Blogs from Lublin Province, Poland, Europe - page 2

Europe » Poland » Lublin Province » Majdanek August 8th 2009

One weekend, several of the students in our program made a trip to Majdanek Concentration Camp outside of Lublin. Majdanek was one of the very worst of the concentration and death camps set up by the Nazis during World War II. It stands on the outskirts of Lublin, which was meant to be one of the administrative centers of the Nazi regime after the war. This camp is strange in that it is near a major city, not in a more secluded part of Poland like Auschwitz. The camp was established in 1941, initially as a prisoner of war camp. Although the camp was intended to hold nearly 250,000 prisoners, a disease outbreak killed off all of the initial forced labor, and as a consequence, the camp remained partially uncompleted throughout they war. Nevertheless, it held ... read more

Kazimierz Dolny and Zamosc, Poland

Europe » Poland » Lublin Province August 2nd 2009

Kazimierz Dolny

Brett and Sylvia

On the weekends during my first two weeks in Lublin, I made trips to two well-known towns nearby, the renaissance towns of Kazimierz Dolny and Zamosc. Both have retained to a large degree their renaissance architecture and character. Kazimierz Dolny, which lies to the West of Lublin, is known for its well-preserved Old Town as well as its unique renaissance style Catholic church and Castle Ruins. For much of the town's history, it had a large Jewish population and this remained the case until World War II. The Nazis used the town's Jewish population about about 1,400 for forced labor before they were sent to concentration camps. The Jews of Kazimierz were famously forced to pave some of the town's streets using tombstones from the nearby Jewish cemetery. These have since been removed and used in ... read more

Summer Language in Lublin, Poland

Europe » Poland » Lublin Province » Lublin July 31st 2009

Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski

Brett and Sylvia

For those of you who might enjoy reading this blog, I am writing again now that I have moved to Europe for a year. I had a really busy and stressful school year. I finished all of my Ph.D. coursework and passed my comprehensive exams and proposal defense, so now I am technically no longer a "student." Of course, I haven't written my dissertation yet, so I'm a Ph.D. candidate. I received two nice fellowships to fund my year in Europe while I collect materials for my dissertation. Another bit of information, I recently got engaged to my girlfriend of two years, Sylvia. She is from Slovakia and so we both moved to Slovakia together for the next year. We'll be getting married in January in her hometown. So in other words, my year abroad isn't ... read more

5.8. Puolan läpi Liettuaan

Europe » Poland » Lublin Province » Lublin August 17th 2008

Pyörremyrsky Puolassa

Macit matkustaa

Aamu valkeni aurinkoisena ja urakkamme alkoi taas. Olemme aina kutsuneet Puolan läpiajoa nimellä ”suoritamme Puolan”. Sitä se meille nimittäin on, sillä Puola on järkyttävän iso ja läpiajon kannalta tosi tylsä. Vaikka Etelä-Puola on itse asiassa hyvin kaunis ja vuoristoinen, on suurin osa tästä maasta litteää peltomaisemaa. Tie, joka on erittäin ruuhkainen ja tarkoitettu rekoille, on vielä aika huonossa kunnossa. Paikoitellen menoa hidastavat tietyöt. Lisäksi tämä reittimme kulkee joka ikisen pikkukylän läpi, mikä tarkoittaa sitä, että nopeus on korkeintaan 90km/h ja kylien kohdalla 50km/h. Keskinopeus ei pääse kasvamaankaan kuin 70km/h. Puolassa muuten kiinnittyy huomio kirkkoihin. Jokaisessa pikkuisessakin kylässä on järkyttävän iso kirkko, oikea TEMPPELI. Kylät tuntuvat kilpailevan siitä kenellä on suurin ja mahtavin pytinki. Myös kirkkoarkkitehtuuri on vailla vertaansa: mieliku... read more

No Belarussian Visa? You have prrrrroblem!!

Europe » Poland » Lublin Province » Terespol October 1st 2007

Looking longingly towards Belarus...

Travelling Priestess

Sometimes things just don't work out as they are supposed to - they work out better instead. After spending a day and a night in beautiful Krakow, Poland - one of the most vibrant, exciting and aesthetically pleasing cities I have ever visited (forget Prague, forget Vienna), full of baroque and renaissance buildings, towers, statues, parks, performance artists, cafes and interesting people, I took a train last night (was it only last night?) to Warszawa, to take a train to St Petersburg at around midnight. Even though I had a seat reservation, I didn't make it to my seat, as the train was too packed: people were spilling out of windows, doors and corridors, and I spent the three-hour journey squashed into a tiny corridor corner between the toilet and the exit door with two miserable ... read more

Access denied - after a sleepless night on the border

After receipt of the visa in front of the Belarus consulate

First full day in Lublin

Europe » Poland » Lublin Province » Lublin May 1st 2006

judylay

I left Krakow yesterday afternoon for Lublin. I once again missed the bus I was supposed to be on and had to catch the next one. :-/ But thankfully, the next one was only 55 minutes later, and the driver let me on without paying for another ticket. The ride out was mostly uneventful, but I did see out of my window that big church in Kielce. I had seen it during my first ride into Krakow (from Warsaw) but I didn't catch the name of the town, so I couldn't match the church name. Anyhow, I'm retelling my "aha" moment terribly, so I'll stop. And then here I am, in Lublin. I texted/sms'ed Dariusz/Darek when I landed: ich bin ein Lubliner. Hahahahhaa. Ok, i crack me up. I came up with that ALL by myself. ... read more

The Way It Used To Be - Chapter Eight: Lublin

Europe » Poland » Lublin Province » Lublin July 13th 2005

Storied Old Town

sapere18

Poor Adam, with whom I have shared a compartment on the ride from Kraków, is still hung over from a night out with a few Scots. He has slept just about the entire way, having decided to forego a night’s sleep at his hotel and head for the station for the 6:20 a.m. departure directly from the nightclub. Adam, who is from Bath, England, is in town for private Polish lessons. He is among the very few foreigners in Lublin. What an adjustment this is from the international flavor of Kraków. The largest city in Eastern Poland, Lublin’s perimeter does not impress; it is an ordinary mix of mediocre apartment buildings in shabby neighborhoods and abandoned warehouses. The center of town is much more eye-catching. It has a bustling commercial zone of large businesses, hotels, banks, ... read more

Brief history of Poland

Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of ...more history

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