Poland to Home September 5.

We packed up this morning, and after a little walk around Warsaw we left for the airport. We checked in without any issues, and did a little last minute shopping before boarding our plane. The flight was uneventful, which is always a good thing. Yesterday this flight was 4 hours late leaving!

We breezed through customs and said our goodbyes. My flight from JFK to DTW was also uneventful. This was a very long day.

Poland: September 4.

We left Wroclaw this morning and drove to Czestochowa to explore the Jasna Gora Monastery and see the famous Black Madonna. She was painted in Byzantia and made her way to Poland in the 16th century. Her unusual coloring is the result of a poorly conceived plan to use varnish to protect the paint. There were nuns, monks and tourists everywhere. Fortunately we had a guided tour.

We entered the chapel quietly, as there was a Mass being held. Mass is held every hour of every day here. There were people walking up the aisle on their knees, but we stayed upright as we walked up the aisle, behind the altar and back. It was incredible seeing this ancient world famous icon. 

After leaving the monastery we had a box lunch in the van and went to a Christmas tree ornament factory. Here the glass is hand blown and the ornaments are hand painted and decorated. We had a tour and were supposed to paint an ornament but there were 3 of us who could not breathe in that building with no ventilation. (We waited outside but the neighborhood was pretty sketchy).

We arrived back in Warsaw in time for dinner. Tomek (registered genealogist and owner of the tour company) was there and I spoke to him of an elusive ancestor. He poured wine and limoncello shots for us, Aleksandra gave a little speech and we had a lovely traditional Polish dinner. Elaine, Kris and I raised our glasses. Na zdrowie!

Poland: September 3. Ksiaz Castle.

We had an hour and a half van ride to Ksiaz Castle. This edifice was built in the 13th century by Polish noble Bolko I, but is more widely known as belonging to the Hochberg dynasty for 4 centuries. The Hochbergs, once one of the richest families in Europe, added on 200 rooms in the 1920s, doubling the size of the castle and modernizing it only to lose it in the crash of 1929.

The Nazi party confiscated the property to use as headquarters of the Foreign Ministry with a lavish apartment for Hitler. They began a suitable renovation and spent 150 million marks to build a series of tunnels and bunkers 50 meters below ground. Historians are still trying to figure out what went on down there, whether secret scientific labs or bomb research, but it was never used to shelter Hitler from the bombing. Before it was finished (excavated by starving prisoners from a nearby concentration camp) the Soviet army invaded the area, bombing the castle and taking it for its own use.

After the bus ride back to Wroclaw we had some free time, walked around Market Square until meeting for dinner at a Czech restaurant. Goulash and Czech beer, and more gnomes of course.

Poland: September 2. At Wroclaw

We started this day with a guided walking tour of the city. Our hotel is very near the Old Market Square. Wroclaw is known for its medieval origins, colorful architecture, and gnomes. There are over 1000 gnomes throughout the city; originally a sly protest of the communist regime, they have now popped up everywhere. The red brick building with a tower is the old town hall, from medieval times, while the blond building is the new town hall built in 1863 and still in use.

Wroclaw was bombed extensively during World War 2, but the Market Square has been rebuilt as it was before the war. This is true throughout the city.

The flower market in the square is open 24 hours a day.

Our guide took us to Malarska Street, where in medieval times meat was bought and sold. Below is a memorial to all the animals slaughtered her through the ages.

Above, the Hansel and Gretel houses.

St. Elisabeth Church, below, was almost destroyed in a fire. It was saved by firefighters and reconsecrated by Pope John Paul 2 in 1997. This event is commemorated with 2 firefighter gnomes and a stained glass window depicting flames.

There is a jail here, built in the middle of the 14th century and used as a prison until about 1900. There is only a gnome imprisoned there now... It was notorious in its time for housing the most dangerous criminals, and its interrogation rooms were the stuff of nightmares.

We walked to Wroclaw University. Established in 1702 it is the oldest of 27 universities in the city. The double photograph shows the university after the bombing during World War 2 and after being restored.

We went inside the science auditorium which is lavishly decorated with paintings depicting the arts and sciences, with a little religion thrown in because this was once a Jesuit institution.

Many of us climbed to the observation deck to get a sweeping view of the city. There are 130 bridges in the city. There were once 2 moats for protection; only one remains.

The building below, built in the 17th century, was originally the home of the Order of Crusaders of the Red Star. It is now the Library of Count Ossolinski, opened in 1817, and houses the largest and most important manuscript collection in Poland.

We walked to Cathedral Island where we went to the St. John the Baptist Cathedral, established in 1025 and celebrating 1000 years! The main altar is made of silver; the stained glass windows were damaged during World War 2 and rebuilt.

This island is still lit by gas lamps every evening by a lamplighter, so of course there is a lamplighter gnome!

After lunch we had a scavenger hunt which required us to go shopping for very specific items, while speaking Polish. we also were required to go to the tallest building in the city, so my team went up to the Sky Tower building observation deck. We rode the trams to get around the city, ending at the statue of Fryderyk Chopin in Poludniowy Park (Southern Park). By then it was raining.

We also had to find "a sculpture by a famous artist". It was a Dali sculpture, part of his Profile of Time series. Our team consists of (left to right) Jeff, Maureen, me, Kris, and Krystian.

 

We had dinner in a restaurant adjacent to the park and took the tram back to the hotel.