Warsaw Castle in the past (well kind of in the past)
I love this photo Warsaw Castle. With the people walking around, pushing prams and riding on bicycles it almost looks like it could have been taken a hundred years ago.
Grape run
The Constant winelands
Last Sunday was one of my favorite races in Cape Town. The Grape Run is a half-marathon (21.1k) race through the vineyards of the Constantia wine farms. The scenery is spectacular, and for a total elevation of over 420m, for a half marathon it’s a pretty tough run. Note I say run and not race. While of course you can race it, this is an opportunity to enjoy the route, take a few photos, and of course stop for the mid-race wine-tasting. Yes you heard correctly. There is a 10k wine table, serving Klein Constantia wines.
While you almost never get wine on a race, this particular wine-tasting is a Grape Run tradition, it wouldn’t be quite the same without it!
Running around one of the farm dams
At least the farm dams still have water, so if we run out of water in Cape Town we can still drink Constantia wine
Mid-race fuel
Because its on the farm roads, there are almost no supporters, except for the occasional overprotective cow and calf.
Mushrooms, anybody?
When walking through the forest I saw these mushrooms growing happily on an old and decaying tree trunk. I know that you can gather mushrooms in the forest (my inlaws in Poland and their neighbours do it all the time), but my knowledge is dangerous. Actually my knowledge is not even dangerous. It is nonexistent. I know nothing about what mushrooms are safe to eat, so I though it best to just look, take a photograph and leave my breakfast until I got back to the house.
The ghetto wall
The memory of the Warsaw Ghetto is very much alive in Warsaw, and it is something we should remember. Hopefully to prevent a repeat of it in the future. While there is only 1 small piece of the ghetto wall still standing, there are plenty of reminders of the ghetto. In particular you keep coming across these brass plaques commemorating where the walls used to stand. A sad reminder of our history, and hoping it will not happen again.
Running in the forest
My in-law’s house in Krakow is on the border of the Ojcow national forest. It is a small yet beautiful forest, full of trails, steams and wildlife. So of course I spent as much time as possible exploring the trails in the forest.
Running along the trail
One of the many rivers; I found many otter dams on this river, and lots of trees that the otters had cut down (yes the otters quite literally cut down the trees to use as dam-building material)
A most-covered tree; when you get deep in the forest it gets very earthy and wet. You can smell the earthy smell of the decomposing plants on the forest floor
I even found an old castle in the middle of the forest
Running uphill – the forest was suprisingly hilly – they were plenty of good climbs
Finally, here is the route I ran – about 14k. If you’re ever in the area I highly recommend a run through the forest.
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