Long before Lech Walesa and Madame Curie, the only Polish person I had ever heard of was Frederic Chopin. Born near Warsaw in 1810, he died in Paris in 1849, at a very early age. But fortunately for us, his great music and composition lives on. He was perhaps, best known as both a pianist, and his solo pieces for piano and piano concerti. In fact, he wrote little else. His father was an immigrant from France and was employed as a tutor to wealthy families in Poland. His father became a French teacher at the Warsaw lyceum. Chopin himself attended from 1823 to 1826. He became fascinated by his mother and his older sister playing the piano. By the age of six, he was trying to emulate their sound, and at seven, started piano lessons. ... read more

I had a little difficulty as a child distinguishing between polish and Polish. Perhaps a visit to this largely misunderstood country will help me? A short flight from Prague dropped us off in Warsaw, Poland. Generally, my few recollections of Poland are: 1) Polish jokes (always in bad taste), 2)the holocaust camps, like Dachau, and 3) labor leader Lech Walesa, who became President. But I intend to find out more. Most recent history of Poland revolves around WW2, and the takeovers by Germany and the old Soviet Union. The labor turmoil of 1980 led by Walesa, led to "Solidarity" becoming a political force with over 10 million followers. In the Nineties, the economy grew stronger, then Poland joined NATO in 1999, then the EU in 2004. How is that for a quick history of modern Poland? ... read more

Poland, Polish people, Manya Sklodovska*, polish sausage, Lech Walesa, death camps, Russian invasions, what else comes to mind when you say Poland? A visit to Warsaw should present us with some interesting things to see and do, right? Just for starters, Fredric Chopin's heart was taken from his body when he died, then buried in a church where it was recently exhumed for a secret checkup. It turns out in his final days in Paris, with Parisian women fawning all over him, that his heart be taken from his corpse, and sent back to his home country. Given Chopin’s popularity in his native Poland, the monument to his heart quickly became a rallying point for proud nationalists. During World War II, the Nazis, knowing the power the composer’s legacy held over the people, stole the heart ... read more

The legendary Danube is the European Union's longest river and one of the most popular cruise itineraries offered. Most river cruises visit 4 of the 10 countries through which its not-so-blue waters flow. No other river in the world passes through so many countries. It is the second longest in all of Europe if you include Russia and the Volga River. The name of the river originates from the a mythological source, from a Latin Roman river god, known as Danubius, or Danuvius. Additionally, the meaning can actually be derived from the ancient indigenous Slavonic tribes who called it the Great Water. The Danube runs for 1770 miles, ending up in the Black Sea via three branches. The ten countries it passes are: Ukraine, Moldova, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Romania. It starts ... read more

Franz Kafka was born in Prague, now Czech Republic on July 3, 1883. He died on June 3, 1924 near Vienna, Austria. He was born into a prosperous Jewish middle class family. He was drawn to his maternal ancestors because of their spirituality, intellectual distinction, piety, and delicate physical and mental disposition. He became the oldest child after the death of his two older brothers. Ottla, the youngest of his three sisters, became closest to him. Kafka was overshadowed by a tyrannical, successful, but overbearing father, who worshipped financial success and social advancement as a shopkeeper. He attempts an autobiography (Letter to Father) in 1919 in a letter that never reaches the addressee. He blames his father for his failure to marry and enter fatherhood, as well as his escape into literature. He felt his will ... read more