Monthly Archives: August 2012

  • The Crypt Keeper!

    August 18, 2012

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    Tomaszow Lubelski, Poland…today we embarked on a second day in the pursuit of putting the puzzle pieces of my ancestry together.

    A thorough cemetery tour spent most of the day and central to the quest is my grandfather’s grave. His tragic death resulted in my father’s family exile to the work camps of Germany. It was an important responsibility for my sister and I as we are the only direct descendants to visit his grave. My fathers bad memories have prevented his pilgrimage back to Poland and he has never seen the grave in person!

    We visited amazing old cemeteries dotted with many relatives dating back a hundred years and eventually we came upon my grandfathers grave. This is LEGEND in my family. This is like visiting the Metzger Holy Grail!

    Not only was this symbolic for us but a very emotional moment for my father back in Chicago. We came here as his emissary to pay respect!

    We were standing over his gray concrete grave site and it all felt surreal! I swept his grave and my sister laid a floral arrangement. We lit a candle and a lifetime of hearing stories raced through my head as we absorbed the moment in silence.

    Many people take for granted that they grew up with family albums, family cemeteries, and family memorabilia that all tell a story of their history. I have never experienced this and to stroll through a cemetery filled with my entire ancestry is truly one of a kind! It wasn’t until we drove back and reflected on the magnitude of the day that my sister had a complete breakdown and I teared up all over this blog.

    Everyone has a history and a story to tell, mine just got a bit clearer!

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  • Never Forget!

    August 18, 2012

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    Belzec, Poland…the third largest death camp for Jews in Poland. Another sobering sight, yet an extremely important one to pay witness to! Only miles from my father’s childhood home, this chilling place was blown up by the Nazis in their attempt to destroy evidence of their atrocities. Today from that rubble, a chilling statement has risen including a museum and monument to pay respect to the staggering amount of Jews from allover Poland that were exterminated here!

    I heard of several relatives who hid Jews to protect them from this awful fate…now seeing how this was practically on their doorstep, it sheds more light on those scary stories and that horrific time!

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  • The Family Tree!

    August 17, 2012

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    Zamosc, Poland…early riser today in order to get the bus from Krakow to Zamosc. A six hour journey on a mini bus is not a fun way to start the day, but I made the best of it with an IPad full of videos!

    Zamosc is the gateway to my father’s childhood home of Kolonia Rogozno. My father fled from here in WW II and has never been back! I was anxious to see it. Even though my cousin lives here and will show us around this weekend, I couldn’t wait…I was so close, I needed to get a glimpse! So I hired a taxi and my sister and I headed out to explore…this is a remote farming area of Poland and English is scarce, so my sister was going to have to rise to the occasion and channel her best childhood spoken Polish! She shined! When forced she was rolling that Polish vocabulary as if she never stopped speaking it. The taxi driver was impressed as I sat there like a big dummy not understanding a word!

    After a few wrong turns we found the tiny hamlet of Kol. Rogozno within the larger area of Tomaszow Lubelski. Looking around at farm animals and old barns, it really seemed as if time stood still…our driver became as excited and motivated as we were to find a relative or someone who knew my family. He pulled over to ask a simple gentleman if he knew anyone with my grandfather’s last name…next thing we know, this man is in the car with us directing our driver to some distant cousin’s house. We go from house to house unannounced gathering clues until we found my grandfather’s goddaughter who is now 86! Jackpot!

    This woman starts crying, I start crying, and she starts telling us stories of my grandfather, his farm, and the farms of all my Great Aunts and Uncles on the block! This is unbelievable that we can plop down in this tiny place as strangers and barge in on people’s homes and suddenly connect to my entire ancestry…

    I am totally shocked and I am pinching myself at today’s events…but it was the most exhilarating moment of this trip! Tomorrow we go digging further into my family history…

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  • Ski Patrol!

    August 16, 2012

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    Zakopane, Poland…another day, another bus trip! Luckily, the weather has improved and the sun is out…so in order to take advantage of it we headed to Poland’s famous mountain resort of Zakopane. Known for its winter sports, it is a little over 2 hour ride from Krakow navigating past cows, sheep, and roosters before arriving at the busy village. It’s August which means the height of European vacation time and this getaway for Poles is brimming with holidaying residents from Krakow and Warsaw.

    Very scenic, the village is packed with shops and peddlers pushing the local speciality of grilled heavily smoked cheese served with cranberry compote. Not my cup of tea, but very popular! As I strolled past the various offerings, I loved the chunky Nordic sweaters and accessories handknit by Polish grandmas…One of these grandmas didn’t look too pleased with my picture taking.

    To get a birds eye view, a funicular, toboggan, or ski lift is available to get visitors up the mountainside. The sight from the top is gorgeous; rolling hills and valleys between mountain vistas dotted with chalet style houses. It must be breath taking in the winter when it’s all pristine white with snow!

    Multiple manners of transport were used today: car, bus, funicular, ski lift, horse and carriage, and a lot of walking! The ski lift proved to be the most visually stimulating and the horse and carriage driver’s Polish mountain man costume was the most entertaining.

    It is a lovely spot, but a bit over-run with commercialism…kids rides, bad souvenirs, bungee jumps, on and on! If you are looking for an unspoiled spot in the mountains, you will need to go further away from Zakopane to find it.

    I really did feel like a local today as you would have been hard pressed to find anyone other than Poles around, but that made the experience all that more fun for me..an authentic Polish outing!
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  • Delicious Memories!

    August 15, 2012

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    Krakow, Poland…well, the weather still won’t cooperate! I see people in sweaters and shearlings, but I refuse to give in; shorts for me! It’s August and it’s cold and dreary…today is a public holiday in Poland as they celebrate the Assumption of Mary and honor their military. More importantly, it’s the start of the famous Pierogi Festival…Polish dumplings of every kind…meat, cheese, fruit, you name it! I am a traditionalist and I prefer classic versions such as potato & cheese (“ruski”) or cabbage (“kapusta”). I may get my fill for a lifetime!

    Women dressed in traditional Polish costumes and freshly picked wild flowers decorate the square. People line up to get their Pierogi fix…this is Poland’s treasured food and they celebrate it in a big way! Of course, none can compete with my grandmother’s pierogis; I remember spending all day with her as she prepared them and then I would sneak the potato filling when she wasn’t looking!

    The four day fest will last through the weekend and I cannot imagine how many of those hand pinched dumplings will be consumed!

    Alot more carbs and a bit of nostalgia here in Poland! I feels as if I am reliving all my favorite food moments of my childhood.

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  • Pass the Salt!

    August 14, 2012

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    Wieliczka, Poland…the weather in Krakow is getting me down! Cold, rainy, overcast…it feels like late October! So, a short trip outside of Krakow seemed like a good idea and off we went to the UNESCO heritage site of “Kopalonia Soli Wieliczka”; the salt mines of Wieliczka.

    It is probably the silliest thing I have done this trip…it is a recommended sight, but I really never thought of visiting a salt mine! A three hour tour at 135 meters below ground is a bit ambitious, but I thought “what the hell!”…I have now garnered more info than I really ever needed on salt and the history of salt mining!

    It is interesting. Additionally, how it was all built is an incredible feat of man made engineering. The underground cathedral carved fully out of salt is an amazing accomplishment and display of artistry. One of the coolest things down below were the beautiful chandeliers made entirely of salt crystals. But, did I need to see this…NO! But I, along with over a million other visitors a year, have done it.

    I am praying the weather will get better and I can re-claim summer before it slips through my fingers!

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  • A Moment of Silence!

    August 13, 2012

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    Auschwitz/Birkenau, Poland…we embark on a solemn day to the town of Oswiecim to visit the 2 concentration camps and sites of one of the most disturbing atrocities of modern times. I think a visit to Poland would not be complete without paying homage to the countless that lost their lives in the hands of the Nazis. It is important to make sure this kind of crime against humanity never happens again!

    We all have faced some kind of prejudice at some point in our lives; but I cannot believe any of us can comprehend what the Jews, Poles, Russians, and Gypsies faced under the Nazi regime. The hatred, cruelty, and loss of human respect just doesn’t seem possible for anyone to inflict. How can something so vile have happened so shortly ago, only within the last century?

    After walking these grounds, following in the footsteps of the over 1.3 million that were tortured and exterminated in these camps, I am even that much more dumbfounded! Seeing a film or reading about these atrocities in a history book doesn’t do justice to the numbers represented once you see the piles of personal belongings, the mounds of human hair, or the names written on the leftover victim’s luggage! I am overwhelmed with a mix of emotions that can’t be properly sorted in my head!

    This piece of history can never be forgotten and this visit is not about just seeing the sight; rather, feeling the depth of these hallowed grounds should awaken in anyone the quest for acceptance of people of all races, religions, and lifestyles! I cannot change the holocaust, but I can pay respect to victims of this and every genocide by not allowing prejudice or hatred of any kind to take hold in my everyday life!

    Once again, I am reminded how travel can stimulate your mind in so many profound ways!20120813-195942.jpg20120813-195954.jpg20120813-200004.jpg

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  • Carb Loading!

    August 12, 2012

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    Krakow, Poland…my first day in Poland was met with Fall like weather! 50 degrees and periods of pounding rain sent a chill down my spine…I definitely felt that summer had escaped and I was in shock…this is going to take some getting used to…

    The town’s main focal point is the huge market square with the massive cloth hall market in the center of it all and flanked on one side by the exquisite St. Mary’s church. The largest square in Eastern Europe, it is something to behold…Ornate and colorful frescos fill the domes and steeples of the church and cafes and vendors flood the square.

    Polish food is in my bones, so I was overcome sampling it all…bread, potato pancakes, pierogis! Yum! I even scored a new accessory: the bread necklace! A statement in carbohydrates!

    Wawel Castle was a trip back in time…to the royal period in Poland’s history. It was as if I entered the “knights of the roundtable”, who knew this existed in Poland! Highly opulent and grand in scale, even after weeks of castles, I was impressed!

    Even in the rain, crowds were out in full force and nothing could cloud the surprising beauty of Krakow!

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  • Back to my Roots!

    August 12, 2012

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    Krakow, Poland…today is a big day, I have arrived in Krakow! My father is from this country and I grew up with all things Polish…his entire family fled Poland during World War II and eventually settled in the USA. I spent my childhood being regaled by stories of his homeland. I have heard so much but yet I know so little of my father’s birthplace! I arrive for the first time today joined by my sister on a very special part of my trip; to connect with my heritage and put the pieces of a large puzzle together from the years of mythical storytelling.

    I feel like I am 5 years old again: excited, naive, and curious about coming to a place like this which holds the key to so much of my family history! I didn’t grow up with home movies of my grandparents, picture albums of my ancestors, or any keepsakes from the village…only stories embellished and heard over and over again at family gatherings. Poland is a pilgrimage for me, a full circle moment that I hope to have and an experience I have thought about for decades.

    It’s fitting that I arrive through a birch wood forest which is my father’s favorite tree. I get emotional upon my arrival and I am greeted by a chilly ominous sky. Krakow is my first stop on the next 12 days of Polish discovery which will take me throughout this land. I hope connecting to my past will give me a new perspective on my life and my future!

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  • Old School Travel!

    August 12, 2012

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    Budapest, Hungary to Krakow, Poland…train travel is commonplace in Europe and I wanted the full experience, so I took one of Europe’s famous overnight trains!

    We all have heard the stories of train bandits, pickpockets, and train drama, so I chose a private “couchette” or cabin in the sleeping car. I purchased the ticket for around $100 from a travel agency in Budapest and it was very easy! I had dreams of the Orient Express, but I tried to keep my fantasies in check…

    Train #360 left Budapest’s Keleti station at 8:05 pm and the journey takes over ten hours, arriving in Krakow at 6:50 am. The train split midway through the night and the back part goes to Berlin. I am not sure how they do it, but they do! I fell sound asleep by the train’s rocking, so not even sure when this all occurred.

    It was like going back in time, as I rolled my luggage through the grand station, a uniformed conductor greeted me and escorted me to my freshly appointed cabin. White crisp sheets, pillows, and a duvet with complimentary snacks were awaiting…I am smitten with the whole experience! As the train pulls out of the station, I hang out of my window channeling some old black and white movie…except no one is chasing after the train like the classic scenes we all have seen many time before! I felt very safe in my cabin and comfortable, after a few videos on my IPad, I settled in for a night’s sleep…

    The morning is greeted with coffee or tea served once again by the friendly conductor. My neighbors are also tourists and you can see the look of satisfaction on all our faces, as we have just experienced this novel mode of travel!

    This worldwide journey has been a trip of firsts…this first will not soon be forgotten!

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