As we have been travelling through Europe we have come across many, many buskers. Most of them play music extremely well. Here is a little something from Prague.
Wednesday, 23 October 2013
Monday, 21 October 2013
Hello from Europe!
Dzien Dobry! This means hello in Polish, as Poland was our first stop in Europe. Unfortunately it is not pronounced the way it is spelt. It is actually said "Jen dobry". Justin and I flew from South Africa on an 18 hour trip to Warsaw, Poland and walked into a bit of culture shock. Suddenly we were in a land of working plumbing, great public transport, a huge amount of history and historical buildings, cold weather, everything being on time, and salads instead of all food being fried. Everything seemed so orderly!
We spent a few days looking around the of town of Warsaw, visiting a few museums and monuments. The city of Warsaw was so badly bombed during World War II that if had to be entirely rebuilt. And I have to say it looks great. There are not too many large high rise buildings and there are some beautiful parks which contribute to the nice open feel of the city. While there we saw a pipe organ concert in one of the churches and a few days later we saw a piano concert in a park. The city is full of music and art.
So we spent a few days in Warsaw, then caught a train north to Gdansk to see a fortress called Malbork. It is the largest fortress in Europe and was used by the Teutonic Knights after they came back from the crusades. This is one of the most impressive collections of buildings I have ever seen. For a start, it is huge. We spent the whole day looking around it and only saw about two thirds of it. These knights were a religious fighting order that also acted as landlords, traders and rulers to the surrounding areas.
We returned to Warsaw for a few days again to catch up with a friend of Justin's, before heading south to Krakow where we met my parents. Here we saw the Jewish Quarter, Wawel Castle and The Human Body exhibition. This is a world wide travelling expo all about the human body and contains plastinated and dissected bodies. It was very well done and interesting. I would highly recommend seeing it, if you ever get the chance. We then travelled with my parents for 2 weeks through the south of Poland and Czech Republic. We visited many places including Europe's oldest salt mine and a small town called Zywiec, where my Dad is originally from and got to meet some of his childhood friends. It was great to see some of his family history.
While in the south of Poland we visited Auschwitz. This is one of the strangest places I have ever been, I almost don't have words for it. It is actually 3 separate camps and they were only partially destroyed by the retreating Germans at the end of the war, so many of the buildings are original. It is really creepy, but at the same time really sad and interesting. Everyone becomes very solemn as you walk around, and I admit I had tears in my eyes at times as we saw the wall where people were shot, the underground rooms where medical experiments were conducted and people were tortured, and the gas chamber with it's furnaces next door. Everything is so orderly, it is hard to imagine just what went on here. The average life span of someone here was 3 months, although I personally knew someone that survived 2 years there.
On to more happy things. We also got to visit some small towns in Czech, as well as Prague. We have seen several castles, many old towns (mostly restored), an opera (Rigoletto), beautiful lakes and hills, eaten some great food including wild blueberries, and we have also seen the change of season. When we first arrived in Poland all the trees were green, but within a few days the temperature dropped and the first frosts came. All the trees started turning gorgeous yellows and reds.
We said goodbye to my parents in Prague as they were flying back to NZ, while we caught the train to Budapest in Hungary. We are hoping to make it to Turkey before the weather gets too cold.
As usual, some more photos:
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| Warsaw, Poland. |
We spent a few days looking around the of town of Warsaw, visiting a few museums and monuments. The city of Warsaw was so badly bombed during World War II that if had to be entirely rebuilt. And I have to say it looks great. There are not too many large high rise buildings and there are some beautiful parks which contribute to the nice open feel of the city. While there we saw a pipe organ concert in one of the churches and a few days later we saw a piano concert in a park. The city is full of music and art.
 |
| Pipe organ from the 1500s. |
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| Beautiful park, Warsaw. |
So we spent a few days in Warsaw, then caught a train north to Gdansk to see a fortress called Malbork. It is the largest fortress in Europe and was used by the Teutonic Knights after they came back from the crusades. This is one of the most impressive collections of buildings I have ever seen. For a start, it is huge. We spent the whole day looking around it and only saw about two thirds of it. These knights were a religious fighting order that also acted as landlords, traders and rulers to the surrounding areas.
 |
| Entrance to Malbork castle. |
 |
| The Grand Hall, Malbork Castle. |
We returned to Warsaw for a few days again to catch up with a friend of Justin's, before heading south to Krakow where we met my parents. Here we saw the Jewish Quarter, Wawel Castle and The Human Body exhibition. This is a world wide travelling expo all about the human body and contains plastinated and dissected bodies. It was very well done and interesting. I would highly recommend seeing it, if you ever get the chance. We then travelled with my parents for 2 weeks through the south of Poland and Czech Republic. We visited many places including Europe's oldest salt mine and a small town called Zywiec, where my Dad is originally from and got to meet some of his childhood friends. It was great to see some of his family history.
 |
| The Jewish Quarter, Krakow, Poland. |
 |
| The main chapel in the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Everything is carved out of salt, including the floor. |
While in the south of Poland we visited Auschwitz. This is one of the strangest places I have ever been, I almost don't have words for it. It is actually 3 separate camps and they were only partially destroyed by the retreating Germans at the end of the war, so many of the buildings are original. It is really creepy, but at the same time really sad and interesting. Everyone becomes very solemn as you walk around, and I admit I had tears in my eyes at times as we saw the wall where people were shot, the underground rooms where medical experiments were conducted and people were tortured, and the gas chamber with it's furnaces next door. Everything is so orderly, it is hard to imagine just what went on here. The average life span of someone here was 3 months, although I personally knew someone that survived 2 years there.
 |
| Work did not set anyone free, Auschwitz. |
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| Some of the many, many shoes, Auschwitz. |
On to more happy things. We also got to visit some small towns in Czech, as well as Prague. We have seen several castles, many old towns (mostly restored), an opera (Rigoletto), beautiful lakes and hills, eaten some great food including wild blueberries, and we have also seen the change of season. When we first arrived in Poland all the trees were green, but within a few days the temperature dropped and the first frosts came. All the trees started turning gorgeous yellows and reds.
 |
| Winter is coming. |
We said goodbye to my parents in Prague as they were flying back to NZ, while we caught the train to Budapest in Hungary. We are hoping to make it to Turkey before the weather gets too cold.
As usual, some more photos:
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| A hallway in Malbork. |
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| Shutters on a window (and Justin), Malbork. |
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| One of the draw-bridges, Malbork. |
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| One small part of Malbork from the outside. |
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| Buskers are everywhere, Poland. |
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| Double wire fences all around the camp, Auschwitz. |
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| Some of the 28 buildings that housed prisoners, Auschwitz. |
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