Um, ok, so...: Easter in Poland

I spent the long Easter weekend in Krakow, Poland with my friends Lisa, Kim and Margot...it was a fantastic and memorable holiday.

In Search of my Inner Polish Jew
Why Poland, you ask? Well, Lisa and Margot both come from Jewish Polish families. My grandmother (Dad's mom) was a Polish Jew. So, we were all pretty curious to visit and see what Poland is like. Lisa is not Polish, but hey, it was an equal opportunity visit -- not entirely a hertiage journey. ;) Actually, it turned into a true multi-faith holiday. We went to Catholic mass (none of us are Catholic), toured synogogues, and talked a whole lotta religion....it's kind of hard not to do that there.

Krakow

Krakow is truly a beautiful city. I think I might have been expecting something darker and gloomier, but the wide cobblestone streets lined with broad, pastel-coloured buildings and varied architecture make it feel light and lovely. The city was seemingly spared from the destruction of WWII and Soviets -- unlike Warsaw (from what I hear). It is a small, clean city and completely walkable...very comfortable to see in a long weekend. Margot and I stayed at the very nice, modern Radisson; and Kim and Lisa stayed at an older hotel called the Amadeus. Both were centrally located and offered nice amenities. We had a full breakfast included with our stay each morning which was a bit of a treat.

All city views are dominated by Wawel Hill, which boasts a glorious cathedral and castle -- both in meticulous contindition. There are a few nice parks scattered around which are green and clean. The market square in the city center is actually the largest in Europe -- it is great for sitting outside at one of the many cafes to people-watch while enjoying a glass of wine (we know this from experience).

We found the people in Krakow to be extremely friendly. The food was also really, really yummy....we never had a bad meal. Easter evening, we ended up at a pizza restaraunt which may have been some of the best pizza I've had, New York included! The first night, we tried a traditional beetroot soup (usually served with meat dumplings in it) which was pretty tasty and quite filling.

I didn't find Krakow to be too annoyingly touristy either -- it seems to be a bit of a best-kept secret (though travel buffs are now dubbing it "the new Prague") .... hopefully it will stay somewhat quiet and retain its charm. Oh, and the exchange rate is great...Poland is still on their own currency, the Zloty (or "Shlotzki" as I kept calling it) and it is one of the few travel bargains left in Europe at 1 Zloty per .32 cents USD.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine (or "Middle Earth," as I call it)
After arriving on Friday afternoon, Margot and I took a tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine, about a half hour from Krakow. The mine is/was one of the world's 8 wonders (I thought there were only 7, but whatever) and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. What this means is that the place is REALLY, REALLY BIG.

J.R. Tolkien visited the mine once and it inspired him to model a few scenes in "The Lord of the Rings" series after it. So that should paint a good picture for you of what it's like.

The mine has been worked for 900 years, and was at one time one of the world's biggest and most profitable industrial establishments. It was, at a certain point in Poland's history, responsible for a third of the country's economic revenue.

Nine centuries of mining in Wieliczka produced a total of 200 kilometers of passages as well as 2,040 caverns of varied size. The tourist route starts 64 m deep and ends 135 m below ground. In the depths, there are several chapels; a giant ballroom-like space where concerts, weddings and events are held (complete with a salt rendition of DaVinci's "The Last Supper"); small salt-water lakes/ponds; tons of elaborate sculptures and chandeliers all made out of salt; mineshafts; a mining museum; a bar and restaurant; and a sanatorium (still in use) for people suffering from asthma and allergies -- this is becuase the air down in the mine is perfectly pure and temperate-not too cold, hot, dry or humid. Wild, huh?

While I never felt clausterphobic or panicked while below (the place is just too huge), there were a few scary touches that I tried not to dwell on. Like the creepy fake people positioned throughout the caves to help illustrate life in the mines (some of them moved). It was like a low-budget "Pirates of the Carribean" ride at Disney gone horribly wrong. There was also a cave where sculptures of the Seven Dwarfs had been positioned (although some of them looked like the yard gnome from the Expedia ads). And they were all illuminated by flashing, different coloured lights aglow under the stalagmites. Our guide said, "This is for the kids!" but I found it to be something out of a demented nightmare and actually had to look away out of fear the dwarfs would come to life and kill me. But then again, I used to have horrid nightmares from watching "The Wizard of Oz" (that movie still sends a shiver down my spine....ugh!)

The final scary moment was the elevator thrill-ride back to the surface (if "elevator" is what you call the seemingly unstable, dark and drafty box the size of my NYC closet that took us back up). All I remember is being crammed into darkness with a lot of other people, and then grabbing onto Margot for dear life when I thought we were about to freefall. But other than that, it was all good, a VERY interesting tour!

Oh, and our tourguide was a hoot (I took her picture. Completely nerdy of me, but I couldn't help myself) -- very funny and entertaining. I noticed all the guides are very fit, which is no surprise considering all the walking they do every day!

Eating my Way Through the Easter Market (the picture to the left is a table of cheeses!)
Near the city square, there was an Easter market set up with lots of food stalls (most notably polish sausages, saurkraut, cheese and perogies); traditional Polish ceramics (I bought a vase and a bowl), painted wooden Easter eggs (bought lots of them too, as well as some ceramic eggs -- I really am turning into my Grandmother); and varied Easter crafts. While shopping, I sampled some of the hot string cheeses (available in a pretty array of forms and shapes) and some perogies stuffed with mushrooms and cabbage.

Holy Saturday and the Polish Easter Basket Tradition
I read about a wonderful Polish Easter tradition that I got to see first hand...it is really special. Actually, it is a tradition that (I assume) the Easter Basket comes from! On Holy Saturday, everyone brings a basket to their church filled with symbolic Easter foods, including meats, cheese, cake, horseradish, bread, eggs, salt, and a lamb made of sugar or butter. The baskets are decorated with ribbons and sprigs of greenery. The priest blesses the food/baskets and the foods are eaten on Easter day. (You can read more about it at http://www.phcwi-madison.org/tradition.htm)

So, as we were driving out to Auschwitz on Saturday, we passed lots of people throughout a few rural areas walking down the road to their churches -- men, women, teens, children and babies in strollers...all walking to their churches with their baskets in hand. It was so sweet! I can't wait to adopt the tradition myself and create Polish Easter baskets for friends and family next year!

Another tradition is to decorate the graveyards -- we passed a church with a lavishly-decorated graveyard, decked out in flowers galore. I think that's really nice too!

Auschwitz-Birkenau
See my (upcoming) separate blog posting on our tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau...it warrants it's own story.

Kazimierz
We also spent a lot of time in Kazimierz, the old Jewish Quarter of Krakow (which actually used to be considered a separate city all together). At one time, Kazimierz was a major cultural center for Jews in Europe, drawing people from all over the world. Sadly enough, there are now only about 140 Jews left in Krakow. Can you beleive that?! But the neighbourhood is extrememly rich with history and you can still feel the energy that makes it so culturally special and a reminder of Krakow's colourful past.

The neighborhood is still very cool and a nice place to spend time wandering around, with lots of Jewish (and other) restaurants and some newer hip bars. One of the bars we stopped into there is called "Singer," with old, antique Singer sewing machines on all the tables. A very dark, cool and smoky place with a packed house and loud music....very cool vibe. We also visited an old beautiful Jewish cemetary, and a couple notable synagogues -- the "Old Synogogue" being the largest in Poland and the third largest in Europe...it is now an impressive Jewish museum, which we toured on Monday before leaving.

For anyone who has seen the movie "Schindler's List," many scenes were shot in Kazimierz since the neighbourhood has not changed much since the 1940s. Oskar Schindler's factory was located nearby in the Zablocie district of Krakow. His factory was considered a Nazi sub-camp, but became a haven for many Jews -- sparing them from the nearby gas chambers of Auschwitz. Many scenes from the film were actually shot in the town. The factory is still standing today, although we did not have enough time to take a look. It is soon going to be converted into an art museum.

Mass at Wawel Cathedral
On Easter Sunday, we all went up to Wawel Cathedral to attend Easter mass. The church was packed. We caught the very end of the high mass, and then sat through a shorter mass that followed without music. It was entirely in Polish, so we didn't understand anything being said, but there were certain prayers that Lisa and I (the two Christians of the group) were able to make out -- the peace, baptismal prayers, and the Lord's Prayer (we think). The cathedral is beautiful, but I must say those marble floors are very hard to kneel on with no cushions -- hard core those Polish Catholics! ;)

The Cloth Hall and My Sweet New Nativity Set!
In the middle of the city's market square, there is a giant yellow building called the Cloth Hall that is dubbed "The oldest shopping mall in Europe." Inside, there are varoious stalls selling crafts, trinkets and souveneirs. Lisa and I were both taken in by natural, hand-carved wooden nativity sets we found, so we each bought one. They are so sweet -- I'm in love with mine and can't wait to display it next Christmas! It will no doubt always be attached with special memories of Poland each year when I set it up. I also bought a lovely necklace with green, jade-like stones in it....the exchange rate really made shopping a treat.

Final Thoughts...
Between being a hard-hit victim of WWII and the breakaway from the Soviets, Poland is a country that has seen terrible hardship and destruction. But it has so much to offer, even as it struggles to rebuild its identity. I loved it there and can't wait to see other parts -- it's a special place.

More Pictures...