Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life-and travel-leaves marks on you.
Ah...so here we are at the last day of an amazing trip. We started by traveling to a little town called Wadowice, which just happens to be the hometown of Pope John Paul II. When we arrived, we went through the JPII Museum. It was a bit rushed because we had a set time for Mass. The things that stuck out from the museum: 1) there is a set of binoculars in the wall. When you look through it, there are videos of JPII hiking. In one of the videos, he can barely walk, but the look of joy on his face is undeniable. 2) The canoe that he used when he would take college kids on the river...he turned it over and it became an altar.
The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary-Papal Basilica. JPII's church as a child
Replica of the Cross that was used during the 1st Mass on Polish soil during the papal visit
Canoes that JPII used as altars while on camping trips with college kids
Papal Cake and latte-As a child, JPII used to sneak off and get a piece of this cake (kremówka)
The afternoon was spent underground...waaaaay underground. As in 135 meters (442 feet- around 147 yards) underground. And that was only to the 3rd level.
A UNESCO Site, the Wieliczka Salt Mines date back to the 11th century
To get into the mine, we had to walk down 380 steps (64 meters/ around 210 feet-70 yards) to reach Level I. We were enchanted by sculptures made from salt as we walked down more steps to Level II.
Everything was made from salt (except, obviously, the wooden door)
Scene depicting Princess Kinga of Poland and how she became the Patron of Salt Miners
Stairs going down to the next level
Whimsical dwarves
Scene showing salt mine workers
Even though these sculptures were incredible, when we made it to Level III (after going down approximately 800 steps), the scene took our breath away:
St. Kinga Chapel: Even the chandeliers are made of salt
Reliefs in Salt line the walls of the Chapel
The reliefs are depictions of the life of Christ
3-D Relief: just amazing
Altar of St. Kinga Chapel: Mass is held here every Sunday
Crucifix in salt at the side of the altar
Looking up in St. Kinga Chapel
We walked down around 800 steps to get to the chapel. Luckily, we didn't have to climb back up those steps. Instead, we were crammed into a sketchy basket that carried us back up. I made sure one of the priests was in the basket with me...just in case.
The next morning, we made our way to the airport for the return flight home. We flew from Krakow to Amsterdam, then to Atlanta, and finally home. It was a very long day, but all of the flights went well once we left Krakow. I found the airport to be badly in need of upgrading and expansion. It was very crowded, and I thought the setup was a bit unusual. Several flights were waiting in one area, and then we were herded (for lack of a better word) down to the plane. Maybe this is normal in European airports; I haven't been in that many, but it just seemed different.
The Krakow extension definitely made me want to revisit Poland. It is a beautiful, faith-filled country with some wonderful people. It is definitely on my list of places to return to.
The day we disembarked from the Amadeus, we went from 3 buses to 2. We traveled from Budapest through Slovakia, then to Poland. The trip was uneventful; we stopped for lunch in Donovaly, Slovakia. This village is the home of a ski resort and, during WWII, is reported as being an important center of an anti-German resistance. The bean soup was incredible, and was followed by pork, potato bread, and sauerkraut. Even though I was beginning to feel a bit under the weather, everything was delicious. Dessert was a traditional Slovak dessert. I would describe it as being similar to a donut with chocolate powder on it. The middle had some kind of chocolate/plum filling, possibly. It wasn't very sweet, and most people didn't really care for it.
The village of Donovaly as we continued on our way
The bar inside the restaurant at the ski resort
I believe this is Chocolate Roulade. Once I cut into it, the chocolate/plum syrup exploded out of it
It is described as a sponge cake flavored with cocoa, then filled.
As soon as we crossed over into Poland, we stopped in Orawka to visit a wooden church built in 1659. St. John the Baptist was cold and musty-smelling, but that didn't take away from how beautiful it was.
St. John the Baptist is the oldest church in the Upper Orawa Region, and the only wooden church
The side panels depict everyday life in the village.
Our first dinner in Krakow was a traditional Polish dinner with traditional dancers at Biała Roża. I missed the day's excursion due to staying in bed to knock out whatever it was I caught. I felt well enough to attend the dinner, and I'm so glad I did. Our guides told us this was a typical Sunday dinner that they would have at their grandmother's house. It started with Zurik, a soup that starts with an egg and sausage in your bowl, then the broth is added. This was followed by breaded pork and potatoes, and then dessert.
The finished Zurik. The broth's base is a fermented rye flour.
A typical Sunday dinner at Babcia's.
I'm not sure what this dessert was but it was delicious.
Part of the time in Krakow was filled with visiting the John Paul II Center. Our guide informed us that the design inside is quite controversial. Some people think it looks too "modern" with all of the mosaics.
John Paul II Center
The cassock Pope JPII was wearing when he was shot.
Chapel made from Wieliczka Salt Mine
The slab from JPII's grave
Since it was All Saints Day, when we arrived at the Divine Mercy Basilica and the Convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, we were given a candle to place either on a gravesite of a nun, or one of the unknown WWI soldiers.
The nun's cemetery
Cemetery of unknown WWI soldiers
The "Old Chapel" of the convent was incredible. We were able to view a reproduction of the cell where St. Faustina lived, see the window of the cell where she died, but the most amazing thing to me was the Chapel. First, it was just beautiful. We had some time to venerate St. Faustina's remains, which are under the original painting of the Divine Mercy. It was so peaceful; I could have sat in that chapel all day long.
Statue of JPII looking toward the Divine Mercy Basilica
The cell where St. Faustina died
The "Old Chapel" at the Convent
St. Faustina's remains under the original painting of the Divine Mercy
Once back in Krakow proper, we toured Krakow Castle and the Wawel Cathedral. On the walk to the castle we walked through a park. Our guide pointed out a statue honoring Dzock, a dog whose owner passed away. Dzock wouldn't leave the area, waiting for his owner to come back. He allowed people to feed him, but they weren't able to catch him. An animal shelter was built nearby.
Statue of Dzock the dog
As we neared the castle, we passed by a dragon statue that breathes fire. We happened to be there in time to watch it. The dragon lived in a cave at the foot of the hill. He terrorized the people, and King Krakus promised his daughter's hand in marriage to any man who could defeat the dragon. A cobbler named Skuba stuffed a lamb with sulphur and left it near the cave. The dragon ate the lamb and was so thirsty that he drank so much water from the River Vistula that he exploded. This was the version our guide (who is from Krakow) told us, which may be different than the one you may read online.
The Wawel Dragon
Photography was prohibited in the cathedral, so I only have pictures from the outside. The Cathedral contains many side chapels which is why (I think) it looks like different churches attached together.
Wawel Cathedral
Within the tombs of the cathedral is the chapel where JPII said his first Mass. We also saw the coronation site for Polish Monarchs. JPII was also ordained as auxiliary bishop for Krakow here.
The walking tour of Krakow was heavily about JPII (since we were on Pilgrimage). Some of the sites we saw:
St. Francis Cathedral where JPII celebrated Mass while he was the Archbishop
St. Florian- JPII's first parish as a priest
JPII's residence from 1951-1967
The Archbishop of Krakow's residence. It's across the street from St. Francis.
The walking tour wasn't all about JPII though. We saw some awesome things and learned some great history.
St. Adalbert in the middle of the square
Battle of Grunwald Monument with St. Florian in the background. It commemorates the victory of the Poles and Lithuanians against the Teutonic Knights in 1410. The monument was demolished in 1939 by the Germans, but was reconstructed in 1979.
Krakow Square with St. Mary's in the background and St. Adalbert on the right
St. Andrews: The oldest church in Krakow
St. Florian's Gate: Built in the 14th century, it was the main gate into the city. It was named after the St. Florian church (see above)
Sts. Peter & Paul: Built in the 16th century, the sculptured figures were added in the 18th century.
We were treated to the St. Mary's Trumpet Call. Played since the 14th century, the trumpeter plays at the top of every hour, repeating the tune 4 times, directed toward the 4 cardinal points (North, South, East, West). The trumpeter is a firefighter who abruptly ends the tune in honor of the trumpeter who was shot with an arrow in the throat while alarming the city of approaching troops. The tradition continues for over 6 centuries, with breaks happening during the 19th century and WWII.
Incredibly, we did Krakow in one exhausting day. It was almost time to leave for home, but we had one more day ahead of us first.
If you're interested in more of the religious sites, please visit my Catholic Blog.
