Wow . . . Krakow 2

More from my time in Krakow.

Rural landscape

Aerial performers in the Town Square

A furnace in my hotel.

Jewish Neighborhood

The only active synagogue in the city.

The Jewish Neighborhood

This is Pope John Paul II.
He is standing in front of the seminary he attended.

Another church

This is a very ornamental church.
The doors to this magnificent sculptures are opened at noon each day.
The left door is open.  The right one, no yet.

I'm in the courtyard of a museum of one of the oldest universities in the country.

The tall statue on the right is an Academy Award.  Schindler's List was filmed here.
Not sure who was awarded the Academy Award.

This is a Nobel Award.  Again, i'm not sure who received this.

Another furnace in the corner.

A palace.

Some random thoughts . . .

There are 145 churches in this city alone.

Ninety-five percent of the people are Catholic.

The George Zimmerman Trial was covered by the local media outlets here.

Mayonnaise was served with french fries, reminding me of a scene between John Travolta and Samuel l. Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

The restrooms were called toilets.  In many places they're referred to by the initials WC, meaning water closet.

I saw several men wearing capri pants.  Not the best look for a guy.

And finally . . .

Men wear their wedding bands on their right hand.

Until next time,

Your blogging buddy.

Mining Away

The Wiecliczka Salt Mine is a treasure to behold.  This mine has been mining salt from the 13th century through 2007.  It is 1,073 feet deep, and is over 178 miles long.  To enter the mine, you take 378 steps going straight down, round and round, six steps at a time, until you reach a depth of 210 feet.  (This info was obtained from the link mentioned at the end of this post). Although it is fitted with electrical lights, it was still dark.  There are two more levels that we descended to, and there were six more levels below that that were off limits.

The overwhelming thought as you walk through this, is the time, patience, and tremendous talent it took to create these masterpieces out of salt.  And these men were not trained sculptors, which makes it even more remarkable.

The 378 wooden steps descending down, down, down.
It was like a spiral staircase, but there was a landing after every six steps.

A corridor

Replica of miners

This is one of the floors, also carved from salt.

Salt formation along the walls.

More salt formations that look like cauliflower .

Replica of miner and horse used in the mining process in the 1800's.

Sculpture of a king.

Wooden sculpture of the Crucifixion.

More wall sculptures.

Another view of the one above.  Note the detailed work.

Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

Jesus carrying the cross above the Holy Family.

One of the three altars for church services.

Another altar.

Corner sculpture of the Crucifixion.

The Virgin Mary.

The Last Supper.

Chandelier made of salt.

Me in front of the Last Supper.
Note the walls, ceiling, and floors are all made of salt.

Pope John Paul II, who was born, raised,
and entered the seminary in Krakow.

A closeup of Pope John Paul II

An elaborate structure built to support one of the excavated ceilings.

A beautiful open space, used as a hall for various functions:
weddings, boxing matches, and beauty pageants.

Another view of the hall.

These photos came out better than I expected, but they don't come close to showing how magnificent this place really is.

Below please find a link with some really great pictures.  It's a busy link, with all kinds of stuff on both side, but scroll through the pictures in the middle.  Take special note of the second one.  It is a shot of the cathedral, that is absolutely extraordinary.

http://curioushistory.com/post/55364201693/polish-salt-mine#.UebVBxY_595

I hope you enjoyed this.

As always, thanks for continuing to allow me to share my adventures with you.

Wow . . . Krakow

I'm home now, but below is the post I wrote on the road.

I'm writing this on my first full day in Krakow, Poland.  What a beautiful city, although it has a very small town feel.  I opted not to bring my laptop, in an effort to travel lighter.  I realize now because of that, I'll have to wait to post, so I hope you won't mind a flood of info when I get back home.

The first thing I noticed as we very ferried by bus from the airplane to the terminal, was a large (several stories high) picture of a Mike Tyson ad.  I was so surprised to see him, I didn't notice what he was selling!

Getting through the passport checkpoint took a while.  The only other people of color on this flight were Asian guys, and the man checking their passports gave them a heck of a time.  I'm watching this, hoping that my treatment is better.

Yes, thank God it was!  Once I got to the counter, the check of my passport went very quickly.  I was asked why I was visiting.  I told them I was here to see the salt mine, and I was welcomed and sent on my way.

I took videos of the landscape on my way to the hotel, but I'm having technical difficulties with the upload.  I'll try again later.  

I was struck by how rural it was.  We were on a two lane road for a while before we entered a highway, and even that wasn't a busy thoroughfare.

When I arrived at the hotel, I was given directions to the town center which was like a town square.  A beautiful park-like setting surrounded the area, making it a lovely place to stroll and relax.

Where I stayed - The Ostoya Palace Hotel

Across the street from the hotel

View of the look down the street from the hotel.
Notice the cars are parked on the curb.

The weather was damp, rainy and cool, which was a welcome break from the blistering heat of the UAE.

I washed off the road dirt with a wonderful shower, then I was on my way to explore.

This area looks a lot like Prague, but quieter and slower.  The buildings were painted in pastel colors, and the streets were clean.

The town center/town square is a large open area with a stage, statues, and restaurants surrounding it offering outdoor seating.  This area is really, really nice. Also in the middle is a long, covered corridor with souvenir shops all along the way.

This beautiful, luscious park surrounds Town Center

This is on the way from my hotel to Town Center

Town Center

The head is hollow so you can climb in and look out through the eyes.

This is the awesome shopping area in the middle of the square with souvenirs galore.
This picture doesn't do it justice.  This is a really nice area.

A church on the square.

Outside dining area surround the square.

Closeup of one of the dining areas.

Statue in the square.

Another view of the above statue.

After walking around for a couple of hours, I was tired, so I headed back to the hotel. It was an all-night flight, but I didn't get much sleep on it, so I was ready for bed for the night at bout 2:30 in the afternoon.

After a wonderful night of rest, I awaken this morning to a quick breakfast in the hotel, then I walked for about ten minutes to the gathering place for my trip to the salt mine.

I'll stop here and pick up on that adventure in the next post.

Napping

I love taking naps.  Always have.

My mom used to say I could nap all afternoon and still beat everyone to sleep at night.

Today though, try as I might, I couldn't fall asleep.

I needed a nap for real because I'm on a late night flight to Krakow, Poland to see the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

Huge thanks to Ann for introducing me to this marvel of ingenuity and patience.

Check out the link below to read about it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine

More soon.

Good morning to you.

Good night to me.

The Way We Eat

This is a really quick review of some of the many different ways we eat around the world.

Very interesting!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/11/dining-etiquette-around-the-world_n_3567015.html

Bon appétit!

The Call to Prayer

Below please find a link to the Islamic Call to Prayer, or the adhan, that is heard five times a day throughout the area. Someone in the mosques is singing this live, and it is broadcast throughout loud speakers from the mosque. (In Abu Dhabi, at the Grand Mosque, it is sung live at this location, and is broadcast throughout the whole city).

This prayer is the first one.  Quite frankly, I didn't know that each time I heard this throughout the day, it was a different prayer.  Also, I didn't know what they were saying, so this was informative for me.

http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/07/10/a-call-to-prayer-on-channel-4/

It is a very haunting, calming ritual.  Not at all intrusive as it might seem.

The call to prayer times for Abu Dhabi for today are 5:40 - 12:28 - 3:50 - 7:15 - 8:45. The times change by location and by day.  The reason for this is below.  It was found online at www.islam.about.com.

The Islamic prayers are fixed at the same "time" period each day -- before dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening. Because of the rotation of the earth, the revolution of the earth around the sun, the tilt of the earth, the various latitudes of the earth's locations, daylight savings time, etc. -- the "times" (according to the clock) for these prayers do change from day to day and depend on location. Islamic prayer times were traditionally set according to the movement of the sun, not of the clock, and this is how they continue to be observed.

No.

I'm not converting to Islam or any other religion.  I just think the more we know about others, the richer our lives will be.

I hope you found this as enlightening as I did.

Being a Woman

Dustin Hoffman explains his thought process in portraying a woman in "Tootsie" that transcends what you see on the screen.  It's a powerful three minutes.

http://www.upworthy.com/dustin-hoffman-breaks-down-crying-explaining-something-that-every-woman-sadly-already-experienced-3

Reflections

Have you ever been watching TV or a movie, and the character is acting a fool, and you realize they're acting like you?

Do you gasp in shame, or recognize the problem and address it?

I began this post days ago, and couldn't get past these questions.

Of course, the "right" answer is to deal with the issues head on, but that takes work. And working on yourself, is often the hardest kind.  But, when you realize that you and you alone are in control you how you respond to life and the challenges it brings, then you can breathe and get to work.

On a similar note . . .

The following article from the New York Times, is written by an 80 year old, discussing the joys of old age.  It is insightful and beneficial, no matter your age.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/opinion/sunday/the-joy-of-old-age-no-kidding.html?src=me&ref=general

And finally . . .

This video clip below is a mini-lesson on one way Black folks avoid being killed in traffic stops.  It's a lesson every Black kid in America needs to be taught.

http://www.salon.com/2013/07/02/levar_burton_explains_how_not_to_be_killed_by_police/

This clip may seem out of place to some, but this is a reality many of us are forced to deal with and reflect upon, whether we want to or not.

Reflections for some, can mean the difference between life or death.