Polska II

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24 October

Nice day of rest at Krzystof's house. Enjoyed the afternoon with Krzystof's dad and tasted some delicious, home-made soup. Some things were lost in translation, however, as Fiona and Marcus attempted to compliment Mr Piskorski on the food using a small Polish-English dictionary. Somehow, we said that the food tasted "30"; that our travels were "windy" (trying to describe fish we had tried!); and asked Mr Piskorski if he actually lived in the house. The latter confusion arose because the house address coincides with Biskupin, which we had visited earlier. It was a fun experience and Krzystof came home later and clarified our conversation!

That evening we were treated to an amazing dinner at Krzystof's Aunt's house. We were treated to delicious Polish and Lithuanian cuisine. Also present was Krzystof's grandmother who greeted us with big hugs and showed us the family photos. We listened to her stories during dinner. We are grateful for being their guests.

25 October

Left Warsaw for Krakow, stopping to view the famous Black Madonna painting at the Jasna Gora Monestary.

26 October

Toured Krakow--a magnificent city which survived a great deal of WWII unscathed. We saw the College Maius, the original buildings of the university. Its brick architecture, quadrangle and ornate rooms reminded us of a Cambridge (i.e. brick) college. We sneaked into a tour with some Polish high school kids as Krzystoff translated the guide's talk.

We also sampled some of the local pretzels which are sold throughout the city. Later we listened to the trumpet player (as much as possible with the nearby construction work) at the St Mary's Chruch. This soloist is said to be broadcasted on Polish radio.

27 October

Left Krakow for massive salt mine at Wieliczka. Embarked on a two hour tour through a labyrinth of underground shafts and corridors. Noteworthy were some chambers made into chapels for worship. All components were made of salt. Other displays included excerpts of Polish history as well as more light-hearted displays of the seven dwarfs. We were impressed to learn that the chandelier "glass" was made from the purest salt.

Marcus finally bought Fiona her Baltic amber pendant at the famous Cloth Market in Krakow's Old Town!

We enjoyed a lovely last evening in Poland at a baroque music concert in a small church.

The evening was not over however, for Krzystof's car encountered trouble as we headed out of town in search of accomodation. We soon realized that the alternator had failed to recharge the battery. Over the course of a few hours we purchased a battery charger and had enough juice to get to a hotel, where we sneaked in the battery and charger for the evening to ensure we could drive tomorrow!

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Photos

Baltic
Marcus and Fiona at the Baltic, near Gdansk, Poland

Palace of Culture
Palace of Culture in Warsaw, Poland. A gift of the peoples of the USSR to Poland. Social Realist architecture.

Torun
Torun landscape, from church tower. Torun is known for being the home of Copernicus and gingerbread cakes.

Gdansk shipyard
Shipyard in Gdansk, on Baltic, where shipyard workers went on strike. Beginnings of the Solidarity Movement which undermined Communism.

Krakow
Panorama of Krakow (pronounced Krakov),Poland, from riverbank.

Comments

[Justin Hackett]

Wahooo....pictures!!!
Hello Marcus and Fiona, I am enjoying the pictures and the text that you are writing to go along with them. Cheryl and I would love to have you two over for dinner when you get to Casper and have a spare evening. Best, Justin