Memories of Krakow and some Polish trivia!

**This is the second blog today. The previous is about Auschwitz but don’t read it if you’re faint of heart
Krakow has been a WONDERFUL experience. It is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. As I mentioned earlier it is very near the Auschwitz camp and very close to some very old salt mines as well – but the jewel of Poland is really the city of Krakow itself. Much of it largely survived the wars and the architecture is nothing but stunning. There are churches at least every two blocks and they range in age from 900 to 300 years old. They are incredibly ornate and beautiful and wow! If you go – plan on 4 days minimum. I wish I had an extra day there.
The Wawel Castle complex is amazing too. Its oldest parts date back over 1000 years old. It is one of the biggest castle complexes I’ve ever seen – the Royal Castle, the Cathedral, and the other buildings make this an amazingly stunning complex. It was the cities defenses for centuries and for over 5 centuries was the seat of the Polish monarchy. The old downtown is spectacular as well. It is surrounded by the Barbican – the old medieval walls that had moats and kept the city intact for so long.
The people – amazingly nice and helpful. The public transportation – easy, efficient and cheap. The food – well there goes my diet! The hostel was fun too. It was convenient and cheap. And Polish beer – pretty darn good. I was telling my mom on the phone that I had kielbasa for lunch and she asked – “What is that?” “Polish sausage,” I told her, “but in Poland they don’t call it that!” The national sport of Poland in case you were wondering is vodka-drinking. They’re pretty good at it too. There are just as many “Alkohole 24” stores as churches – maybe more!
The flight here wasn’t bad either – out of my over 40 flights in my life – the single softest landing I’ve ever had and the service on the plane was so helpful. I’m on the train back to Warsaw now. I’ve got two nights there before I head to London to see my friends there. I’ve heard Warsaw is nice – but not as genuine as Krakow. So much of it was destroyed in the wars that it was rebuilt to look old – but it isn’t old anymore. This is just one of the constant reminders of the issues Europe faced with war after war after war. Poland has one of the most beautiful, fascinating and sad histories.

I read up on it before coming and if you haven’t – do. Here’s some tidbits for you!
Did you know that for over 35 years Poland was Europe’s largest country?
When the King of Poland married the Queen of Lithuania combined with a couple of wars in the next 5-10 years, the kingdom engulfed what is today over 15 countries!

Did you know that prior to the end of WW1, Poland had not existed on the map for over 100 years?
The European states of Russia, Germany and Austria made secret deals to break up Poland and take the pieces. It took them three tries at partition and nearly 100 years to be successful, but Poland disappeared for 120 years and didn’t re-enter until after territory was re-allocated after the end of WW1.

Did you know Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Poland’s most revered freedom fighter against invaders in the early 1800s learned how to take unorganized farmers and fight against a well-equipped, trained and funded European army and win by being a hero of the American War of Independence first?
For his bravery and dedication in battle, the Continental Congress promoted him to the rank of brigadier general and naturalized him as a citizen of the U.S. Afterwards, he took what he had learned back to Poland and it was largely his efforts that made the partition of Poland mentioned above take so long. The built a memorial for him in Krakow and they built it with the dirt of his many battlefields in both Poland the U.S. Kosciuszko’s Mound as it’s called is a combination of Polish and American soils. Because Poland previously included modern-day Belarus and Lithuania, he is a national hero of those countries as well.