Our travels throughout Poland illustrated the stories of this country's history over multiple centuries to the current day; evidenced the spirit, pride, and resilience of the Polish people in the face of many adversities; and highlighted the cultural and ecological evolution of this area of Central/Eastern Europe.
We arrived in Gdansk on June 20 and soon were standing on the doorsteps of the Lenin Shipyards. Before us was a towering memorial to the shipyard workers who died during their resistance to Communist control in 1970. A decade later the Solidarity Movement was established as the first, independent trade union in a Soviet-bloc country. Soviet control of the government disintegrated in 1989 and Lech Walesa became the first popularly elected president of Poland in 1990.
On June 22 our tour group went to Westerplatte, a military site on the north side of Gdansk located on a small peninsula jetting out into the Baltic Sea. Chris and I learned that at this location, on September 1, 1939, the Germans fired the first shots of WW II. A small Polish garrison valiantly withstood the German Wehrmacht for a week. We walked through the ruins and the cemetery of this impressive memorial, realizing that our parents' generation fought in all the ensuing battles of this monster war.
Subsequently, our tour bus took us to Malbork Castle which served as the headquarters of the Order of Teutonic Knights during the Middle Ages. Construction of this Gothic castle began in the 13th century. It was severely damaged during the last phase of WW II; however, it now stands in the 21st century as an intricate and majestic restoration of its original design and character. Malbork Castle was one of several destinations on our tour listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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| Malbork Castle: Variations in the tone and shade of brick portray the destruction and restoration of this Castle. |
While in Gdansk, we discovered this city to be at the crossroads of ancient and contemporary amber trade routes and several of us climbed to the top of the tower of St. Mary's Basilica, whose construction began in the 14th century and which is regarded as one of the three largest brick churches in the world.
On June 23 we headed to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Here we witnessed the "heart and soul" of the Polish people as narrated in its history, governance, and culture. Its meager origins dating to the beginning of the 2nd millennium, Warsaw rose to be a city of prominence. Yet, with massive devastation inflicted by the Nazis, Warsaw scarcely existed at the end of 1944. In the course of our sightseeing around Warsaw, we saw the site of the Jewish Ghetto (1940-43), read about the Ghetto Uprising (April-May 1943), visited the memorial to the Warsaw Uprising (August-October 1944), and witnessed Changing of the Guard at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier. We admired the total rebuild of this city to its original plan and beauty. In my mind one structure that epitomized the recovery of Warsaw is the Royal Castle. Obliterated in 1944, its reconstruction started in 1971 and it was reopened to the public on August 31, 1984. This restoration of the castle to its original grandeur resulted from the foresight, pennies, and volunteer labor of Poles at home and abroad.
On Sunday, June 25, we left Warsaw for the mountain resort of Zakopane. Along the way we stopped at the Shrine of the Black Madonna in Czestochowa. Its history as a monastery and fortress dating back to the 14th century, we encountered multitudes of pilgrims spilling out within this confined space. Here we celebrated our Liturgy in a small chapel and also viewed the unique icon of the Black Madonna in the Chapel of the Mother of God.
Zakopane is located in the southernmost part of Poland, nestled at the base of the Tatra Mountains. This mountain range provides the border between Poland and Slovakia. On June 26 we ascended the mountain via gondola to the summit of Mount Kasprowy Wierch. Here, while Chris stayed close to the gondola station, I walked a path on the crest of the mountain, sometimes climbing over rock formations to proceed farther. As I looked to my right, I peered into Slovakia; as I looked to my left, I peered into Poland. At one point I met up with Fr. Roch on the path. As we stood around a boundary marker, we had our picture taken - one foot in Slovakia and one foot in Poland.
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| Hiking along the summit of Mount Kasprowy Wierch in the Tatra Mountains. Slovakia to the right; Poland to the left. |
On the following day we took an excursion into the heart of the Tatra Mountains National Park to see Lake Morskie Oko. The sight of this lake among the surrounding mountains was stunning. More unique was our access to this lake site. We went up the mountain for four miles in a two-horse drawn wagon; then we walked the remaining 1.3 miles to reach the lake lodge. Of course, we reversed this distance in the same manner as we descended the mountain. What really impressed me were the large numbers of young families and other groups traversing this entire distance on foot.
On June 28, as we journeyed to Krakow, our day included two stops of international significance. The first was Wadowice, the birthplace of St. (Pope) John Paul II. We walked through his original home which was now transformed into a high-tech museum. We gained a greater intimacy with Karol Wojtyla's life including his family, his love for the Polish people, his courage in the face of Communism, his devoted service to the youth of the world, and his committed shepherding of the Catholic Church.
The second stop consisted in a disturbing look into a period of diametrically opposite human behavior - Auschwitz! Called a concentration camp, a labor camp, or a detention facility, what it was were gas chambers, furnaces, crematoria, execution walls, separation, starvation, and deprivation. Chris and I somberly walked through the barracks, respectfully stepped across the outdoor spaces used for roll call, sadly viewed those personal belongings removed from the detainees, and prayerfully looked into the solitary cell where St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Polish Conventual Franciscan friar, was starved and killed by lethal injection. A large picture that haunted Chris and me after we left Auschwitz was that of a boy who held the hands of his two younger brothers as they walked into the concentration camp.
Our spirits were lifted on the afternoon of June 29 when we were entertained by a Polish dance troupe while we ate lunch at Halit Restaurant in Wieliczka. This troupe incorporated several individuals from our tour group into their dance routines. Chris was one of these participants. After lunch we all walked over to the Wieliczka Salt Mine where we descended 380 wooden steps into an enormous subterranean mine. Underground salt extraction in this locale began in the 13th century and continued into the middle of the 20th century. What captured our attention as we spent a couple hours passing through this mine's corridors, shafts, chambers, and chapels were innumerable, delicately sculpted salt artifacts, statues, and bas-reliefs of religious significance. These artistic works were amazing. The crown jewel of this mine was the Chapel of St. Kinga where even Pope John Paul II, while still Cardinal, celebrated Mass.
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| Altar of Sacrifice positioned in the center of the Sanctuary in Chapel of St. Kinga within Wieliczka Salt Mine |
We spent two full days, June 29 and 30, in Krakow. This city is known for its well-preserved medieval core and Jewish quarter. Its old town – ringed by Planty Park and remnants of the city’s medieval walls – is centered on the stately, expansive Rynek Glówny (market square). This plaza is the site of the Cloth Hall, a Renaissance-era trading outpost; and St. Mary’s Basilica, a 14th-century Gothic church. Chris and I heard the bugler play the hejnal, a traditional Trumpet Call, from the tower of St. Mary's Basilica. We purchased Christmas gifts for our daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren at the Cloth Hall. Chris finally found a shop off the beaten path in Krakow where she bought some beautiful Polish yarn; I went with her to ensure she would not become lost. I enjoyed an ice cream cone at Wawel Castle, the Polish version of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey, while Chris wandered the grounds taking pictures. Krakow was spared destruction by the Nazis because Hitler envisioned this city to become the site of the General Command for his intended German Empire.
We completed our journey through history on July 1 when we flew out of Karkow back to Charlotte, NC.
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