Crossing into Poland as part of a 2008 tour to Central Europe, our first stop was for lunch at Poznan, which is one of the oldest and largest cities in Poland. We had lunch in the Renaissance Old Town in a restaurant just across the square from the clock tower of the 14th century Town Hall.
Poznan had been the capital of the Polans until about 1039, when the capitol was moved to Krakow. Poznan suffered an enormous fire in the 1500s, which burned most of the city. The 1600s and 1700s saw several wars, the plague, and floods. In the 1793 Second Partition of Poland, Poznan ended up as part of Prussia. In 1807, it became part of the Duchy of Warsaw, but in 1815, was returned to Prussia. At the end of World War I, however, it once again became part of Poland. During World War II, Germany declared it part of Germany, which changed again at the end of the war when it became part of Poland again and all of Poland became part of the Soviet Union. Poznan needed to be rebuilt over and over again throughout its history, including after World War II.
On our way to Warsaw, the current capital of Poland, it began to snow quite heavily, causing a major traffic delay. We had an included dinner that evening at the hotel. The hotel was informed we would be late and held dinner for us.
Though not as old as Poznan, Warsaw changed hands many times throughout its history as well. In the 1600s, Sweden, Brandenburgian (German) forces and Transylvania played a game of tug of war with Warsaw. It bounced back and forth between Poland and Prussia several times until, finally in 1918, it became the capital of Poland.
After a good night’s sleep in cozy beds in a very large L-shaped hotel room (Mom was around the corner and on the other end of the room from me) we awoke to see a pretty solid blanket of snow covering the ground. Fortunately we always wore nonslip-soled shoes when traveling (in addition to taking coats with zip-in linings plus gloves and hats – just in case). Our first stop after breakfast was the memorial to Frederic Chopin in Lazienki Park. Hiked through quite a bit of snow to get to it, but it was really quite beautiful with the snow on it. Nearby was the Presidential Palace, which we could go by but not tour.
Next stop was the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943), which is located in what had been the Jewish Ghetto (which was completely flattened during World War II), on the spot where the first armed clash of the uprising took place. We also went by a memorial that consisted of an open railcar with burnt crosses and gravestones, which was near the Umschlagplatz Memorial, where the railcars departed for the concentration camps. This memorial is located on the actual site and was built to represent an open railcar.
There is also a memorial to the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, which took place over 63 days as the Soviets watched from across the river while the Nazis destroyed 85% of the city due to the Polish Home Army’s decision to rebel. We were taken to Market Square, where we watched a film about the destruction and rebuilding of Warsaw. Then we had some free time to explore the restored medieval (15th century) Market Square. The mermaid fountain was under restoration at that time, so I was unable to take a photo of it. But I got some great photos on a later trip.
We had an included lunch at a restaurant in the Royal Square that included a soup with sausages and hard-boiled eggs. It was so hearty, it could have made a meal all by itself, but we still had breaded chicken with coleslaw and roasted potatoes plus an apple cake for dessert. After lunch, we toured the Royal Castle. The contents of the castle had been hidden away during the war and the castle itself had been leveled after the Warsaw Uprising. Plans were drawn up to rebuild the castle in 1971 and the necessary funds were raised by 1975. Reconstruction was completed by 1984. The castle is used as an art museum (which includes two Rembrandts), for exhibits, and for conferences.
After another night in Warsaw, we set out for Czestochowa and the Monastery of Jasna Gora. The monastery was founded in 1382 by monks from Hungary. A painting of a black Madonna and Child is venerated, with pilgrims approaching the painting on their knees. The origins of the painting are disputed. Some feel it dates to the 14th century, while others claim that it was discovered in Jerusalem in 326 and taken to Constantinople. From there it eventually got to Hungary and brought to Czestochowa in the 14th century.
When we arrived at Auschwitz, I found it to be quite chilling to be there. I was allowed to take video within the concentration camp interiors, but not photos. There were enormous piles of luggage, shoes, and other items confiscated from prisoners on arrival. It was all terribly moving. It was the eyeglasses that especially got to me, possibly because I wear glasses myself. They are the first thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I take off at night. They are so personal.
There were also loads of photos of what was found when the Allies liberated the camps. We were told that experiments on women were performed in Building #10. Another part of the camp, Auschwitz II, is also known as Birkenau. Since the decision had been made at the time it was being built to exterminate all Jews, it was pretty much purpose built as an extermination camp. We spent a lot of time at Auschwitz I and just a short time at Birkenau. Then we drove to Krakow for the night.
We began the day at Krakow with a tour of the Jewish Quarter, in a portion of the city called Kazimierz. Parts of Schindler’s List had been filmed there. Film director Roman Polanski managed to escape as a child and basically hid out on his own after a brief time with a Catholic family. His mother was killed at Auschwitz, but his father survived the camps in Austria where he had been sent. A group of young men began to sing and dance while we were there – quite jubilantly.
The Royal Palace and the Royal Cathedral are at the top of Wawel Hill. There have been people living on Wawel Hill for about 50,000 years. We managed to climb the hill and enter the cathedral before it began to rain. Over 900 years old, the Wawel Cathedral is where the Polish kings were crowned and buried.
As we got to the large covered porch area between the cathedral and the castle, the rain came down in torrents. So we hid out there for awhile. It finally settled down by the time we needed to leave enough that we didn’t get drenched going back down the hill. The Castle is now an art museum.
By the time we arrived down in the market square of Krakow, everything was still wet, but the sky seemed to be getting lighter, like maybe the rain was truly done. We looked around a little in the square, especially at the Renaissance Cloth Hall. The lower level consisted of stalls with lots of things to buy, including tourist items. Then we went off of the square to find someplace to eat.
Usually the main squares where tourists hang out have the most expensive places to eat. So, unless we have a reason to want to spend the extra money, we usually would go off a street or two to find someplace quiet with what looks like good food, at a reasonable price. We ended up at a small, cozy, place down some stairs where we had something called zapiekanka, which was a toasted, open-faced sandwich on a baguette. It was pretty good. We both had hot drinks to go with it as it was getting a wee bit nippy.
Most of the group was doing an optional trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine where historic statues and mythical figures have been carved out of salt. Mom was having some balance issues (she had Menieres, which is a balance disorder that would flare up from time to time) and so didn’t feel that it would be a good idea for her. We had planned to explore St Mary’s Basilica and the Cloth Fair, then take a taxi back to the hotel. When we came out of the restaurant, it was raining again. We went directly to the basilica as it was not far from the restaurant.
In the 13th century, a trumpeter was sounding the alarm at the basilica as the Mongols were attacking when he was shot through the throat. Each hour, a trumpeter plays a plaintive tune from the top of the taller of the two towers at the basilica and stops suddenly mid-tune. The basilica was found in 1221-22 and was destroyed by the Mongols. It was rebuilt shortly after. The interior is very ornate and beautiful.
By the time we left the basilica, it was raining very heavily again and getting colder. So we gave up and took a taxi back to the hotel. Whenever I am someplace where I am not totally familiar (especially if I don’t speak the language) I get a card from the front desk of the hotel so I can just show it to any cabbie and they can read the hotel name and address. Wence had shown us before leaving us that the place to get taxis was behind the basilica. We had a short wait before any taxis arrived, then about three showed up at once. A very nice fella, who didn’t speak much English, took a look at the hotel card, nodded and said he knew that. The trip back to the hotel was through extremely heavy rain, but didn’t take too long.
We had snacks, fruit, and liquids back at the hotel or we could go to the hotel restaurant if we were really hungry at dinner time. We weren’t. They had a program on television called “The Road to Broadway”. It was about four musicals getting ready for the 2003-2004 Broadway Season. The musicals were “Caroline, or Change”, “Taboo”, “Avenue Q”, and “Wicked”. The narration was re-recorded in Polish, but everything the actors said (or sang) was in English with Polish subtitles. We watched it while taking turns taking bubble baths (I always carry bubble bath when traveling), writing in my journal, and getting things ready for the following day.
The next day we left for Slovakia and Hungary.
