In The Polish Countryside

Today we drove from Warsaw to Krakow, a distance of 244 miles or 390 kilometers, with stops at the Jasna Gora Monastery and at Auschwitz.

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Advertisements on fence for many things, none of which I understood.

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These came with an elephant at their end.

Polish Countryside

More of the Polish countryside.

Polish Countryside

You see many shrines along the roadways in Poland and also in many of the other countries that we visited.

Polish Countryside

A cow grazing on the side of the road.

Polish Countryside

Canola in bloom.

Polish Countryside

Apple trees in blossom.

Polish Countryside

A Polish farm.

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Advertisement for a restaurant. “Bar” in Poland means a restaurant where you can find inexpensive food and not what it means in English.

Polish Countryside

An interesting group of differently painted small houses.

Polish Countryside

A small shrine.

Polish Countryside

A Polish village.

Polish Countryside

I think I have figured out what the Las Vegas enterprise is in Poland: a truck stop.

Polish Countryside

A beautiful church.

Polish Countryside

Driving through a small village.

Polish Countryside

Another village and another church.

Polish Countryside

A hotel with a windmill and looking very nicely out of place.

Polish Countryside

Another small shrine.

Polish Countryside

A decorated old barn.

The Jasna Gora Monastery

We had to be at the monastery by 11:30 a.m. to be sure to be able to view the Black Madonna before it was shielded from public view at exactly 12 p.m., but we ran into a major traffic jam and arrived  about 11:40 a.m. However, we were still, luckily, in enough time to view it.

The Jasna Gora Monastery is Poland’s greatest place of pilgrimage and its most famous shrine to the Virgin Mary and most Poles make at least one trip here during their lifetimes. The monastery houses the Black Madonna, an icon painted by Luke the Evangelist on a tabletop said to be built by Jesus. It was discovered in the Holy Land by St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine. It remained in Constantinople for 500 years and then was given as a wedding gift to a Greek princess who married a Ukranian and it remained in the Ukraine for almost 600 years. When the royal palace at Belz, the Ukraine, was sacked by the Polish army in 1382, it brought the Black Madonna to Czestochowa, where the Jasna Gora Monastery was built in 1386 to house it. The Black Madonna is credited with performing a number of miracles.

The Jasna Gora Monastery

Our tour guide of the monastery was this delightful monk, who told to next time to come on time. That is Terry behind the monk on the left and Zsofia on the right.

The Jasna Gora Monastery Movie

Inside the monastery. A mass was going on when we arrived. I have put part of it on this movie.

Jasna Gora Monastery (See Slide Show)

The Black Madonna. I have put my photos of the Jasna Gora Monastery on a slide show: go to Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Europe–1, Jasna Gora Monastery.

We bought our lunches during our last comfort stop as Zsofia thought the cafes would be too crowded after the mass was over. We ate them on picnic tables near the monastery and then most of us bought an ice cream.

Arriving at the Town of Auschwitz

We left the Jasna Gora Monastery and drove to Auschwitz.

Auschwitz I (See Slide Show and Caution)

We visited both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II–Birkenau. This was part of our regular tour: many tours have it only as an option. We did have the option of staying on the bus or leaving the tour of Auschwitz I if we became too emotionally distraught to continue the tour. I had read two books on Auschwitz before I came here: “Night” by Elie Wiesel and “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay. Reading about Auschwitz before I visited it greatly reduced my emotional reaction about being here as not too much that wasn’t in the books was pointed out.

I have put my photos of Auschwitz on a slide show, but you have, of course, the option of not viewing it. I debated whether I would put any photos of Auschwitz on this website, but so many people asked if I had visited it that I know there is a great interest here in seeing it. CAUTION: The slide show is emotional and my emotions were very stressed just by looking at my own photos. Go to Slide Shows, Central/Eastern Europe–1, Auschwitz.

Polish Countryside

We left Auschwitz and were back in the Polish countryside on our way to Krakow.

Polish Countryside

Driving through a Polish village.

Polish Countryside

More of the countryside, nearing Krakow. We arrived at Krakow and had dinner at our hotel. Tomorrow we would take a tour of Krakow and also visit the Wieliczka Salt Mines.