One of the popular social media activities right now is for people to post pics of places that have made them happy. You know the pics, the ones you look at and you get that feeling of calm and happiness inside. I've decided to do that for this week's edition of Travel Tuesdays.
This is the 7th edition from my self isolation.
One of the popular social media activities right now is for people to post pics of places that have made them happy. You know the pics, the ones you look at and you get that feeling of calm and happiness inside. I've decided to do that for this week's edition of Travel Tuesdays.
This is the fourth edition from my self isolation.
Today the world marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp by the Soviet Red Army in 1945.
Some ten days prior to the liberation of Auschwitz, 58,000 inmates were marched away because the Nazis did not want them to fall alive into the hands of the liberators; instead, they had to go on what has become known as the Death Marches. Over half of them would die as a result. They left behind the ashes and bones of over a million human beings, more than 900,000 of them Jews, most of whom died by gassing, and some 7000 sick and dying inmates, including Jewish and Roma children on whom the German doctors had performed murderous medical experiments.
Having visited Auschwitz in a few years back today is even more poignant for me.
This sign is the first thing you pass when you enter the facility.
The Holocaust, which established the standard for absolute evil, is the universal heritage of all civilized people. The Holocaust profoundly affected countries in which Nazi crimes were perpetrated, but also had universal implications and consequences in many other parts of the world. As genocide and atrocity crimes keep occurring across several regions, this has never been so relevant.
Three years ago we were in Krakow, Poland for an opportunity to retrace Paul's roots. Even though Krakow was not a city I knew much about, we enjoyed our stay so much that I would definitely return.
Heading back to Krakow for Travel Tuesday this week . . .
Because you can't get enough pics of amazing Krakow food . . .
We have just returned from an awesome vacation!
These are some of our shots that were posted on FB and likely did not make it onto the blog . . .
SIGH
Today is our last day in this wonderful city. To think that the only reason I came here was because Paul's grandmother was born here. It was never on a list of places I wanted to go, yet through that trick of birth here we are. After a week it is safe to say that Krakow has captured a place on my 'top places I've been to' list.
Today was a day to catch up on a few things I had wanted to do but hadn't got around to doing.
We shopped, we toured, we walked, we are, we drank, and now we are resting.
In the Rynek Główny we were able to hear the famous Krakow bugler one last time:
We toured St Mary's Cathedral. After Tartar raids in the 13th century left the original church in a heap of ruins, St. Mary’s was rebuilt in Gothic style on the existing foundations and consecrated in 1320. In the early 15th century the towers took the iconic form they have today, when the northern tower was raised to 80m high and made into a watchtower for the city. It is from here that the hejnał mariacki - the city's famous bugle call - is played every hour on the hour. One of the city's most enduring traditions, the tune ironically breaks off mid-melody in honour of the mythical trumpeter who was shot in the neck while belatedly warning the city of Mongol invaders; don't miss it.
No matter how many times you see them - the altarpiece, stained glass windows of the nave, and the blue, starred ceiling on St. Mary's will take your breath away. The magnificent wooden altarpiece was the principal work of 15th century German artist Veit Stoss (aka Wit Stwosz) for 12 painstaking years, and depicts the Virgin Mary’s Quietus among the apostles; note, however, that gradual conservation work on the altar is currently underway (projected to last until 2020), and not all elements may be on display during your visit. Surrounding the altar are polychrome paintings by Polish masters Matejko, Mehoffer and Wyspiański done in the late 19th century.
We also visited St Barbara's Church, located in behind the cathedral where the old cemetery used to be. While St. Mary's traditionally served Kraków's wealthy German community during the middle ages, the more low-key St. Barbara's attracted the local Polish population. The highlight is a Gothic 15th century sculpture found just inside the entrance, and a neo-Gothic sculpture depicting the garden of Gethsemane. In fact, St Barbara's church is said to be build from the materials left over after the construction of St Mary's.
St Barbara's church is well know for a small stone pieta from the early 1500s.
We were a bit hungry at this point so we went to a well-known Krakow restaurant U Babci Maliny (translates to raspberry grandmother). You go in, order at the open window kitchen, and when your food is ready they call you up to get it.
The food was amazing! We shared a bowl of chicken soup (perfect for our colds), Paul had pierogies made with broad beans and bacon, and I had a Krakow Kutlet (pork, pounded thin, stuffed with cabbage, mushrooms, sausage, and cheese). All of this, plus two bottles of water, came to about $ 23 Canadian.
YUM
This was just what we needed for the long walk to the Wawel to see the castle. when we were there earlier in the week the castle had closed. I made sure to check the opening times before we headed out and we were successful this time. We toured the state rooms and also took a guided tour of the apartments.
Wawel’s prominence as a centre of political power predates the building of the first Cathedral on the site in 1000AD. Evidence shows that Wawel Hill was being used as a fortified castle before Poland’s first ruler, Mieszko I (circa 962-992) chose Wawel as one of his official residences. The first Polish king crowned in Wawel Cathedral was the teenage Władysław the Short (1306-1333) on January 20, 1319, beginning a tradition that would see a further 35 royal rulers crowned there up until the 17th century. All of these rulers used the Castle as a residence, and all of them added their own architectural details to the building. The moving of the capital to Warsaw in 1596 and Poland’s subsequent decline and partitioning saw the Royal Castle fall into a state of disrepair.
The occupying Austrians used it as a military hospital and even went so far as to demolish several buildings including a number of churches on the site. The 20th century saw the Castle change hands on a number of occasions, with the huge ongoing renovation works that continue to this day being halted for a number of reasons, most famously when the Castle was used as the headquarters of the Nazi Governor General, Hans Frank, during the German occupation of WWII.
Today’s Castle complex is a beguiling muddle of styles including Medieval, Romanesque, Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque. The inner courtyard with its delightful colonnades is a true architectural masterpiece, and the treasures contained within do much to contribute to Kraków’s rightful status as a truly world-class city.
Those tapestries represent the most complete collection of 1500 tapestries in Europe. Interestingly they have a Canadian connection. They, along with many other Polish national treasures, were spirited away to Canada as the Nazis invaded Poland. They spent the war in safety and were returned intact years later.
We left the castle at 4:30 and made our way back to the apartment.
Tonight is an 'eat and drink the stuff from the refrigerator' evening - we head to Berlin tomorrow.
Located 14km southeast of Kraków, Wieliczka is famous for its deep salt mine. It’s an eerie world of pits and chambers, and everything within its depths has been carved by hand from salt blocks.
Wieliczka is the oldest salt mine in the world. It was established in the 13th century, but already people were using the salt from the site 6,000 years ago. Salt deposits in the mine come from over 13 million years ago.
The mine has a labyrinth of tunnels, about 300km distributed over nine levels, the deepest being 327m underground. A section of the mine, some 22 chambers connected by galleries, from 64m to 135m below ground, is open to the public by guided tour, and it’s a fascinating trip. During the two hour tour you see less than 0.2 % of the mine.
The mine is renowned for the preservative qualities of its microclimate, as well as for its health-giving properties. An underground sanatorium has been established at a depth of 135m, where chronic allergic diseases are treated by overnight stays.
Wieliczka Salt Mine is also one of the most important religious places in Poland. Throughout the years miners here carved figurines of saints, hoping that they will protect them from harm. The main attraction of the mine is the chamber of St Kinga, which is made entirely out of salt.
The mine has been on the UNESCO Heritage Site since 1978.
The salt-hewn formations include chapels with altarpieces and figures, while others are adorned with statues and monuments – and there are even underground lakes. The showpiece is the ornamented Chapel of St Kinga (Kaplica Św Kingi), which is actually a fair-sized church measuring 54m by 18m, and 12m high. Every single element here, from chandeliers to altarpieces, is of salt. It took over 30 years (1895) for one man and then his brother to complete this underground temple, and about 20,000 tonnes of rock salt had to be removed. Other highlights are the salt lake in the Erazm Barącz Chamber, whose water contains 320g of salt per litre, and the 36m-high Stanisław Staszic Chamber.
Our tour guide told us all about the history of the mine and about the work of the first miners. At the beginning their job was so dangerous that many lost their lives in the narrow corridors of the mine. They not only crashed the thick salt walls, but had to get rid of methane, which would gather over the pavements. To do so miners would crawl into small spaces with a fire torch and burn out the gas. Quite often it led to explosions and accidents. You can see a demonstration of it during your tour.
The guide also introduced us to some mining customs and traditions. In Poland miners are appreciated not only for their hard work, but for their fight against communism in the 60s. The Day of the Miner, known in Poland as Barbórka, is celebrated all over Poland.
The most beautiful room in the whole mine is the St Kinga’s chamber, where everything is made out of salt and the floor itself is a one big piece of this material. The chamber was created only by 3 people and it took 63 years to complete.
I found the mine to be an amazing place. The chambers are beautifully decorated, hiding fascinating stories about the history of the place and history of Poland. One of the disadvantages is the number of visitors. It seemed like the guide was rushing through the site and often I couldn’t catch what he said because of the surrounding noise. I wish we had had more time to enjoy this wonderful place.