It is impossible to write about everything, so here is just a sample from Saturday’s adventures in Krakow.

I will pick up the story with the evening. First, having dressed Andrew and Alicia’s little but totally festive Christmas tree, we headed out to a party, graciously hosted at the home of two of their new teaching colleagues.

Rebekah and I walked through the bustling city with Alicia, while Andrew rode his cargo bike with Mr. T. on board. Part of our route went through the eight kilometers long Planty Park that completely encircles the Old Town.

At the party we talked with teachers who have lived and taught on three, some even four, continents. We could have exchanged stories all evening.

But instead, fortified with some excellent mulled wine, we went back out into the cold to catch a tram to the Kazimierz district and one of the city’s Christmas markets, where we ate amazing Pierogis and watched our grandson careen full-speed nonstop around the square.

This city is alive, with crowds of people filling the streets, the shops, the restaurants and the squares. Trams and buses run in all directions every few minutes, keeping the streets from being too much overrun with cars. There is a good spirit here, a positive feel both in the school where Andrew and Alicia teach and in the city where they live.

And it is Christmas, too, with the extra sparkle of light and festivity decorating an already lovely city with a measure of seasonal joy.

Today is the Third Sunday of Advent. We plan to get up in time to walk to church, possibly in the snow. Because it is only in the light and the promise and the goodness of the newborn King that we find and know the kind of hope and love that this weary world needs.

In love, and because love is why Jesus came – DEREK