This is a post I began writing back in 2008, when I was living in Krakow, Poland. Now seemed like a good time to finish it up.

Courtyards are a part of everyday life in Poland. It’s the norm in most of Europe, I think, but it seems especially true here: almost every apartment building has a courtyard. And I love them.

It’s no surprise that I like courtyards–I like nooks and enclosed spaces of all varieties; I like gardens and cobblestones and balconies, and courtyards offer all these things.

My own courtyard looks on to this calico cat, who is always around:

Unfortunately, the balconies in our courtyard are really missing something. Check out the next photo. Can you find the missing element?

Even more than private courtyards, though, I love cafe courtyards. There’s something so sweet about sitting down with a coffee and a slice of cake, nestled between old stone buildings and iron gates, out among trees and vines, under blue skies.

This photo is unfortunately blurry, and I have remarkably few photos of the courtyard cafes I used to frequent. I’m hoping when I can remedy that on this trip!

Anyway, courtyards. Aren’t they just delightful?