Katie and Tommy: Around the World

Of all the places we are going on this trip, I have been looking forward to visiting Poland the most. Partially of course, this is because it is Tommy’s home country and I was excited to see where he grew up and meet his family. But it’s also because of everything I have learned about it since meeting him. I don’t think Poland is a place most Americans know a thing about, and I’ve been happy to learn that it is a fascinating place.

For one thing, I think it is safe to say that Krakow is hands-down the most magical city we have visited thus far. Our first day here, Tommy acquainted me with the many local stories and legends: how one of the brothers who built the towers of St. Mary’s church killed the other, and the knife is hanging up in the Cloth Hall; how a brave chef (or was it a shepherd?) slew the dragon of Wawel Castle by feeding him spicy food and causing him to drink until he burst; how the hourly hejnol commemorates the sacrifice of a brave trumpeter who warned the city of an invasion and was shot with an arrow; and how one of the queens of Poland threw her engagement ring into the earth and where it fell, the immense Wieliczka salt mine was found.

Perhaps I also love Krakow because I am with someone who knows these legends and speaks the language. I’m trying to learn myself; I walk around clasping my “Teach Yourself Polish” book and trying to make sense of signs and conversations. It isn’t the easiest language, but I’ve just about mastered introducing myself and asking how to find the nearest bank. Also, staying with Tommy’s grandmother is like being home; we might never want to leave the comfortable beds and home-cooked meals. Polish food is also a treat; I can’t get enough of the cabbage and mushroom stuffed pierogi. There is also some fun street food, like toasted bread covered in spicy mushrooms and cheese called zapiekanki, and rings of dough called pretzelki which are apparently descended from the ancestral bagel, which originated in Poland.

I could go on with some more fun Polish trivia, but for now I’d better get to our activities over the past few days. Last Thursday morning, we went with Tommy’s grandmother to clean up his grandfather’s grave. I was touched and pleased by what I saw at the graveyard; every single tomb was covered in candles and flowers placed there by family members. Apparently visiting the gravesites is a much more regular activity here than it is in the States, and All Saints Day is a particularly important holiday on which this is done. There were many other people visiting the cemetery at the same time as us, and outside there were vendors selling artificial flowers and fresh candles. We cleaned up the tomb and bought some new ones to decorate it with. After we finished, we went to Tommy’s cousin’s apartment and had a big family dinner that evening.

Friday we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine I mentioned earlier. This immense underground mine is now only minimally active, and has become a popular tourist destination. Deep under the earth, miners created statues and chapels, all made out of salt. It is pretty spectacular to see.

Saturday we visited the Czartoryski Museum, which has a very nice collection of art and artifacts, including Leonardo’s Lady with an Ermine, its most famous piece. There was also a very nice section of ancient Greek and Egyptian artifacts. We went from there to a big supermarket with Tommy’s cousin Margaret, to buy some ingredients to cook dinner for Tommy’s family. We left the store with several bags of food, but we were a little nervous. Some things aren’t quite the same as in the States, and we must have spent several long minutes in the dairy aisle trying to figure out what the Polish equivalents of heavy whipping cream and cream cheese were.

That evening, we attended a soccer match in town, Wisla Krakow verses Widzew Lodz. Apparently football in Poland can get a little violent, as was evidenced by the police squads decked out in helmets and shields as we entered the stadium. For this reason, apparently the officials even have lists of fans on visiting teams who they will not allow into the stadium. This turned out to be a problem on Saturday night. I’m not quite clear on what happened, but apparently enough of these people showed up that the officials decided not to let any of the visiting fans in at all. When the Wisla fans found out, they decided to boycott the game and most left during the second half. I kind of thought that was actually good sportsmanship on their part. While they were still in the stadium, the Wisla fans probably could have out-cheered even the LSU student section. It was fun. We finished the night by having pizza with Tommy’s cousins.

Sunday morning we went to a weekly flea market near the apartment. The vendors sold a wide assortment of things we would never want or need, but Tommy did find the one item he was searching for, a Solidarnosc pin from the 80’s. After lunch with Tommy’s grandmother, we headed over to Margaret’s to cook our big meal. It took the entire afternoon, and was a bit more challenging than we anticipated. Converting from ounces and cups to the metric system meant that everything was destined to be a little too soupy or a little too thick. Several of our ingredients were not quite what we thought they were, although they were luckily close enough that the food still tasted fine. I think the family enjoyed it. Everyone was especially amused by Tommy’s Polish translation of the name of our Mississippi Mud Pie dessert.

The next day we had a sobering morning in Oswiecim, or as the Germans called it, Auschwitz. I knew it wasn’t going to be a happy visit, but I thought it was important to go there. There is a certain sense of those terrible events that can only be attained by standing there, where they actually happened. There were actually three camps at Auschwitz: the original camp, an industrial work camp, and the death camp. The latter two were mostly destroyed by the Nazis at the end of the war to try and conceal some of the evidence, but the main administrative camp is preserved almost untouched. This is the one that was there the longest; the horrendous extermination camp with the large gas chambers was built later. Still, it was the sight of many unbearable atrocities. The buildings which held prisoners have been converted into a series of museums, some preserving the camp conditions as they were, others gutted and filled with stark displays of photographs, brief descriptions, and many German documents which offer chilling proof of the events that occured. As I said, a sobering visit.

Yesterday we spent the morning in a much more comforting locale, the Shrine of Divine Mercy in Lagiewniki with Tommy’s grandmother. The Divine Mercy painting on display here is probably familiar to many Catholics. Near the small convent and chapel, an immense modern church has been built. The inside is huge and starkly white, and there is an observation tower from which there is a nice view of Krakow.

From there, Tommy and I took a tram to Wawel Castle, where we toured the armory, cathedral, and crypts. The armory had some nice displays of weapons and treasure, and the cathedral was packed full of the elaborate tombs of kings and saints. We climbed the belltower to see the huge Sigismund Bell. That evening, we went out for sushi in Kazimierz.

The last few days have been a wonderful rest from our constant traveling, and I’m sorry we’re leaving Krakow so soon.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Poland. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.