Leaving Oświęcim after lunch, the Globus took us through southwestern Poland via the Autostrady A4 motorway. This was Lower Silesia, an area of Poland that had been under Austrian and then German control from the 16th century until 1945. We arrived at our destination, Wrocław, at about 6:15 p.m. and checked in to the Art Hotel. Our room looked out over the Old Town. Wrocław was known as Breslau until 1945 and was very much a German city at that time. Like Warsaw, it was greatly damaged during World War II, but the historic structures in the old town have been restored.In the evening everyone attended a welcome dinner at Karczma Lwowska on the Market Square (Rynek). (Karczma means Inn and many restaurants around the region use this nomenclature.) We were in for a ... read more

The salt mines of Wieliczka have been in operation for over 700 years. Extraction of salt from surface brine began in the 13 century. Under the patronage of Kazimierz III the Great (1310-1370), extraction mining began in earnest in the 14th century. Salt was a valuable commodity, not only for seasoning but for preservation of foodstuffs. Tours of the mine reach 443 feet (135 m), though the the working mine extends to a depth of 1,073 feet (327 m). The "Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines" was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1978. Those among the tour group, including myself, who wanted to tour the salt mine set off from Krakow for Wieliczka in the afternoon. Tourism at the mine is not a new phenomenon. Visitors have been descending into the mine since the ... read more

Our motorcoach arrived in Krakow at 6:00 p.m. Upon crossing the Vistula, a dramatic entry was made into Krakow, with Wawel Castle to the left and the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel to the right. The coach headed straight for our hotel, the Holiday Inn Kraków City Centre. (No ordinary Holiday Inn, the building had once been the Pareński Palace, a 19th century mansion.) The hotel was within walking distance of the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and its centerpiece, the Rynek Główny. The tour group had a date with dinner and an accompanying Polish folkloric show. Passing though the Small Market Square (Mały Rynek) the group entered the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny). Off to one side was our destination for dinner, Restauracja Tradycyja. Dinner in the restaurant's basement included a Polish folkloric show performed ... read more

Today we had our formal Collette coach tour of Warsaw. We started at Łazienki Park. It was originally a royal preserve laid out with palaces and monuments. It became a public park for Warsaw in 1918. Many interesting items were to be found here. At the entrance, a monument honors Józef Piłsudski (1867-1935), a leader in the Polish independence movement and twice head of state. (His Cadillac is displayed, too.) Overlooking a pond is the Chopin Monument commemorating the composer. Designed in 1926, it depicts him under a willow tree. Nearby in this musical corner of the park is a bust of Franz List. From the musicians corner, the group began a walk through the park to the Łazienki Palace, stopping to admire the Old Orangery. The Łazienki Palace, or Palace on the Water (Pałac na ... read more

Our route to Poland was by way of British Airways from Washington Dulles to Heathrow. I quite enjoyed this flight as it was aboard a 747, the type fast disappearing from the world's airways. We changed planes (and Heathrow terminals from 5 to 3) to a British Airways flight to Warsaw. Our first view of Poland, land of my paternal ancestors, was of the Vistula (Wistuła) River below Warsaw. Appropriate. The Vistula traverses Poland from South to North, through Krakow and Warsaw, emptying into the Baltic sea at Gdansk. And it flows through through Płock, but more on that later. The topography of Poland is flat, part of the North European Plain. The name Poland, Polonia in Latin and Polska in Polish, means the country of the plains (pole = plain). Our flight landed at Warsaw's ... read more