Kraków - Wawel and Kazimierz

Activity around the town early this morning. The square was populated by a different section of the community - the service suppliers. It is amazing the number of delivery vans resupplying all the restaurants and businesses of the square. It would be impossible later in the day as the number of pedestrians would make this near impossible. 

Still with a spring in her step!

Big plans for the day but we still think we are in our twenties! We did make two out of the three destinations that were planned for. 

After a delicious and filling breakfast we ventured out and made our way to the Royal Castle, the Wawel. This was traditionally the home of the Polish kings, with many being buried here in the Wawel Cathedral. This has become a place of pilgrimage for Polish people which was obvious today. The reverence and devotion being displayed indicated the high level of regard the Wawel Cathedral and the castle has to the people. 

Wawel Cathedral 

The Wawel

Wawel Castle courtyard. 

Still going strong!

From here we took the route south to the Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter. Set up originally as a rival market place to the market in Kraków, this area over the centuries grew as a centre for European Jews, ironically many fleeing persecution in their own county. 

Józefa street, leading to the heart of the Kazimierz. 

Wino along Józefa street. 

Outdoor cafe. 

Traditional art and wood carving. 

Not sure what this is meant to be reflecting?

Interesting galleries. 

Historical Synagogue. 

Today it is a mixture of eclectic shops, bars and restaurants. It is an interesting place to wander around. It also is an area that Spielberg used to film parts of the movie Schindler's List. 

Feeling our age, after many hours on our feet, we decided to miss the Museum of Stained Glass Windows and catch a tram back to our hotel. Here we had a front row seat to the performances happening in the square below. 

Back at the Market Square with the very polite coach drivers touting for business. 

Part of the Square performances. 

Another lost soul!

Nicholas Copernicus is one of the great scientist in history, first suggesting that the earth was not the centre of the universe, and he studied here in Kraków. At a talk in the St Peter's Church some of his theories were outlined.

Pendulum motion and earths rotation. 

Earlier this evening we were entertained by the Festival of StreetTheatre   performance in the Square - from our ringside position! An energetic performance and at times quite dangerous. Not quite sure of the context of it all - the voice over was in Polish! But it was given a great reception from the crowd. 

Kraków

Kraków today. The weather didn't look promising early this morning - in fact we were woken overnight by the heaviest rainfall we have ever heard. It cleared as the morning rolled on. 

Eager to check out the local art. 

By the time we arrived in Kraków the day was looking in good shape. Technology is a great asset but at times you have to wonder why we become so dependent on it. I'm talking here of our TomTom - it caused us all sorts of problems locating our hotel - it tried to take us into areas that were for pedestrians only. So when in doubt go for another tehxnology - GoogleMaps - which then sorted out the problem. 

Arrived at our hotel and were given a room overlooking the famous square in the centre of Kraków. Wonderful views across the square and with windows wide open all the sounds of this ancient city wound their way into our room. 

The magnificent Cloth Hall and City Tower. 

Yours truly!

The elegant St Mary's Church where the trumpeter re-enacts the warning of the Tartars attack - happens on the hour every day. 

Carriage rides aplenty. 

Again, we couldn't help noticing the gigantic changes here from our last visit in '79. This city is really pulsating. The number of people, mostly tourists, is the biggest change. But not too crowded - just vibrant. And, the amount of English being spoken seems to outnumber the Polish. 

We wandered around the market square with so much to see for most of the afternoon and then tonight we went out to a traditional Polish restaurant, then took in the night perspective of the square delighting in the interesting night activities going on around the square. 

Eateries galor. 

Cloth Hall vendors. 

Amber being a popular local gemstone

Our night view. 

Auschwitz-Birkenau

Thirty-six years ago we visited Auschwitz. Today we returned. Many things had changed but the core of the visit was very much the same. How could other humans commit such cruelty in the name of nationalism? 

Birkenau gate and train terminus.

The insincerity and sickness of the Nazi's at the entrance of Auschwitz, "Works makes you free."

Electrified caged!

Many things had changed: the number of people visiting (and at about the same time of the year) had increased dramatically, the number of young people were in the majority, the Russian propaganda had vanished (Poland then was under the spell of Russia), the presentation was a little more sanitised, and the organisation was exceptional. 

Nothing is more dramatic than to see hundreds of thousands of pairs of shoes, glasses, suitcases etc. of the victims.

The day was bookended by waking to the serenity of the Cloisters at Rudy, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau experience at the end of the afternoon. Two quite contrasting emotional situations. 

We were not quite expecting the level of organisation at Auschwitz-Birkenau. We were expecting a self guided audio tour but instead when you purchase your tickets you are buying into a four-hour guided tour. I must say that the young guide was quite outstanding. 

Needing to be in Kraków early tomorrow morning we drove to our overnight stop at the village of Rzozow. 

Monuments, Cloisters all in a Days Work

XWhat do you do when you have not planned a thing for the day? Go to the supermarket - but that's not all. That's how the day started - we had no intention to visit any particular location. But we did need to go to the supermarket. 

The visit to the supermarket is always a challenging activity - for many items it is quite simple because a carrot looks like carrot all over the world! But it is the specialist items that present the challenge. Might I say Helene does a marvellous job at decifering products, with the occasional help from Google Translator camera app. 

It is also interesting to see the different health regulations in each county. The handling of the breads and pastries vary across countries - even though it is the same franchise  supermarket. Here in Poland you are supplied with plastic gloves to handle your choice of bread or pastry. In France it was tongues, in Germany gloves and tongues again.

As we made our way further east we noticed on the map a shrine nearby our route, so a slight detour was made. This led us to Gora Sw. Anny (St Anne Mountain).

The very ornate church of St Anne.

The hill - highest point over this part of Poland.

The village has become a very visited place for Polish Catholics because of the miraculous Church of St Anne. It is also a monument to the Upper Silesian Uprising of 1919 and 1921 - it was here that the Battle of Annaberg was fought. 

"Following World War One and the re-emergence of the sovereign Poland, while still part of Weimar Republic, the hill was the site of the Battle of Annaberg in 1921 during the Silesian Uprisings." (Wikipedia)

Later we traveled on to Rudy where we had planned to spend the night. On arriving in the town we were greeted by a very pictureque Cistersian Cloister and church which  has been reconstructed after being destroyed in the closing stages of WWII. Good EU money helped in this process!

"Located on the European Cistercian Track, a former abode of the princes, the Post – Cistercian Abbey and Palace Complex is one of the most valued monuments of the Upper Silesia region. Showcasing the breathtaking architecture and intricate work, the castle complex is the pride of the whole district. Almost 700 years old, the abbey and the palace are a precious heritage. Despite having been destroyed during the last days of the World War II, the object has regained its splendor as well as utility functions and has therefore become a spiritual, artistic and educational centre once again." (Cloisters website)

Whilst driving past cemeteries one can't help but notice the most beautiful array of vibrant flowers and plants on each and every grave. We even saw a large florist /nursery just inside the entrance to one cemetery and they were doing a roaring trade.

Opole

Still in Upper Silesia and a visit to the town of Opole was our plan for a relaxed Sunday.

Recreational area created from the remains of the original castle. 

Opole is an interesting town being made the capital city of German controlled Upper Silesia province after WWI. The town actually voted in 1921 to remain a part of Germany rather than be included in the "new" Poland. It is also unusual that after WWII a large German population remained when the borders were shifted westward. 

Central square in Opole.  

We had a morning of relaxing and catching up on "stuff" which we sometimes forget to do.

After lunch we took a drive into Opole to continue our relaxing day. Again, signs of the confidence the people have in their country. Building and development seems to be happening on all centres, many seem to have a high level of affluence and the shops seem to be providing quality of merchandise that we take for granted. 

Town Hall. 

The famous jewel encrusted "Opole Madonna" in the St James Cathedral, and as one writer puts it, "surrounded by a gaggle of gaily cavorting cherubs"!

The town itself has suffered over the past fifty years of some very erratic town planning but many historic aspects remain. It seemed that the more recent developments are an attempt to humanise the many dehumanising aspects of previous regimes. The old Soviet style multilevel housing developments - still in use - have had recreational and leisure facilities added to their surrounds. And the city generally, built around the River Odra, is a pleasant place to wander and enjoy

River Odra. 

View from the park. 

Interesting souvineers on sale!

Late in the afternoon we traveled a few kilometres to our over night stop in the village of Zimnice Wielkie. 

Wroclaw

Election day at home. No conclusive result before everyone went to sleep in Oz. Tassie returned to its roots - nearly! But 4 out of 5 is heading in the right direction.

It might have been hot politically in Australia but it was also hot here in Poland as well - temperature rising above  30 degrees by late morning. A slight breeze though had a great cooling effect.

Our drive into Wroclaw was very interesting. It was the first time on a Polish motorway and what a great piece of infrastructure. We can recall 36 years ago when a major road like this would have been busy with horse drawn vehicles amongst the very few mechanical vehicles. Today the motorway was very busy with Polish cars travelling in all directions. What a turn around in a generation! 

And what a surprise we had at the end of our trip - Wroclaw, a city of over 600,000. For a town that was virtually devastated in the final battle of WWII it has been transformed into a very enticing city for residents and visitors. We were not expecting such a redevelopment in such a short space of time.

Market  Square Wroclaw. 

Our first visit was to the National Museum which exhibited many outstanding works of Silesian and Gothic art as well as modern Polish art of the last two hundred years. An fascinating museum which we enjoyed greatly. When enquiring as to how all these pieces of art survived the the destruction of the city the reply was that a Gernan art restorer adviced the Polish authorities to place as many pieces as possible into hiding. They did this by distributing the art works to hundreds of locations around the territory- this though didn't stop many from being destroyed or stolen. 

"Marina and Child with a Goldfinch" - 16th century.

Exquisite 15th ccentury woodcarvings. 

After the museum visit we strolled along the south bank of the River Odra which has a great view of the river island, Ostrow Tunski. This is the area where settlement was first made. 

Churches and buildings on the river islands. 

It was when we reached the Market Square that we could see the real attraction of the city  having been given very little money over time for the reconstruction it is amazing the extent of the finish. The square was alive with people with many activities being conducted throughout. 

Pictureque facades. 

Soccer in the Square.

The tradition of woodcarving has been a part of the heritage of this part of the world for hundreds of years. 

Interesting to note that very little English was available in brochures etc where as there was German readily available . I wonder if this was a legacy of Wroclaw once being a German city. The history of the city over the last 75 years is very interesting. 

The day was drawing to a close - and thunder storms were fast approaching - we got on our "bike" and headed for our overnight in the village Zielecice. 

Jelena Gora and Karkonoski National Park

Today we entered a region of Poland that is considered to be one of the most scenic areas in the country.

A traditional Polish costume - once a memory!

Some very Polish scarves. 

Beautiful local hand knitted jumpers. 

Firstly our visit to the town of Jelenia Gora was one of many surprises. Jelenia Gora is the launching town for a visit to the Karkonoski National Park, but it is also a town worth visiting in its own right.

Some of the tenanments around the Market Square with arcades running underneath. 

The Castle Tower - saved from demolition in the 1800s - now offers lovely views across the town when one climbs the, what seems a 1000, steps to the top.

A view across the square. 

Rathaus

Rathaus. 

More tenanments. 

A town more than 900 years old, it has kept its character really well over such a long time. The town was bustling and a vibrancy was detectable. In fact, we get the impression that Poland is well on the way to be strong economically. There seems to be lots of activity and the people seem to have available cash to purchase as they see fit. 

Delightful arcades surround the square. 

The tourist material was available in many languages and in plentiful supply - suggesting a confidence in visitor numbers. 

We later headed off towards the Karkonosz Mountains  close to the Czech border. A beautiful part of the county with our first stop being the Szklarka Waterfall. We had an extended walk through the forest of fir trees and beeches - a very pleasant and relaxing place to spend time. 

Approaching the Szklarka Falls. 

The Falls. 

Some feature outcrops.

The fir forest. 

A forest fossil!

After this we visited the national park and villages associated with it. Lots of activities for all ages with hiking being one of the summer favourites.  Obviously skiing is the winter option here. 

Later in the afternoon we stopped at Dobromiez for our overnight stay in a very pleasant village.

Driving in Poland is much the same as everywhere else but with a few idiosyncrasies- lights must be on at all times, and when you come to a train crossing you must stop. There are no lights or boom gates to warn of an approaching train! But it works. Would this be possible in Oz!