History is close enough to touch. I mean it.

I was sitting in my early morning class today pondering. Professor Basista was discussing how Krakow was built and showed us some maps of what the city probably looked like 1200 years ago, 800 years ago, 500 years ago, etc. It was really interesting. For instance, where I currently live used to be in the Wisla river before they channeled it into one big river. This whole area used to be marshland. Anyway. As early as the 13th century, the Rynek was there. The rynek is the main square in the city; it's where the market used to be. It's been there for 800 years, and I walk across it every day. He showed us some 15th century paintings of tradesmen and guilds and stuff, and in lots of them, through windows or simply in the background, you could see the towers of St. Mary's or the Florianska gate, easily recognizable. I've said it before, but this city is old.
It's amazing to me how if I want to see any of this stuff, I basically just have to...walk out my front door. (And around a corner, but still.) I live about three blocks away from a castle that is about 1000 years old. If I want to go see something that pagan Slavs worshipped 1500 years ago, I just have to walk around the block to the museum. Jeeeeeeeeez. May I not take this for granted and actually walk around the block to go see that this week...
I have hundreds/thousands of years of history at my very literal fingertips. I may owe my soul in loans to the US government, but I'm pretty sure living in this city is priceless.
Okay, I'm off to my next enlightening class of the day: History of Polish Literature. Seriously, I am just like a little kitten in a...I was actually going to say candy store, but that's a mixed metaphor, so I'll say in a pasmantaria, which is a yarn store. Look at me go. I hope my brain doesn't explode or implode or anything. All my classes meld together very well this semester, and I'm getting a right kick out of it.