Polska yay!

Dobry den!

We are now in the Czech Republic, Prague to be exact, and we have plenty more to share since we last posted.

Our last day in Berlin was fairly relaxed. Zabs and Leslie decided to take it easy and catch a movie (in English) at Potsdammer Platz, while I took the opportunity to do some solo sightseeing. I spent the morning at the Jewish History Museum, a striking building designed by the American Jewish architect Daniel Leibeskind. It really is a museum like no other; while the top two floors contain traditional museum exhibits about Jewish culture in Europe, the real exhibit is actually the museum itself. Leibeskind designed the building to give visitors an idea of how it would feel to be a Jew in Germany throughout history, using strange geometry, harsh angles, foreshortened hallways, slash-like windows and cold, severe materials and lighting. The overall feeling of the building is one of confusion, apprehension, and general malaise.

The most effective room in the musuem is called the “Holocaust Tower”, a 4-storey open interior made entirely of cold concrete that is entered from below ground by a heavy metal door. The tower is a narrow, claustrophobic wedge that tappers into a sharp point and is lit only by a small gash in the ceiling several feet above. Once the museum staff member shuts the massive door behind you, you are thrust into a meditative experience that I can’t even begin to describe. I can only say that the title of the space is an accurate indication of how it feels to be inside.

After a near spiritual experience in the morning, I spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Berlin and taking way too many photos of the graffiti and decay that I personally think makes the city so charming. It was a great way to say goodbye to a city that I love so much.

The next day we were off to Poland, stopping for two nights in the small city of Poznan. The city has a charming old-town square and the oldest cathedral in Poland since it was here that Christianity was accepted as the national faith in the 10th century. We ate a traditional Polish meal for dinner consisting of… you guessed it, pierogies and lots of cabbage.

After Poznan, we took a painfully slow train ride to Poland’s cultural capital, Krakow. We all really loved it there. It is the only major Polish city that managed to escape devastation by Hitler’s armies and as such it contains Europe’s largest preserved medieval town square. We were also lucky enough to meet up with Ola, Leslie’s former roommate from her time in Spain. We also were introduced to Ola’s friends Sonia, Jakub, and Wojtek. We spent the afternoon at the bar where Wojtek works and then did a little bit of sightseeing in the Jewish quarter before cramming all 7 of us into Jakub’s Toyota hatchback for a trip out to his suburban flat. We did some pre-drinking there (actually a lot of pre-drinking) and then took the bus back downtown to check out the Krakow nightlife. We went to two really cool clubs and had an amazing time - the next morning, however, was not so amazing for some of us…

On our second day in Krakow we did some sightseeing with the Poles, checking out their huge botanical garden among other things. We spent the evening in the main town square eating Polish meat from a giant grill that they had set up as part of a music and sports festival that was going on all weekend. On our last day in Poland, we walked up to Krakow castle, which was the home of Polish kings until the capital moved to Warsaw in the 15th century. It was very well preserved (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and a little bit magical…. Seriously, polish people believe that the castle radiates a cosmic energy that protects the city throughout the ages. We even tried to absorb a little of it ourselves (we are now more powerful than ever).

Other than a bit more bumming around in the town square, that was about it for Krakow and Poland in general. We were very glad that we included it in our itinerary.

Well, that’s all for now, hope everyone is doing well. We’ll talk to you soon!

Matt and Zabs

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