Next Stop, Krakow

Krakow, Poland - After 30-plus hours on airplanes and in airports, I arrived in Krakow, where spring is in full bloom. Considering the complexity of the trip - with stops in Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt - everything went amazingly smoothly, with nary a delayed flight or lost suitcase.
In retrospect I am grateful for that transition time. I think I needed the chance to make the shift... from Southern Hemisphere to Northern Hemisphere, from play mode to work mode, from English-speaking to foreign-language-speaking, from driving on the left to driving on the right...
Incidentally, one thing I did to pass the time was to brush up on my Polish skills by listening to Berlitz language tapes. Yes, you read correctly... tapes. Just before I left my house so many weeks ago, I dug out the Polish tapes I had bought nine years ago before my first trip to Poland (and my first Lonely Planet assignment, by the way). Now what am I going to do with a cassette tape, I wondered? I know there is a way to digitize it, but I didn't have the time or the equipment to do it.
Lo and behold, Jerry came to the rescue, digging out his old Walkman! And it worked! I stuffed it into the bottom of my bag, and it turned out to be the perfect way to pass the time and to aid the transition. Technology shmeknology.
Touching down in Krakow, I moved into a little flat on the edge of the Old Town. It's quite charming really, with a view of the Florian Gate from my balcony. As you can read in your Lonely Planet guide, the Florian Gate is the only surviving gate from the city's old defensive walls.
To be honest, I'm feeling a little lost here in Krakow. I'm not sure what to do with myself. I mean, I know I have a book to write, so there is plenty to do. But my days are wide open. When I wake up in the morning, I'm very aware that I don't have a train to catch, a workshop to attend or a hundred miles to ride. Very strange.
Of course I'm never one to wallow too much in my free time. So I promptly signed up for Polish lessons and I had my first class last night. So it won't be long before I will striking up conversations with strangers on the street.