Don's Trip to Europe (and a real lot of pics from Poland)

[Don]

Well, looks like you're in for quite a cultural shock (the wedding party, I mean)... And if the music is going to be anything like the typical Polish wedding party fare - brace yourself!

BTW, that's pretty eccentric - going all that long way only to stay a few days in Bydgoszcz and then straight to Budapest. Not that I have anything against Bydgoszcz, or Budapest for that matter - both lovely cities and all (and probably good idea to humor your son's future in-laws too ). But, you know, I wouldn't place Bydgoszcz on the top 20 Polish towns to visit.

Well, Bydgoszcz is where the wedding takes place, so that's where I'll be.  Nothing eccentric going on here.  We have a tour that starts in Prague and ends in Rome.  There are just six days between the wedding and tour.  We wanted to spend that time in Vienna, but it didn't work out.  Budapest was our second choice, and we'll get to Prague a couple of days early to see the sights.

[Choo Choo]

Maciek, thanks for posting those fabulous pictures.

I was already planning a side-trip to Cracow on my next C.Europe jaunt.  Now I'm thinking I should spend longer & venture further North.

(And yes, I was planning to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.  But visiting Dachau - grim though it is - didn't lessen my love for Munich.)

[rubio]

I have long had the salt mine on my list of places I NEED to visit.....my appetite is whetted.

I think the only other place in the world where they have a salt mine "similar" to the one in Wielicka (with salt sculptures and so on) is situated in Colombia. I have been to Wielicka and it was really nice (the air should be good for asthmatic people), but so far I have not visited the one in Colombia. It has been a bit out of the way so far - due to the civil war.

[rubio]

(Actually, you're confusing Oswiecim and Auschwitz. Those are two different places. The Auschwitz camp was next to Oswiecim.)

Auschwitz is situated very close to Oswiecim, and I think Auschwitz is the German name for Oswiecim. Creepy place, and I think the most depressing thing from a visit it to see the sheer SIZE of the area of Auschwitz 2 - Birkenau. It must be difficult to have a home adress like Oswiecim nowadays - a friend of my wife has.

[Maciek]

Well, my point was that the extermination camp was never ever called Oswiecim. Auschwitz is the name of the camp. Oswiecim - the name of the town next to it. I have a friend living in Oswiecim too, BTW.

[Que]

Maybe you should visit this place also,named Oswiecim.
This happen there in May-June 1944. To the right,slave
labor; to left, gas chambers.

Carlos, you're a real party pooper...

Q

[rubio]

There are many beautiful places in Poland, and I usually go there a couple of times per year as my wife is Polish. Most of the times I only go to Cracow (where she is from).

Last year I also attended a Polish-American wedding in Cracow. It was really some of the most extravagant things I have been to. It lasted for 2 days, and it was a real feast of food and drink. The wedding itself took place in the very beautiful St. Marys church in Cracow, and after the ceremony several people in Polish folkloric costumes threw flowers at the couple. Then there was a parade through the city with jugglers and so on. Many people were standing in the street and watching this parade. It ended in the Arqueological musem next to the castle where the was a reception, party, entertainment and a MASSIVE dinner.

The day after they had something like a poolside barbecue with dancing in their property close to Czestochowa (Alexandria). It looked like what I see in an American movie (hanging around the pool  ). As the father owns a butchery there were a lot of excellent steaks and sausages. That wedding was really an experience.

There are many nice places in Poland. I especially love Zakopane due to the nature/mountaineous surroundings, and Krakow as it is the only major city unharmed by the war (with a lot of historical buildings and sites). Wroclaw is also a very nice city as well as Gdansk. Warsaw is the big city that was severely damaged by the war, and it really is amazing to see how the old town has been rebuilt. The cultural palace next to the railway station is a fascinating building (the George Orwell like Russian gift). I can highly recommend a visit to Poland.

[Harry]

Hope you have a lovely time Don.

[Maciek]

Maciek, What stunning photos....all in the best light and weather conditions.

Actually, not a single one of those photos was taken by me... But, OK, I can take the credit, yes I think I can take it: Thank you very much for the compliment!

I have long had the salt mine on my list of places I NEED to visit.....my appetite is whetted. This summer we are bound for Finland and Estonia.

Well, Estonia is close enough. Just add Latvia and Lithuania to your list (there's some great stuff to see there too, particularly in Lithuania) and you can go straight to Malbork .

Jane wants her Venice fix in the autumn, a friend has asked me to Barcelona next March then Jordan to see Petra in April....all I need is money, good health and to lock my son into a cupboard each time we leave on holiday. Not much to ask really.

I think we badly need that Mike thread where you could share impressions from your travels!

As for the photos, my main source was Wikimedia Commons. I found the pictures they had were much better than the ones on most tourist sites. Other major sources were: the UNESCO pages, zdjecia.polska.pl and www.staypoland.com.

Maciek

[Maciek]

Well, Bydgoszcz is where the wedding takes place, so that's where I'll be.  Nothing eccentric going on here.  We have a tour that starts in Prague and ends in Rome.  There are just six days between the wedding and tour.  We wanted to spend that time in Vienna, but it didn't work out.  Budapest was our second choice, and we'll get to Prague a couple of days early to see the sights.

Looks like you'll have a really good trip! Budapest and Prague are very beautiful, and they shouldn't be as crowded in June as they are in July and August.

[Maciek]

Maciek, thanks for posting those fabulous pictures.

You're welcome.

I was already planning a side-trip to Cracow on my next C.Europe jaunt.  Now I'm thinking I should spend longer & venture further North.

(And yes, I was planning to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau.  But visiting Dachau - grim though it is - didn't lessen my love for Munich.)

Not that it would lessen your love for anything - just that it's not the sort of place for everyone. I know people who were literally sick for many days after their visit. So I could recommend it only to those who are really sure of themselves. I'm sure most (or all) of the folks on GMG are quite sensitive people and not everyone will want to go through something like that. It's "interesting" and a very "memorable experience" but there are those who will want to avoid it.

Maciek

[Maciek]

There are many beautiful places in Poland, and I usually go there a couple of times per year as my wife is Polish. Most of the times I only go to Cracow (where she is from).

Last year I also attended a Polish-American wedding in Cracow. It was really some of the most extravagant things I have been to. It lasted for 2 days, and it was a real feast of food and drink. The wedding itself took place in the very beautiful St. Marys church in Cracow, and after the ceremony several people in Polish folkloric costumes threw flowers at the couple. Then there was a parade through the city with jugglers and so on. Many people were standing in the street and watching this parade. It ended in the Arqueological musem next to the castle where the was a reception, party, entertainment and a MASSIVE dinner.

The day after they had something like a poolside barbecue with dancing in their property close to Czestochowa (Alexandria). It looked like what I see in an American movie (hanging around the pool  ). As the father owns a butchery there were a lot of excellent steaks and sausages. That wedding was really an experience.

That wedding sounds like a really great experience! Though not exactly a typical one. A traditional wedding should theoretically last 2 to 3 days but it's seldom done nowadays. Most people can't afford it. My wife's cousin had a second wedding party on the afternoon after the wedding - but that's the only thing of that sort I ever attended. Anyway, the one you went to was obviously in quite good taste. But the typical Polish wedding party is just lots of noise and tons of alcohol, with everyone getting completely drunk an hour or two after the party starts. Not exactly my idea of fun, as I don't drink much and it really is uncomfortable to be the only sober person in a room full of raving drunk lunatics...

There are many nice places in Poland. I especially love Zakopane due to the nature/mountaineous surroundings, and Krakow as it is the only major city unharmed by the war (with a lot of historical buildings and sites). Wroclaw is also a very nice city as well as Gdansk. Warsaw is the big city that was severely damaged by the war, and it really is amazing to see how the old town has been rebuilt. The cultural palace next to the railway station is a fascinating building (the George Orwell like Russian gift). I can highly recommend a visit to Poland.

Thanks for those impressions. Actually Cracow was bombarded a tiny little bit... by the Red Army. Gdansk is a town that was left more or less unharmed by the Germans. But then the Russians came in and (after German capitulation!) destroyed about 80% of the historical part... Thankfully, many of the smaller towns of great historical significance (Zamosc, for instance) came out of the war relatively unharmed.

I like Zakopane very much too. But I love Bieszczady (another mountainous region) even more.

Maciek

[rubio]

Thanks for those impressions. Actually Cracow was bombarded a tiny little bit... by the Red Army. Gdansk is a town that was left more or less unharmed by the Germans. But then the Russians came in and (after German capitulation!) destroyed about 80% of the historical part... Thankfully, many of the smaller towns of great historical significance (Zamosc, for instance) came out of the war relatively unharmed.

I like Zakopane very much too. But I love Bieszczady (another mountainous region) even more.

Maciek

I think our next longer trip to Poland will be to the Eastern part including Zamosc and maybe Lublin. I would also like to go to the large forest region in the North East with the bisons (I don't remember the name right now). This has to be combined with a visit to Lvov. I find it amazing to have learnt that the German population of Wroclaw was replaced by the Polish population of Lvov after the war. Stalin was totally crazy at that time. I was also surprised to find out that Wroclaw (festung Breslau) fell 1 month (?) after Berlin. The Germans staying there must have been incredibly fanatic  .

Bieszczady, is that the mountain range closer to Nowy Targ (w/Dunajec)? Do you have any nice villages/places to recommend visiting in this region?

[Maciek]

I think our next longer trip to Poland will be to the Eastern part including Zamosc and maybe Lublin. I would also like to go to the large forest region in the North East with the bisons (I don't remember the name right now).

Park Bialowieski (they call it "Białowieża Park" on the UNESCO pages). I've never been there... Lublin is my wife's favourite Polish town. It's really beautiful!

This has to be combined with a visit to Lvov. I find it amazing to have learnt that the German population of Wroclaw was replaced by the Polish population of Lvov after the war. Stalin was totally crazy at that time. I was also surprised to find out that Wroclaw (festung Breslau) fell 1 month (?) after Berlin. The Germans staying there must have been incredibly fanatic  .

Yes, the history of Wroclaw (and of Lvov!) is quite fascinating, though quite tragic.

Bieszczady, is that the mountain range closer to Nowy Targ (w/Dunajec)? Do you have any nice villages/places to recommend visiting in this region?

Nowy Targ is still Podhale (the same region as Zakopane), though the mountains are called Gorce. Bieszczady are more to the east, so you could easily link that with your trip to Zamosc etc. They are much gentler mountains than the Tatras - more like hills than mountains, actually. But there is true wilderness there, which is even a bit scary at times because of the wild animals (at least that's what my wife says, I don't find it scary at all ). You can spend a whole day hiking and not meet a single other person! We went there for 2 weeks last summer. We stayed in Kalwaria Paclawska (OK, that's not exactly Bieszczady yet but it's very close) - that's near Przemysl, another very beautiful town! There's a Fransciscan monastery there and they keep a "Dom Pielgrzyma" (Pilgrim's House) which is a sort of hotel actually. The standard was really decent, and it was extremely cheap. Here's what it looks like:

You can also hire a room in the village, and that's even cheaper. I've got somewhere a leaflet from one of the houses.

The slopes are not very steep and the mountains aren't very high but for us that was perfect because we went there with our little daughter and I had to carry her on my back everywhere. There are many antique wooden Russian Orthodox and Catholic churches in the area. And the nature is amazing: my wife almost stepped on a "zmija" (a sort of poisonous snake/viper/adder - Vipera berus), there were 2 bears roaming in a nearby valley (so we couldn't go there), some deer were making a terrific noise (sounds pretty much like a bear, actually) in the evenings. There are these unbelievable, gigantic green meadows ("połoniny"). We saw cranes, European Tree Frogs, Fire Salamanders, Fire-Bellied Toads. Etc., etc., etc. We're now both in love with the region and we'll definitely go at least once more.

Here are 2 photos of Przemysl (from wikimedia commons):



And this is the Kalwaria Paclawska sactuary:


And some views from Bieszczady:




Maciek

[Maciek]

There are these unbelievable, gigantic green meadows ("połoniny").

Just in case you were wondering what that means exactly, here are 2 photos taken from roughly the same spot in two opposite directions. You'd need at least half a day to walk across this.

[karlhenning]

Beautiful, Maciek!

[Maciek]

Thanks, Karl! I've been to quite a few places (I lived in Africa for a part of my childhood) but currently that is my favorite place on Earth. I mean that meadow exactly... Talk about "green meadows"!

There's a Fransciscan monastery there and they keep a "Dom Pielgrzyma" (Pilgrim's House) which is a sort of hotel actually. The standard was really decent, and it was extremely cheap.

And in case you'd like to know what I meant by "really decent" standard. Here are 2 pics of our rooms. We changed rooms halfway through our stay. The second one was much larger (with I think 6 beds), quite enjoyable to stay in a thing like that with a family of 3. (They might give you a large room like that if the smaller ones are taken - you still pay as if it was a small one though.)

[sonic1]

Nice pics. I will promise to post pics of my trip to Alaska (in a week I am driving from Tucson to Anchorage-surfing most of the way up). The drive through the NW USA and Canada should be beautiful. I am going to take lots of photos (REAL FILM, BOYS) with my Graflex camera and my Holga (4x5 format and 120mm respectively). Yes, I will have a digital too, plus an underwater camera as well.

It is no Europe. But it should be beautiful.

jared

[Maciek]

Oh, yes, please, please do. I'll show them to my sister in law who is mad about Alaska. (But do post the others as well, not just Alaska .) BTW, I envy your equipment, if I may say so... 0:) (Not that the names really mean anything to me - I just envy the fact that you have so much of it. )

[karlhenning]

Real film?  I've heard of it.

You mean that stuff that you have to stir the milk to keep from forming?