Quirky, Vibrant, Picturesque Poland
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” – Jawaharlal Nehru
Poland has so much to offer. Architectural styles that encompass all that you’ve heard off and more. Beautiful town squares lovingly restored. Legends and symbols such as the dragon of Krakow on Wawel hill, the mermaid of Warsaw perched in the town square, the goats of Poznan who only appear at a certain time. Churches that spawn a thousand words and more. Here’s just another glimpse at a slice of Poland that I saw on my travel through the country.
For me it all began in Krakow. For months I had been running (Umm walking) along Wawel hill and into the main square of Krakow. Nothing could have prepared me for the reality even on a soggy afternoon. Tired and footsore from visiting the salt mine, the uphill trek to the top of the hill seemed insurmountable especially at the pace our local guide wanted to maintain.
I wanted to cry out and ask her to slow down and smell the roses, “let us enjoy the views from the top”. But it wasn’t to be even if she spent little or no time in the castle and an hour plus in the cathedral. This lady was on a time clock. Tired and grumpy I was ready to just take a taxi back to my hotel, but I am glad I was persuaded otherwise.
I ended up at a delightful restaurant in the market square, inside of course because it was too wet to enjoy the outdoor ambiance for one of the best meals on this trip. Plus of course I got to rejuvenate and resuscitate and have a delightful conversation with a gentleman who was seated at a table next to mine and who happened to be from Southern California of all places.
Did Gaudi have a vacation home in the high Tatra Mountains? Doesn’t this interesting looking house look like it might be something Gaudi would design and build?
Cathedral Island or Ostro Tumski is a little island that exists as it did in medieval times. They actually still have lamplighters who walk the streets lighting the lamps. Unfortunately, we were not able to go back at twilight to watch this phenomenon, but we did still enjoy walking around this area.
The Pavilion of Four Domes was created for the Century Fair in the early 1900s and is now used as an audiovisual technology center where they make movies and shows.
Our guide told us that he was going to take us to a marvel off the beaten path for a quick photo stop and voila here we are.
So, I had been hearing about the gnomes or some people call them dwarves of Poland. I couldn’t wait to discover them but did not really know what to expect. I was excited to go on our walk through the town and look for these little people hidden in plain sight all over the town.
While waiting for our guide I wandered across the street from our hotel and was so excited to see these stone figures, didn’t quite look like dwarves but who was I too judge. We did find gnomes of course walking with our guide, but I had a good laugh at my foolishness. Do things like this happen to you?
This panoramic painting is marvelous. The battle scenes look so real and the light circles around as each phase lights up in conjunction with the commentary.
There were a lot of teenagers, school children who were there in a group. It was so interesting to see them take panoramic pictures once the audience had moved along from one spot to the next.
The Gniezno doors are a pair of bronze doors made in 1175, decorated with 18 bas-relief scenes from the life of St. Adalbert whose remains were purchased for their weight in gold and enshrined in the cathedral. They are considered the most important example of Romanesque art in Poland.
We got here fairly early in the morning and had to wait for a church official to come open the doors that led us into a small enclosure where we could stand and view the doors and listen to an explanation of each of the reliefs.
Wilanow Palace, summer residence of kings is a treasure both indoors and out. Fountains and flowers foster a welcome feeling of tranquility after being on the move for so long.
Like so much of Poland this street too was damaged and restored but interestingly while the rest of the town was restored using new materials this particular street was restored using reconstructed materials.
It gives us an interesting glimpse into how people lived in this once prosperous city of Gdansk in these terrace houses, sitting on the stoops gossiping with their neighbors. Don’t miss the gargoyle headed rain gutters.
Even deep down 350 ft or more below the ground in the tunnels of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, the miners exhibited their artistic flair. As you descend almost 800 steps deep into the three levels of the tunnels open to visitors you traverse tunnels carved with all manner of scenes.
Most particularly thrilling is the third level with is beautiful chapel where scenes from the bible including the last supper are carved along the walls as are salt chandeliers and a beautiful altar.
It’s good to be reminded that this mine was providing table salt almost continuously till 2007.
Polish Gingerbread is famous worldwide. It originated here in Torun back in the 1300s and is considered one of the famous and important foods of Poland. Of course, nothing beats pierogies but nevertheless gingerbread from Torun has been gifted to dignitaries and other important visitors to Poland from time immemorial. Oh, and let’s not forget St. Martin’s croissants in Poznan.
Culinary adventure in Poland would not be complete without a taste of Polish beer. We had award winning beer in Gdansk, actually got to visit the brewery and crack a barrel. No! I did not taste that one. But this famous microbrewery in Wroclaw is the in place that tourists should go, so we did.
A toast to Poland, hold tight there’s a lot more to come.