Blogs from Poland, Europe
May 26th 2012
Home of Nicholas Conpernicus. We toured his house. Very lovely old town. Almost free of any devastation from WWII Not far from the villages of Great grandparents on mom's side. I'll attempt to rent a car on Saturday and make the 23 mile journey one way to the village. It is Mother's day in Poland tomorrow. See the lovely roses and how they wrap them in the thin grass. 10zl or about $2.85 cents US! Everything is so cheap here. A Pint of ale is like $1.40 US. You can order a large pizza for about $5... read more
May 25th 2012
Polish Military Musuem. Most of these guys must have had incredible strength and endurance. We then made it to the Castle/Palace. Many protests throughout the city against adopting the Euro slowed mom and dad by taxi; I ran everywhere a mile or so to go get the train tickets an a couple miles back to meet them at the Palace. It was a long tiring day in the heat and humidity, but I still found the will to go for a run. Some amazing photos - take a look Off to Torun- a beautiful city. Warsaw has its history but is crazy, sort of like a New York or L.A. A couple days is enough. Matt... read more
May 24th 2012
WE have been really busy the last couple of days. We were able to make an inquiry into our family tree at the archives here in Krakow. Leaving Warsaw for Torun. Check out all the photos. Limited time to post, due to school work - I have a final paper due. Management issues in Heritage Tourism.... read more
May 21st 2012
We had a wonderful little breakfast on the square this morning and then proceeded to Wawel castle. I intended to visit the tombs and the tower but those tickets were not on sale until 12:30PM perhaps I can visit the attraction on my way back in a couple of weeks. Dad and Uncle Frank toured the armory at Wawel castle (ancient swords, armor, etc) and Karen, mom and myself took a trip down the cave to the lair of the dragon. This is the legendary Dragon of Krakow defeated by a shoemaker. We then took a boat ride down to the river on the Wisla. It was very warm today at least 80 degrees. We attended the Chopin piano concert in the Bonerowski Palace. About 70 in attendance for an intimate performance by a very talented ... read more
May 19th 2012
We toured the Salt mines in Bochnia. It was very interesting and basically the key reason Poland became so powerful back in the middle ages. One large "snowman" of salt could buy and entire village! 2KG of salt was worth 1KG of Gold. I won't bore you with the history. We had an engineering student who spoke English pretty well, as our guide. Just the three of us and the one guide Piotr (Peter); he was a second year engineering student in Krakow. He was nervous - but did a great job. Mom was a trooper with all the stairs. I took a long slide down into one of the caverns, where people can acutally spend the night, host parties and play indoor soccer. The air is very good for healing alergies and other ailments. They ... read more
May 19th 2012
I need to start by saying, Polish people have the most interesting cusine. So far I have had Zalewajka which is Sausage, boiled eggs and Potato soup. Cold Beetroot soup with boiled eggs. Nalesniki which is pancakes filled with white cheese which has blended strawberries on top. Dumpling filled with cabbage and mushrooms, with and white cheese and with Strawberries, also an omelette with Strawberry Jam on top. Really crazy flavours but actually it does taste good!! Something I love about this country is that their currency is Zloty and for 1 Euro I get 4 Zloty. So it quite cheap which suits me and my budget. Matt and I were in Gdansk for 1 night and 1 day! It was a cute little village that is still used as a port, so it had really ... read more
May 18th 2012
What an adventure. So tired from the jet lag. Our Polish taxi driver did not speak English- good thing dad was there to interpret. We ended up at the apartment complex- with no way in and no key. We were on the cell phone of the driver for over 30 minutes trying to figure out how to get in. I did email from Frankfurt but did not recieve the email for the owner (who als did not have my contact information) because I did not have internet access. Finally they got a hold of someone who said they would be down in 30 minutes to meet us. In the mean time we were waiting on the side of the street, with our luggage and it was getting dark. We were hungry and cold. WE had no ... read more
May 18th 2012
This afternoon, we had a very well informed walking tour with a knowledgeable guide named Doroto (Dorothy). We started at the Florian Gate- named for ST. Florian the patron Saint Krakow. This is one of the last remnants of the wall that is still remaining. We went through the Old Town and ended at Wawel Castle where all the original Kings were buried. I'll have to go back for a separate tour and explore the Crypt and the upper rooms of the tower. It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining. After the tour I ran back to the flat to pay the owner the rental fee. Mom and Dad took a wrong turn and ended up lost, but called the apartment owner who ordered them a cab ride back. Mom did quite well ... read more
May 17th 2012
That is the actual origin of the name of Kraków founded by Prince Krakus. Three days was just barely enough for the highlights but I've got a schedule to keep. Arrived today in Slovakia in the High Tatra Town of Horný Smokovec (easy for them to say with a straight face). Will climb Mt. Rysy (8114') tomorrow and Gerlachovský štít (8711') Saturday followed by sort of a rest day Sunday then 2 train rides Monday to Vienna via (and skipping) Bratislava. $1 ≈ 3.3 Polish złoty (zł) Accommodation and Food Reserved 3 nights at Soul Hostel on hostelbookers.com for the bargain price of 40 zł per night in a 6 person dorm that was never full. The place was newly opened at the end of 2010 and looks great. A basic breakfast is included (with tea ... read more
May 1st 2012
Motorhome News from Poland 28th April 2012 Germany, The Pied Piper of Hamelin and into Poland - and along the Baltic Sea coast into eastern Poland. A weasel gambolled across the lawn on the morning before we left our home in Suffolk, prancing in and out of the flower-beds and along the patio by the front door. A badger lay dead immediately outside our front gate, stiff and cold from a night at freezing temperatures and a hundred metres along the road crows pecked at the carcass of a roe deer beside a freshly killed fox in the middle of the road. It's not as if there's a lot of traffic in our neck of the woods but it seems it is a major predator. This was not the best send-off for two wildlife enthusiasts en ... read more
