Not Just Pierogies - Poland
After almost a month in Scandinavia we were excited to be back in Eastern Europe. We love the history, culture, food, and the prices cannot be beat! We were also excited about our trip from Sweden to Poland, as we were taking a 19 hour ferry ride. We enjoy being able to take boat rides, especially because we don’t have anything like that back home in Calgary. Sharleen has had a tendency in the past to get quite sick on boat rides, however so far on our trip she’s been a champ and hasn’t had any issues, which is great.
We went to book our tickets about two weeks in advance of our trip, and unfortunately there were no suites or cabins left. The ferry was huge, so we were quite surprised there were no rooms available. As a last resort, we booked reserved seats, which were like airplane seats and could recline a bit, so we were hoping that we could get at least some sleep. Since we didn’t really know how these long distance ferries worked, we arrived quite early and were one of the first cars on the boat. We boarded about two hours before take off, and after an hour we were already quite bored. But once we got moving it was awesome to watch as our ferry made it’s way through the Swedish Archipelago. It is a beautiful part of Sweden, and unfortunately a place we didn’t get to explore before leaving. So this short exposure to it was our only time spent in this really beautiful area. Once we made our way out, and fully in the North Sea, we headed indoors and spent our time playing cards, exploring the boat, watching Netflix, having some dinner, and then watching the sunset. The sunset was quite beautiful, and it was really nice to be able to watch it together. It reminded us of our time this last winter in Costa Rica, as that was the last sunset we watched together.
After making it back into our reserved seats, our attempts to sleep did not go very well. For some reason they left the lights and televisions on in our seating area, so we would have definitely been better off saving our $50 and just sleeping on the benches in the café area. Sharleen slept maybe 2 hours, so she awake for the sunrise, which was even more beautiful then the sunset. The sky views were definitely the highlights of the boat ride!
Our ferry docked in the early afternoon, and we made our way to the town of Malbork, where we were spending the night. This town is known for having the largest brick castle in the world. It was so impressive to see - even after all of the castles we have seen on our trip so far. The castle was built in the 13th century by the Teutonic Order, and through restoration efforts, has been preserved quite authentically. It now houses a museum of the castle and the Teutonic Order, which is quite extensive. It took us four hours to walk through the castle, and we probably could have spent another hour here but we were running late for our Airbnb check in.
We only spent one night in Malbork, as there is really nothing else to do in the town other than tour the castle. From here we were making our way to Warsaw. We stopped half way in the town of Torun, a cute medieval town, which has been declared a UNESCO Heritage Site. It seems like everywhere we go there is a UNESCO Heritage Site! This town was really beautiful, and full of red brick buildings. The streets will full of colourful apartment buildings, and there were amazing cafes and restaurants on each corner. It was here that we had our first meal in Poland and it was amazing! We went to a pierogy house and each had a plate full of pierogies. We were in love! They were delicious and oh so satisfying. Little did we know this was our first of many amazing meals in Poland.
After our lunch stop in Torun we finished our drive to Warsaw. When looking to book our Airbnb’s in Poland, we had done some reading on Warsaw and Krakow, and it seemed like most people recommended you spend little (or no time) in Warsaw, and plan more time to explore Krakow. So we planned to only spend two nights and one full day in Warsaw. We didn’t really have any plans, other than to make our way to the town centre and walk around the old town streets. The old town of Warsaw was heavily damaged after WWII, so almost all of it has been restored, but it was still very beautiful. We loved walking around the old town of Warsaw. We started right by the Royal Castle, which was unfortunately closed on the day we were there, but we were able to admire the views from the outside. In front of the castle is a beautiful square with brightly coloured buildings, a few statues, and an observation tower. We walked all around the old town, through the Old Town Market Place, and around to the red brick walls that once surrounded the old town. It was a beautiful place to spend the afternoon strolling and window-shopping. It seemed like every other store was selling massive amounts of amber, and we were fascinated by the beautiful pieces in some of the window displays.
We stopped for lunch at a restaurant in a cobblestone alley, and had one of the best meals of our trip! We each started with a bowl of soup – sour rye soup and a beetroot soup. We shared the cups because each of them were so delicious! Darrell’s main course was called Bigos, which is like a hash with polish sauerkraut and various meats. Darrell’s meal was pictured in the menu with a shot of vodka, so we each decided to have a shot of green vodka - it was clear but called green vodka, and we still aren’t too sure why! Sharleen had pierogies and sour cream, and they too were soooo good!
By the time we finished lunch, rain clouds had started to form above us, and small drops had started the fall. We were not prepared for the rain, so we went to take shelter in the observation tower. It had an exposed balcony, but we thought we might be protected from the rain. From the tower we got a beautiful veiw of old town Warsaw. However, the rain clouds were moving so fast. So fast that buildings in the downtown area were disappearing in the heavy clouds! Before the rain got worse we decided it would be best to try to catch a bus home. We quickly walked across the Castle Square, and made our way down some stairs to the tram stop. The ground was covered in stone tiles that were very slippery from the rain, and while going down the last few steps Darrell took quite a fall. He ended up twisting his leg pretty good. It didn’t seem too bad and he didn’t have any pain after the fall, however that night and the next day it was very painful. Fortunately we were staying right beside two pharmacies, and we were able to get two knee braces which made the world of difference.
Our time in Warsaw short, but we really enjoyed walking through the old town. We would recommend it as a stop, even if it were just for a quick day trip. From Warsaw we headed to Krakow. The drive between the two cities was quite boring, and mostly highway driving. We didn’t make any stops, mainly because we wanted to get to our Airbnb in the early evening so we could watch the Poland World Cup game. We were such bandwagon fans, but we figured it was the perfect time to watch a game! We arrived just as the game started, so we decided to stay in and watch it from our apartment. Unfortunately, Poland lost to Senegal 2-1…maybe we were bad luck.
We had three days in Krakow and they were jammed packed, as there is a lot to do here. We spent the first day walking all over. Our Airbnb was about 1.5 km from the town centre, so it was great to walk around and not rely on transit. It was an easy 20-minute walk to the town centre, which was gorgeous! It’s one of the largest squares in Europe, with churches, observation towers, colourful buildings, and cafes surrounding it. To get to the square you walk by a few other beautiful churches and Wawel Castle. It really felt like we travelled back to medieval times. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant with a gorgeous view of St. Mary’s Basilica, and enjoyed a few hours of people watching in the main square. We had a great time!
After a few hours walking the sites of the town square, we made our way back towards our apartment. Our apartment was located very close to the Oskar Schindler Factory, which was now the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow, so we wanted to take a walk through the museum. The museum was so interesting, and it did a fantastic job explaining the first days of WWII, how Krakow was impacted, and showing details of what Krakow was like between September 1939 and September 1945. Some parts of the museum were very moving, and it gave us such an appreciation to see how far the city has come since the devastation it went through during WWII. There is so much history in this city, and you can experience it everywhere. During our 1.5 km walk to the city square, we walked through areas that were once part of the Jewish Ghetto, and being able to learn more about these areas in the museum gave us a chance to reflect on what it would be like during its Germany occupation.
The museum mainly focused on the city of Krakow from 1939-1945, but since it was in Schindler’s factory, it also include quite a bit of information on Oskar Schindler and the role he played in helping some of the Poles and Jews during the war. After going through the museum it made us both want to re-watch Schindler’s List, a movie we watched back in high school.
On a lighter note, Krakow marked a bit of a milestone for our trip, as it was the first time we had a “beauty day”. At this point we had been travelling for 7 weeks, so Darrell needed a haircut, and Sharleen wanted to get her eyebrows done. These are things you don’t really think about while away from home, as you are rarely gone long enough to need this type of personal maintenance on the road. Fortunately, we both had good experiences. Sharleen was quite worried that she would come out with super skinny eyebrows!
On our next day we decided we would explore one of the top tourist destinations around Krakow – the Wieliczka Salt Mine. This is one of the oldest and best-known salt mines in the world – and surprise surprise, another UNESCO site. The salt mine was active from the 13th century to 2007, and is now used as a museum, tourist destination, and for special events. The structure is absolutely massive. We spent around 3 hours on a guided tour that brought us through one grand room to another. There were so many times we had to remind ourselves that the beautiful statues, walls, carvings, and details we were seeing were all made out of salt. It was truly fascinating! The whole mine reaches a depth of 327 meters, and is over 287 km long. The crazy part is that miners dug every part of this mine, as there are no natural caves in the area. It was hard to believe as we made our way through so many impressive rooms! Some of our favorite rooms were the Michalowice Chamber and St. Kinga’s Chapel.
The Michalowice Chamber is 109 meters underground and has a huge wooden structure, which was used by the miners to keep the structure of the mine secure. The wood in the room was massive, and was original to the mine. It was originally painted white to help reflect light to make it easier for the miners to see. Because there is so much salt in the mine, wood remains preserved and does not decay, so there is a lot of original wood in the mine that is in great condition.
The Chapel is 101 meters underground, and can fit 400 people. It was surprisingly quite large! There were beautiful carvings and statues all around the chapel, as well as a gorgeous chandelier. One of the crazy things about this chapel is that it was created by miners, and not by artists. It’s so beautiful it’s hard to believe specialists in the trade didn’t create it.
The salt mine was unlike anything we had seen before. It was fascinating to see, and we really enjoyed the tour. It’s quite a busy site, so be prepared for long waits and big tours if you go in the summer. Unfortunately, you are required to join a tour if you want to explore the mines.
For our last day in Krakow, we booked tickets with a guide to visit the Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau concentration camps. Both of us had learned so much about WWII in school, and having been able to explore so many historical places so far on our trip, we decided it would be interesting to visit the memorial and museum of the concentration camps. There are many options for individuals who are looking to visit the memorial. Originally, we wanted to go by ourselves and walk the grounds independently, however they limit the number of people who can visit the memorial each day. We didn’t realize they limited the number of entrances until we got to Krakow, and when we went online to book tickets, there were no more independent or English tours available for any of the days we were in Krakow. Fortunately there are a few tourist companies that offer guided tours as well, so we were able to book tickets for an English tour through Discover Krakow. The prices we roughly $55 Canadian each, which included transportation and a full day tour of the sites.
There are two concentration camps – Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II – Birkenau. Auschwitz I is the original concentration camp, and Auschwitz II – Birkenau was an extermination facility. It’s hard to describe the visit to the camps. Even though we had both learned quite a bit about the war and concentration camps, it is something else to be on the ground and standing were such devastating acts took place. The two camps are a few kilometers apart, and our tour drove us between the two. Our tour started at Auschwitz I, and brought us through about five buildings. Even with the regulated number of entrances, the memorial was packed full of tourists, which we both felt had taken away from the opportunity to reflect on the memorial. The tour moved quite quickly as well, so we found ourselves listening more to the guide than being able to read and see some of the displays in the museum. However, with so many people there, it was helpful to be able to listen to the guide and not try to find space to read the information in each room. There are over 150 buildings and 300 ruins between the two sites. With a guided tour we were limited to the buildings we could go into. Someone could easily spend hours at Auschwitz I, seeing all of the exhibits.
We both felt that Auschwitz I was more of a museum or exhibit. It was done very tastefully, but it does feel like a museum. The second camp, Auschwitz II – Birkenau, was very different. Auschwitz II- Birkenau contains many ruins and only a few buildings are still standing. This camp is significantly larger, and here we both realized just how big the camp was. There were hundreds and hundreds of ruins throughout a massive field, and in the middle was a railroad track that was used to bring the prisoners to the camp. Because the space was so much larger, it seemed less touristy. This allowed for a more thoughtful and reflective environment as you walked through the camp.
Overall we were glad we visited. It was an eye opening experience for both of us, and caused us to discuss many interesting things as we reflected on our day. One thing in particular is how we view, photograph, Instagram, or blog about dark tourism (tourism involving a place historically associated with death and tragedy). Numerous times during and after our visit, we found ourselves asking questions like: Should we take a picture of that? Should we post a picture of our day on Instagram? If we do, how do we write a caption that is sensitive and respectful? How do we talk about our experience in our blog post?
We witnessed some interesting behaviour while on the tour. Even simple things like people taking selfies just seemed wrong in some places. Actions that we wouldn’t have normally thought twice about, had us questioning every time we went to capture a photo. There were also things we saw that we chose not to photograph, out of respect and because it wouldn’t have had the same meaning as being at the memorial and seeing it in person.
This visit also had us think about other places we have visited, places that may have seen human tragedy as well, but to a lesser scale. We don’t think twice about taking pictures of statues, monuments, castles, memorials, and other pieces, and a lot of the time we have little to no idea what the history is behind the sight. There is often a story of human tragedy and death, and it made us realize that we should do more digging into what we photograph and post, especially if it’s with a sarcastic or comedic tone.
After everything we did in Poland, it ‘s hard to believe we were only there for a week. When we planned on visiting Poland, we knew it had significant WWII history and pierogies, but that was about it! We have left with such fond memories, a greater understanding and appreciation for how Poland was impacted by WWII, and with full bellies and watering mouths every time we think of our meals. We were both surprised by how much we loved our time in Poland, and both of us wish we had planned more time to spend in this beautiful place.
