Today we visited the salt mines. They are over 400' deep! I wasn't really sure about this tour but it was quite fun and very interesting. Believe it or not they carved a whole chapel out of salt!
We ended up having Mexican food for dinner. Yep, that's right- Mexican food. And I must say it wasn't that bad!
7.31.2009
Poland- day 3
We spent the morning at Auschwitz and Birkenau. There's not much to say about these places really. Auschwitz looked like a park with the trees, grass and brick buildings. That is, until you see things like the mounds of human hair, a room full of shoes and the gas chamber. Birkenau was another story. At one time it was covered with hundreds of crude wooden barracks but only a few are still standing. The brick chimneys remain though and they stretch as far as the eye can see. The most ominous structure is the brick entrance and watchtower (as seen in Schindler's List). Sad.
Later that afternoon Jana invited us to dinner at their home. Their home is really neat- it's an old flat (more than a hundred years old) and is filled with all sorts of books and antiques. We had a traditional Polish dinner of beet soup, beef and potatoes, and an assortment of sweets for dessert. Of course no visit to a Polish home would be complete with out the vodka! Ugh. We at dinner in the building's brick courtyard. It was so beatiful. Well, minus the endless cooing of pigeons.
Later that afternoon Jana invited us to dinner at their home. Their home is really neat- it's an old flat (more than a hundred years old) and is filled with all sorts of books and antiques. We had a traditional Polish dinner of beet soup, beef and potatoes, and an assortment of sweets for dessert. Of course no visit to a Polish home would be complete with out the vodka! Ugh. We at dinner in the building's brick courtyard. It was so beatiful. Well, minus the endless cooing of pigeons.
Poland- Day 2
Mom has been doing some family tree research and found some distant relative in Krakow. So Jana and her daughter Francesca took us around town for a tour of the city. Oh, did I mention that Jana has degrees in art history, architecture and the theology? Needless to say they took us to some amazing sites- churches, the Jewish quarter and the Wawel castle. We stopped for lunch at a wonderful outdoor cafe.
Later that evening the four of us wandered around the main square and did a little more shopping. The old section of town is just beautiful!
Later that evening the four of us wandered around the main square and did a little more shopping. The old section of town is just beautiful!
7.29.2009
Hello from Poland! Day 1
Mom, Rosie, Dorothy and I made it to Poland in one piece!
My flight out of Seattle was late...because someone's seat wouldn't fully recline. I can't believe they delayed the flight by a 1/2 hour because of something so trivial. Whatever! The 3 hour flight wasn't that bad and before I knew it I was touching down in Chicago and would soon be meeting up with my family. I was starving so I stopped at the Pizzeria Uno stand to get a mini pizza before going into the international terminal. OK, so I think I found the world's worst pizza! But since it's pizza I still ate it, although I left the crust on my plate. Yuck. So I went through security and saw mom and the ladies sitting there. We spent some time catching up and then almost missed the flight as we didn't hear any announcements (in English that is). We sat on the ground for nearly an hour as some mysterious repair was being made (once again the annoucement was in Polish, so we don't know what happened). LOT airlines is definitely no-frills. Coach seats, crappy headphones and strange meals. Our dinner included chicken and rice, bread, jelly, lunchmeat and pico de gallo. Oh, and don't forget the Kit-Kat. The flight was long and my anti-anxiety stuff did not work! Finally we got a few hours of sleep and then woke to an equally bizarre breakfast. Upon landing the passengers broke out in spontaneous applause and cheering- must be a Polish thing.
After customs we picked up the bags, met our driver and headed to the hotel. Our accomodations in Krakow (pronounced Krakoov by the locals) are simple but very nice. Mom was lamenting over the lack of a coffee pot in the room, which I thought was kind of funny. I informed her that the coffee in Europe is not at all like Maxwell House and is very strong.
After cleaning up a bit we headed to the Old Town just to check things out. The main square is gorgeous! We did a little shopping and then headed back to the hotel, totally zonked but excited to finally be in Poland!
My flight out of Seattle was late...because someone's seat wouldn't fully recline. I can't believe they delayed the flight by a 1/2 hour because of something so trivial. Whatever! The 3 hour flight wasn't that bad and before I knew it I was touching down in Chicago and would soon be meeting up with my family. I was starving so I stopped at the Pizzeria Uno stand to get a mini pizza before going into the international terminal. OK, so I think I found the world's worst pizza! But since it's pizza I still ate it, although I left the crust on my plate. Yuck. So I went through security and saw mom and the ladies sitting there. We spent some time catching up and then almost missed the flight as we didn't hear any announcements (in English that is). We sat on the ground for nearly an hour as some mysterious repair was being made (once again the annoucement was in Polish, so we don't know what happened). LOT airlines is definitely no-frills. Coach seats, crappy headphones and strange meals. Our dinner included chicken and rice, bread, jelly, lunchmeat and pico de gallo. Oh, and don't forget the Kit-Kat. The flight was long and my anti-anxiety stuff did not work! Finally we got a few hours of sleep and then woke to an equally bizarre breakfast. Upon landing the passengers broke out in spontaneous applause and cheering- must be a Polish thing.
After customs we picked up the bags, met our driver and headed to the hotel. Our accomodations in Krakow (pronounced Krakoov by the locals) are simple but very nice. Mom was lamenting over the lack of a coffee pot in the room, which I thought was kind of funny. I informed her that the coffee in Europe is not at all like Maxwell House and is very strong.
After cleaning up a bit we headed to the Old Town just to check things out. The main square is gorgeous! We did a little shopping and then headed back to the hotel, totally zonked but excited to finally be in Poland!
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