(Unpronouncable Polish Word)

Wrocław, pronounced Vrotswhaf, previously Breslau, is the capital of Silesia and Poland’s 4^th most populous city. It has the most beautiful old town we saw in Poland.

It is also the Gnome capital of Poland.

The little statues found all over the city are an homage to the Orange Alternative movement which used graffiti and absurdism to protest communist rule.





The Racławice Panorama is a 360 degree painting and diorama depicting a battle between Kościuszko’s Polish rebels and the Russian Empire. It’s basically the 19^th century version of Braveheart and is actually pretty cool, we give it 4 stars.

Travelling around Europe, it's interesting to learn new things about the various cultures. For example, Poles love ice cream. Luckily, so do we.

The Leopold Hall at Wrocław University

Kraków

The Wawel Cathedral, with Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture all rolled into one.

The old Jewish Synagogue

The square from within the Kraków ghetto, today a memorial.

To the east of the city of Kraków is the Nowa Huta district, built by the communist government as a worker's paradise.

While much of it looks a bit depressing today, you can see what they were going for. Each block of 30 apartment buildings would be its own community with shops, gardens and a school. 

Just south of Kraków is the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Built in the 13th century and closed in 1996, it's a fascinating place for its history but also for the carvings, statues and chapels within the mine.

The underground cathedral. Everything is carved from rock salt.

Even the chandelier is made from salt.



Jesus: "This is my body which is given for you"

Paul: "Mmmm, it's delicious Jesus"

Luke: "Yes Jesus, very tasty indeed"

Judas: "I find it a little salty"

Jesus: "YOU'RE A LITTLE SALTY!!!"

Before leaving Poland, Josh decided to visit the town in which his great-grandparents may have lived, Bielsko-Biała. We had a look around the old Jewish neighbourhood, of which there is very little remaining. Despite that, it was interesting to be somewhere with very few international tourists.

The location of the once great synagogue (shown in the picture on the building).

We visited the Jewish cemetery searching for some Dolinskis but to no avail. This plot housed those who died in World War One fighting not as Jews, or even Poles but for the Austrians.

Auschwitz

While in Poland we visited the Auschwitz concentration camp. We won't attempt to describe the events that took place there, but we would encourage anyone to educate themselves and visit if possible.

We also won't attempt to describe our experience during the visit, but we will be happy to describe it in person when we get an opportunity.

The pictures are in black and white simply to show that this day was different to all others on our trip.





The entrance to Auschwitz I, which reads "Work makes free" 











Used Zyclon-B containers

Auschwitz II-Birkenau







 



Ruins of a gas chamber and crematorium

 The memorial to the 1.1 million people who were murdered here

Warsaw

We thrust ourselves into the turbulent history of Warsaw right away by visiting the Warsaw Rising Museum. It was one of the best we've been to in Europe, detailing the Varsovians fight against the Nazis in mid-1944 in which they were abandoned by their Soviet "allies".

Within the museum was a 3D film showing a digital recreation of the city at the end of WWII. As revenge for the uprising the Nazis destroyed 85% of the city and expelled all of it's citizens. Afterwards, only an estimated 1,000 people lived among the rubble.

Warsaw is covered in monuments, statues and plaques to celebrate and commemorate those who have fought and died.  This, the cutest and most heartbreaking is this statue to recognize the role of children in the Warsaw uprising.

The following day we toured the "old" town of Warsaw.

The medieval walls and the modern day Yaz

The house of Marie Skłodowska-Curie. Fearful of radiation, we chose to stay outside.

Łazienki Palace within the beautiful Łazienki Park.

Did you know that sunflower seeds come from sunflowers?

Warsaw is also very charming by night

What was really cool about this statue was that we recognised it straight away as a Thorvaldsen. We had seen the plaster version in the Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen. 

In 1939, Warsaw was home to Europe's largest Jewish population. We visited the cemetery which in the years since has seen very few mourners come through its gates.

From 1940 onwards the Jewish population was imprisoned within a ghetto, over 100,000 of whom would die of disease and starvation within its walls. In 1942, over 250,000 residents were sent to Treblinka Extermination Camp.  In 1943 the remaining residents launched a rebellion against the Nazis. 

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising memorial.

On May 8, the Germans discovered a large dugout located which served as a main command post of the Ghetto insurgents. Most of the organization's remaining leadership and dozens of others committed a mass suicide by ingesting cyanide. They included the chief commander, Mordechaj Anielewicz.

This mound and memorial commemorate that event.

In spite of its past, Warsaw today is a modern dynamic city.

From Prussia With Love

Entering Poland from the North we drove through the Masurian Lake District. While there we visited the Wolf's Lair, Adolf Hitler's military headquarters for the Eastern Front. 

The bunkers are now in ruins and overgrown with plantlife. The roof of this bunker is 9m thick.

The whole place had a very eerie, peaceful atmosphere. The bunkers are a vivid reminder of the war, but as they are overpowered by the forest, we are reminded of the many years of peace since.

In addition to bunkers are conference rooms, warehouses, kitchens etc. We happened to be there on July 20th, the anniversary of Colonel  von Stauffenberg's failed assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler.

Malbork Castle is the largest Castle in the world, and Europe's largest brick building.

The castle was the base of the Tuetonic Knights during their conquests of Northern Poland and the Baltic coast.

Within the castle were exhibitions on amber, also known as Baltic Gold. 

Gdańsk, Poland's major seaport.

Largely rebuilt following WWII, the city is quite lovely.

The colourful houses of Long Market.

The city is known around the world as the home of the Solidarity movement which made major steps in bringing down communism in Central Europe. We learned all about it at this museum.

The gates of the shipyard where Lech Wałęsa and 17,000 others held their strike.

Our last stop in the formerly Prussian part of Poland was the beautiful town of Toruń.

The city is best known as the birthplace of Nicolaus Copernicus who worked here in the Copernicus museum.

Tasty Dumplings.

Tasty Sour Milk.