Eastern Poland - Sandomierz & Lublin

Delighted by the village of Sandomierz.

Often pictured as being less developed economically and culturally compared to the western part of Poland, eastern Poland appears to be fighting this trend. Today has been another revelation - the villages, the farmlands, and the roads have all been the equal if not superior to other parts we have traveled through.

The land use has changed, no longer the cerial crops dominating the landscape, now we have mixed fruit and vegetable cropping - in abundance!

Orchards of all descriptions!

And crops - cabbage, tomatoes, etc. 

And the cucumbers in hot houses all along the way. These would be going to the pickling factor for the famous Polish gerkins.

We called into the town of Sandomierz and were pleasantly surprised - again! - by the picture it presented. A special market was being held in the Stare Miasto (Old Town) and it was very popular with visitors - not another English voice heard. 

Market in Sandomierz.

Very popular with the locals and others. Tourist buses were lined up in the car parks. 

Even a changing of the guards ceremony!

"I'm an Aussie, let me out of here!"

All in all, a very pictureque village. 

 After lunch we made our way to Lublin - a town of 360,000 people. Here a festival of music was being conducted in the grounds of the castle. Again, many Poles were out and about indicating again that there is plenty of disposable income in the pockets to enjoy the extras in life. 

Town Square in Lublin. 

The very ornate Cathedral. 

Lublin Castle. 

The Donjon inside the Castle. This tower is one of the oldest structures in Lublin. 

A small colourful street stall. 

Interesting buildings ....

.... with interesting decorations!

The Old Town has plenty to offer with the cafes and bars surrounding the square where there is still evidence of a bygone era - and not all restored to the condition of other high profile Polish towns.  But nevertheless, a very pleasant place to spend a Sunday afternoon. 

Visiting Lublin you can't help but think of the number of Jews that were sent to the death camp, Majbanek, a few kilometres from the centre of the city, while others were sent to the Bełzec camp - 26,000 in all. We had had enough of death camps but it is very important that it is remembered. 

Late in the day we drove a few kilometres to our overnight in the village of Jakubowice. 

A public campaign of interest.

And some interesting sculptures. 

The famous gates to the old town. 

Zalipie- The Painted Village

The Painted Village today!

One of many of the painted houses in the village of Zalipie. 

As we continue to travel eastward in Poland we are intrigued as to the beauty of the villages and the level of civic pride as demonstrated by the building and development activity going on. 

The village we stayed in overnight, Nowy Wisnicz, is incredibly beautiful, well cared for and very people friendly. Commercial activity, through a market and retailers,was evident early, and many people were out and about. Every where we look we see development, building sites and people with disposable incomes. It is s far cry from the picture that is often painted of Poland in the Anglo-based press. 

Lovely open green spaces in The village of Nowy Wisnicz. 

Nowy Wisnicz with traditional carvings and ceramics to decorate the village. 

As we drive through other villages new town squares were providing people spaces for the community. This one in Olesnica.

And most villages had new houses with well laid out gardens - and many more being built. 

We stopped off in Bochnia to resupply the fridge and cupboards before heading north-east to the village of Zalipie, famous for the painted houses and the competition that is held there each year. This tradition started over a hundred years ago when the women of the village wanted to coverup blemishes in their wooden houses - so painting floral patterns on the buildings seemed a sensible and creative way of doing this. The tradition has made Zalipie one of the unusual places to visit. 

Even the church has got into the spirit of the village. 

We are still coming across railway crossings on major roads where every motorist has to stop - there are no lights or boom gates!

It works!

When we arrived at our overnight stop we met up with a Catholic youth rally about national sobriety! From what we gathered pilgrimages are being held all over Poland this week in regards to this. 

Google Translator is marvellous in determining text - on the left is the card given to us by a participant, and on the right is our best Google Camera translation.

Kraków - Schindler & Stain Glass Museums

Checked out of the hotel this morning and returned to Hilton after his rest from us! The view we had across the Market Square was second to none - one could spend days at the window seeing what unfolds across the square as the days pass by. But the memory of it will not fade - nor will the numerous photos we took of the space!

A beautiful stain glass window of Kraków. 

We drove down through the Jewish quarter, across the river through the old ghetto district to visit the Schindler Museum.  Parking was at a premium but we lucked-one not far from the museum. 

4 Lipowa Street is the famous address for the Schindler factory and the museum is housed in this old factory where the Schindler story unfolded. 

You cannot but be moved by the story that unfolded through the displays. The amount of resources collected and displayed is quite amazing. It was well worth queuing and battling the large number of visitors. 

Ghetto depiction in Schindler Museum. 

After this we took ourselves off to the Stain Glass Window Museum that we failed to visit yesterday. A lovely young  guide took us through this fascinating museum showing us the process of stain glass window making. She highlighted the different techniques used to create the startling effects that we see in churches and buildings across Europe.

St Florin stain glass- hidden away in a cellar for over 50 years because it was not favoured by the communist regime. 

It was late afternoon before we were able to leave Kraków, and getting caught up in the Friday afternoon traffic snarl. 

A lasting image of Kraków as we drove across the Wisla River - the Wawel.

We made our way to Nowy Wisnicz village for our overnight stop. 

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.