Zakopane/I have no idea what to call this (Donna)

So, there's been like three posts about Zakopane already, but I am in love with this place. If I ever get married, this is where I'm coming for my honeymoon, no joke.

Anyway. It is refreshing to see mountains after driving in a bus all day yesterday, and though I flew over the Swiss Alps on my way to Italy, I've never seen mountains this beautiful in my entire life.

Dinner last night was quite the adventure. After wandering around the town at about 9:45 and not finding anything open that we wanted to eat, we ended up heading back to the resturant connected to the hotel called Roosters. Now, we heard Kimmy tell us a story about this place on the bus, and we were kind of iffy about going there, but we decided that we were too hungry to not.

Turns out, Roosters is the Polish/European version of Hooters.
Regardless, it was an entertaining night.

This was one of my favorite days here. First of all, we got to sleep in until about 8 (which means i got up at quarter after seven, which really isn't sleeping in at all). Then we wandered around the town. We saw the oldest cathedral in Zakopane (Which was completely wooden and sweet). It was really little and it didn't look like a lot of people could fit in there, but there was a nice wooden version of the Our Lady picture, which was very interesting to me, because there's a copy of it in almost every cathedral we visit.

We also saw a really neat cemetary, that had famous Zakopanians buried in it. There were two that went to the Olympics in Berlin. One barely escaped the Nazi's and one was killed in Auschwitz, which was depressing. But our guide told us that there is a festival for him here every year, which is cool. We also saw the statue of a "Sad Jesus," which is native to this part of Poland. My roommate Maggie let be borrow batteries for my camera, so now I can take more than five pictures a day =D.

Then, we hopped on the train (as someone else posted) and rode up the mountain (and recieved the finger from a little girl who had to walk up the mountain, hahahah.)

The mountain was beautiful, and Jeremy, Dr. B, Kristin and Kimmy went on a gravity tobaggon (sp), which was totally worth Five Zloty. Anyway, I couldn't figure it out at first, but the guy showed me had to press the lever all the way down (though I couldn't really reach because I'm so short) and the it picked up. It was kind of like going down a giant waterslide with no water. It was so beautiful.

After, we wandered around and saw a St. Bernard, which was adorable. And we wandered around on top of the mountain for a while, then left. When we returned to the base of the mountain, we got a lot of free time, and I bought really cool presents for a lot of people.

Anyway, this is really long, so, All is well and we return to the states in less than a week.

<3 Donna

Heading southward

We are currently in Zakopane, practically as far south as one can get in this awesome country. Although I was rather sad to leave behind the central area and the incredible fields of canola plants that dot the landscape with yellow, this area is beautiful as well. The mountains are incredible. The town is located in the Tatras, which are part of the Carpathians, and our hotel has a spectacular view of them. This morning we rode a very small train-type thingy up to the top of one small mountain, I guess you could say, to take in the view from the top, which was incredible. The whole experience is surreal, and I can't believe that we have less than a week left here :(

To backtrack a little bit, we had a great time in Torun. The city is beautiful, and I like that the Old Town is small enough to not be overwhelming but is cool enough to hold your attention. And it was so great to be able to sit down by the riverbank to read or chat with friends. I actually met a really nice British guy down there and gave a drawing rock to his little boy (I overheard the little guy looking for one and I happened to have a rock in my backpack), who was one of the cutest little kids I have ever seen. En route to Zakopane we stopped at Poland's smallest national park that has many really neat rock formations. We wandered along the road looking at them and actually discussed Yugos and how they're probably gonna win the Car of the Year competition for 2009 (yes, that would be sarcasm :) along the way. We also spent the night before last in a castle in Uniejow, which is one the quaintest little Polish towns you could ever hope to see, with a lovely garden/park surrounding the castle. Once we leave Zakopane, our last stop will be Krakow, with day trips to the salt mines and to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Chels and I are also going to meet her cousin Piotr, which is pretty exciting. She'll be the first one of her family to have met him. Hope all is well . . .
~Kate

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

Torun...yup we go here!

Today we are in Torun, we had the afternoon free to wander the city and discover some of its hidden treasures. Kate, Maggie, Jeremey and I walked the whole town in a couple of hours stopping at some highlights. Our first stop was the ruins of a castle which seperated the new and old towns in the 15th century. The castle was demolished when there was no longer a need for the seperation. Now the ruins can be visited and roamed. There were mostly just the base fo walls left over but the underground crypts and passages are still fully in tact. We had quite the adventure down there. Also fully in tact is the sanitary tower (or the tower where you can use the toilets, which is seperate from the rest of the castle and drains into the moat/river), which we climbed to. After exploring the ruins, we wandered the city until we happened up the university. A huge gothic building surrounded by a cast iron fence and inside were georgious gardens with aeromatic trees and flowers. We wandered into the yard of the univeristy and peeked inside the main building. It was old! We think that Elmira College is old...1855 and all. Well this place so beat that. At anyrate we moved on and finished our mini tour with the leaning tower which was a disapointment because the tower itself was covered with scaftholding and tarps. Quite a pitty, we could see the door though and it was clear it was crooked. That was Torun in a nut shell, tonight we are getting perogies and then tomorrow we are starting our journey south.

Chelsea

Lungfish, anyone? :)

So here I am in Poland, having an AMAZING time with some awesome people! As you can read about in everyone else's blogs, we have been busy seeing and doing various things. This morning we started out with a leisurely boat ride to Westerplatte, the peninsula where the first shots of WWII took place. Outnumbered by the Germans, the Polish defended themselves for 7 days, impressing even Hitler! After learning about the history of Westerplatte and seeing a magnificently sculpted monument, we made our way back to the bus.
We made a quick stop at the hotel, then we had free time. Kristin, Amanda, Sarah, Kimmy, Jeremy, Maggie and I began with a trip to the aquarium near our hotel. Kimmy, Sarah and I were particularly excited, as we have been feeling very science deprived! (Don't get me wrong, we are loving the trip!) As we made our way through the aquarium, we saw many types of water-dwelling species. So I'm admiring a yellow tang, and I hear Sarah say "Woah! What is that?" I look at the sign, and it is definitely a lungfish! (We learned about these in comparative anatomy during term one, and we had no idea what they looked like. Lungfish are the link between fish and amphibians... very important in the transition to life on land!) I have been ridiculously excited about this all afternoon! It definitely provided me with the science fix I needed! (We will provide you with a lungfish picture when we can get the dang thing to work... I am bad at technology related things...)
Later, we walked along the beach and around the town, taking in as much as we could. After dinner, Kristin, Amanda, Kimmy, Sarah and I sat and people watched for about an hour and a half. This provided us with a chance to experience the Polish culture as it is today. Although we've had the opportunity to tour museums and try all sorts of food, simply sitting and watching people gave us a feel for true contemporary Polish culture.
It was a great day! Tomorrow we head for Malbork to tour a medieval fortress of Teutonic Knights, and then to Torun, where we'll be staying for a couple of days. Time for sleep!

Jess :)

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise

Yesterday we got a tour of the Tri-City area (Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot). As part of the tour we got to go to the Baltic Sea beach and put our hands/feet in the water (it was quite cold). Then we took a walk out on the pier so we could get a good look around.

After the pier we got to taste water from the Baltic. According to locals, you make a wish and then take a sip of water with your left hand and your wish will come true and you will live a life that will be 'healthy, wealthy, and wise'.

Then a little while later we went to St. Mary's Basilica. At the Basilica, locals also say that if you put your right hand on the rivit, and a wish, and look through the crack of the door into the church your wish will come true and your life will be 'healthy, wealthy and wise'

Looks like we should be doing pretty good from here on out in life according to those living in Gdansk, Poland :)

We are off to Torun tomorrow morning!

-Over and Out
Jeremy

. . . and we saw Russia

Hello all, how goes it? Things here are continuing to go swimmingly. We have left Warsaw and have spent numerous hours driving through the beautiful Polish countryside, gazing at hundreds upon hundreds of fields of bright yellow canola plants (which, as I have been informed, are used to make cannoli . . . I may have thought that at one point but have since been corrected). I can literally stare out the window for hours on end looking at the landscape and be perfectly content. Not sure whether that's good or bad but regardless I like it :)

We did an overnight in a smaller city called Ketrzyn and while there were able to see (amazingly) the Wolf's Lair - Hitler's hidey-hole in the Polish forest during WWII and also the site of the famed 1944 von Stauffenberg assassination attempt. The idea that we were just going to the forest where that took place was pretty exciting for me, but the fact that we were actually going to be able to see the ruins was mind-boggling. I have seen the actual spot where he set the briefcase down. How amazing is that? And then our guide actually let us go inside some of the bunkers, including Hitler's and Goering's. When she said that I almost had a fit, although she mistook my excitment and astonishment for fear and asked, "What are you so scared of? What could happen?" But to actually go there and do that was surreal. And we saw the building that used to be a hospital that the men wounded from the blast were treated in. I have pictures of Hitler being inside that building and shaking their hands. It was just incredible.

The next day we left Ketrzyn and continued to drive north with a stop in Fromborg. We visited a really interesting cathedral that was built gothic but because of something having to do with the invading Swedes the interior was destroyed and rebuilt in the baroque style. So it's a really interesting contradiction. We climbed to the top of the tower and had an amazing view of the surrounding countryside. And from the top, we saw Russia - just a little strip of barely visible land on the horizon, but it was Russia, and we saw it. Pretty sweet.

Currently we are located in Gdynia, right on the Baltic Sea. We've had an excursion to Gdansk and sort of met the Archbishop of Gdansk which was pretty cool. We have also been extremely privilated to view the world's largest piece of wood (Bill Geist, anyone?) and had dinner in a Kaszubian village and danced with the people who ran the restaurant. Good times, good times. Tomorrow we are heading out to have adventures someplace else . . .

~Kate