Day 18 - Flying home

It's snowing in Warsaw this morning for the first time this Fall.  Time to go home. We're in the airport waiting for the flight, which is delayed about 30 minutes as of now, probably because of the weather.  It's been snowing since 7am and its now 11am, and there's no sign it will let up any time soon.  It doesn't matter when the plane leaves to us, as we're going home and we get there when we get there. 

When I get home, I'll check my posts for spelling errors and clarification when needed. I would like to encourage anyone interested in visiting Poland to do so.  We've had a wonderful vacation and look forward to returning. I'm making a list of sights to see next time. 

Do zobaczenia!

Day 17 - Last day in Warsaw

We made the most of our last day in Warsaw!   The Warsaw Uprising Museum has been open since 2004, but it's about 3 kilometers from the Old Town (Stary Miasto), so always from most of the other sites.  We were going to take a bus, but were told that because of the construction for the new subway line, the bus could take up to two hours.  It was a chilly morning, but sunny, so we decided to walk there and then work our way back. 

The Warsaw Uprising Museum tells the story of the 1944 uprising that was the combined effort of Poles and remaining Jews, as well as a handful of people from other countries, to throw off the Nazis just before the Russian Red Army advanced on Warsaw.  The idea was to be in control of Warsaw when the Red Army arrived rather than in enemy hands. 

It took about 45 minutes to walk to the Warsaw Uprising Museum.  It opens at 8 am, so there were already some school groups there. Unlike the Copernicus Museum which was full of grade school aged children, these were high school aged students as this is a much more serious place.  While not as interactive as more recently opened museums, the WUM was still full of video screens and a few interactive displays.  At the beginning is a wall resembling the Jewish Ghetto riddled with bullet holes, and you place your ear up to the bullet holes to listen to the various sounds from the uprising.   

It's hard to follow the specific way one is supposed to see the various displays which are spread out over three floors, but it didn't matter. If you're familiar with the story of the Warsaw Uprising, then the order in which you see the exhibits and films isn't that important.  The exhibits are numbered, there are occasional signs that direct you one way or another, and there are also calendars with dates during the Uprising that can help keep you on track. 

After about two hours in the Warsaw Uprising Museum, we walked  over to a small Fotoplastikon Museum on Jerozlimieskie street near the Central Railway station.  These were popular throughout Europe in the early years of the 20th century, and there are still a handful in Poland.  I don't think I've ever seen one in the US. In the center of the room is a large round barrel with several binoculars around the outside of the barrel and stools under each pair of binoculars to sit in. The barrel goes around automatically and you look through the binoculars to see 3-D pictures of Warsaw in the first decade of the century.  It only takes a few minutes to see all of them, and you'll want to watch the show once or twice. For 4 zloty per person, it's worth a stop. 

It's mid-afternoon, the perfect time to stop at the famous original Wedel chocolate shop on Szpitala street.  A hot chocolate (made with real chocolate and not chocolate milk), a slice of Polish cheesecake with cherry sauce and a slice of warm apple cake with vanilla ice cream should be enough to get us through the rest of the afternoon.  And of course, a couple of dark chocolate bars for souvenirs. 

Next stop is the National Museum, the main art museum in Warsaw.  It closes at 6pm on Friday,  but is open later on other days.  This means we have only a couple of hours to hit the highlights.  Rick Steve's guide is useful for this museum.  For the second time this trip, we've closed a museum!

 Short walk back to Zgoda street, near Wedel, for dinner at a restaurant of the same name, Zgoda.  A short walk takes us back to our favorite place in Warsaw, Blikle, for a paczki dessert.  A last walk down the very trendy Nowy Swiat street, which turns into Krakowskie street, which takes us to our hotel for our last night in Poland. 

Do zobaczenia!

Day 16 - Warsaw

We had a full day in Warsaw.  Dariusz, who we met at our cousin in Karchowice, met us in the morning to take us to some museums we wanted to see. He has a car, which helped cut down on the walking.  

We first went to the Warsaw University Library. It's well known because of its interesting architecture. It's made of copper, with large walls representing books of languages of the world, including mathematics and music. We also went to the garden on top of the museum which provides awesome views of Warsaw.  

Just across the street is the new Copernicus Science Center.  While aimed at children, and full of kids on trips from school, it is a wonderland of hands on science demonstrations.   Your ticket is a plastic card that is used to activate various displays. There's also a planetarium accessed through the museum but requires an additional fee.  Check before you go for the schedule of shows to time your visit to one of interest to you.  We spent about an hour wandering the museum, but if you're taking kids, it would be easy to spend the day here.  Or if you're a big kid yourself!

We then drove to the newly renovated Chopin Museum.  Once again, an interactive badge is used to view videos and listen to music.  The exhibits are spread out over several floors based on the periods of his life, from childhood to his death.  If you love Chopin, you could spend hours listening and watching every exhibit. 

The grey skies turned to a slight drizzle, and Dariusz had work to do, so he dropped us back at the hotel.  After a short rest in the room, we repaired to the Cafe Bristol for a cappuccino to plan the rest of the day and tomorrow.  

We didn't want to go far as it was late afternoon and uncertain of the weather.  So we walked to the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and St. John's cathedral only to find that like much of Poland, it was being renovated.  We were able to visit the tomb of the late Cardinal Wisynski.  We wandered to the square with the statue of Syrenka, the symbol of Warsaw, and the memorial to the children who fought in the underground during the war. We stopped at a couple of the many amber stores, as I was looking for earrings to match a necklace our Mom bought in Poland some 30 years ago. We also scoped out some ice cream shops in anticipation of dessert.  Warsaw's ice cream is every bit as good as Italy's gelato.  Finally, we decided on Pod Samsonem, just past the Barbakan, for dinner.  On the way there, we saw a lady making nalasniki (crepes) in the window of a nearby ice cream shop. So that's where we had dessert - ice cream for Robert and a sweet nalasniki for me.  On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at one last amber shop and I found just the style of earrings I was looking for.  

For a grey, damp day, it turned out to be a wonderful day in Warsaw. 

Do zobaczenia!

Day 15 - Another breakthrough

Today we 're saying goodbye to our family in Turek and leaving for a couple of days in Warsaw and then home.  And our family is going back to work and school.  But you never know when you're going to make another discovery about family history. 

My cousin married a fellow named Waldemar Pilarczyk, one of the family names I'm researching.  For years, even when Mom was alive and could speak with them in perfect Polish, I've been trying to find out how he is related to us as anyone whose name is Pilarczyk from the small town of Tuliszkow has to be related. But we couldn't get him to talk about his family, his father, grandfather, etc.  

I told Helen that Zbigniew Pilarczyk of Karchowice knows Helen's sister, Zosia.  Helen called Zosia, and Zosia said that Zbigniew isn't related to her (he is and I have the documents to prove it) but that Zbigniew is related to Waldemar.  Aha!  If Zbigniew is related to Waldemar, then Waldemar is related to us.  Probably five generations back, but still related.  This could help fill in information about the family.  But Waldemar isn't talking.  Helen explained that he doesn't talk about his ancestors because his father was his mother's first husband.  His mother married a Pilarczyk who then adopted Waldemar.  But now Helen understands what I'm looking for, and she said that she would find out the names of his grandfather and great-grandfather, which should be enough to connect him to the family tree.  You never know when you're going to break down another brick wall!

The weather was beautiful all day, and the new autostrada got us to Warsaw in just over two hours, even driving much slower than the 149 kilometers per hour speed limit.  The EU money is building beautiful new roads all over Poland.  I remember driving between Turek and Warsaw on a two-lane road crowded with trucks and cars and the little Fiats actually driving on the side of the road as if it were a second lane!  It used to take 4 hours of nerve wracking driving and now it's 2 hours of easy driving.  Poland is a totally new country. 

We had plenty of time to walk around the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and New Town.  We even headed in the other direction and picked up treats at Blikle, Poland's most famous bakery whose specialty is the traditional rosé jam filled paczki.  We bought paczki and I couldn't resist the plum tarts.  I've eaten my share of paczki, but I've never ever had anything this delicious.  I think it's worth a trip to Warsaw just to visit Blikle.  We decided to eat at Polka, one of Gessler's many restaurants in Warsaw.  It's right on the Old Town square, and has delicious food at really reasonable prices. 

Warsaw is changing, at it is all for the good.  It is starting to feel like a very modern cosmopolitan city.  Given it's location between Western and Eastern Europe, I think the future is going to be awesome for Warsaw. 

Do zobaczenia!

Day 14 - the Archives in Konin

This is the kind of day every genealogist loves - a day in an archive.  To make sure we didn't get lost in Konin, our cousin Artur came with us.  It was also helpful to have him to translate with the archive staff.  At first, it was clear that the staff didn't grasp that I've been doing research for 15 years.  I understood the Director well enough to know that he thought we were newbies.  No matter. Within a short time I was able to get across that I knew which records I wanted to look at and wasn't looking for someone to teach me how to do research. 

It is a government archive, so there were several bureaucratic hurdles to jump over, including several documents to sign to say what research we were doing, that we had to complete with a list of records we wanted to make photos of (which needed the directors approval signature), and a separate form for each year of the fond that I wanted to look at.  I limited the number of books to what I hoped was manageable in a couple of hours. 

They only pull books twice each morning, and we missed the first call.  So we waited for about 45 minutes before the books arrived.  The room held 8 desks, one had a microfilm reader on it, which meant only 7 were suitable for metrical books, and all 7 desks were taken.  One lady was already working on books.  Two others managed to get their request in early and were also occupied.  There were 4 of us sitting watching a broken clock waiting for our books for 45 minutes.  Everyone except the first lady were gone by the time we finished. 

We found a total of 17 documents related to our family.  One of the staff stood guard while we made our photos (without a flash, which is fine since flash doesn't make a good photo of a document).  And we were done.  It was a good day. 

Day 13 - On the road again!

Renting a car in Poland can sometimes be an interesting experience.  It seems each time, something goes wrong.  Last year, instead of an automatic transmission, they. Gave me a semi-automatic transmission, which is something I had never heard of.  Then, just before we were going to return to Warsaw, the GPS died.  So we had to figure out how to drive in Warsaw the old- fashioned way, with a map we bought in a gas station. 

This year, the car we rented in Krakow and the GPS both worked fine.  I decided to take trains between Krakow and Poznan, and on to Wroclaw, just to eliminate the hassle of renting a car and driving in Poland.  However, I needed a car to get from Poznan to the archives in Konin and our family in Turek.  Which meant that we would also have to drive to Warsaw.  The car we were given was fine, except for the fact that the tank was only one-quarter full.  Yes, I understand that we only had to return the car in the same state, but I wouldn't drive in Chicago with less than a quarter of a tank of gas, let alone drive around Poland with one.  So we lost time stopping to fill the tank. 

Then, less than a mile from the hotel, the GPS stopped working.  This meant that although we managed to figure out how to get to Konin, I couldn't find the way to the archive.  I was able to find the road to Turek, so at least we were headed to someplace we knew.  The company later said that the GPS wasn't broken, it just wasn't charged.  What kind of rental company gives a customer a car with a quarter tank of gas and an uncharged GPS?  This is still the problem with Poland.  As long as you're in Warsaw or Krakow, they know how to conduct business.  In other smaller cities, it's hit or miss. 

Our family hosted a wonderful family dinner for us with homemade golabki and pierogi, chicken, cakes, and a round of citrus flavored vodka. It's nice to know we're welcome here and we can get help talking in Polish to the car rental companies!

Day 12 - More Poznan

The fog was so thick this morning that I could barely see the other side of the street.  This wasn't predicted, but all we can do is hope that it will burn off.  regardless of the weather, our cousin Wieslaw met us at out hotel for a planned excursion to Ostrow Tumski - Cathedral Island. 

Since it's early and there will be masses still going on, we decide to visit the Poznan Ethnographic Museum, which is on the way to Ostrow Tumski.  Ethnographic Museums are usually my favorite because they show how people lived in a particular region.  There are displays of costumes, tools and equipment used in every day life.  Of course, if you live in Poznan or Krakow or Warsaw, you'll want to see displays of regions other than your own.  So there is usually a special exhibit, and in the Poznan Museum there was an exhibit of Kosovo on the first two floors.  The third floor had an exhibit that had artifacts from all over the world, in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the museum, reflecting the many different exhibits they've had over these years.  Many of these were from regions in Poland, so it made the visit worthwhile. 

When we were leaving the museum, Wieslaw mentioned we were going to Ostrow Tumski and the museum staff recommended a new museum there which just opened in June.  They even called the museum for us to make sure that it was open today, a Sunday. 

To reach Ostrow Tumski, we walked over the bridge crossing the Warta River and noted the incredibly long fishing poles the fisherman were using to reach the deepest water in the center of the river.  

Ostrow Tumski was the area where Poznan started in the 10th century.   Three centuries later, the island was given to the church and a new city built on the other side of the Warta.  The new museum, Genius Loci Archeological Park, explains this and much more with a 3- D movie and multi-media kiosks. The movie has English subtitles, and an English audio guide is available for the rest of the museum. These explain what Poznan looked like during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.   Besides the movie theater, the museum consists of two large rooms, one which has excavations of walls of the original fortress wall, and the second has actual archeological excavations that show how the fortress walls were built with timbers, rocks and sand.  Usually there is a small admission fee, but the museum is free on Sunday. The audio guide was 2 zloty (about 60 cents).  It's only 2 blocks from the cathedral, and worth seeing as it provides good background for our visit to the Cathedral. 

By then masses were over so we entered Peter and Paul Cathedral, the oldest site on Ostrow Tumski.  The original building was constructed in 968, but due to many conflicts has been reconstructed several times, most recently after WWII. There are 12 chapels around the perimeter.  The most notable is the Golden Chapel, the brilliantly gilded mausoleum for the former rulers Mieszko I and Boleslaw Chrobry. The high altar was created by 14th and 15th century Silesian artists depicting Out Lady surrounded by 14 female saints. 

We took a leisurely walk back to the Rynek and stopped at Cukernia Gruszecki for a regional specialty, Rogale Swieto Marcinski, that is qualified by the EU Protected Designation of Origin, just like Parma ham and champagne. These buns are traditionally eaten on St. Martin's Day (Nov 11) but are available all year.  The rogale we had was as big as my outstretched hand, but Wieslaw explained that the buns sold on the holiday are 2 or 3 times that size.  The Rogale is a crescent shaped sweet bread with a white poppy seed and dried fruit filling and a nut glazed topping.  It was delicious, and we washed it down with a hot chocolate to warm us up.  Of course, it wasn't until then, late afternoon, that the sun made a vain attempt to come out. 

After three days of touring Poznan, we were ready for a rest and needed to get ready to leave in the morning, so we went back to the hotel.  Later, we decided to get some dinner, so walked back to the Rynek where most of the recommended restaurants are located.  We chose Ratuszowa because it had czernina (duck blood soup). It's hard to find a restaurant in Poland that makes it. In fact, this was the first time we saw it on a menu.  Not only was the czernina excellent, the entire meal was awesome and one of the best we've ever had in Poland.  Even better, it was very reasonable compared to other places. And to top it off, the waiter said he had Pilarczyk in his heritage.  Maybe he was angling for a bigger tip, but we really did enjoy the evening. 

By evening the fog had settled back in and we couldn't see more than a block ahead.  Given the surroundings, we felt like we were in a 1940's movie. Fortunately, after three days touring Poznan we felt like natives and knew where we were going.  We had an awesome time in Poznan, and I have a list of places yet to see.  So we'll definitely be back someday. 

Do zobaczenia, Poznan!