For those that are still interested, I will be working on a few more posts like I mentioned earlier.  Other things have occupied me since my return, including sleep, food, friends, family, and doctor’s appointments.  Once I get more acclimated here, I’ll write at least about Auschwitz and the salt mine.

Some of you might be wondering when I’ll give up - the answer is soon, but not yet.

The time has finally come - I leave Poland tomorrow at 1:05 PM for a flight to Munich.  From there, I go to Chicago (a city I love but haven’t been to in a long time) and finally home.

Even though I would have liked to write all of my posts while abroad, there simply wasn’t enough time for that.  Therefore, some posts will be completed at home.  As a pre-departure post, I will do some speed blogging about my second-to-last afternoon in Krakow.

Yesterday, I went on an adventure with my teacher and two other students to the Kosciuszko Mound.  It is 330.14 meters above sea level and 131.14 meters above the Vistula River, the longest river in Poland.  The mound is also unique because it has soil from all fifty states.  These samples were added to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and commemorate Kosciuszko’s role in early American history.  To be honest, I don’t recall learning about him or even seeing his name before now -  I need to read up on him one I get back to the US.

We wanted to visit this mound in order to get a great view of Krakow.  Unlike in Prague, there are few vantage points for visitors to take pictures of the city.  The trip ended up being longer and more arduous than we expected, but I liked it for those reasons.  We got lost in town, interacted with locals to get directions, and finally hiked through the forest to get to the base.  It was one of my favorite activities I did here.

To get an idea of the trip, here are some photos:

We traveled all the way on foot from this viewpoint 

to the base of the mound.

Once there, there weren’t any railings or fences to stop you if you fell, which was thrilling for me but petrifying to others.  We all made it to the top eventually, which led to this view of the city.

We also got a wonderful view of a more country-like area behind us.  If I had the time, I would go visit it.

There were also many oddities in a free museum associated with the mound.  For instance, there was a wax figure of Casimir Pulaski of Sufjan Stevens fame (at least for me).

I would like to think this figure is a semi-representative portrayal of Pulaski, but the museum also thought that this drawing was a fair representation of George Washington:

Unless the dollar bill lied to me, I think the drawing might be a little bit off from reality.

Since the trip felt like such a challenge, I had to do a victory pose at the top.  This picture also pretty much encapsulates how I feel about this trip.  It was a true success.

Thanks again to everyone that has been following me, and even more thanks goes out to those who sent me emails/messages about certain posts.  I sometimes feel like the blog is self-indulgent, especially if I don’t get feedback.  When I hear from you guys, it’s a sign that somebody is reading, which is nice.

When I blog next, I’ll be back in the States - see you all on the flip side!

(Also, yes, I made it to the Wieliczka Salt Mine - it was my last major trip here, in fact.  A post dedicated to that will be coming soon) 

I am still debating whether I will post about Auschwitz - I think I will either at the end of the week or once I get back.  For now, I want to focus more on Krakow itself.

I have been less proactive than I was in Prague when it comes to taking advantage of the evenings in the city.  Part of it is because we are doing much more in Krakow during the day, and the other part is that there are fewer attractions in this area.  I only have two other activities left on my checklist: see the inside of St. Mary’s Basilica, and tour the Wieliczka salt mine.  In comparison, I barely fit in the places I absolutely wanted to see in Prague, and there were several others that I unfortunately skipped due to time.

Two days ago, I did manage to motivate myself to explore the area near the Jewish district to see what I could find.  One building caught my eye that made me decide to walk the streets there - it turned out to be the Bozego Ciala Basilica.

The basilica turned out to be one of the nicest places I’ve seen in Krakow.  To be honest, I become partially numbed to the beauty and ornateness typical of the churches in Europe simply because I have seen so many of them.  However, something really struck me about this particular basilica that made it memorable.

Another interesting place we visited today as a group was the Ark of Lord Church, which is probably the most modern church I have encountered.

The roof of the church represents Noah’s Ark, which our guide said is symbolic of the refuge the church provided during the communist regime.  The church was one of the few places people could speak freely.  

Inside of it is also a very striking sculpture of Jesus.  What makes this sculpture unique is that there is no cross supporting him - instead, he is bending and almost floating in the air.  It’s one of the most creative interpretations I have seen.

Tonight, I also managed to go out with a friend to see more of the area surrounding the heart of Krakow.  Among our stops was the Wawel Dragon sculpture outside of the castle.  We had seen it the first day but only from above - it is located close to the river at the base of the castle.  

The sculpture is known primarily because it spits fire every three minutes.  However, the legend surrounding the Wawel Dragon is an odd one, at least to me.  The story goes that several professional soldiers attempted to kill the dragon but failed and were eaten.  One day, a clever peasant stepped forward and decided to use a less direct approach to kill it.  His strategy was to place food out for the dragon that was spicy.  Once the dragon ate it, he went to the river and kept drinking to try and counter the spice.  Eventually, the dragon drank so much that he exploded, ridding the area of the dragon.

…I don’t know about you, readers, but I can’t tell if that is the legitimate legend or if the tour guide was pulling our legs.  If that is the original legend, then I find it to be really lacking - no offense, Poland.

Regardless of the legend, the sculpture is worth a visit.  While I was there, I filmed it once and got a photo.  It’s a little blurry, but I am glad I have something.  Also, some tourists don’t know to expect fire when they see it, so when it does happen, they get quite spooked.  It was funny to watch their reactions.

Afterwards, we circled the castle and walked away from our hotel to get a better feel for the area.  We didn’t see much else of note, but we did make a quick run to the grocery store to get some chocolate.  I have greatly appreciated how cheap sweets are here, and I am particularly happy about having access to a large amount of Milka.  It’s a Swiss brand available in the States, but back home, there are much fewer varieties available.  A few days ago, I got the “dessert” version (it has a soft chocolate center that I suppose resembles a brownie, but not quite), and tonight, I got hazelnut and marzipan.  All of them were worth it.  Someone also recommended that I try Lion if I can find it - I will be on the lookout for it.

I am still trying to brainstorm what I should do here before I leave.  I might be interested in seeing the inside of Wawel Castle and the Da Vinci housed there - however, I am not particularly adamant about either of those.  There is also a gallery crawl on Friday that I hope to take advantage of with the group, but otherwise, I think I will be satisfied with my stay here once I leave.

As always, if you have any recommendations, then please reply or message me!  I don’t want to miss anything important, but I don’t feel like I have.  I am open to being wrong, and in fact, I would prefer to be.

These past few days have been exhausting.  Today alone, I spent six hours at Auschwitz.  The camp consists of three parts, and my tour covered two of them: Auschwitz I (the base camp) and Auschwitz-Birkenau (the extermination camp).  Following that, we visited a Jewish cultural center founded in the town (its original Polish name is Oswiecim) and watched the movie Katyln, which detailed the Soviet massacre of the Polish intelligentsia and army.

For most of the visit, I was wrapped up in my own thoughts.  Early in the day, my focus was sometimes more on what I was feeling, what others were feeling, and what we should be feeling than on the places I actually saw.  As a result, I have a lot of thoughts about the trip, and many of them revolve around the role of tourism in memorials like Auschwitz.

For now, I think I am going to refrain from posting these thoughts to my blog - I think I need more time to process everything.  I will say that this trip is sharpening my reasoning about topics I never expected to occupy me.  The philosopher in me is definitely dominating my personality at the moment - our tour guide in the Jewish district of Prague noted that while I was asking her questions about Yom Kippur and the Jewish conception of the afterlife.

In the meantime, here is a quote that I found outside the cultural center that really struck me:

“Nothing in life is to be feared.  It is only to be understood.” - Marie Curie

My personal goal this trip has been to try to grasp what the Holocaust was and means.  In some ways, I will never be able to since I neither lived it nor planned it.  However, it is important to understand how this kind of hatred is so easily perpetuated.

Many people are capable of remembering the Holocaust and knowing that this kind of blind hate is wrong.  My fear is that not enough people are making connections to realize how baseless their own, present-day hate is.

Finally - the walking tour post.  Time to record some of the trivia I learned on the first day.

We began our walking tour by making our way to the main square.  Our route brought us by St. Mary’s Basilica, which is very close to our hotel.

This basilica is where the trumpeter of Krakow is located - every hour of every day, there is a person who plays the horn to mark the time.  The legend goes that back in the 13th century, the trumpeter was used as a means to warn the fire department of smoke in the area.  On the day of the Mongol invasion, the trumpeter on duty saw the incoming forces and played his horn as a warning.  Although the town was notified, the trumpeter was killed by an arrow to the throat.  Now, the tradition is maintained in hour of the brave trumpeter.

According to my tour guide, this story is verifiably false.  He claimed that the origin of the story is known: it was a made up answer by a tour guide responding to an American tourist’s question.  From there, the American mentioned the legend in a book that was later published, solidifying the legend in canon.  If my tour guide is right, then Wikipedia needs to be updated at some point.

We didn’t go inside the basilica on the tour, but I plan to see it on my own before leaving the city.  I was informed by my mom that the building and works of art inside it have an interesting history to them during World War II.

We then proceeded to the central square area, which was originally used for trading and selling.  Carts are still around today for those purposes, but it is less crowded.  Also, the current square is at a much higher elevation than the original square - I believe it is currently six meters higher than it was in the past.

There were some interesting pieces of art out in this area.  The structure below was rated as either the worst building or piece of art in the city.  It resembles the pyramid outside of the Louvre but fails to be anywhere near as impressive.

Another piece of art is the Eros Bendato head located by the clock tower more towards the center of the square.  The tour guide said he didn’t care for the piece too much, but tourists love to walk inside the head and take pictures of themselves looking through the eye sockets.  His distaste for it is also based on the fact that many homeless people sleep inside it at night, making it a fairly dirty place.

Later on during the tour, we explored more of the park that is directly outside of our hotel.  I appreciate having these designated green spaces in the city.  Even if the architecture is really nice, I need some semblance of nature to keep me sane.

The park had some modern art pieces of its own.  For instance, the water fountain below is referred to as “Chopin’s Piano.”  What it depicts are the hammers that hit the strings when a key is played.

We also passed by the church below, which I thought looked pretty nice.  However, don’t be fooled into thinking it is special -  it turns out that this exact same type of church can be found throughout Poland.  It was a model designed by the Jesuits that was then reused for other churches.  The Franciscans even picked it up after a certain point.  These churches have great acoustics, and occasionally, free concerts are performed in them.  I’m going to try and get to one if I have the time.

Another church we visited was one located by Pope John Paul II’s famous window, which is where he talked to and prayed with the Polish people during his visits.  Inside, there is this stained glass which is quite controversial.  It depicts God in the process of creating both the universe and himself - you can see that his right hand is a different color to illustrate that idea.  The reason why it caused an uproar is that the artist used a drunkard nearby the church as the model for God, which offended people of the church.

We eventually made our way to Wawel Castle for a very brief view of the outside area.  The castle is currently the home of the Da Vinci painting Lady with an Ermine.  For those familiar with Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and the Amber Spyglass), this painting is claimed to be the inspiration for the concept of daemons.

Below is a golden dome that the tour guide called “The Taj Mahal of Krakow” since it was made in commemoration of one of the nobility’s wives.  The adjacent structure is very similar in design but also has significant differences - the tour guide noted that you could make it into a “Spot the Difference” game.

We wrapped up the day at this grandma-themed restaurant that our local RD showed us.  It’s a little bit tricky to find, so the place is not very crowded by other tourists.  The food was very tasty for a good price.

It was at this place that I realized that more people in Poland are willing to dress up in the “traditional clothing” of the region (by which I mean the clothing most tourists associate with the country).  People in the Czech Republic definitely were not as interested in that approach.

After the tour was done, we were all exhausted - the rainy weather didn’t help much either.  It’s been fairly cloudy for most of our trip here, which is a shame.  It’s also supposed to rain during our visit to Auschwitz tomorrow.  Hopefully, that prediction is false.

I’m hoping for some nice weather at the end of the week, but even if it doesn’t come, I have a positive impression of Krakow.  There is not as much to do here as in Prague, but it definitely has its charm.  I find the city more interesting in terms of its history during the Holocaust than its cultural offerings, but that opinion might change once I get the time to see more of the museums here.  Obviously, I will keep you posted.

I was going to post about the walking tour today - this morning, I picked out all of the pictures I wanted to describe and gathered my bits of trivia.  However, that will be finished tomorrow in order to make room for a more pressing and personal issue that’s on my mind.

While my group was in the Czech Republic, our primary focus was communism.  I did go on a walking tour of the Jewish District, but discussion of the Holocaust has primarily been saved for our trip to Poland since it is much more relevant here.  As a result, a lot of the activities planned for Krakow are focused on Judaism and World War II.  Today, we went on another walking tour to see part of the Jewish ghetto and visit several synagogues.  On Tuesday, I will be taking a six hour tour of Auschwitz.

To prepare more for this topic, I decided to finally watch Schindler’s List.  Many of the events in the movie are historically accurate and took place here in Krakow, so watching the movie makes sense on several levels.  It definitely provided more context for the content of the tour.

The closing of that movie is what sparked this post.  In that sequence, Schindler’s descendants visit his grave and place rocks on it.  This practice is a very common one for pilgrims visiting a site as a mark of their trip as well as a sign of respect.  I’ve seen the same practice in both Jewish cemeteries I have visited.  

Seeing genuine pilgrims showing respect emphasized how out of place I sometimes feel when visiting these holy sites.  I am reminded of this fact every time that I enter a synagogue and need to wear a yarmulke.  After a certain point, it feels that I shouldn’t be there as a tourist due to the religious and emotional importance of these locations.  This sentiment is part of the reason why I haven’t posted pictures that I took during these parts of the trip, and in some places, I feel guilty for taking them at all.

I appreciate the fact that I can learn about the history and see these locations in person.  That kind of cultural exchange is important to inform people and embrace tolerance.  However, taking snapshots of tombstones as if they are merely an attraction makes me feel like I am being disrespectful.  I don’t want to contribute to a phenomenon like disaster tourism.  This feeling is the reason why I most likely won’t take my camera with me to Auschwitz.  If I do, then I will only take one picture outside of the camp .  

My only other concerns are that I won’t show proper respect when I am there or that I will force an emotional reaction without truly understanding.  The way to avoid these issues is through education, and I am trying my best to inform myself as much as possible.

I just hope that whatever I feel is genuine and for the right reasons.

My group arrived in Krakow early this morning (7:15 AM) after taking the overnight train.  We had enough time to share one hotel room to quickly clean ourselves up and then eat some breakfast before our we began our walking tour at 10:00 AM.  Although it was raining for part of it, we did get a great overview of the city, including great places to eat.  We tried a 24/7 pierogi place as well as a restaurant with a grandma theme that I would definitely return to later in the trip.  

I would like to post some pictures and trivia tonight, but I am tired.  I’ll try to make a more complete post tomorrow.  Suffice it to say that so far, Krakow seems like a much smaller version of Prague.  The architecture and buildings are very similar, but the feel is very different since there are fewer tourists.  I think I am going to like the change of pace in that regard.

Today was a great day - we visited Veletrzni Palace (part of the National Gallery of Prague) to see 19th, 20th, and 21th century Czech art.  Their collection was very impressive - it shows that there are five floor museums in Prague and had works by Kupka, Kokoschka, and Czech artists that I was introduced to for the first time.

The National Gallery of Prague emphasizes how much of a rip-off places such as The Museum of Communism and Mucha Museum are.  Even if they are enjoyable, they are too small for their admission fees.  Luckily, I only noticed the cost of the Mucha Museum, and I made the visit worthwhile - The Museum of Communism was included in my tuition for the program.  If you want to get more out of your admission fee, then visit one of the related collections of the National Gallery instead.

There was so much to see that I decided to hang back from the group after the tour to revisit some pieces and see a floor that we previously skipped over.  The floor we skipped contained works by artists not from the Czech Republic but associated with it, such as Klimt.  

I am odd that way - very few people have the patience and stamina I have to spend over three hours in a museum walking around and closely looking at pieces.  Once in New York, I spent nearly the whole day in the Met alone.  It makes me wonder how much other people miss out on during a normal visit - half the fun is looking at the brushstrokes and noticing little details in color choice and representation.  These are details that are harder to see in an art book but become very clear in person.  In that way, I think that some people would enjoy museums more if they realized that the beauty is in the technique and approach, not just the overall impression.

My favorite collection of the day was Mucha’s Slav Epic, which coincidentally made its public return to Prague today.  It has been located in Moravsky Krumlov for about 45 years, and apparently, moving it to the city caused a lot of controversy (at least according to Wikipedia).  I was blown away by the detail and colors once I saw the large-scale paintings in person.  The pieces are so clearly rich in symbolism and meaning that I wish I had read up on them before going.  Plus, many of the faces he drew were arresting, especially due to their size and expressions.  I at least grabbed a pamphlet about them before leaving the museum that I will read later.

I think I might do a separate post on the other artists I saw there another time, but for now, I am going to just comment on a meet-up I had with a friend and discuss some of my final thoughts on Prague.

After I was down with the museum, I met up with a friend from college who is studying architecture/civil engineering at Pitt.  She has been here the entire semester and will be reluctantly leaving at the end of next week.  We have been talking over Facebook about what to do in the city and where we have been, so we decided to try and see each other briefly before I left town.  She recommend this cool place called Ouky Douky, a small little cafe with a fairly extensive book collection inside.

We ended up having a really nice conversation about the city and people here.  She has been really lucky in that she has a lot of free time to explore the city and surrounding areas - she only has classes three days a week, and often, trips to other regions/countries (including Germany) are covered.  She has also seen many of the museums and gone to several performances, including ballets, operas, and philharmonic performances.  We both really appreciate how comparatively inexpensive food and cultural events are here - for instance, my tickets for the Rudolfinum only cost 220 koruna, which translates to $11.70 with the official exchange rate (considering fees/the actual rates you get, it’s still only $13.25).  Even compared to Pittsburgh prices/discounts, that’s incredibly cheap and affordable for college students.

However, there are certain items that people pay for here that took me by surprise.  For instance, grocery bags in supermarkets are not free - each one you use costs you, even if it’s a small amount.  Personally, I think that’s an ideal way to try and get people to bring their own cloth bags or reuse old plastic bags.  Also, there is no such thing as getting free water or drinks here - everything is bottled and costs extra.  Sometimes, restaurants will charge you for condiments and take-home boxes, and often, beer is cheaper than water.  Besides those random costs, though, it is very easy to come here as an American and enjoy a visit without breaking the bank.

She and I also discussed our impression of the people here.  When I first arrived, I was told that Czechs are often very direct and sometimes come off as rude and unfriendly as a result.  I understood that opinion, but I didn’t fully agree - there was a better way for explaining their behavior.  It took talking with my friend for me to finally get the appropriate word from her: reserved.  That, along with straightforward, is probably the best way to describe most of the people that I have met.

Lastly, she gave me some insight about Prague teenagers.  In the area, many of the university students still live with their parents.  Therefore, if they are in relationships, then they feel pretty uncomfortable being with their partners where they live.  That’s why I have seen so much PDA in public that I have - it’s expected that young adults go out elsewhere to kiss and be intimate.  The social context helps, but it’s still fairly unusual to observe.

Overall, I really do like Prague.  Most buildings are architecturally interesting, and the area has a very diverse and rich history to explore.  After being here for two weeks, I have seen many of the big attractions, but there are many more that I wish I could see - primarily, the operas/ballets as well as other museums.  Tomorrow, I will use my last day to squeeze in the Jakub Schikaneder exhibit and finally see the Strahov Monastery, one of the first buildings I learned about in Prague that I wanted to make sure I saw.

I hate that I am leaving right when I finally feel like I have a hold on the city, but it’s further incentive to return here one day.  By then, I’ll be able to explore the city without a problem.

I most likely won’t post tomorrow since we leave at 7:15 PM for our overnight train.  I will resume the blog once I have arrived in Krakow, Poland with a residual post about my last day and potentially about Czech artists.  We will see.

The word “slave” is actually based on the word “Slav” since the Slavs were used as slaves.

The word “ghetto” is based on slang used in Italy that refers to an island there (Wikipedia claims that ghet (trash) was kept on the same island as the Jews).

The Vulcan hand gesture one makes in Star Trek while saying “Live long and prosper” comes from Judaism.

Today’s day trip was to Cesky Krumlov, which is one of the best preserved Renaissance towns in the country.  It’s a very picturesque area that is currently thriving due to recent renovations and tourism.  

Part of the trip involved meeting the former mayor of the area that oversaw this development.  The town was very successful in having locals restore the frescos and start up the businesses that are currently thriving - however, the area has primarily become a quick stop between Vienna and Prague, meaning tourists don’t stay in the area for more than a few hours.  The mayor emphasized his hopes that Cesky Krumlov would develop into a town for people seeking a true cultural experience rather than merely surveying the area.  Current efforts include building up centers for students that want to study in the area for a week, month, or semester.  For instance, they are trying to use the creativity of students to solve a current problem involving a gate in the city.

Here are some pictures from the area - it’s my favorite area outside of Prague, and in some ways, I prefer it to Prague for how quiet and personable it is.

Of course, here are some lilacs and a view of the city again.  I swear that the flowers are more vibrant and have a more potent smell here, both in a good way.