Chopin's fountain on the Planty

On our tour of Old Town,

Katie guessed

what this fountain represented,

a piano.

Happy Ending

What would a legend of

Dragon be unless there
were the princesses and

the brave knights?

more draggin' tails

Dragon Day

In May the town celebrates Dragon Day.
In case you didn't know, we have a dragon that
lives at the base of the Wawel Hill,
in a cave under the castle.
A fire breathing dragon, named Smok.

Along with the carnival atmosphere,
by the river, there is a parade through town.
All the schools have entries, of their version
of the dragon.




















The littles kids are recruited
to be the dragon tails! By the time they got around
to our side of the square,
the dragon tails were draggin'!

Scripture on the door posts

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart;
ז וְשִׁנַּנְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ, וְדִבַּרְתָּ בָּם, בְּשִׁבְתְּךָ בְּבֵיתֶךָ וּבְלֶכְתְּךָ בַדֶּרֶךְ, וּבְשָׁכְבְּךָ וּבְקוּמֶךָ.
7 and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
ח וּקְשַׁרְתָּם לְאוֹת, עַל-יָדֶךָ; וְהָיוּ לְטֹטָפֹת, בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and they shall be for frontlets between thine eyes.
ט וּכְתַבְתָּם עַל-מְזֻזוֹת בֵּיתֶךָ, וּבִשְׁעָרֶיךָ. {ס}
9 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates

Book of Deuteronomy


There were decades that Kazimierz was left to deteriorate.
After the war was over
The communists didn't allow the rightful
owners to move back.
Now there is a renaissance going on
and many buildings are being restored.
Some are leaving the door frames
and preserving the places where the mezuzahs were.
(the little diagonal areas held the family's mezuzah)




















I should put a disclaimer here -
obviously I'm not Jewish,
and I don't know how accurate
my statements are. They are only my
interpretations.

Jewish Culture Festival in Kazimierz

I have become very interested in the history of the Jewish people of Krakow.

The little district nearby is Kaizmierz which now is enjoying a renaissance. Maybe only 10 years ago the town wasn't on the tourist map, even considered a bit shady. But now there are numerous rebuilding projects, trendy little cafes and "drink bars", great hotels and restaurants.

I do enjoy strolling through the streets, antique shops and galleries. My latest excursion was to take part in some of the offerings of the Jewish Culture Festival. Over the next several days I will post some of the pictures I took and give you a brief explanation. I'm not sure way this has such a fascination for me. Having not been brought up Catholic, or Jewish, so many of the holidays and customs are a little foreign for us. But the history of this area holds my interest.

I have attended many exhibits since we have been here, and in the old photographs I often see a familiar face. Many Jewish men from the photos taken in the 1920's -1950's remind me of my grandaddy. I've even called home recently, to see if I can pin point a town of our families origin. I do know that his relatives were German. And since we have been here in Poland, we have heard how the countries boundaries have fluctuated over the decades. Even did a little research into the family name, to my surprise the origins included a Jewish version. Ashkenazic Jews that inhabited this area of Poland centuries ago. Just proves we are all related some how.
















These direction markers illustrate how this Jewish area
and Catholic area has existed side by side for centuries.

Pretty in Pink

Little girls here wear the sweetest hats!

Wigilia Christmas Eve Supper

How many dishes will you prepare for the traditional Christmas dinner for your family? Turkey and dressing, or a ham, maybe yams, the green bean casserole? A favorite old fashioned jello salad would be made for our gathering. Then a bread, biscuits that only grandma can bake? A couple of pies and assorted cookies. Seven or eight dishes. But twelve dishes for Christmas supper!?that's how many most Poles will sit down to, after fasting all day! It will vary from region to region, and family to family. These represent the apostles, or the twelve months of the year. Keith and I have been hearing that there are some very meaningful aspects to a Polish Christmas. There is a belief that "how goes Christmas eve, is how the year will go", so be careful that you don't quarrel, and be sure to mend riffs with neighbors.

I went to the market with my language teacher while she did some of her shopping and she gave me her family's version of the dinner and traditions. It is a meatless menu. Carp is the traditional main dish. Although Joanna will have another white fish, as she doesn't care for carp. Soups; beet root and sour rye or mushroom, noodles, several pickled vegetable dishes, mushrooms dishes, cabbage and peas, dumplings: uszka and pierogi, fruit compote, and variety of sweet breads. Poppy seed bread, and kutia, a sweet grain pudding. Most of these she has begun to prepare and will store away. Her husband is very helpful, and does the house cleaning, even windows! As there is to be no housework done on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The meal is begun when the first star appears, and is served on a white table cloth with hay underneath, to remind of the stable where Christ was born. A consecrated piece of unleavened bread; an oplatek is broken by the husband and offered to family with a request to forgive any hurts and wishes for happiness in the new year.

Giving thanks today and everyday

Since I'm not running around town looking for the best buys in the grocery store for the ingredients to go in the Thanksgiving dinner, then putting it all together, baking and cooking up a storm, and then cleaning the house for all the family and company ( I know my mama is laughing at this 'cause I don't really do all this!) I have had time to play around with this blog. I've found a couple of quotes that seem appropriate for today. But before that- Keith was scheduling meetings for this week and when discussing said meeting with people in the Memphis office he was reminded that Thursday is a holiday! We haven't assimilated into the European culture, but this special day almost got by him! So we both want to say Happy Thanksgiving to y'all.

"It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord" Psalm 92:1

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures" Thornton Wilder

Our First Visitor

While in Germany on business, Keith's brother John was able to fly in for the weekend. It was good to have family to share Krakow with, and to have someone to talk to in English! We took a trip out to Oswiecim to see the memorial at Auschwitz-Birkenau. It's difficult to say that it was the "highlight", but it is important to see, having traveled this far already.

We came across a tour guide, Marta, who helped make the trip quite pleasant. She drove us to the camps and answered all of our questions. When we asked her to give us tour of Krakow, she giggled and said since we lived here now, we had to discover the city for ourselves! Nice way of getting "the brush off"! She's right and we did head out the next day, on our own, in the snow! This place has been invaded and occupied so many times through the centuries, it's hard to keep track of it's history. We toured the castle cathedral and St. Mary's, even though the english audio would not be available until "next week". Having a description would have been nice, but we still marveled at the artistry.

The video below has John and Keith by the Ladislaus IV Bastion with the monument of Tadeusz Kosciuszko, listening to the Sigismund Bell. (John, we did a little research and found out that the guy on the horse was a Polish general who offered his services to the colonists in the American Revolution and among other things "fought with distinction under Gen. Nate Greene in the Carolina's campaign", Lad and Sig were Polish kings) In the next video we were watching the military enter the cathedral for the Independence Day Celebration.

John's visit was short and the weather left a little to be desired, but we enjoyed our time together and look forward to having more guests.

All Saint's Day

We see that it is getting close to our American Holiday of Thanksgiving. We've been here for 7 weeks. As I write that I had to keep checking the calendar, that is a very short time! But it seems longer, we have seen so much. Our apartment has that homey feel to it, and we are getting more settled. We're trying to stay informed of the customs here. And one of the latest traditions was All Saint's Day. It's the day to commemorate the saint's we have known and to spend time with family. The newspaper warns of heavy traffic, reminds people to drive safely, and to allow enough time to arrive at their destinations. Much like the state patrols warning for Thanksgiving travel. Here the destination is the family plot.

The week prior has graveyards buzzing with activity. I walked up to one of the cemeteries Cmetarz Salwatorski, and found folks mostly older women, tidying up the graves. There were overflowing dumpsters outside the fence which I thought looked out of place, but after walking around saw that everyone was coming into the cemetery with bags of candles, and flowers, and tools. Then, on their way out, depositing bags of dead leaves and old foliage they had cleaned from the sites. And I mean cleaned! Sweeping, weeding, washing and scraping. Even saw some men using squeegees on the newer shiny granite graves. Glass lanterns are placed with all kinds of flower arrangements. These will be lit on November 1 at dusk and allowed to burn through the night. I asked my language teacher about the customs, and found out that these graves sites are very deep and allow the burial of many people in the space that appears to be for one. It was very quiet and still for all the activity that was taking place.

This day precedes the All Soul's Day, and together they make for a four day weekend. Keith went on to work the 1st, and was the only one there. His office is in a mall, where, for this holiday, all the stores are closed, all of them. Only the emergency and transportation services are open for business. And the trams and buses change the routes to accommodate all the people headed to the cemeteries. I walked up to meet him and we joined the people headed to the Cmetarz Rakowicki. I guess this was the Church's way of taking over the pagan day of the dead, way back in the first century, by turning it into a day to remember the Saint's and those who have led holy lives. There are special masses, you can hear this on the video. Priests will read the names of the deceased, and prayers are lifted up. Keith's co-workers told him that parents expect their kids to make it home for this celebration, even more so than for Christmas or Easter! The whole town was very silent, and empty as I walked up to meet Keith. (Kind of thought the rapture had happened and I got left behind, but then I saw him waiting for me, I knew he wouldn't get left behind!)

Along with the families, we saw what must have been scouts, going into the cemetery, they would stand guard for the military graves. During the Communist period Poles weren't allowed to officially celebrate this day, and it seems to have helped cement it into their traditions. Keith and I walked through the graves in awe of the beauty and the respectful atmosphere. Again my camera skills leave a lot to be desired, but hope you can sense how beautiful this was. In honor of our loved ones we took a moment, to thank our Father. I remember as a little girl, being at our grandmother's parents' grave while she and Papaw gave it a spring cleaning. I guess our society is too spread out to make this a tradition. This might be something Keith and I will take back with us, although he reminds me that he'll be scattered out in the ocean. Well then I won't have to do much tidying up! We were going to the airport early the following morning, and saw lanterns still flickering in the smaller family cemeteries, out side of the city. I hope everyone made it home.