kalembasinpoland

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 14: Warsaw to Home

The usual morning routine: Wake up, breakfast, finish packing up. We dropped our bags down at reception and headed out to walk Nowy Swiat and have coffee and eat. I thought that maybe a scooter ride down to Łazienki Park would have been nice with the amount of time we had. However, the weather started to look threatening. So instead of getting so soaked in the park (much further from the hotel), we got slightly damp on Nowy Swiat. I left my umbrella in my daypack at the hotel.

We stopped off for coffee across from Holy Cross Church. Then we both went in for a few minutes. I showed Rose where Chopin’s heart is immured.

Now what else to do? Rose searched and found a used vinyl and cd shop very close by. So we headed there for a bit. Around the corner from the vinyl shop is Winnie-the-Pooh street. Seriously. I loved the floor-to-ceiling stacks of old radios, many with Polish and European cities on the dials.

Then it was walking the rain, cutting through small parks behind the buildings to sit down for lunch. I remarked how America sucks at signage in cities, especially heavy tourist areas. The sign right outside the cafe points out everything in short walking distance. Even in a smaller like Tarnow, there are signs leading you to the tourist places. After lunch, while I finished my tea, Rose went back to the vinyl shop to make a purchase for a friend.

Then it was the short walk back to the hotel to get our bags and the Uber to the airport.

30 minutes later at the airport.

We did self self-in again. So first use the kiosks to print out the boarding pass; then security where they made me take off my Dad’s Rolex. (I never had to do that before) Keep you shoes on but that off your belt. Ok, whatever.

Then a stop to get water before clearing boarder control, then to the gate. Now just wait. Flight should start boarding in less than an hour.

Since I already have my border stamp in my passport saying I left Poland: Do zobaczenia.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 13: Toruń

Up at 7 AM. Breakfast at the hotel where I spilled my second cup of coffee on the table. Rose and I grabbed electric scooters to get to the train station to go to Toruń. There are several train stations in Warsaw and this train left from Warszawa Gdańska. It would have been a 50 minute walk, and we didn’t want to get up that early. On the scooters it was about 20 minutes with the added benefit of less pedestrians on usually Nowy Swiat.

10 years ago when Dad and I took the high speed train from Kraków to Warsaw it left on time and arrived on time. This time the trains have been late due to track work. We travelled first class to Toruń. That meant we had a compartment with six assigned seats. Only one other person was in there with us. There was also power for the charging of devices.

It is a 2 and a hour train ride to Toruń Głowny station. The old town is located across the river so we took scooters across the bridge.

Toruń was founded in the 1200s and the old town is small. Red brick and gothic architecture dominates the old town. We decided to get a coffee and we found a cafe right across the street from the birthplace of Copernicus. Flocks of tourists and gaggles of Polish children on school field trips stopped in front of the house and listened to their docent/teacher’s history lesson.

From there we wandered around the old town. I popped into this church and that church. We walked past the old city gates and defensive walls.

Eventually we decided to eat and sat inside where there were less people. We were hoping it would be cooler but often the inside temperature was the same. The only difference was less contribution from the sun. We were often walking on the shady sides of the streets.

One church that was impressive was the church were Copernicus was baptized. It had the feel of a small cathedral-especially width and depth. But the height was massive-a gothic design with ribs in the vault and intricate designs.

More walking after lunch and then lody-actually I think it was gelato this time. After a few hours in Toruń we scooted back to the train station and waited about an hour for the train.

The train was a pale facsimile of the one from the morning. Same layout and same car and seats-but no plugs for charging devices and worse: no air conditioning. It was beyond toasty in the compartment. This time we were joined by a man who read a book most of the time and an IHM nun from Warsaw. We had some broken conversations in half Polish/half English. She was visiting family in Bydgoszcz and was returning to Warsaw.

In order to keep from passing out from the heat, Rose and I took turns standing in the corridor with our heads out the train window. The top speed of this train was and it was mostly in the shade so that helped. The train was about 30 minutes late in getting to Warsaw-track work I assume. There were places where they were laying new track.

Scooters back to the hotel before a short walk around to Nowy Swiat to find something to eat. We settled on sushi. Yes, sushi in Warsaw. While I enjoy Polish food, we both needed a break. With our late arrival we were eating dinner past 9pm. As I type this it is 10:30pm. I’m sitting out on balcony of the room trying to keep cool. We are not only close to busy Nowy Swiat, but Warsaw University and still at this hour people are out on our side street.

Tomorrow we head home. Flight is 4:40pm Warsaw time.

Dobranoc

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 12: Warsaw

So I like this B&B/hotel: Rooftop bar, garden courtyard, self-serve espresso machine, quirky designs, Chopin concerts daily, we even have a little balcony where I’m writing today’s entry. The only thing I wish they had: air conditioning. These days happen to be the warmest days on the trip-in the mid 80s. I don’t do well sleeping warm, even with a fan. Oh well. I’m sure this would be an even better place in the shoulder seasons.

Hit the snooze this morning and eventually made it to breakfast. After a slower breakfast with a few coffees, we made our way to the Chopin Museum a few minutes walk from here.

The museum has plenty of memorabilia and Chopin’s last piano. There are listening stations and other interactive exhibits.

We spent about an hour there before walking up Nowy Swiat-New World street. This is the traditional Royal route to the old town and the palace.

We stopped at a Costa Coffee for water and coffee. While Rose was sitting outside waiting, I walked into Holy Cross Church. This is where Chopin’s heart is buried in one of the pillars. Now I’ve see all his pieces-I’ve been to his grave in Paris. I walked over to a side altar and lit a candle at the request of a friend. I was wondering when I would cry on this trip-well it was there. The side altar had an offertory box to St. Jude Thaddeus and attached to the altar rail were dozens of small brass plaques thanking St. Jude for answered prayers. I’m not sure if it was thoughts of Dad that got me choked up or the sight of those plaques. Anyway, I went with it for a minute or two and then went outside and back across the street where Rose was sitting with our coffees.

After our coffees we continued our walk. As typical of me, I popped into this church and that church. We made our way to the Rynek and walked over to the Curie Museum. This small museum is located in the house that Marie Skłodowska-Curie was born in. I picked up a shirt for Xavier since his request of a piece of her laboratory wouldn’t work. Lol (That’s in Paris and radioactive)

We needed to end and as it started to sprinkle we just picked a place to eat. Rose is still working on regaining their appetite.

After a long lunch we went back into the old town, where I went into the basilica of St. John the Baptist. This a famous Warsaw church which was mostly destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising and rebuilt. Many famous Poles are buried in the crypt: the last king of Poland, author Sienkiewicz, and musician and President, Paderewski.

We then grabbed scooters back to the hotel to rest.

About an hour or so later, I headed out to see a bit more of the non-touristy places in the old town. Eventually I walked over to the Warsaw Uprising Museum and it’s monument depicting citizens rising out of the sewers to fight the Nazis. A short distance from there is a park that contained markers in the ground showing where the wall of the Warsaw Ghetto stood.

Then as the overcast skies started spitting, I grabbed a scooter back to the hotel. Even when you are on a scooter (trying to be careful of pedestrians and weaving around) try to look up and see what is on the buildings. Case in point: It seems Joseph Conrad and Karol Szymanowski once lived in the same building. Or right across from each other.

A Chopin (and others-as the poster says) concert tonight next door. After that Rose and I will get something to eat.

Tomorrow we take a day trip to Toruń.

Do zo.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 11: Zakopane, Kraków, Warsaw

Well no one else got sick last night.

We left Zakopane a little earlier than my anticipated departure time of 8am. I needed to leave time to fill the gas tank before returning the car. The road between Zakopane and Kraków is infamous for being busy and mostly two lane. They are building a modern autostrada, sections of which are finished. But on the two lane you are at the mercy of many trucks with very few places to pass. At one point one massive dump truck exited the road and another joined from the same construction site. “Trade one for another,” says Rose.

Once the road opened up we were going anywhere between 100 to 120km/h. Not exactly German highways, but it was an improvement. Then approaching Kraków I took a wrong turn and wound up going into Krakow from the west. It still got us to into the main city the same time as the ‘correct’ way. Filled up the gas tank at the closest station in the city and dropped off the car.

It was a short-ish walk to the train station with our heavy bags. We wanted to drop off our bag in a locker before heading into the city to grab a bite to eat. However the baggage lockers only take coins and we didn’t have enough. I even tried to make change at several places with no luck. I walked around trying to find a solution while Rose waited at one of the baggage lockers. For country that has credit card usage at practically everything, including vending machines, the fact that the lockers still only use coins is ridiculous. I found a checked luggage room at the back of the station that is manned and costs more than a locker. However you pay when you pick up and-surprise-you can use karta kreditowa. So off with the bags and then a slowish walk through the Planty to the rooftop bistro we visited last week.

Rose with a recovering stomach went for the ‘student’ porridge with fruit and nuts. I guess because the bistro is on top of the music academy and the porridge must be one of the cheaper items for breakfast. We sat in the shade, or I should say I sat and Rose lounged on the couch waiting for the porridge to cool down. It was a leisurely meal. Lol.

Afterwards we went out on the Rynek and went through the cloth hall again before getting in line for some lody-ice cream. Then back to the Planty for shade.

The temperature in Kraków was approaching 80. We returned to the train station, got our bags and headed to the platform for our Intercity Express Pendolino to Warsaw.

We took the ‘fast’ train to Warsaw. However even though it was super smooth, we seemed to slow or stop several times on the trip. I was wondering if it was track work. Drinks and snack are included the price of our first class ticket. We both zonked out for a little bit.

From Warszawa Centralna it was a 15 sweaty minute walk to our B&B. We are staying at the Chopin B&B which has a rooftop bar and evening Chopin concerts. We rested before we headed out to meet cousin Marzena Niesmiertelna for dinner.

Rose and I used the electric scooters to go to Hala Koszyki-a former shopping hall that has been converted to a food hall with sit-down restaurants and food stalls. Rose’s choice for the first sizeable meal since Sunday night-a cheeseburger. Marzena came with her partner and their 17 month old. Afterwards we walked back to Centralna where they headed home and us to our hotel.

That’s all for now. Do zo.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 10: Zakopane

Well, today didn’t go as planned. I got up around 5am to go to the bathroom and discovered Rose had fallen ill around 2am-struck by either food poisoning or the stomach flu. By the time I found out Rose had basically emptied their stomach. The typical stomach timing: up every hour to throw up. So we went back to sleep as much we could. The villa here has a separate bedroom and Rose was in the living room. Around 8 we were both awake and I started searching for a way to cancel by pre-purchased and timed entry tickets to the mountain cable car. No such luck. I went downstairs alone and had a small breakfast including grabbing some bread for Rose for when they felt better. I came back to the room and decided it would just be a day of sitting balcony with a cup of coffee and the iPad.

This Villa is located very close to the entry to the mountain Kasprowy Wierch. Rose took a shower and asked if I was going to go to Kasprowy. I said I didn’t want to leave them alone. Rose commented there’s no point of both of us sitting here and Rose wanted me to go and take pictures with their camera. Rose was just going to surf the web and rest. I said that I would go but my concern now was timing. The tickets were for 10am and you are supposed to be there 20 minutes early; plus it was a 30 minute walk there. You can’t drive down there as they were rebuilding the road which is generally for buses only. The time this discussion happened: 9:35.

I found that the scooter we used last night was still in front of the villa. So i hopped on and made it to the point were all the other scooters were parked-in about 10 minutes. Then it was a fast walk/half jog another 600 meters to the line.

Managed chaos at the entry line to the cars. They seemed to be behind schedule and people who just bought their tickets on site were getting in before others. Eventually I boarded about 10:05 and started up the mountain. The ride is divided between two different stations.

About 15 minutes later we arrived to the top of Kasprowy Wierch at just under 2,000 meters. That’s 6,500 feet for us Americans. The weather of course is cooler, at least 15 to 20 degrees cooler. And the weather changes constantly. It was cloudy when I arrived, but then the sun came out for a while. I hiked along the crest for about 20 minutes, taking photos for Rose and myself. I checked with Rose several times-yes there was cell service. Then slowly returned and poked around the station. The ticket I bought was a round trip one with a timed departure as well.

When I came down the mountain, I walked back to the villa. I couldn’t get the app for the scooters to work properly. I was eager to get back and check on Rose. Rose was doing ok, keeping water down and no more trips to the bathroom. I said that even if Rose wanted to attempt the trip, all the people crammed into the cable car and the motion would have probably made them feel worse. I joked how the trip would have been named Kasprowy WIERCH (said with a vomiting sound).

After that I decided to scoot way over to the other side of town to see the villa that composer Karol Szymanowski lived in. It is a museum, but like most museums in Poland it is closed on Monday. I then scooted halfway back to grab something to eat for lunch-all the time praying that I don’t get whatever Rose has.

I returned to find Rose had eaten the bread roll and their stomach handled it. We both took naps. If we both eat it will be small and later. Pray that there are no other medical issues. I need to be ok tomorrow as we are driving back to Krakow to return the car and catch the train to Warsaw.

I’ve discovered a small coin laundry steps from our villa so off to wash some clothes.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 9: Rzeszów to Zakopane

A day of driving. But first, I did manage to take a walk around Rzeszów last night. I walked through the Rynek, past some churches and fancy looking buildings, through a park with a lighted fountain. People were sitting on benches watching the light show. Then I walked past the old palace walls before turning around and stopping in a Zabka convenience store to get some snacks. Went back to the room and went to sleep.

This morning after breakfast at the hotel we hit the ‘open’ road. I put open in quotes because the more back country are much slower than the autostrada and loaded with more traffic. You drive through town after town, crosswalk after crosswalk, speed bump after…you get the idea.

First stop about an hour in was the town of Brzozów. Say that three times real fast. This town is the birthplace of my maternal great-great grandmother Matilda Wnęk Sikora. I stopped in the old cemetery and didn’t find any Wnęk graves, but I did find several Bielawski graves. That was Matylda’s grandmother’s family. Perhaps the Wnęk family came from another town in the vicinity.

Next was the town of Haczów and its famous wooden church. I visited here with Dad ten years ago. This church is a UNESCO landmark. It is one of the biggest wooden churches in Poland.

Then it was a short-ish drive to Kroscienko Wyzne where Matylda’s future husband Jan Sikora was born. Jan’s father was a servant in the manor house here. The house has been resorted and available for rent for parties, weddings, etc. However the gates were locked and I couldn’t find a way to get in to see the building.

From there was another hour or so to just past Jasło and the town of Osobnica. This is an ancestral town of fellow church musician and friend, Steven Janco I took pictures of the church. A few kilometers down the road is the ancestral home of the Budziak family in the town of Cieklin. Allen Budziak’s great grandfather was from here. He was born about a kilometer away in the next village, but there was no church there. They worshipped in Cieklin. I went to the cemetery and took pictures of the more recent Budziak graves.

Then it was the 2 and half hour ride to Zakopane. A long winding ride through the low mountains and lots of hairpins before coming to a vista that overlooks the Dunajec valley and the lake that is on the other side of the Pieniny mountains-where Trzy Korony is located.

From there 20 minutes to Zakopane and our room at the Villa Nosal on the edge of the forest. After checking in we walked 20 minutes to dinner-fondue.

Then a walk down the touristy pedestrian street. Our villa is at the top of the hill and everything was down. So for the way black we grabbed another one of those electric scooters that we used in Kraków. However, only one of the two that were on that corner had battery. So Rose and I both hopped on one and rode it back towards the villa.

Tomorrow we take the cable car up to the mountains for some hopefully clear sightseeing and short hike.

Do zo.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 8: Spie, Cisów-Las, Rzeszów

Writing from our hotel room in Rzeszów. We are both tired. We spent most of the day with family. As they did last time, they welcome us to their home. This morning we drove to Rzeszów to pick up our translator (and long-time genealogy researcher) Maciej Orzechowski from the train station. From there it was a 40 minute drive to the parish church in Spie. There we were going to meet my 3rd cousin Maria Puzio Furtak. The Puzio family is from Dad’s maternal grandmother’s family. We arrived a bit early and so as a promise to many of the Spie parish descendants in the USA-especially the various Facebook pages, I started taking lots of photographs of the graves in cemetery. Spie served many villages in the 19th century.

Maria arrived as well as her brother Stanisław. Stanisław ‘found’ me on the internet many years ago when searching for Puzio information. He saw a picture of his grandfather that I acquired from grandmother. We went to the ‘hometown’ village of Cisów-Las. First stopping in the same cemetery where Maria and Stanisław’s father and uncle are buried, then on to Maria’s house.

Maria’s home-updated since I saw it 10 years ago-is located where my great-grandma grew up. As I said 10 years ago, being on the family property is the true pilgrimage and high point of the trip. This land has been in the Puzio family for at least 6 generations.

In addition to Maria and her kids, Stanisław and his family, aunts and cousins soon arrived. Some came for a while to meet us and have a bite to eat before they had to leave. Some others came later and joined us. There was a lot of showing of pictures on my iPad. I often pulled up the genealogy website to explain how we are all related. And then there was all the food and drink.

Cheeses, cold cuts, kielbasa, bread, salads. Coffee, cake, homemade alcohol, Sopilca vodka, some other alcohol I didn’t taste. You get the point.

We were there for about 6 hours. Lots of photos were taken. I took some video of the family explain who was who in each picture. It was something to see how we have all aged in 10 years. Cousin Olga is like I remembered her-a loud and fast talker. Her aunt Irena is warm and give lots of hugs. She said to make sure I call her daughter in Canada and arrange to meet. Aneta, now married with three kids, was attempting to keep the children entertained and help in the kitchen. Maria and her mother were busy serving. All the chaos of several people speaking Polish fast and loud. I’m sure Maciej was doing his best to translate. I could grab a few words now again and reply in bits and pieces of bad Polish without all the declension of the nouns. Some of the family new more Polish than others. Another cousin spent 22 years in the States before returning to Poland. She took the opportunity to use as much English as she could. She would do the literal translation of ‘przepraszam, prosze’ to interrupt and ask questions-‘excuse me, please’.

Group photos were taken. A few of us went for a short walk so Stanisław, who was carrying both of his granddaughter, could explain the original size and property the Puzios owned. We returned to house and talked more and more food was brought out. Eventually people left and few of us remained and continued to talk out in the yard.

We left and went back to Spie to photo some more graves. Then on to Krzatka, the birthplace of my great grandfather Jozef Nowak. I took a picture of the land where his father lived.

Then it was a short drive to the original parish church in Majdan Krolweski. This was the Nowak family worshipped in the 19th century before the church in Krzatka was built in the 20th century. Maciej and I went into the church, where prayers were being said before the evening Mass. Maciej has done much research with the records of this parish over the years, but never had the chance to visit the church. We then went into the cemetery and did some photographing before we headed back to Rzeszow.

After dropping Maciej off at the train stations, we made our way to the hotel. We walked out to the Rynek, which is less than 100m from the hotel. There are many restaurants. I was slightly hungry, Rose had no interest in food after eating most of the day at Maria’s. The Rynek was jumping with people and I said I need some quiet time after all that family. We came back to the room for me to write the blog and decided if we get hungry we can snack in our room and get something later.

So for now from Rzeszow, I’ll wrap up.

Do zo.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 7: Zasów, Frysztak, Tarnów

This morning began with coffee and croissant at the kawarania Sofa up the street here in Tarnów. We then headed out of the city and took the autostrada towards Zasów, ancestral village of the Kalembas. On the way we drove through the village of Głowaczowa, the birthplace of my friend Katie’s Dad. We took a picture of the sign and headed the 10 minutes to Zasów. We were meeting friends Nick Palmer and Jarek Kozal. I have known Nick for almost 20 years, as an editor of his music at WLP/GIA. Jarek and I share ancestors from the parish of Zasów and an ancestral name. We are still trying to get the connecting confirmed through parish records. Jarek wanted to see if he could get the parish priest to get to the records. I wanted to get more photos of the graves at the parish cemetery. Rose and I arrived early and started to capture graves of different Kalemba descendants that I didn’t know about 10 years ago.

We also went to the location of the house where my great-great grandfather Jan Kalemba was born.

Nick and Jarek arrived and after chatting, we headed over the church. No one at the parish office and as usual in these rural churches the outside doors were opened, but the inside glass doors were locked. So you could see in the church-just like it was 10 years ago. We poked around and eventually decided to go get lunch.

We drove to the next biggest city, Dębica and ate a Italian restaurant. We came up with the game plan for the day. Rose and I were going to visit other towns, mainly the Malecki town of Frysztak. Nick and Jarek were going to investigate the other villages around Zasów. We would then meet up in Tarnów for dinner.

Rose and I made it to Frysztak and went to the cemetery. Last time I was here, Dad and I did fast search and could not find any Malecki or Wesolowski graves. This time Rose and I spent more time looking. Rose found three Malecki graves at the top of the hill amongst older graves. Two individual Malecki’s and one family grave with a larger statue of the Virgin Mary. The grave was marked Family Malecki, so I’m not sure who and how many are in there. The grave was more overgrown than others. We did look for other surnames of descendants and photographed those as well.

We then headed over to the town Rynek, because I know that my Malecki ancestors lived in an typical kamienice (multi-story apartment) over looking the Rynek.

After that we headed the hour back to Tarnów. Jarek texted and said they were talking to a woman in the cemetery in Zasów, who informed them that the priest should be back around 5pm. She said you have to find the older priest, because the young one doesn’t know much about the parish yet. So we detoured back to Zasów-passing through Głowaczowa again.

The younger priest, who is new to the parish and has no knowledge of the records or ancestral families of the parish, was the one to open the church. We did get to walk in and look around as the priest was setting up for Exposition and Benediction.

Nick and Jarek managed to talk to the town drunk in the main square, who also said the young priest doesn’t know anything; that we would have to talk to the older priest-confirming what the woman said in the cemetery. Again we went over to the parish office with no luck. We then left. On the way I stopped off at a village north of Zasów to see if I could find my great-grandfather’s sister’s grave. Family history has her owning land in that village and buried either there or the next town over. We found her husband. She might be buried there as well, but the cemetery is newer and the way the name plaque was placed on the stone made us believe her name was there and they put his on top of hers. They tended to bury the spouse on top of the previous grave. She might have been one of the first buried in that cemetery, I just don’t know for sure.

Then a 40 min drive back to Tarnów for dinner with Nick and Jarek. We ate at the restaurant Dad and I ate at 10 years ago. After our meal I showed them around the town, including the Jewish historical places. We were able to pop in the cathedral as a contemporary Catholic concert was going on right outside next to the cathedral. We parted ways and they headed back to Krakow.

Back in the apartment to write the blog, pack for tomorrow and rest. We pick up Maciej Orzechowski, ‘famed’ genealogy researcher and translator at the Rzeszow train station and head to visit cousin Maria Furtak and family.

Dobranoc.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 6: Trzy Korony to Tarnów

Here’s a tip for you. When staying in a schronisko in Poland, make sure you bring two things: towels and noise cancelling devices. We made do without the towels as we figured we’d shower when we got to Tarnow. But it would have been helpful to have a hand towel at least, instead of using one of my t-shirts. Schroniskos are bit more hostel than hotel. And since they are generally made from wood (after all they are in the mountains), the closing of doors and voices is rather amplified, especially from the next room which is full of teenagers. Wood just seems to make sound waves travel easily.

When we were just settling in after posting last night. The attendant knocked on my door and asked me which car was mine. In my limited knowledge of the Polish language, I thought she was asking for the license plate number so they know which cars belonged in the small parking lot. No, she was asking if I could move my car over a few spots, because the auto bus that was next to the building did not have enough clearance to park unless I moved. So a bunch of ‘przepraszams’ and ‘rozumiems’ and I moved the car in the rain.

We then settled in with our respective noise cancelling devices and slept until 7am. This morning the Trzy Korony peaks and much of the valley was enveloped in fog. I suggested we ditch the hike and maybe visit a museum in Nowy Sącz. Rose said that they like walking in the fog. So after a hearty breakfast, I said let us take an hour walk up the Trzy Korony trail. And after using my broken Polish again (idziemy na krotki spacer. Możemy zostawić tutaj samochód?), to ask if we could leave our car for a bit after we checked out. We went on our hour long nature walk. And up the gorge we went, stopping a lot to take photos.

We beat out the tourists again. Because as we were coming back down, groups of Polskie teenagers and their adult chaperones were heading up.

Then it was an hour drive or so to the city of Nowy Sącz, for lunch and my favorite pierogi. Green (spinach dough) pierogi uzbeckie: Uzbecki style with vegetables and sour cream. I don’t know exactly what veggies are in there, but they are savory and wonderful.

Then another hour drive to Tarnow, where we will be staying two nights. Our apartment is in the old town. As I type this, it is 8pm and the bells of the cathedral, located meters away, just rang. We arrived into Tarnow, which again proved challenging. Last time with Dad is was negotiating the one way streets to the Rynek (and avoiding the Garmin telling us to drive UP the Wieklie Schody-Great Stairs). This time is was the differences between Plac Wałowa and regular old Wałowa, which is one of the pedestrian-only ring roads that our apartment is on. Delivery vehicles and people who park in the courtyard here should be fine driving the 200 or so meters on the forbidden road. However, I turned on the Plac Wałowa (thank you Google) and had to wind around a few streets again after getting honked at.

First was getting some coffee. We stopped at only remaining tram car of Tarnów that has been converted to a cafe.

We then did some walking. Went to the remains of the old synagogue, the Rynek, the place of deportation of Tarnów’s Jews to Auschwitz and then came back to the apartment.

Rose did some crosswords and rested. I went back out again and visited two of the wooden churches in central Tarnów and the cathedral.

Then it was the washing of laundry in the bathroom sink and off to dinner. Italian tonight-a change of pace from the pierogi and potato pancakes of yesterday. However, I had a beer with raspberry syrup-very Polish. Back at the apartment and settling in for the evening.

Tomorrow off to the ancestral villages of the Kalemba and Malecki families.

Do zo.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 5: Morskie Oko

Up at 6:30ish to drive the 2 kilometer to the parking lots for Morskie Oko. I slept fine. Rose says my snoring kept them up. The beds were right next to each other. We get to have separate rooms tomorrow when are in Tarnów.

I wanted to get started early on the hike for two reasons: one, the weather looked favorable until the afternoon and two, less tourists. Taking my naprapath’s advice and not stress my knee more. We decided to take the horse carriage up and walk down.

It is 8 kilometers to where the horses stop and another kilometer or so on foot to the lake. After dismounting the horse carriage we grabbed a cup of coffee at a roadside snack bar. We continued on foot, mostly uphill, to the lake. We got there with very few people around and had some nice solitude.

The shades of green are many. The only sounds you hear (except the people) are the birds and the distant waterfalls. There is another lake above Morskie Oko which has waterfalls that empty into Morskie Oko. Above that it is another 3 hours to the top of Poland’s highest mountain, Rysy. Morskie Oko means Eye of the Sea. The water is expectionally clear and cold. When the sun hits it you can see many shades of blue and green.

We went halfway around the lake (about an 30 mi hike) and started walking up to the next lake, mainly to see the waterfalls.

While walking around the lake, the quiet was broken by a helicopter. I am not sure if they were searching or rescuing. It flew from peak to peak and then seemed to hover near the mountain shelter. Halfway up we came back and headed back to the mountain shelter (schronisko in Polish) to eat. By this time the viewing area around the schronisko was full of people. And more were arriving as we headed in to eat.

I decided to try the traditional beer with raspberry juice. I could get used to that. After late breakfast/early lunch, we began the hour and 45 hike downhill back to the car. My knee was fine but my right leg was tired and a bit cramped. We only stopped briefly to use toalety and take pictures of another waterfall.

Back in the car and as Rose napped, I made our way to the village of Sromowce Nizne. It is at the base of the Three Crowns (Trzy Korony). This is in the Pieniny Mountains.

The exposed limestone peaks look over the Dunajec River valley. We are staying at the schronisko at the base of Trzy Korony tonight. We arrived as the rain started, but it seems to be finishing as I type.

Our room here is small but has a larger balcony that not only looks over the Dunajec valley, but the Three Crowns themselves. I’m not sure if are going to want to do the 90 min hike up Trzy Korony tomorrow. I’ll check the weather and our legs. This hike is much shorter, but more steep. Off to find some dinner at the restaurant downstairs. The sun returned for dinner so we ate outside.

After dinner, I started a walk down to the town, but with rain threatening I turned around before reaching the foot bridge that crosses the river that is the boundary with Slovakia. Soon after turning around a long thunderclap echoed around the valley. The rain became stronger soon after I made it back to my room.

Time now to settle in and relax.

Do zo.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 4: Wieliczka to Slovakia

OK, we both didn’t sleep well last night. I woke up in a sweat and then my ridiculous hypochondria set in and kept me up for another two hours. Our apartment only had thicker duvets on the bed, with no separate sheet. So sleeping was warm for me. I like a cool room. My overthinking brain was riddled with COVID worries and how to handle being sick in Poland. It all made me a mess. Rose has no idea what caused their insomnia. (Rose doesn’t mind a warm room.) Eventually fell back asleep, but the 7:30 alarm left me wanting more sleep.

We left the apartment with our Rick Steves bags on our back and slowly walked to pick up the car. It was about a 15 minute walk. It was a quick pickup for our Toyota Carolla (automatic, not manual) and we were on our way to the salt mine in Wieliczka.

A 10am tour of the famous salt mine, that was in operation for 700 years took about two hours with a lunch break. The miners carved almost off the statues sand relief carvings that are the highlights of the mine. The St. Kinga Chapel is the highlight of the tour.

After leaving Wieliczka via some back roads we eventually found our way to the latest autostrada heading south. Before we hit the Slovakian border, I took a short detour to take pictures and explore the cemetery in the village of Rzepiska. This is an ancestral village of my friend and colleague, Michael Silhavy. I took some photos of headstones with his ancestral names.

Then across the river to the next town south to stop at a Bacówka-a traditional cheese making hut. The regional cheese, oscypek, is made from sheep’s milk. In these wooden huts the milk is cooked in copper kettles and then washed in a salt brine. After that it is smoked. I found this particular cheese maker on YouTube. Not many women do this job and she was featured in several videos. We purchased some cheese and strawberry jam.

Then just a few kilometers to the Slovakian border and our hotel. I decided to stay here because it was very close to the parking for the Tatra Park and the hike to Morskie Oko. The parking lots can fill up early, so the closer, the better. Also the view from our hotel balcony looks over the Slovakian Tatras. This hotel was built in the 1970s as a semicircle and was almost exclusively used by government and business officials in the communist era.

It had a wellness center with a swimming pool, saunas, steam rooms, and cooling pool that we used after our check-in.

Dinner was at the hotel restaurant. We went for buffet style. The barszcz (borscht) was different from the Polish version. It had potatoes and cabbage. I had the halusky, which is the traditional soft noodle in these Slavic countries. I topped it with beef in a tangy, creamy horseradish sauce.

After dinner, a brief step outside for some photos. Rose also collected some of the wild flowers to press in books.

Back to finish blog and get to bed early, since we both need it and we want to get an early start tomorrow.

Dobranoc.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 3: Kraków

Another ‘early’ rise this morning. After coffee and Facebook, and while Rose was sleeping in, I took another walk to visit some churches. I first ventured over to St. Ann, where Jan Kąty (John Cantius) is buried. The church was closed for cleaning, but you could still see inside.

I then walked back to St. Peter and Paul to try and locate the new National Pantheon in the crypts. Penderecki is buried there. However, I could not find where the entrance was and no one was around to help. It is probably somewhere behind the main sanctuary.

Right next to that church is the tiny church of St. Andrew. This church building was built around 1200 and sheltered people during the Tatar invasion in 1241.

I then headed over to the Dominican church where St. Hyacinth is buried in a separate chapel. I found it unusual because the chapel is located up a flight of stairs overlooking the main transept.

Chapel of St. Hyacinth

Coming back to the apartment, I passed by the American consulate. There was a line forming of citizens each with stacks of papers in hand. I assume they were either applying for residency or work permits in the US. Who knows? The Poles still are attracted to the US. This came up at our conversation last night with Ula and her family. As a US citizen, I am attracted to many aspects of Polish and European life. Rose has expressed their distaste for things American. The grass is always greener, as they say.

I came back to the apartment and woke Rose up. We then headed out for a late breakfast at a rooftop cafe located at the Academy of Music building. We walked in and a jazz band was playing in the hall next to the entrance. We waited for the elevator to the 6th floor, because the 66 steps to our apartment are enough daily exercise.

A very leisurely breakfast on a cooler, but mostly sunny day. Rose and I chatted with Sebastian briefly. Afterwards we started an aimless stroll over to the west side of the old town. Eventually we went to see the quirky building designed by Teodor Talowski, who was described as the Polish ‘Gaudi’. Talowski was born in the same village as great-grandfather Wojciech Kalemba. I’m not sure if I would label his work with the Gaudi label. He did have a sense of humor in his design. His house was called ‘pod Pająkiem’ - under the spider.

He also designed the house of the singing frog.

From here it was a long enough walk back toward the old town that we grabbed the electric scooters and made our way down the Planty towards the river. I wanted to ride by the river and around Wawel towards the Skałka church. This Pauline church was founded on the traditional site where St. Stanisław was martyred in 1079.

The things you find in the Polish churches:

Not only the bear, but looking through a program of the latest Sunday Mass, I found that the choir sang a setting of Ubi Caritas by Jim Biery. Jim has published not only with GIA but with a number of other publishers. I just edited a new piece of his with GIA and have played a bunch of his organ music. I sent him a photo of the program.

We then grabbed new scooters a block away and headed back up the Planty towards the apartment. Time to rest our feet and work on this blog.

After a short break, I headed out to the Rynek again to try and find the entrance to the rooftop cafe of the cloth hall. After I overheard some Poles asking someone where it is and with my limited Polish and their hand gestures, I followed them up and sat in the sun and enjoyed the view-and a flat white and szarlotka.

More expensive than the coffee this morning, but I figured you are paying for the view. Worth it once.

Afterwards, I made my third attempt to find the crypt in St. Peter and Paul. Success this time. The crypt was open. The entrance is right in the middle of the main aisle in front of the altar. I descended and found the Penderecki’s sarcophagus.

I had the opportunity to hear him conduct the CSO about ten years ago. He was born in Dębica, not that far from where the Kalembas lived. Back to the apartment to consult Rose on what and where to eat.

We settled on pizza in courtyard with lots of greenery.

Then a short Planty walk and search for souvenirs in the cloth hall before returning to the apartment.

The evening stroll beckoned and decided to combine a scooter down to the river and a walk up to Wawel and back to the apartment. The setting sun illuminates the bricks and gold of Wawel.

Tomorrow we get the car and head to the Wieliczka salt mine.

Do zo

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 2: Kraków

A good night’s sleep for both Rose and myself. I was surprised to find myself awake around 6:30. Poland, being in a higher latitude than Chicago, has earlier sunrise times. The sun also set last night around 8:45.

While Rose was sleeping, I went out for a walk around the old town. I figured it would be a good time to get some photos with less tourists around, especially on ulica Florianska which was the old royal route through the city.

After hitting the bankomat, I grabbed a sesame obwarzanek for Rose and me. Getting back to the apartment, Rose was awake and making a coffee from the tiny Nespresso machine in the kitchen. A coffee and an obwarzanek and off I went to Wawel cathedral for Mass.

I sat on the same back bench with St. Stanisław’s reliquary behind me. (I took these photos after Mass was done.)

The 10:00 Mass has organ and the men’s choir in the loft. It was tenor heavy - the first tenors were a bit strident. Ha. Three priests and four deacons at Mass-and incense and plenty of lacy surplices. It was easy enough to follow along with the Order of Mass. I wasn’t sure which Eucharistic Prayer the president was using, because I didn’t feel like shuffling through my book to try and find where we might be. The assembly of 60 or so, (It is a small cathedral, compared to Holy Name in Chicago.) sang along to the opening hymn and the Our Father. The Kyrie, Eucharistic Acclamations, and the Lamb of God were choral only. Everything in Polish-no Greek or Latin. The genuflecting of the assembly is long and profound. No kneelers as one would expect in European churches. Some received on the tongue, some in the hand. I decided to ‘make of our hands a throne’ and received in the hand as Cyril of Jerusalem and Steve Warner say. LOL.

I took a few minutes after Mass to walk around the cathedral, light a votive in memory of Dad, and take a few photos. Some of the photos were probably not allowed. Many of the handful of worshippers stayed around to pray at several of the altars and look at the royal sarcophagi, so I managed to have less eyes on me while taking a few photos.

Canopy of St. Stanisław (completed in 1671)

Tomb of Kazimierz the Great (d. 1492)

Crucifix of Queen Jadwiga (c. 1380)

After leaving the cathedral, I found Rose and we briefly walked around Wawel hill before heading towards Kazimierz.

Kazimierz is the traditional Jewish neighborhood. Its focal point is the Plac Nowy. Today there was a flea market of sorts occupying the square.

In the middle of the square is the round building with stalls that sell the traditional zapienkanka-a toasted baguette with sauce, cheese, and mushrooms. However, there are many variations. I lamented that all of them come with mushrooms. (I’m not a devotee of the fungi). I did see one stall that said you could have them without the fungi. Maybe I’ll scoot over there for lunch tomorrow.

We popped into a restaurant on a side street for lunch.

We took a short detour down an alley that was used in the filming of Schindler’s List.

From there is was a 25 minute walk across the Wisła river to Schindler’s factory. It is now a museum documenting the war and Jewish life in Krakow.

Rose’s back and my feet were achy. So Rose suggested we take electric scooters back to our apartment. On the way (once we figured out how to get them started) we stopped in the main square that was in the Jewish Ghetto. The empty chairs memorialize all who died in the ghetto.

We scooted our way back to our apartment for some rest. Rose stayed in and my usual restlessness and the blue skies urged me to go out for another walk. I wound up at the church of St. Peter and Paul. I took a chance and popped in hoping to take a look inside. Exposition and Benediction was taking place at the high altar. I took a pew in the back and listened. I came in just as the procession with the Blessed Sacrament was starting. The organ, cantor and a handful of faithful began a hymn. The harmonic progression of the hymn was rich and moving without being too florid. I sneaked some video from one of the side chapels. I wanted to remember this music. I made a promise that after my trip ten years ago I would capture more video. Pictures may do the experience justice, but they miss the sound of all the languages spoken around here, the kids chasing the pigeons in the Rynek, and the jazz band playing in the Mały Rynek as I type this. I left the church after the singing of the Tantum Ergo, sung in Polish instead of Latin.

Back at the apartment before a meeting with what I refer to as my Polish non-cousins. Explanation: a few months ago, a descendant of the Grębowiec family found my genealogy website. Józef Grębowiec married the older sister (Maria Puzio) of my great-grandmother, Zofia Puzio. Ula and her family are descended from Józef’s youngest sibling, Wiktoria. We started to chat via Facebook about her family. I had enough information about the family in America to help her fill in the gaps and she provided me with the family that stayed in Poland. She lives in Krakow and we met up and had dinner at the Ratuszowa with much of her family. She brought her nephew along to help with the English. Conversations centered around who was whom in the Grębowiec family, about Poland versus America (politics, transportation, and churches), and our itinerary. I used as much Polish as could remember and Ula used as much English as she knew. I heard myself utter a phrase they didn’t teach me on Duolingo: “Trump jest głupie.”

Her nephew is an opera singer and studied here in Krakow at the Academy of Music; so we had a few things we also could talk about. Afterwards we took a walk up to the Florianski gate before we parted our ways.

On the way back, Rose had a hankering for shake and fries and asked to stop at the McDonald’s on ulica Florianska. Nothing like ordering in Polish.

Back to the apartment and finishing the evening with a blog and coffee.

Do zobaczenia jutro.

[kalembasinpoland]

Day 1: Kraków

The route to our apartment took us about 10 minutes from the train station. We checked in quickly climbed 3 flights of stairs to our apartment overlooking Mały Rynek. The stairs were a challenge with our bags on our backs and our tired legs from 9 hours of plane and 1 hour of waiting for our passport check.

Our apartment is on the third floor of the salmon colored building.

This apartment has 2 bedrooms, plus a kitchenette facing the opposite way-and air conditioning.

My bedroom. Rose’s bedroom is behind my bed.

The view

That is the back of St. Mary’s basilica. (Koscioł Mariacki).

There is a street fair of food and craft stalls in Mały Rynek.

We headed out to the main square (Rynek Głowny).

I gave Rose a brief explanation and then we went for an early dinner. Rose had not eaten all day.

Rose then asked if we could walk around the Planty-the park the encircles the old town.

We headed down towards Wawel, but our tired legs didn’t want us going up. I will go to Mass tomorrow at Wawel cathedral. We continued around and I diverted us over to the Collegium Maius-part of Jagellionian University. Copernicus was it’s most famous student. The collegium building was completed in 1364!

Back to the Rynek Głowny and then over to the craft stalls, as Rose was looking for a souvenir for a friend. Rose has declared that tonight’s sleep will be excellent considering that sleeping on the plane was, to quote them, “pure torture.”

Headed out for a beer in memory of Dad. Ten years ago, Dad and I always seemed to conclude our days at the outdoor restaurant underneath the old city hall tower, the Ratuszowa. I had a Żywiec porter in his memory. I sat there by myself with the thousands of locals and tourists going by; reflecting on how much has changed in ten years. That spot seems both sad and very comfortable to me. When I was here with Dad often there was a New Orleans jazz band playing next to the tower. No music this time. Even so, I couldn’t help get Ellington’s “Caravan” stuck in my head tonight remember ten years ago.

When I passed the basilica I saw a poster for an organ concert tonight. So I took my time with my beer then headed over to the other side of the Rynek for the concert.

I had not heard the organ there last time, so that was a nice treat. However, in my piwo and jet lag state, I had moments of drifting into slumber. While the performance was executed well, it was only three pieces that took up the entire hour long program. It concluded with a 30 minute Liszt piece that could have been half as long.

Passageway between Mały Rynek and Plac Mariacki

I walked back to the Mały Rynek and Rose was sitting on the steps their eyeing what evening snack to have from the food stalls. I went for some local oscypek cheese (twice). It is traditionally served with cranberry sauce. I tried to convince Rose to have a naleśniki, a Polish crepe, but they went for a chocolate covered churro.

Back in the apartment and time to call it a day. It is 10pm in Kraków.

Dobranoc

Rynek Głowny after sunset

[kalembasinpoland]

Seat 9A

Writing from seat 9A on LOT Flight 10. There is little more than an hour left to the flight to Krakow. There is no Wi-Fi on the plane, so this will be posted when we settle into our apartment. 10 years have pasted since I ‘slept’ on a transatlantic flight. Because our flight was delayed 2 hours, I think my second wind kicked in after dinner. It was hard to fall asleep even with a bit of melatonin. The 787 is a quitter plane than the 737s that I’m used to. The noise cancelling headphones do help drown out the engine noise. Playing Mahler’s 7th on top of that helps drown out the kids in the seats around us. Getting comfortable was hard. Rose struggled with finding a decent sleeping position, sometimes resting their head on my shoulder or even my right leg. I reckon I slept an hour or two. I am looking forward to a stretch when we arrive. Parts of my body that I didn’t think could fall asleep and get numb did just do that. Rose is still dozing off and on. 

Obviously we are missing some tourist time with the delay, but the weather is cloudy and scattered showers in Krakow when last I checked in Chicago. 

We will take the train from the airport to the main train station (Kraków Głowny). From there it is about 15 minute walk to our apartment on the Mały Rynek. (Little Square)

On the train to Krakow. Passport control (for non-EU citizens) took us almost an hour. There were only three border agents working where there could be six. Several flights came in at the same time which made the lines particularly long. As soon as we ‘entered’ the country legally, I headed for a vending machine to get a very thirsty Rose some bottled water. I do enjoy all the contactless payment with my iPhone, even for a vending machine.

The plan is to drop bags and then get some coffee - and try to stay awake until a normal bedtime.

Do zo

[kalembasinpoland]

Lotnisko

Writing from gate M16 at ORD. Our flight is delayed two hours, but we wanted to make sure we had enough time to get through security so here we are. Honestly, I was getting tired of sitting around the house. Sebastian drove us. While we are in the air he gets to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform Mahler’s Ninth tonight. I am looking forward to some sleep on the plane. I have been up since 4am. I did take a post lunch cat nap.

Do zo

[kalembasinpoland]

Time Shifting

Getting up an hour earlier every morning this week (prep for 7 hour time change) has been interesting. Nice to be done with work early, but not enough coffee in the office to keep me from drifting back to sleep. Rose has been doing the same. It will be their first time crossing that many time zones. Flight leaves today a little after 5pm.