Showing posts with label Poland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poland. Show all posts
June 03, 2017
Auschwitz-Birkenau, Poland
Auschwitz concentration camp was a network of German Nazi concentration camps and
extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas
annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II.
June 02, 2017
Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland
The mine's attractions include
dozens of statues and four chapels carved out of the rock salt by the miners. The older sculptures have been
supplemented with new carvings made by contemporary artists.
June 01, 2017
October 11, 2006
Why Poland?
My Mom passed away this spring and I wanted to do something with my Dad. I like to travel, and immediately I thought of Poland, since my Dad has never been there, even though all my grandparents - both my Mom’s and Dad’s parents - emigrated from Poland in the early 1900’s. My Dad met my Mom at a Polish-American Club in N.J. Now are you beginning to understand why Poland? My parents spoke Polish to each other and their parents. Why a religious pilgrimage in Poland? My Dad is also very religious – he goes to church everyday, prays all the time (before meals, at night, etc.), belongs to religious clubs, has been an Eucharistic minister for the past 34 year, etc. While I am no where near as religious – really far from it - I though it would be a fun trip. Something we could do together.
I was in Poland once before in 1987, on an agriculture exchange program. I worked on a government farm shoveling potatoes and distilling vodka. At that time the country was still under communist rule and plagued with shortages of basic necessities like toilet paper and bread. I remember villagers waiting in line for such items to be delivered to the rural store near the house that I lived in. Today, if you have the money, you can buy also anything that you can buy in the U.S. This most notable visible change: rampant consumerism. I didn’t take long. Other than the consumerism, a few new skyscrapers in Warsaw, and a much more enthusiast generation of young people populating the cities, the country hasn’t changed much.
October 10, 2006
Father Medley
What would a pilgrimage be without a spiritual leader? Father Medley from Kentucky assumed the position on our pilgrimage. He celebrated Mass and led the group in saying the whole Rosary DAILY!!
Itinerary details:
October 09, 2006
Krakow, Poland
The Market Square in Krakow has remained unchanged for almost 700 years and the surrounding buildings of historical value including St. Mary's Church (bottom left) and Cloth Hall (bottom right), numerous store and restaurants (top left). Also pictured is Wawel Castle (top right), another very proximate and notable building in Krakow.
Today, I escaped from the group and just hung out in Krakow by myself. The group attended Mass at the Shire of the Divine Mercy, and visited St. Faustina's convent chapel, and St. Faustina's Tomb. Who is St. Faustina? I really don't know, but if you want to learn more check the link
October 08, 2006
Auschwitz – Concentration Camp
The German forces occupying Poland during the Second World War establishing a concentration camp, on the outskirts of the town of Oswiecim in 1940; the Germans called the town Auschwitz. The first people to be brought to Auschwitz as prisoners and murdered were Poles. They were followed by Soviet prisoners of war, gypsies and deportees of many nationalities. Beginning in 1942, however, Auschwitz became the setting for the most massive murder campaign in history, when the Nazis put into operation their plans to destroy the entire Jewish population.
While this was my second time to visit Auschwitz, it was still quite moving, especially while viewing all the shoes, eye glasses, suitcases, and piles of hair that are on display in the museum, and the crematorium and firing squad wall.
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