Thursday, May 15, 2008

Castles and Churches and Mountains...Oh My!


For those of you who have been checking the blog regularly, yes we are still alive. The last two places that we stayed had internet, but we did not realize this fact until our departure. Because we haven't blogged in a while, I shall be your tour guide through our past few days in Poland.
We left Torun on Tuesday morning. After two hours on the bus we made a stop en route to Uniejow at Biskupin. Here, we were able to view a pre-Slavic village. In 1934 excavation of this pre-Slavic site began after a local professor notices sticks protruding from a nearby swamp. The excavation revealed numerous artifacts. What were the sticks, you may ask? Well, they were part of the foundation of the pre-Slavic, Lusitanian settlement circa 2,700 years ago. We were able to view artifacts in the museum and visit a small farm where they keep animals that would have been found in the pre-Slavic village. These animals included: oxen, sheep, goats, horses, and dogs. Archaeologists build a mock settlement based on what they believed the actual settlement to look like. We were able to explore the mock settlement and see what it was like to live during the period. It was fascinating to learn about Poland's pre-history!
We loaded up on our typical Polish food: lody (ice cream) and gofry (waffles) and were on our way. We had a surprise stop at Gniezno, which was the very first capital of Poland based on the legend of Lech, Czech, and Russ. According to this legend, the three brothers set out on a journey. Lech saw a white eagle atop a mountain. He was so amazed by it's beauty that he decided to settle there and build a nation around it. (This is why the white eagle is Poland's national emblem). His brothers, Czech and Russ continued on, founding their own nations...you guessed it, the Czech States and Russia. While in Gniezno we visited The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, which is particularly interesting because it houses the remains of St. Adelbert, the patron saint of Poland.
We finally arrived at Uniejow to spend the night in an actual castle! The castle was gorgeous, although carrying our luggage up all those stairs was not so fun. Dinner was especially exciting. Everyone's eyes lit up when we learned we would be having chicken kiev...and FRENCH FRIES.
Many of us used our free time after dinner to explore the castle. (The picture above shows Kimmy in front of said castle.) There was a tower to climb, a park adjacent to the castle to walk through, and the nearby town to explore. Sarah, Kristin, Kimmy, Jess, and I viewed two statues on our exploration...one of the White Lady and one of the Diablo. We got our guide to tell us the legend behind the White Lady, but we have yet to learn about the Diablo. There are three variants on the tale of the White Lady. In the first, the White Lady falls in love with another man while her husband if off at battle. She is so ashamed and heartbroken that she dies. In the second version, (my favorite) the White Lady grows impatient waiting for her true love to return from the battlefield and dies of sorrow. In the final version, she is charged with adultery while her husband is away and is sentenced to death. In each version, she dies and is said to haunt the castle. I may have had a run in with said White Lady as the flow of water in our shower stopped when I went to turn the cold water on... But this blogger does not believe in ghosts, only spirits, so we'll dismiss the occurrence.
Yesterday we spent most of our day on the bus. We left Uniejow at 8am, arriving in Czestochowa around 10:30. Czestochowa is Poland's National Shrine. The Basilica at Czestochowa is called Jasna Dora, meaning mountain light. Monks run the shrine and over one hundred monks take residence at the shrine. Their main duties are to give mass and hear confessions. There were so many confessionals at Czestochowa. Apparently, on a visit to Czestochowa, John Paul II claimed that Czestochowa was the largest confessional in Poland. We learned that Czestochowa is a pilgrimage site for many people in Poland, especially young people. Many groups walk/bicycle for days to reach the shrine. We saw hundreds of small children in white vestments preparing to receive their first Eucharist. Apparently throughout the month of May young children come from all over to celebrate their first Eucharist at Czestochowa. We obtained a guide and were able to tour the holy site. The main basilica was gorgeous with numerous altars and side chapels. We were also able to see the painting that makes Czestochowa such an important site: the Black Madonna. It is said that this work was painted by St. Paul the Evangelist. It is also said that this painting has survived many ordeals. Early in the paintings history, thieves broke into the basilica and stole many goods. One of the robbers slashed the painting with his knife. Legend says that the painting actually bled. The scars on the Virgin Mother's cheek remain. For me, viewing the painting was not as special as I thought it would be. What should have been a holy site, was more like a tourist attraction. I did not feel comfortable walking through a mass simply to see the painting. I found it disrespectful. Also, everyone was pushing their way through the crowd to see the painting. I found it rude, especially in a church. It was an experience, nonetheless.
We had lunch at a Viking-themed restaurant not far from the national shrine and were on our way again. We stopped briefly at the Ocjow National Forest. We learned about the various species of plants and animals that can be found in Poland's smallest national forest. We also saw the numerous limestone formations in the forest. We visited the Castle of Pieskowa Skala, built under the reign of King Casimir the Great. The castle was used for years by the king and other nobles as a summer residence. Today it is simply a tourist attraction.
We passed by a unique type of church. We have seen innumerable cathedrals, basilicas and churches while in Poland. This one was different however, as it was build over a river. There was an edict in Poland during its early history that said that no holy building was to be built on Polish lands. So, the people built it on the water instead. :)
We finally reached Zakopane around 8:00pm. It was a very long day. We all settled into our hotel, got some grub, and hit the sack. We were all exhausted.
Which brings me to our final stop on our tour of what us kids have been up to the past few days: today. This morning we got to sleep in a little! We were all so relieved. We had breakfast, took a brief tour of Zakopane, and went up a mountain to get a better view of the Tatra Range. It was gorgeous! We had free time, so most of us used our time to go shopping. They have a lot of goods here, mainly woodworking. I picked up a few things and plan on going out later to pick up some more.
But first, a nap. Kristin is already sleeping. I'm sure many of my fellow travelers are too. The exhaustion from the trip is starting to catch up with us...
So there you have it! We are alive and well. Tired, but experienced. Ready to face yet another day of Polish history, culture, and identity!

xoxo
Mandy

No comments: