POLAND Remembered...1996

James W. Camerius

You haven't enjoyed Europe until you've taken a WACRA "Optional Tour!"

Cracow Tour, Friday, June 28, 1996 - We were up before dawn, gathered in front of Warsaw's Hotel Karat, awaiting our bus transfer to the Centralna Railway Station. A Polish State Railways InterCity express train was to take us from there on a two hour, 35 minute journey to Cracow. I was really pleased that we were taking the train. It would not only bring back train experiences of my youth, but would give our group a chance to appreciate the Polish countryside. I was not disappointed: wild flowers bloomed along the tracks, horse drawn carts transported freshly mowed hay from the fields, and small villages provided glimpses of life in rural Poland.

Cracow, the city on the Vistula River, the one-time capital of Poland, the town of a thousand architectural monuments and works of art, the place where history becomes intertwined with the present day, was a delight. Our guide, Luiza Dobrzynska, a Polish national and a student at the University of South Carolina, directed our tour of the royal castle on prominent Wawel hill. Inside the castle we admired the Parliamentary Room with its sculptured heads in the wooden caissons of the ceiling and wondered how they had survived years of plunder. Some of us were intrigued with the booties we had to wear to protect the castle floors. I asked who worshiped in the splendor of Renaissance Sigismundus chapel with its golden cupola crown. I don't think I got a good answer. In the Main Market Square, we marveled at St. Mary's historic basilica, a Gothic church completed in the 16th century with its magnificent hand carved wooden altar which took twelve years to complete. I took a number of photographs of the florist displays and pigeons in the Main Market Square. Several of us bought souvenirs in Cloth Hall (Sukiennice); there were plenty of stalls overloaded with fine Polish treasures. We lunched at Hawelka Restaurant on the square. I was impressed with the famous wall paintings by Wlodzimierz Tetmajer and the presentation of the meal in fine silver dinner plates; we gave our diets a day off.

Later in the afternoon, we packed into the "cage" and descended 400 feet into the earth in the Wieliczka Salt Mine, one of Poland's most popular tourist attractions. What an experience! The mine, which has been in operation since the thirteenth century, includes, among other things, 14 post exploitation chambers, where galleries, halls, chapels and numerous sculptures were carved and hewn in the salt rock. My home is in mining country, but iron ore was never this spectacular or exciting. Out of the earth and back on the bus we found that lack of an Interstate Highway System delayed our return trip to the Cracow Central Station; traffic was backed up for miles reflecting the new prosperity of Poland. We just made the train for Warsaw and arrived at our hotel late that night. Gdansk Tour, Saturday, June 29, 1996

It's fun to get up early and join your friends on another rail adventure. Today we're off to Gdansk, four hours north of Warsaw on the Baltic Sea. In retrospect, I wish I would have reviewed my history books, so I could have appreciated more of what we saw. In 1997, Gdansk celebrates its one thousand year anniversary. Located where the Vistula River meets the Baltic, much of its historic charm is intact despite the heavy toll of World War II (90% destruction). I was absolutely mesmerized by the visit to a cathedral in the northern suburb of Oliwa which featured a concert on the famous Organ of Oliwa, build from 1763 to 1788. It had golden angels with trumpets which turned on their pedestals and really played!

We went amber shopping, as everyone seems to do throughout most of Poland, visited the Solidarity Monument and toured the towering and medieval St. Mary's church, believed to be the largest brick building in the world. Our cruise up the Vistula and Motlawa Rivers featured a panorama of expired ship building; the Baltic sea abounded with pleasure craft instead of submarines, and the lengthy promenade featured cafes with sidewalk tables, ice cream stands, galleries and thousands of strollers and people watchers. It was fun to experience the vitality and international flavor of the city. The flavor of old Europe is intact; I didn't see a McDonald or Pizza Hut logo anywhere.

When we passed the home of Solidarity Leader and ex-president of Poland, Lech Walesa, I noted that his house was being expanded to accommodate his emerging needs. I concluded that this Gdansk, with its gas-lit streets and its authentic medieval Old Town, was experiencing the rewards of a capitalist economy. Our train journey back to Warsaw was highlighted by the spectacle of the sun's low angled warmth slowly giving way to infinite shades of pink and mauve and purple, as the northern sky transformed to a brilliant star filled evening. What an opportunity it was to share our experiences of the tours with each other and to network for the future.

Return to NEWSletter - Spring 97 Issue.