Home again!

Before we left the Kraków area we toured an underground salt mine that has been in operation for over 700 years; if you ever get the chance this is a must see!

The tour consisted of descending over 800 steps down to various levels that are open to the public to below 110 metres. Thankfully we were able to take an elevator back to the top!  The walls in some areas were reinforced by massive wood structures.  The salt acts as a preservative for the wood!

Over the years the miners have created life sized sculptures along the way. Some horses were used to pull the sleds to the lifts until 2004:

A sculpture of the last supper of Jesus Christ with his disciples in one of the galleries:

The same sculpture on the lower right giving the perspective of the size of the cavities that have been created over the years:

One of the numerous chapels originally prepared for the workers; not as elaborate as many that we have seen on the tour but still impressive:

On our way back to Warsaw for our final night we saw one of the many roadside markets for fresh fruits and vegetables:

Czestochowa is the spiritual capital for the Polish Catholic Church in Poland.   We stopped to walk through this cathedral; very elaborate:

For a break on our way back to Warsaw we stopped at one of the many McDonald's along the way.  How is this for attractive landscaping for a rest area?

On our walk to our farewell dinner in Warsaw on Saturday evening. Great food, decore and a pianist playing for us for most of the time; the only piece we recognized was "Amazing Grace".

Just a little before my birthday I was able to enjoy ice cream with a warm raspberry sauce with great coffee; delicious! To all my sisters please take note that we plan to return prior to my birthday so hopefully the raspberries back home are ripe by then.

We enjoyed the many shrubs and trees in Warsaw even downtown:

Far too soon it was time to leave!  We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Poland. Our tour director, tour guide and bus driver were superb; so organized, kind and the driver was able to get us to the right place at right time all the time maneuvering in places many would refuse to go!  As I mentioned before the hospitality and food was great.

The other members of the group were great travel companions; it was wonderful to get to know them  individually and we look forward to meeting again if our paths should meet in the future!

Warsaw and Kraków

The last three days have flown by!

We left Gdansk Tuesday morning and toured a few more of the villages that our people occupied so many years ago.  There of course no descendants left but the cemeteries still have a lot of tombstones with the Mennonite names.  The information that I have on pictures will give me hours of work in my hobby of tracing our heritage.

This is a field of canola and the yield potential looks great; no wonder our people farmed in this area.

In Elblag we saw one of the few churches that was built in a city (most were in the country) by Mennonites in 1590.  It was not destroyed by the wars since then and is now used by the Polish Catholics. 

The highways are great in Poland but are very busy and so there is a lot of construction with very up to date equipment:

If this tank could fit into our luggage I'm sure it would have been purchased on the spot:

 

The wheat and the other crops look great.  Vast areas of farmland wherever we have traveled:

 

In Warsaw we received the good news of the arrival of a grand-daughter!  Our whole group rejoiced with us and our Polish tour guide presented us with a gift for her for when she is two years old.

The proud grand-mother would like to present these flowers to the first time mother; all the best Bobby and Alana!

A part of the wall of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw:

Wednesday we travelled to Kraków and on the way stopped to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau;  I was surprised at the many people that were visiting and found out that last year 1.7 million people visited this site.  My hope is that the world will understand the evil of this place and that we will all do our part to make sure that this will never happen again.  The visit here was very sobering and I appreciate my freedom more today then I did yesterday.

Just inside the gate at Birkenau:

The grape vines on the way to Kraków looked great:

Beautiful lanscape and buildings as well:

Enjoying iced tea in the old town of Kraków:

This young fellow was feeding the birds:

This sign was posted by one of the many small restaurants; the coffee in Poland certainly has the desired effect; it's very strong!

Our tour of Poland has been a tremendous experience so far and we have only two days remaining.  On Sunday we are scheduled to fly back to Edmonton, Alberta.

Good nigh and may you all be blessed by God, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Gdańsk, Poland

DayJuly 11 - our free day in Gdańsk.

Today started with a delicious buffet breakfast at Qubus Hotel.  Those of you who know me are well aware of the fact that I love food and so far I have not been disappointed; the food has been excellent and the rooms have been very clean and comfortable.

Being that it was a free day we started a little later and our first activity was a river boat tour of the downtown area; very informative guide and refreshing cool breeze off the river.

Sights along the Motlava River:

Others having fun along the way as we cruised on a bigger boat into the Baltic Sea to a resort just over an hour away:

A long wooden pier at the resort:

Beautiful gardens and parks as we walked to enjoy the area:

Another impressive cathedral:

Way to soon it is time to return:

Sights on our return boat ride:

The view from up on the ferris wheel and yes Agnes joined me for this ride!

Our last dinner in Gdańsk, tonight we pack and continue our journey tomorrow.   After delicious tomatoe soup, Agnes enjoyed grilled chicken and I had fried cod. The food and the service was great!

Warsaw to Gdańsk

Our flights from Winnipeg to Warsaw, Poland via Toronto were long but very good. It's tiring to spending 14 hours waiting and flying across seven time zones but it was great to arrive safe and sound!  We met some of our group in Toronto and one in Warsaw and everyone arrived with all baggage.

Below is the first photo in Warsaw on our way to the Westin Hotel.  The security at the hotel was increased by the fact that many of the people taking part in the NATO Summit starting July 8 the were going to stay there.  Our first impression was that Warsaw was very clean and green and that has continued to be the case.

Here is the first church we toured:

More of the buildings in Warsaw:

The soccer stadium in where the summit was going to take place:

The leaning building in Torun was for real; it is not an illusion!

Many old buildings and churches throughout the Poland:

Henry for the first time dipping his fingers into the waters of the Vistula River in the area where our ancestors spend over 400 years:

Ripe, tasty organic tomatoes for anyone?  The taste of the salads obviously indicate that all the vegetables are grown organically,

Wild flowers on the walk to a cemetery where there are still a lot of Mennonite names on the tombstones:

Beautiful greenery all over Poland:

Because of the lack of chemical fertilizers the crops look light but overall the yields should be accepted considering the conditions. All of the trees look a very healthy green and there are many rows and also many planted forests.  Much of the lan is very flat although there are some rolling hills:

Last night we arrived at Qubus Hotel (which is in a restored grainery) in Gdańst (Danzig in the past).

Today we had a walking tour of Gadańst in the morning as well as a visite the the Soladarity Museum that commentates Poland's strikes in 1980.  I remember this time of struggle that Poland experienced in their efforts to break away from the communistic regime that had controlled them since the end of the Second World War!  Looking at the people and economic condition in the country today it has definitely been wort the sacrifices!   The people appear happy and hopeful.

Another church:

And another one but this one looks much simpler:

A field of canola and wind turbines.  Most of the electricity is produce by coal:

A new friend for Agnes do you think?

Henry by the tombstone of an Abraham Wiebe;  when we return we will do some research to see if there are any connections.  This was an emotional experience for me!

Henry getting his feet wet in the Baltic Sea:

And no I was not alone on the beach; many families were enjoying the resort:

A restored Mennonite house that is for sale; anyone want to relocate back the the land of our forefathers?

We put on a lot of steps today again and our bus driver takes us to some amazingly tight places:

All of the roads have pavement, even some very narrow ones:

Our time here has been amazing and we are travelling with a wonderful group and our leader and guide are excellent!  We still have just over a week remaining.