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  • skip's retirement travelPolandskip's retirement travel

    Svidnice

    5. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The Peace Church at Svidnice is an extraordinary place. This was built as part of the Treaty of Westphalia that ended the 30 Years War between Protestants and Catholics of Europe. The Catholic Hapsburg monarch was required to allow 3 Protestant churches to be built. He agreed but put some heavy requirements on them, such as it could not look like a church; it couldn't use materials that would last; no towers, etc.
    The 1st picture is of the outside made to look like a large barn. Inside is baroque in the extreme. The 2nd picture is of the nave, showing the main altar and some of the decoration. The 3rd picture shows more of the decoration of the space including the private gallery of the main donor family in the center. The 4th picture is of a section of ceiling, and the 5th is the baptismal font. The last is the bell tower (through the trees) built about 50 meters away from the main building, beating the no towers on the church rule.
    Everything you see is made of wood or straw or mud, not even nails were allowed. Yet they were able to be creative with paint to make a lot of things look like stone.
    Please take a minute to Google the Peace Church. It's history is extraordinary. Even the Dalai Lama prayed here.    Les mer

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    Auschwitz

    6. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    I have and have not been looking forward to today's visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau (see another post). After visiting Dachau, I sensed this would be hard. It was. In fact, it was more than I ever realized. Over 1,000,000 killed. Mostly Jews. I recognize the harshness of phrasing it this way. Please hear it as an attempt to convey the harshness and brutality of the so called "final solution."
    Auschwitz was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps. What I had thought was Auschwitz was referred to as Auschwitz 1. This site is an abandoned Polish military base that was converted to a concentration camp. Death came later.
    The 1st picture is of some of the barracks. The 2nd is a kitchen building. The 3rd is barrack 11, the prison building. Notice that the windows are boarded so that prisoners could not see into the yard. At the far end in the shadows is a wall for firing squads.
    This is not to say there weren't any horrors here. The 4th picture is of some of the twins Mengele experimented on. The last 2 pictures are the 1st extermination chamber: gas room and crematory furnaces. This was built in an ammunition bunker that had been emptied before the Polish army abandoned this base. It couldn't be used as it was too close to the camp and screams could be heard. This became the design basis for all that came after.    Les mer

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    Birkenau

    6. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    A huge camp only 3 km from Auschwitz (see another post). I am blown away by the size of this place and the industrial scale of the horror. Some of these pictures may look familiar from documentaries, movies, books, etc.
    The 1st picture looks up the railroad tracks to the gate into Birkenau. If you recall pictures of the doctor at the sorting point sending new arrivals one way or another, the 2nd picture is taken at the point where the doctor stood doing the sorting. It looks back toward the point where the trains entered. The 3rd picture is one if the boxcars used to transport people to the camp.
    The 4th picture attempts to give a sense of the scale of the place looking out over foundations of barracks, and this is barely a quarter of the site. The 5th picture is in one of the barracks where up to 700 were assigned for as long as they could work.
    The 6th picture is the end of the line. This is gas chamber #2. It was blown up by the German army just before the Soviet army liberated the camp. There were many of these, each one could kill 2,000 people at a time.
    To give even more sense of the scale of the horror, there were up to 100,000 housed in the barracks who were sent on work details every day. Add to that the fact the only maybe 20% of the arrivals were selected to work. The rest were sent directly to the gas chambers: elderly, children, disabled, sick, etc. Our tour guide admitted that he gets emotional facing this and talking about it every day.
    I hope this conveys the message that it cannot be allowed to happen again. While Jews took the brunt of it, they weren't alone. Add the Roma, communists, gays, anti-Nazi types and anyone that would disagree with the powers that be. I do not wish to minimize the burden carried by the Jewish community even now. But I do want to try to convey the way I felt here.
    I know I can never fully understand or feel what the Shoah means to those most directly affected by it. I cannot walk in your shoes. But I can and will walk with you. I pray that's what I'm doing here, at least as one step on the way.    Les mer

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    Wadowice

    6. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    This is a very brief visit to the hometown of Pope John Paul II. In some ways, this visit was a bit of a tonic after Auschwitz and Birkenau.
    The 1st picture looks across the main square of Wadowice. The church is obvious. This is his home church, where he was baptized, confirmed, etc. The yellowish building to the right of the church is where the young Karol Wojtyla was born and lived up through high school. He and his father rented 2 rooms here.
    The 2nd picture is inside the church.    Les mer

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    Zakopane

    7. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    If Sopot is the summer capital of Poland, (see another post), then Zakopane is the winter capital. This city lies at the foot of the Tatras Mountains in Southern Poland. It also a center for Goral or mountain culture (see another post).
    The 1st picture overlooks the city with the Tatras Mountains in the background. The 2 green stripes that seem to be heading up the far side of the valley are ski jumps. There are regular competitions here in season. The 2nd picture is of the ridge line called "sleeping knight mountain" from its shape.
    Zakopane is also know for it's interesting mountain architecture and woodwork. Pictures 3 & 4 are examples. One is a house and the other is a small chapel. If you blow up the picture of the chapel, you'll be better able to see a bit of the local craftsmen's handiwork.
    In a similar vein, the 5th picture is of a small cemetery with many unusual and artistic monuments, many in wood. Some are the creations of the artists buried here.
    The last is simply a look at the main pedestrian street in Zakopane. Imagine any active tourist town, and you'll get pretty close, international chains and all.    Les mer

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    Tatras Mountains Entertainment

    7. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    These guys play at the restaurant where we had dinner, and they are really good. If these were Irish songs, It could have been Aidan's. (Bristol, RI, for those who don't know the reference.)
    The music is of the tradition of the Goral or mountain people native to this region.Les mer

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    Wieliczka

    8. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The claim to fame in Wiezliczka is it's 13th century salt mine. They are no longer mining salt here, but the site is still active with tourism and a health resort that trades on the highly mineralized water.
    I have been in a number of salt mines around the world (see other posts from previous trips). So I decided not to post again similar exhibits. I decided to take a panorama of the largest carved room, the chapel of Saint Kinga. All of the work is by local craftsmen, the most famous item is the copy of the Davinci Last Supper carved in salt on one of the walls. You should be able to pick it out. And, yes, the chandeliers are made of salt.
    This is still a working church with mass every Sunday.    Les mer

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    Pod Aniotami, Krakow

    9. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Pierogi making! The 1st 2 pictures are of pierogi making. The chef made the dough and the stuffings. We rolled and cut the dough and stuffed the pierogis. The chef cooked them, and we ate them for lunch. Yes, they were good.
    The rest of the pictures look at the building housing the restaurant called Pod Aniotami. The building dates to the 13th century and was originally a goldsmith's shop and home. The 3rd picture is of an original 15th century fountain on the ground floor.
    The remaining pictures are in what is now the basement but was the ground floor in the 13th century. The last picture was taken from the stairs to give a sense of how deep the cellar is and, conversely, how much the ground level has risen over the centuries.    Les mer

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    Wawel Hill, Krakow

    9. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    This is the hill where the royal castle is located. The castle dates to the 10th century, but the current buildings date to the 14th century. It claims the title of the 1st UNESCO world heritage site.
    The 1st picture looks up to the castle from the street level, while the 2nd looks across the outer courtyard to the castle and cathedral. The cathedral is at the left center and is clearer in the 3rd picture.
    The 4th picture is inside the inner courtyard of the castle. The 5th picture is the view from the hill overlooking the city.
    The last picture is not of a king. It is a monument to a national hero and freedom fighter named Thaddeus Kosciusko. If that name sounds familiar to US folks, it should. He was one of Washington's generals during our revolution.    Les mer

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    Krakow

    9. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Krakow is Poland's 2nd largest city; it is the cultural center of the country; and it was the royal capital for hundreds of years. Even after the capital was moved to Warsaw, the coronation of kings occured in the cathedral in castle (see another post).
    The 1st post looks across a portion of the main square in Krakow which I'm told was the largest such square in all of medieval Europe. The building is the market hall in the center of the square, and the 2nd picture looks down the length of the interior of the market hall. The 3rd picture is another portion of the main square. It is said to be 200 meters long on each side.
    The 4th picture looks along one of the main streets off the square.
    One of the symbols of Krakow is the dragon. This stature of the dragon is in a park on the shore of the Vistula River at the base of Wawel Hill (see another post). This dragon does really breathe fire. I just wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch it.
    The last picture is in the courtyard of the oldest building of Jagiellonian University, the oldest in Krakow and one of the oldest in Europe, dating to 1364. Not surprisingly, two famous alumni are Copernicus and Pope John Paul II.    Les mer

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    St Mary's Basilica, Krakow

    9. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    St. Mary's is the large brick gothic church on the main square of Krakow. It was built in the 14th century on foundations dating to the 13th century. St. Mary's is most famous for the extraordinary wooden altarpiece carved by Viet Stoss.
    The 1st picture is of the church from the main square. The tower to the left is 80 meters tall, and it is from here that the bugle call is played live every hour, 24/7. The call is famous as it stops suddenly, according to legend, to commemorate a bugler who was shot through the throat with an arrow while alerting the city to a mongol attack in the 13th century.
    The famous altarpiece is the 2nd picture. This triptych stands 11 meters tall and is opened and closed every day. I won't try to describe all the scenes except to say they all relate to Mary, the mother of Jesus. The 3rd picture is a wider look at the chancel to give a better sense of the scope and beauty of the church.
    The 4th picture is a detail of a portion of the chancel which is painted with this repeating motif of angels. It is said that the faces of the angels are the faces of the painters 4 daughters.
    The last picture was taken from the same spot as the 2nd and 3rd pictures but in the opposite direction. Here you can see the rest of the nave.    Les mer

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    Kazimierz, Krakow

    10. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Kazimierz was founded as an independent city in the 14th century and remained so until the beginning of the 19th century when it was incorporated into Krakow. The old Jewish quarter was here and until world war 2, the Jewish and Christian communities lived side by side and intermingled.
    This post focuses on the Jewish quarter. Before the war, there were 65,000 Jewish citizens in Krakow served by 7 synagogues. Today, only 1 is fully active with regular worship and only about 200 members.
    The first picture is in the main square of the Jewish quarter. At the far end of the photo is the oldest synagogue in Krakow. It is now a museum. The 2nd picture is in a small Orthodox synagogue that serves the small Jewish community in Krakow today. This is a famous place of pilgrimage, especially for the Orthodox worldwide as this is the synagogue of Rabbi Moses Isserles aka Remu.
    The 3rd picture is in a reform synagogue that is used on occasion for worship. The 4th picture is of a street just off the main square. The building at the left is another old synagogue that is currently empty and unused. The 5th picture is of an old school that became the building used by the Nazis for labor assignments.
    The last picture is not in the Jewish quarter. This is the main square of the ghetto created by the Nazis to separate the Jewish community from the rest of Krakow. It was ultimately liquidated, making Schindler's effort even more significant (see another post).    Les mer

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    Schindler in Krakow

    10. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    If the 1st picture looks familiar, it probably means you saw Schindler's List because Steven Spielberg shot scenes for the movie in this location. Most of the movie was made in Krakow as this is where Oskar Schindler came to make his fortune during world war 2. And it is here where he protected his Jewish labor force from the Holocaust.
    His former factory still more or less exists, but it is now used for museums. The 2nd picture is of the entry to the factory as it was portrayed in the movie. The 3rd picture looks out a window over the roofs of some of his buildings. The 4th picture looks along one wall of his buildings as it is today. The 5th picture is of part of the wall of pictures of the people who worked in his factory and who he protected. And the 6th picture is his desk and office.
    The museum traces the life of Jewish Krakow from just before the war through deportations, creating the ghetto and liquidation of the ghetto, while pointing out the impact Oskar Schindler had on saving his employees through it all.    Les mer

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    Klezmer in Kazimierz

    10. september 2021, Polen ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Klezmer is a musical form developing among the Ashkenazi Jews in this part of Europe. As I understand it, klezmer is a Yiddish word for this style of music, and the word has roots in the Hebrew words for tools and melody.
    This is a brief snippet from the music played for us in this traditional Jewish musical style in this historic Jewish neighborhood in a part of the world known for klezmer.    Les mer

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    Czestochowa

    11. september 2021, Polen ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Czestochowa is a city in southern Poland known for the Monastery of Jasna Gora (which means Bright Mountain in Polish). This is the home of the world famous Black Madonna (see the 1st picture), making this monastery and the shrine, in particular, an important pilgrimage site for millions every year. No one really knows the origin of this piece. One legend says the evangelist, Luke, painted it on the top of Mary's table. Helena, mother of Constantine, found it on one of her searches for the true cross. She brought it back to Constantinople. From there it made its way to this monastery in 1384, where it has been since.
    The rest of the pictures are of the monastery. The 2nd picture is a side chapel off the main sanctuary dedicated to the monastic order of the monastery: the order of St. Paul, the first Hermit. The first monks came from Hungary in 1382. The symbols and coat of arms of the order are visible. The 3rd picture is of the nave of the basilica or main church.
    The 4th picture is of the Knights Chamber where royalty would visit and important meetings were held . In the upper arches are paintings of these memorable events.
    The 5th picture is of the main entrance to the monastery.    Les mer

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    Reisens slutt
    11. september 2021
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