And, That’s a Wrap!

It’s funny how quickly coming home turns off vacation mode. As excited as I always am to get home, I always feel a bit lost when I first do. Life has gone on without me while I’ve been away. I always come back wanting to pick up where I left off but it never works that way. It hasn’t since the first time I went away for a year, 25 years ago.

In order to soften the transition a little, I decided to do a highlights post. I’m sure I’m missing some stuff, and it’s possible some stuff is in the wrong order. I’ve chosen photos from each stop on our 2019 Baltic Adventure-From Tallinn to Krakow. I have included five (I changed it to 10- 5 was too few!) photos from each stop… what a challenge!

Tallinn-KGB museum, Hot dogs and fancy dinner, Linen and wool (the Amber Sisters), reindeer tartar

Riga- big Eastern European hair!, the Art hostel with the weird bathroom, the KGB “corner house”, the Cat house, the Three brothers, the Central market, a Depeche mode bar, the National library with their amazing book project, the Jewish ghetto museum, Stalin’s birthday cakeKaunas- top floor of the bus, Bus accident / near miss, blue cheese nuts, Fancy dinner!, Lots of statue pictures!!, music festival, donuts everywhere, beautiful Main Street, church up the hill with a wedding, funicular down the hill, fire at the pizza place

Vilnius- our place in Uzupis right by the angel statue and barber, and our favourite wine bar (Wine and Smile), I had a great bedroom (with the only bathroom) and poor Nina had a sofa bed in the kitchen, kitschy park by the river, Uzupis republic, statues with a prop, big majestic main square, the university garden, wine and charcuterie at wine and smile, teaching Nina to take a selfie, walk to the cemetery, tons of weddings!, a rainy day, Museum of the occupation, my window seat, the jam, egg, prosciutto and cheese breakfast sandwich, Hill of three crosses, delicious spinach cake, Hare Krishna, Jewish ghetto, jumping in a dress and showing my undies, Ukrainian orchestra in the squareMinsk- not quite first class on Belavia, super chatty taxi driver and scary arrival at air bnb, stinky entrance/stairwell to apartment but good location, Minsk is massive!, more pictures with statues, Soviet style cars and buildings, Island of tears, jumping and I hurt my foot, the amazing Metro!, National library (weird shape), Cinema, hip area with burger bar (burger with marinated cherries!), bought a walletLviv- room with a bathroom in a wardrobe through the main bedroom, apartment right on the square beside cherry wine shop, more statues, dinner at shark tank restaurant, amazing street performers, strudel shop next door, less impressive graveyard, cherry wine, last dinner together, early morning wander in city, House of scientists, learning to pose for pictures, picture with wall of flowers, mini-train around townWarsaw- Airbnb across from National Museum, wander on Main Street, Chopin concert in the park, pierogis and palace/castle, Stalin’s penis and A Rainy Day in New York, Warsaw zoo, Metro, food hall, graffiti walk, Neon museum, longest most frustratingly good day

Gdańsk- room with a mural at Hostel 22, Shipyards!!, Philly cheesesteak sandwich, Dluga Street (Main Street), St Dominic’s festival, massive mural project in Zaspa, ring and bracelet and amber ring, Museum of World War II, so much walking, flight struck by lightning, emergency landing in Warsaw, bus from Warsaw to KrakowKrakow- wandered Royal Way, organ concert, herring burger, Jewish ghetto, zapiekanka, Legal graffiti park, Schindler’s Factory Museum, tuna sandwich, Auschwitz- Birkenau, Pizzatopia, Wawel castle and cathedralUntil next time! Safe travels, everyone! xo

 

A Day to Remember

You can only do so much with so few days. I have to keep reminding myself that. I wanted to make sure I could get to Auschwitz on this trip and that proved much more challenging than I obviously imagined. But I was booked for Saturday.

My tour wasn’t until lunchtime so I had been trying to decide how I’d spend the morning.

I love getting up early and wandering the city. It was so different being in the main square with just a few people. It would have been a great time for some statue photography as most are empty and lonely. In all the cities we have visited this trip, we have remarked st the cleanliness. Getting up early you get to see why these cities are so clean. There are masses of working people, mostly older people and in some cities, mostly women, it seems, washing, scrubbing, picking up garbage etc., before the city wakes up again.

It was Saturday and so the Jewish quarter would not be a smart stop as it was the sabbath. I decided to head to the Legal Graffiti Park which was cool but rather underwhelming.

Schindler’s Factory Museum was right around the corner. I had changed plans that morning deciding that a visit might be too much, with Auschwitz in the same day but when I saw the line and realized I was still right on time to go in, I decided to seize the opportunity.

It really was a great museum, creating an atmosphere and a mood and giving you a chance to imagine what the years leading up to the war and then the years during would have been like. And what a story! I loved the personal accounts and narratives.

From there I walked home, grabbed some lunch to eat in my apartment, showered and prepared for my afternoon. It was going to be a hot one!

I was expecting a big coach bus to come pick me up, wondering all the while how it would fit down the narrow streets. I was surprised when Wojtek showed up in his shiny BMW and asked me to sit in the front seat because we were picking up two more people. I figured he was taking us to the coach bus, but instead he drove us the whole way to Auschwitz. Air conditioned and comfortable- I was not complaining.

I had debated doing a tour on my own vs with a guide. In many ways I’m glad I did it with the guide. Our guide was great. Just enough information, nothing too dramatic (as if you’d even need to embellish!) and just enough time to think and process. There were two young Italian boys in our group who were translating everything for their parents. I thought that was amazing because in translating and explaining and answering their parents questions they were processing the information much more than I think some of us were at times. You could see at one point that some people were tuning out the information, hearing what she said but not really listening to the words. These boys couldn’t do that. Their parents had so many questions. I think they’d be able to give a great recount of the history they learned.

Auschwitz I was what you would expect- shocking and horrific and unimaginable. While at the same time, it’s completely unexpected, unimaginable. One little boy exclaimed to his mom at one point, “It’s just like the movies!” meaning that the recreations he’d seen in movies made the setting seem familiar.

Some of the rooms I just couldn’t enter- there was a room with hair from the prisoners.

Once they disembarked from the train, their possessions were taken to be stored “for them” in a place they called “Canada”. This was the place where the most valuable items from prisoners were stored.

According to the literature by Tadeusz Borowski – it was named after Canada as it was regarded as the richest country in the world at the time.

Things left in “Canada” were destroyed as the Soviets advanced through Europe. The Nazis preferred to burn them than to have them taken by the enemy.

Birkenau was immense. And so much of it is gone. I don’t have a lot of words for today. I’m still processing everything I saw.

I’m glad I went. It was a somber, reflective day but as keeps getting repeated, it’s a story we need to keep repeating and talking about so it doesn’t happen again.

World War II and Lightning Strikes LOT Flight #LO3501

You won’t often find me in galleries and museums. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them or find them interesting, but I always want to be outside exploring rather than inside looking at a painting or sculpture.

This morning I decided to go to the Museum of the Second World War. It had a lot of great things written about it and I had a lot of time to just spend in the city so it seemed like a great option.

First off, it was built only a couple years ago and I loved the layout and design. I rented an audio guide, wanting to just have my ears plugged and be able to wander at will, and I’m not sure it was the best way to go. Not surprisingly, it was a lot to take in. The narration was not dramatic but the images and the reality were overwhelming. I had to take a break after room 5. I thought it a good time to come and start recording some of my thoughts.

My parents were born in 1944 and I often think about my grandparents and what it would have been like not only to live during that time of such uncertainty but also to have young children. What kind of future could they possibly have when there was such devastation and destruction all around? I think of the strength and resilience of the men and women of that time. They must have still held on to hope and faith- I find that moving and admirable. What stories and experiences they lived and survived!

The picture of a scene in winter in Leningrad was created by pages from a calendar. It lasted almost 900 days (871 to be exact)

There are tons of videos from and about the war on display but also current ones of personal recounts. There were so many stories of parents and family members going missing, without a word, and their loved ones only just finding out their fate in 1990.

For 10 years after the war had ended, there were still unspeakable crimes being committed against people suspected of collaborating with the Germans and favouring the fascist.

At the end of the exhibition, there was a short film about how though WWII ended, for Poland it wasn’t really over until 1989 when the Iron Curtain fell and a freer Poland finally emerged. But the tour ends, discussing some of the conflicts of the 21st century and asking the question- Could the Second World War really have taught us nothing?Am I ever glad I came to the museum when I did. I followed advice to be here first thing. I got in as soon as it opened. When I finished 3 hours later, the line up was outstanding!

Lunch at a local Polish kebab joint (surprisingly delicious, with lots of cabbage!) and then I headed to the Uphagen house to see what a house on the high street would have looked like inside, back in the day. It was a bit disappointing to be honest as the entire second floor was dedicated to local jewellers and designers and looked more like a store than anything.I wandered around to kill some time, and caved and bought an amber ring. I was hesitant and unsure if I’d buy one this time as I bought two when I was in Prague (remember the Murray mint, Paula?) and I never wear either of them.I forgot to mention that the St Dominic’s festival is on right now. It’s held every year in Gdańsk.

From the Explore Gdansk website:
From St. Dominic’s Fair in Gdansk is one of the biggest commercial open-air events in Europe. It was established in 1260 by Pope Alexander IV, and since then has been annually organized in the streets of Gdansk – with the short period of a break during and after the Second World War.

There were booths with vendors and people everywhere. I am guessing this is why the Old Town has been so packed and busy all day every day.

Anyway, as I wandered and window shopped, I happened upon a ring I actually really liked and can see myself wearing, so I forked out the cash and splurged.

Had a good chat with the front desk clerk at the hostel as he had tons of questions about Canada. I am always happy to share information and my love for my country and I happily invite everyone to come visit.

It’s been a funny couple days weather-wise with little pop up storms where the rain will come pelting down for two minutes, sending everyone scattering and poor shop keepers scrambling to bring all their wares inside. Then the sun will shine. Or it’ll be blazing hot and sunny but suddenly you’ll feel the rain drops.

On our way to Krakow this evening, our plane was struck by lightning. I was not sure what the chances are of that happening, but I was trying to see it as lucky! Only problem was we immediately changed course (or shortened our course) and were on our way to Warsaw. I’ve already been to Warsaw so this was not super exciting news to me. When anyone asked, the steward just kept apologizing and saying safety was first priority which is why we needed to land and get checked out. I think the hub for LOT airlines is Warsaw. Fingers crossed for an extra empty plane kicking around that we can transfer into and get back on our way to Krakow. I have plans!

The second we landed and the “seatbelt” sign went off, people were up and things got loud. I am not sure what the excitement was as if didn’t look like as we were going anywhere any time soon.

Eventually they took us off the plane and I followed the crowd. This was a time when not speaking the language put me at a real disadvantage. I had no clue what was happening and the angry people who spoke Polish were too loud to be heard over so my questions went unanswered. Finally I heard the words bus and McDonald’s and using my wonderful seductive reasoning skills, I figured we were supposed to gather our luggage and meet there.

A taxi driver approached me and asked if I needed a ride. I flippantly commented only if he were heading to Krakow. That attached him to my side, talking to me about how he could give me a receipt and I could bill LOT and if they wouldn’t pay then I could sue. I haven’t had a lot of experience with problems with flights but I definitely know not to hope to charge an airline and get compensation.

He finally left me but then two other taxi drivers gathered a small crowd from our flight and were trying to convince them of the same plan. They would take the money that it would cost to hire the coach buses and drive us in vans to Krakow. They were talking to the right people because voices were rising and people were getting more agitated.

In the crowd of unhappy souls, I found two women, perhaps a mother and daughter. I think their names are Yola and Anya. They were from the US but spoke Polish and very kindly translated everything for me and updated me on what was going on. I asked if I could latch on to them and they were nice enough to let me. I tried to keep my distance a bit, not wanting to be a pain, already feeling better with some understanding of what was happening.

We were boarded on a bus (it’s amazing how panic causes people to forget all courtesy and manners), given sandwiches and bottles of water and left to sweat. Seriously. We were on the bus over an hour before they turned it on and started the air.

They took attendance which was funny to watch. As a teacher, I was so tempted to take charge as I watched the very mild-mannered, soft-spoken young guy trying to get people to listen while he searched for names on the really long list of tiny printed names.

I think the thing I find most frustrating about situations like this is lack of communication. It wasn’t the airline’s fault we were struck by lightning. It wasn’t anyone’s fault. That part doesn’t upset me. I also agree with safety first. I am glad they landed us and made us get off the plane if things stopped working (I think it took out a light or something). But making us sit, with no information and no update for an hour and a half… it’s no surprise people were getting upset. It was 25 degrees outside and there was no air circulating. Regular updates- that’s really all it would have taken to diffuse some of the upset. Not all, and not the unreasonable people just looking for a fight, but the rational ones like me who would be appeased. 🙂

We had two small children on our bus who played, loudly and often shrieking with laughter, the ENTIRE 4 hours. Some people were not impressed. It made me think of all the positive things that came out of this lightning strike:

1. We didn’t crash and no one was hurt.

2. I got to take a bus in Poland- haven’t done that before.

3. We had two children who were happy and playing the entire bus ride. I can only imagine what it would have been like if they’d been unhappy and crying.

4. I had an empty seat beside me- I had a chatty Frenchman beside me on the plane.

5. I met Yola and Anya- my translating queens!

6. I actually had something to blog about that might be a little interesting other than what I ate that day (a sandwich and a bottle of water- didn’t take pics. Sorry!)If all went well and according to plan, (though I’m not sure whose plan), we should have been in Krakow around midnight. It was a good thing I was used to not getting a lot of sleep as I would just be able to go to sleep whenever I finally arrived and get up at a normal time and start the day. It would be just like any other day of my travels. Only this time, there was a little more adventure than normal!