WanderlustandWhimSea

The 2 week trip to Poland was off the beaten path as we explored the countryside beyond the typical tourist stops. I’ve been to many “folk music” evenings in my travels and most are cringe worthy commercial tourist traps, but this one was different. The dinner was in a barn on a very working farm. The entertainment was from the entire family and genuine as it was amateur, a welcome change.

Starting early entertaining- the youngest later ran off the stage in fright

Our 3 hour boat ride was pretty unique as the boats were attached to a rail platform and hauled overland for several segments and then launched in the water. This reminded me of my planned trip to the Trent-Severn Canal in Canada which is the only other similar system that I’m aware of.

Poland is by and large Roman Catholic. There is still evidence of lots of money put in to the Catholic Churches with over the top baroque designs and Pope John Paul II remains the countries pride. Conversely, the story of the Protestant churches was interesting as they were grudgingly given permission to build wooden churches (not expected to last long but they were standing since the 1500’s) out side of town.

The shadow of World War II still looms large over Poland. Hitler spent the majority of the war hidden in the Wolf’s Laire. It was an ideal location as it was beyond the range of the long range bombers. It had an elaborate system of camouflage and connection to rail lines. If you’re interested in the Hollywood version of the story the movie Valkyrie with Tom Cruise tells the story of assassination attempts on Hitler. The site is mostly a ruins but you still get an eerie feeling walking around. We also visited the ZooKeepers home at the Warsaw Zoo, it was also a movie telling the tale of hiding and escaping hundreds of Jews.

Driving around the countryside of Poland you see lots of pristine cemeteries lovingly cared for and full of flowers and decorations, that was not the case of the Jewish cemetery. It was overgrown and neglected but the reason is obvious. The town of Tarnow had 60K people prior to 1939 and 50% were Jewish. Hitlers annihilation of the Jewish population was so effective only 2 people remain in 2024. The cemetery has a mass grave where 3K people are buried. It’s interesting that religious items from Israel are still brought to be buried in this cemetery as they lack the space.

The story of Zalipie is more fun. Many of the houses are decorated with flowers on both the inside and outside. Originally the houses lacked chimneys and became black with soot during the long cold winter. In the spring they whitewashed the walls, that led to painting flowers on the inside then the outside and soon it was a tradition.

At the moment I’m on an ICE train racing at 195 KM per hour from Berlin to Amsterdam. I love European trains! I know it will shock many of my friends, but I’ve been traveling for nearly 6 weeks and I’m ready to be home. Here’s a summary of this adventure: 10 Countries, 10 airplane segments, 19 Hotels, 3 boat rides, 2 horse drawn conveyances, 1 funicular, 9 Bolts rides (similar to Uber), 1 train.

Look for the next update in Sept with a new quest in search of the elusive Narwhal.