Mike here; Poland has a very unique tradition. Today is the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw
uprising. Not the Jewish one, the whole city one. At exactly 4:00, the WHOLE country, all 38 million people, turned their backs on Germany, dropped their pants, and mooned them. It was very emotional. I, of course, joined in. So the actual figure was 38 million and one. How could I not?
Auschwitz….no comment. Very sobering.
Entrance to Auschwitz
Work sets you free
Crematorium
Evelyn here: I think we will retire in Krakow. It is such a beautiful city. English is taught in school starting in the primary grades. The people are friendly . . . . . . .and most important of all – it is CHEAP. We went to the supermarket today to get dinner. Our menu – BBQ chicken (1/4 each), a nice cabbage salad, orange drink for me, beer for Mike, and for dessert – polish donuts. The whole thing cost us the equivalent of $4.00 Canadian dollars. The most expensive thing we bought today was 4 batteries for the mouse. They cost about the same as dinner. In the old town square we had lunch in a nice Italian sidewalk café (already had our fill of polish dumplings). We both had a salad with bruschetta, followed by a pizza that would rival Famousa in Edmonton. Again I had a drink and Mike had coffee and beer. The total – (with a $2.50 tip included) $15.00. Try getting a lunch like that in Edmonton for that price!
And, on top of that – Krakow is truly one of the most beautiful cities in the world. There are only 850,000 residents but they get over one million visitors a year. It received very little damage during World War II as the President (the same as our mayor) surrendered to the Nazi right away in order to avoid any damage to the city. He saved the city but he was sent to a concentration camp and was never seen again. They have everything here: a beautiful river valley with plenty of parks, an ancient castle, an original old town centre with buildings dating from the 1400’s and enough charm to last a lifetime. After touring the main sights this morning we headed to the famous salt mines. Spent 2 hours walking 130 meters below ground. This mine dates back to the 1400’s and the ingenuity of the miners was astounding. Many of the miners carved beautiful statues out of the salt and they are there to see, as well as chapels, and concert areas. It was terribly interesting.
There are great biking paths throughout Poland Leonard and I would highly recommend coming here for a visit.
Mike here:
Krakow is the cultural center of Poland, and no wonder.
There are four main cultural sites.
1….a 700 year old altar in some church or other.
2….a painting by Leonardo da Vinci
3….the salt mines, which are quite spectacular
4….a soccer sized ball of belly button lint, on display in the square
in old town. The guy who did it has been collecting the lint for about
40 years. He actually won the Poland has Talent show. The armpit
guy came in second, and I talked to both of them. They are planning to
partner up and go on the Fringe circuit. The belly button guy actually
juggles the ball of lint. Granted, it is only one ball, but when you see
the ball of lint, you forget all about there only being one ball. I suggested to
them that they should bring their act to North America, and do the Fringe tour, especially in Edmonton. I know I would pay big bucks to see it. Who wouldn’t, eh?
The Black Madonna
Jewish Quarter where Schindler’s List was filmed
Cathedral in Palace grounds
Actual gold dome in Cathedral
Last Supper carved in salt by a miner in the Salt Mines
Postcards from Everywhere 