Blogs from Czestochowa, Silesia, Poland, Europe

Częstochowa (pronounced Chen-ste-koh-va) is the location of the Jasna Góra monastery that houses the Black Madonna icon. The image of the Black Madonna (Czarna Madonna) or Our Lady of Częstochowa is an icon of Mary. Our Lady of Częstochowa is the Patron Saint of Poland and the monastery is a major pilgrimage site. Our motorcoach arrive at Częstochowa at Noon after a drive from Warsaw. There is a large parking lot here, attesting to the fact that visitors arrive predominantly by car and bus. Our coach parked in the spacious coach lot. One had to remember the zone number. After walking to the monastery, we entered by the John Paul II Gate. There were a lot of visitors and Jasna Góra has arranged it so that traffic moves relatively ... read more

My request to the heavens for a celebration of my recent giving notice to my rapidly sinking language school was answered nicely as this weekend randomly and suddenly turned into a Polish road trip, with six (ex-)workmates to a cottage, built by our half-polish/half-czech comrade Jakub's family in the early 1990s. The cottage is situated in the village of Miedźno, near the city Częstochowa, which is one place I have been dying to visit for a long time. Our expedition to this cottage comprised seven people and two cars, who gathered in the early morning calm of the somewhat surrealistic Sídliště Rajská Záhrada on thursday, a Czech state holiday to commemorate the independance of Czechoslovakia from Austria-Hungary. The journey there was long and winding, and became noticeably more chaotic as we crossed into Poland (bringing my ... read more

Mario and I somehow spent almost 24 hours getting to Poland even though our actual flight was only 2 and a half hours! Three busses, one plane and one car ride later, we arrived at Mario's parents house! The main Christmas celebration in Poland is on Christmas eve and usually involves a feast of 12 dishes. Even though I think the drinks were included in the 12 dishes, I was full halfway through!! Maybe I should have followed in Mariusz's (Mario's brother-in-law) footsteps and starved myself from 6am! He just kept eating and eating! Haha! At the beginning we each had a piece of rice paper with a religious print and had to tell each person your wishes for them whilst breaking a piece of their rice paper off and eating it! Halfway through the evening ... read more

With all southern-bound trains booked solid, I am “stuck” in Kraków for a day-and-a-half. There is only one train a day headed for Hungary, and mostly foreigners compete for couchettes and beds, destined for the most predictable of destinations: Budapest, Prague, and Bratislava. At this point, I have little intention of spending time in any of these cities. So, having already given Kraków three plus days over a week ago, I wander idly through the Stare Miasto, with no real goal in mind. I fight the thought that I am wasting a day here because I truly wish to be elsewhere. I have details to attend to except to change over a few dollars, get a train reservation and a couchette, and revel in my favorite activity while in Kraków…lunch right before a delightful nap. As ... read more