Blogs from Kraków, Lesser Poland, Poland, Europe - page 4

After leaving Auschwitz late yesterday, we drove to our next destination, the city of Krakow. Krakow is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River, the city dates back to the 7th century. Krakow has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs. A legend attributes Kraków's founding to the mythical ruler Krakus, who built it above a cave occupied by a dragon. The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement, which began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965. In 1038, Kraków became the seat of the Polish government. By the end of the 10th century, the ... read more

Elie Wiesel wrote the autobiographical book, "Night", based on his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps, Auschwitz and Buchenwald. It is impossible for me as a one day visitor to Auschwitz to try and encapsulate in a brief blog entry, the horrors that took place in this place, where for hundreds of thousands of inmates, all hope was lost. Arriving at the Polish town of Oświęcim (Auschwitz was the German name for the town), we headed to the ticket office at Auschwitz 1 Camp. I had tried to book tickets to visit Auschwitz unsuccessfully last night. On checking at the ticket office, we were advised that we could take a free bus to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the site of the main Nazi Extermination Camp, and then catch the bus back to Auschwitz 1 to take ... read more

27 - 28 - 29 juillet Ma dernière grande distance en Pologne sera d'atteindre l'immanquable Cracovie tout au sud du Pays, à 6 heures de train de Toruń. ... Si Toruń avait des airs de Moyen-âge, l'architecture de Cracovie nous transporte tout aussi loin dans le temps. On peut aisément imaginer la vie moyenâgeuse dans le rynek, au pied de la Cathédrale gothique de Notre-Dame (kościołem Mariackim) qui s'impose en vigile sur le cœur de la vieille ville. Souvent, de la plus haute de ses deux tours asymétriques (... une histoire de querelle entre deux frères architectes paraît-il), une plainte de trompette se fait entendre en écho sur Cracovie. Le regard robotisé de la foule se lève donc d'un seul coup, silencieusement vers les clochers. C'est la trompette de la mémoire qui résonne, ou celle du ... read more

De rit van Gdansk naar Warschau was niet echt heel speciaal. Veel slechte wegen, hier en daar wel een schattig dorpje, echt vlot ging het sowieso niet. Echte stadscampings proberen we meestal te mijden, alleen zijn de campings niet echt dik bezaaid zeker niet rond de steden. De omschrijving van de camping was alvast wel veel belovend. Rust en natuur zouden de kenmerken zijn en deze camping en deze waren zeker aanwezig. Een gigantisch contrast met de vorige druk bezette voornamelijk Poolse camping, kwamen we nu op een landgoed terecht omringt door alle verschillende nationaliteiten. Onze kindjes waren ook dolgelukkig nog eens te kunnen praten met enkele Nederlandse kindjes. 's ochtends waren de kindjes jammer genoeg al vertrokken, maar een lief afscheidsbriefje waren ze echter niet vergeten. Een verjaardag vieren in Warschau het is eens iets ... read more

Today was our last full day in Kraków, so we had to finish out our list of places to see and museums to visit. The first place we went to was the Wawel Castle and Cathedral. The castle was not open today, but the cathedral was. We took a tour around the cathedral, climbed the bell tower, saw the crypt, and visited the Cathedral Museum, where there are many papal items from Pope John Paul II and others. The bell tower was only 70 steps to the top, but these steps were narrow and tall. As compared to St. Peter's Dome and the bell tower in Florence, this was not a bad climb. The view at the top was amazing, and we were able to see a 360 degree view of Kraków, my favorite being Old ... read more