100 camels and he smiled and said well then I will give you 101. I just laughed and said ok we are getting married in a week, sorry Kelly I need an extra camel for my collection. Just kidding I laughed and that was it.

These carpet guys have tremendous charisma and sales skills. It is amazing to watch and experience. My mother knew I would enjoy this and that none of us would buckle under the pressure.

Last Day in Poland!

Today was our last day in Poland before we fly out. Mom and I went to the dentist and had our teeth cleaned for $17. She did an excellent job, something that I really needed done, she is a Christian, and her English was great so we had a good conversation. Well, as much as you can when you are having your teeth cleaned. We then headed off to meet some Polish ladies that wanted to meet with my mom. It was a great contact for her. They are opening up a Christian school here in Krakow and wanted someone to come to do some trainings on how to incorporate Christian morals and bible stories into the curiculum. God is good because they did not know what all mom's ministry was about and mom did not have anything planned for Sept. (the time that they were opening their school and needing some training). Moral of the story....God knows all things and orders your steps according to his plan!

We jumped on the bus and rode off to get one last view of the Wawel Castle. This view is along the river and a beautiful site. We walked along the river, enjoyed the beautiful weather, and found someone to take a photo of all 3 of us. Enjoy our last picture taken together here in Poland!


Well, that is from Poland! The next time you hear from me (which will not be as often) it will be from ISTANBUL, TURKEY!

Good night and God bless!

Sunday May 14

Chrytus Krolem (Christ is King) - Mom's Church


This morning we got up and headed off to church. We had to catch the bus and ride across town. Mom's church is a Polish/English church where a lot of university students attend. So they do some songs in English and some in Polish. They also preach in Polish and then have someone translate it into English. I really like this church and the people are really neat. Today Przemek (the pastor) preached about God shaking us to get the ungodliness out of us. Deona (the praise and worship leader) was also the translator for today. She is so good at it because she does what he does. If he does something with his arms to get a point across so does she. She even walks around the stage with him and does some great facial expressions.

After the service, we went up to talk to the pastor. Mam-maw told him what a great sermon that was and how she enjoyed it. He was very grateful to hear her say that. Then she keeps on going. She said how much she enjoyed his word and then tells him, however, Deona made it better because without her translating it she would have never understood what he said. Przemek just smiled and said "Yes Deona is really good". I on the other hand had to giggle because of course if there is no translator then you will not understand it. It was hilarious!



After church, it was lunch time. We jumped on a bus and headed into the center to eat at our favorite Italian resturant. Yummm! The lunch was great. The only problem during our whole meal time was the two little boys that were running around the resturant and their mothers didn't seem to care. They were running up and down the stairs and being extremely loud yet their mother's just sat at the table and talked not doing anything about their kids. It was very annoying. However, my favorite part came when one of the boys goes into the lady's bathroom and peed....wait....WITH the door WIDE Open! Yeah that is right he didn't even close the door and there were two of them. Where we were sitting the restrooms were in plain site and we glanced over to see what trouble they were getting themselves into and noticed one peeing with the door opened. It was great let me tell you. We finished with a lovely meal and a good time!

Until next time....with all my love!

Saturday May 13

Our Haircut Highlights

Today we made a trip to Basha. Basha is mom's beautician. She is really sweet and speaks some English. Mam-maw, mom, and me all had appointments to get our hair either cut or styled. I was picked to go first because I was also thinking about having her put blonde highlights in my hair and we knew that that would take the longest time. We showed her what highlights were since she didn't understand the English word. Mom pointed to her hair since Basha had highlighted mom's hair before. Basha was so sweet and nodded her head saying that she understood. So, I went first and got my hair washed and then cut. After that, it was time to highlight it. Basha made a cream and was ready. She got the cream ready to go and put it on her brush (or whatever they use) and started to put it all over the front of my hair. My eyes opened up really big. Something didn't seem right but I don't know much about hair coloring or highlighting but I didn't think you did that. But we are in Poland so it could be different. So I looked at mom, and she said "hold on". Mom asked her if she was doing my Whole Head and Basha said "Yes isn't that what you wanted". My mouth was open and mom said "No I am sorry but we must have misunderstood each other she doesn't want her whole head blonde." I was freaking out inside and you could tell that Basha felt bad. I was afraid that as they were talking and sorting things out that the front part of my hair would turn blonde and then I would just have to go ahead and dye the whole thing. FORTUNATELY for me we washed it out in time and I was then given blonde highlights and it looks good. Mom later said that she would have just sat down and cried if my hair was dyed completely blonde and I said Me Too! It was a little scary there for a second but it all turned out great and Basha did good! (So now if mom is goofing off or getting onto me for something crazy, I look at her and say "Oh be quite you almost made me go home Blonde!" And we both just laugh)



The next scary ordeal was going to be Mam-maw and her hair. See my mam-maw is very piticular about her hair, it has to be teased and teased and teased and then sprayed with so much hairspray that that amount could sufficate someone. I knew Basha would be able to do a good job but that isn't the problem. The problem is in the fact that Mam-maw HAS to like it or else we (mom and I) will be hearing about it for the rest of the trip. It was actually interesting to see her with wet hair and a different style because I have never seen that. As Basha was styling Mam-maw's hair, mom and I were praying over it. I liked it because when she was finished it was teased and everything but it just had a little differnt look to it that looked good. Mam-maw wasn't sure about it at first but never complained or was upset with it. I was really proud of her for having the courage to try a new hairstylist and to try one in a different country. This was big and she did great!


Mom got her hair cut and it looked great! Basha was so nice and really good. My hair cut and highlights only cost $42 where in the states I would have to pay around $75. Once we were finished with our new hair dos (3 hours later), we were straving. We headed to the Jewish quater around the block and had some crepes. It was a much needed meal. We spent the rest of our afternoon getting souvenirs for Mam-maw's friends and walking around the city center. That was pretty much our Saturday and it was good!

Well, until the next blog......God bless!

Gydnia, Poland

My mom talked this morning at CFNI (Christ for the Nations International), which is a school that has been planted here in Gydnia, Poland. The original one is in Dallas, TX. She did an excellent job. I was proud of her. Afterwards, we meet some of the staff members and students. I met one guy named Gary who is from Camden, AR. Yeah that is right I typed Camden. There was also another missionary couple who were there and they have some friends who live in Texarkana. I am telling you the world really is a small place, even if it looks huge.


After mom's talk, we had tea with the directors of the school. Dennis and Linda, the directors, are from Illinois and were farmers before becoming missionaries. They are really nice people. Dennis had to go teach a class but Linda had a free afternoon so she was willing to take us to the Baltic Sea b/c I wanted to just see it. We walked around, chatted with Linda, and took photos. It is just a huge body of water, but it is still cool to say you were at the Baltic Sea. When it is a clear day, you can see Hel. Yes there is really a city called Hel, Poland.



The Hel Peninsula, a narrow strip of
land in northern Poland, is just 34 kilometers long, and at some points less than 200 meters wide. They even sale postcards, shirts, and many other kinds of things that say "I traveled from Hel and back". Clever I know! I just thought I would let you all know that there is a place on earth called Hel.




After seeing the Baltic Sea, it was time to catch our train headed back to Krakow. Instead of going straight home we made a quick pit stop at a city called Malbrock.


Malbork, Poland

Malbrock is the home of the largest brick castle in the world and a place where mom has been wanting to stop and has never had the time to do so. We only had about 45 minutes to roam around the castle but we just wanted to jump off the train and see it up close. This place is HUGE! It was built in 1276. Malbork is actually three castles nested in one another. The High, Middle and Low Castles are separated by additional dry moats and towers. It housed some 3,000 "brothers in arms". The Low Castle walls enclose 52 acres (210,000 m²), four times the area of Windsor Castle, England. (And that is just the Low Castle) Dude, this place is huge! We would have had to have atleast a full day to tour and explore this castle maybe even two days.



It was neat to be able to jump off the train and get to see this place. We just walked around the outside of it and across the bridge to get a better view. They had tents all around it selling medival stuff, like swords, arrows, a knight's armor, ect.

We walked around for those 45 minutes until we had to catch our train again. It was a really cool side trip before we had another 6 hours on the train to Krakow. We arrived home around 9pm and relaxed by watching The Terminal.



I will leave you with one fun, stupid, and typical photo of me at the castle. I was just having fun, goofing off, and wanted to do something crazy in mom's photo as she snapped it. Of course she had to take another one since this one didn't turn out the way she was thinking it would!



Well until next time....good riddance and God bless! :-)

Gdansk/Gdynia Adventures

Thursday morning we got up and on our way to the train station bound for Gdansk, north Poland. We accomplished this by surviving a 7 hour train ride. We all slept at some point, I read my book, we had lunch together, and every-now-and-then walked around.

We finally arrived in Gdansk with exploring ahead of us. Gdansk is in northern Poland close to the Baltic Sea. When we got off the train we headed for the city center and some place to get something to drink. I swear Mam-maw can't get her head around the ice situation here, the fact that they don't use it. We decided to stop in this one resturant and sit outside to enjoy the beautufil day while having a soda. Anyway, as we were sitting down Mam-maw acted out how cold she would like her coca-cola. Seriously, she went "burrrr" and shuttered like you would do if you were doing serades and wanted to get across the word cold, as in cold outside. The guy spoke english and just smiled with a little chuckle. I have to admit I was a little embarrased but it was alright. Mam-maw is atleast laughing at herself now and not taking it all so seriously like in the beginning!



Gdansk is full of unique and interesting architecture. We walked down the main street where all the resturants, stores, and beautiful buildings are located. You could spend hours just staring at all the buildings, their unique designs, drawings, and colors. Gdansk is know for their amber. There are amber jewelry stores everywhere with tons of things made from the amber. It is all really neat and interesting. As you walk down the main street, you come to the river that connects to the Baltic Sea. This area reminds me a lot of Amsterdam. There was even a huge pirate ship that was going down the river as we were walking around. (I was hoping that John Deep and Orlando Bloom would be on it!)



I GOT TO EAT AT THE SPHINX!! Know for those who haven't experienced this place, this is my favorite resturant (it is Egyptian) and the one in Krakow has been closed due to a far last summer and hasn't opened up yet! I saw that there was one in Gdansk and was sooooo excited! It was GOOD!!!



After dinner, we headed back to the train station and headed 45 miles more to another city, Gdynia and stayed with a very lovely lady and her family.

Discoverying the Grocery Store

To my dismay there are no Walmarts here in Poland. However, they do have huge grocery stores but it just takes you a trip to get there. It took us an hour to get there and an hour to get back. This is no quick trip but rather a days adventure.

There is not a whole lot to convey to you all about our day today. We went shopping at one of the huge grocery stores, had some lunch, waited for buses, rode buses, walked, walked, walked, and then relaxed at home. All I can add to your exciting time of reading this is some lovely photos.



Mom and I bundled up in our sweatshirts and cool scarfs. We took this photo for our friends in Texas who have to endure the lovely Texas heat while we enjoy the brisk weather of Poland.









Nothing like American fast food avaliable to you while in Poland. No not McDonalds but KFC! However, the food was good and the decor was cute...hints the photo!





Thursday and Friday we are taking another adventure to a city called Gdansk. This requires us to take a 7 hour train ride up to the Baltic sea cost where Gdansk lies. This should be an interesting trip and cannot wait to embark on it. I am taking my notebook with me to take notes of everything we do and everything Mam-maw says (however, she is starting to catch on to our banter and joining in with her own). I will be away from internet capabilities until Friday maybe Saturday so stay toned.

Until next time, Good Night and Good Luck!

May 9, 2006

Wawel Castle - Krakow, Poland

A place where Polish kings and queens resided before the 1600s. Pictured here is the cathedral within the castle walls. This cathedral is where Pope John Paul II was the archbishop before becoming Pope. There are many artistic features within these walls along with tombs of famous and important Polish kings, generals, and saints.

My prayer came true when Mam-maw didn't really want to take a tour. I enjoy looking around in the church but seeing as this is my third time I tend to drift off and not listen to tour guides but my mom was the tour guide of the day. She gave us good information and did not bore me which is huge!
This gave me a great opportunity to check out all the different people around. Mom got a kick out of this one guy who had a short beard that was tied up with a rubber band. I, however, got a kick out of the guy who had tight bicycle shorts on and those classic glasses where the sunglass piece can flip up and then you can see through the regular glasses (not sure if that makes sense).

My second prayer came true when Mam-maw decided that she wanted to walk up the stairs to the bell. I love doing that but wasn't sure if she would be up to it since it is steep and narrow. We headed up and all was well. We got our photo with the 11 ton bell which means that we are all suppose to get married soon. (Now if Mam-maw gets married before me, I will have some emotional problems to sort through!) We had a good time and even meet a nice couple who had just gotten married 3 days before.



We had to stop by to see how our good friend Bob was doing, since everyone who knows him was wanting an update. He seems to be doing good but he sure was speechless over our surprise visit. No words could describe how he felt. I even held him in my hands and blew him a kiss. The grounds keeper has taken a fancy to him and appears very protective. He has even erected a special sign as you can see in the picture to protect Bob from unwanted visitors. After our emotional reunion with Bob and a photo shot, it was time go our separate ways.


I will leave you now with a view of Krakow from up in the bell tower while mom and I watch the news in Hungarian. When we figure what is actually going on, we will let you know. Hopefully, Krakow is not on fire or under siege.
Until next time good night and good luck!!!

May 8, 2006

Let me tell you I was exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open all evening yesterday and then I slept in until around 9am and then took an hour nap before we headed off into town. Today was our first adventure into the city center of Krakow with Mam-maw. It was an adventure. She is hilarious and tends to miss a lot of stuff that we say b/c we have to repeat ourselves a lot but hey that is ok.

My favorite part came today when we were getting money out of the ATM machines. Now Mam-maw hasn't even used ATM machines while in the states so to do it in a foriegn country is even better. She pulled out her billfold out in the wide open so mom stood infront of her to cover her up so she wasn't showing everyone what money she had an how many credit cards she was carrying. (You always have to be careful when traveling). Then we put her card in the ATM and mother was helping her learn how to do this. Mom asked Mam-maw to put in her pin number and Mam-maw looked at her and pointed to the ATM machine and said "I don't know what the number for this machine is!" I just looked at mother and we smiled and giggled. We told her that we meant for her to punch in HER number for her debit card. In the end, she learned how to use an ATM machine.

We walked around the square and down the side streets. We had ourselves a kabob (for you Aaron of course) and it was good!! We looked in shops and showed Mam-maw around the city. After walking for awhile, it was time to relax and having something to drink. We made our way back to the center and sat outside at one of the cafes. Mam-maw wasn't understanding that they DON'T do Ice in drinks here because she wanted a cold cold drink. That just isn't something that others do, just Americans. They do not put ice in drinks here. There drinks might be chilled but they aren't as cold as we have ours. Anyways, we told our waiter that she wanted many many ice and Mam-maw recieved 3 ice cubes which is really generous of them.

Cannot wait until tomorrow to experience more of this new adventure with Mam-maw!

May 6th, 2006

Travel day was an intersting and long day. We left an hour late, therefore, we missed our connecting flight from Frankfurt to Munich. It was alright b/c I had 9 hours on the airplane from DFW to Frankfurt to relax before having to deal with that. My favorite part of our travel day came when we had been on the plane for like 4 or 5 hours. Mam-maw and I changed sets so she could stand out in the aisle for a little bit. She sat down and the lady in front of her laid the set down. Mam-maw didn't know what to do about that. She said (loudly) "man I don't have room for my knees now!" Here comes my favorite part. She didn't like the situation so she just pushed that lady's set right back up. I just sat in my set with my head down laughing. The lady either didn't mind or didn't notice b/c she didn't say a word and that set never came back down.

Another fun part of the trip was due to the fact that Mam-maw can't hear all that well so she didn't understand a lot of things the stewardess was saying. She looked all confused or would answer wrong. I had to become her translater.

We got to Frankfurd fine and it was really no problem to figure out what to do next I just didn't know how Mam-maw would handle the situation. She did good. She went along with me as I navigated our way through the airport to the ticket desk and figured out what to do next. They had already rerouted us through Vienna to Krakow instead of going to Munich. After that everything went smoothly. When we got to Krakow, only 5 people's suitcases out of about 15 of us arrived. Who knows why?!? Mam-maw didn't freak out when our bags didn't show up and she was very patient with me when I had to go and claim them and get that all figured out. The bags arrived at our door at 9pm (Polish time) so all was good.