Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Zane
The last week with Marcin has been awesome fun. In fact I was enjoying myself so much that I decided to stay an extra day. This was definitely a good decision because I was invited to a family gathering (Marcins sister's name day - a substitute for birthdays I was told, to protect a woman's true age). I was offered copious amounts of traditional Polish food... all of which was delicious! After that Marcin's brother and brother-in-law (both called Thomasz) took me to an abandoned German bunker near by. Before WWII Germany's borders extended further east, which is evident from the German houses and military presence left behind. Even though the bunker is unfinished it's still impressive. Designed around an elaborate tunnel and underground rail system it was originally planned to extend hundreds of kilometers from the northern coast to Wroclaw, however plans were changed when Hitler ordered the Polish invasion. Although it was damaged by the Russians towards the end of war, most of the structure remains in tact and is now home to thousands of little bats - the local attraction.
Saying goodbye to Marcin, his generous family and beautiful friends was difficult. Nobody could understand why I would want to travel the 8 hour train ride from Zielona Gora to Krakow by myself. However it did feel good to have everyone pleading with me to stay but some how I convinced them that I had to leave and the following morning I was on my way. The time flew by as I witness the most beautiful sunrise in my life and listening to Polish rap on the radio.
Now I'm in Krakow, home to the royal Wawel Castle and a beautiful old town square overshadowed by the St. Mary's Church. You can just feel the history as you walk around the cobbled streets. Krakow has over 250 churches... they are literally everywhere! I can't imagine that there are even enough people living in Krakow to attend them all.
Today I went to the Salt Mine about 20 minutes from town. The mining stopped 8 years ago and today it remains open to tourists and is occasionaly used for important functions. The tour took us through an endless number of enormous rooms, entirely constructed out of salt and wooden support beams. What surprised me was that although the tour took 2 hours, it only included one percent of the mine. You had to pay extra to take photos which I thought was a bit of a joke but when we entered the main room I was glad I'd chosen to pay. I can't wait to add them to this site when I return to London.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Oswiecim (or Auschwitz, the German name which is more commonly known by), which is known as the place where the German's built the Jewish death camp from WWII depicted in Schindler's List. I guess it's hard to imagine what I'll feel when I see it with my own eyes but I'm sure it will be an extremely moving experience.
Zane
- comments