It's still looking a lot like Christmas

It's January 20, and the lights are still lit in Krakow.

Tonite we heard
"Silent Night"
in the grocery.



The weather has been much warmer,
the snow has melted,
but it is still beautiful.

Ta Da!!

This is for you KT, much love

(is it real, or is it memorex?)

For two months we have had snow on the ground here in Krakow. That doesn't mean it has snowed a lot, but it has stayed cold enough that the snow doesn't melt. I've never been anywhere that after a couple of days the snow doesn't melt! Here it has worn away. The city will throw sand along the walkways, and that leads to a strange mixture of snow and sand, not slush, but snowy-sand. And since the sun never goes very high there are areas that just never get sunshine, and stay packed with snow. Keith and I have acclimated very well! We tell each other that all the time! Kind of reassuring each other that we will be in warm weather again! These photos and videos were taken along the frozen river near our apartment, yesterday Saturday the 5 of January. It was a particularly cold day, maybe 21 F, was the high for this day. With bright sunshine! Do you see my point! And we get out in the cold everyday! Unbelievable!

As I write, on Sunday evening, it is 34 F with a drizzle of rain, so the snow will melt away by morning. We're having a heat wave compared to the past few weeks. We keep track of the temps back home, and Katie really has been in the deep freeze, so we aren't complaining. The snow has been beautiful. In fact if you haven't checked out the little slide show feature of the first snowfall, do so. It's just to the right of this entry. Maybe click on the pictures and the images will be larger. The video window is at the end of this entry.

Stary Market at Christmas

There is an alternative to modern grocery shopping in Krakow. The Stary Kleparz. The old Market. This is where each vendor has a specialty, butcher, vegetables, candy, fish, clothes, shoes, and this time of year Christmas decorations. My teacher introduced me to this off the beaten path market when I went shopping with her.

I took Katie there and we bought some ornaments -"bombki" for our little Christmas tree. It is an interesting place. Some of the vendors are calling to you to check out their merchandise, as are the ladies that line the sidewalk as you approach the market. They hold out lace tablecloths, flower arrangements, boots trying to get our attention. Keith and I had gone there to buy our Christmas tree. We asked "How much, "ile"? And they responded in Polish. We tried to remember our lesson on numbers, but the lady finally outlined the number 20 on her sleeve with her finger! We paid her, and happily carried our tree away. When we passed her companion she rattled something to us with a big smile! Sure hope it was "Merry Christmas", and not "you paid too much for that tiny tree!"

Szopka krakowska

Krakow's Nativities

Krakow has many traditions special to it alone. The Christmas szopki are one. They look like a fairyland castles, and you have to search to find the Bethlehem scene which it is centered on, but it is a folk art that is unique to Krakow.

The tradition of cribs, or nativity building has a long history in Europe. But for the Cracovians, it was revived in 1937, with the announcement of a competition for the most beautiful crib in Krakow. Since then, with the exception of the war years 1939-1944, the cribs are gathered at the foot of Polish Poet Adam Mickiewiczs statue in the square. These nativities are modeled after the medieval, renaissance and baroque architecture of Krakow. You can pick out features of the Wawel castle and St. Mary's church in almost everyone, no matter how small.

These past winners are on display in the mall. Keith and I went to a museum that has this years szopki. Some are very small, like the little one I purchased at the market, and several are huge, 5 or 6 feet tall.

The details are amazing, considering that they are made out of cardboard and colored foil. Some have engineered lights and moving parts into their designs. And in addition to the Holy Family, you can find chimney sweeps, Santa Claus, the devil, a skeleton representing Death, the trumpeter of St. Mary's, more on that legend in another post, the Wawel dragon -they cram a lot into these sculptures!

When we were at the museum it was fun to watch the kids reactions to seeing these fanciful buildings. At times I thought the docents were going to fuss, but the kids managed to restrain themselves. Watching them peering into the nooks and crannies to see the tiny figures, was good for Keith and I. Brings us back to the wonder of the season, seeing it through a child's eye.

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.

Christmas Market in Krakow

Being away from home during the Christmas Holiday, might have been depressing, but so far we have been immersed in a winter wonderland like we have never experienced. The snowfall and lights have been beautiful, and we are hoping that the snow will stay long enough for Katie to see Krakow in this atmosphere.

Tonite we walked up to the square for supper, and these photos are of old town and the Christmas Market. I thought my fingers would freeze off before I could get these shots! The vendors are outside with these little booths all day and until 21:00 (that's 9pm) So if any of you want Polish pottery or those beautiful Polish glass handpainted Christmas ornaments, or maybe the folksy straw ornaments, you have until 25 December. There is a lot of shopping going on, but it doesn't seem as frenzied as it does back home...St. Nicholas has already visited the children in Poland. He leaves a present under their pillows on 5 December. Some of the favorite treats sold at the Market are gingerbread and poppyseed cookies, and many kinds of chocolate Santas, and candies. We'll have a more detailed description when Katie arrives and we sample all of them!!

Guided Tour

Marcin, one of Keith's co-workers has offered to show us around town. We go for breakfast, and meet a traveler from Kentucky! He said it was good to hear our accents! And we sure are pleased to hear him, as well! His day was to include the concentration camps and the Salt Mine. Our private tour begins at one of the oldest education institutions in Europe, Jagiellonian University founded 1364, right here in Old Town.

I asked him about the funeral homes, but "that's a good question". He did take us to the main cemetery and showed us the grave of one of Krakow's most famous artist, Jan Matejko, d.1893. Next stop was the flea market. Saw a couple things that I would have bought, but Marcin says its too much, that because the vendor knew I was American he priced it high. And what do you think I purchased? A magazine about the 30th anniversary of Elvis' death! A good buy for 1 zloty, more proof that he is everywhere!

We drove out to the forest and walked up to a monastery, women are only allowed in several times during the year, and today is not one of them. The forest is beautiful, we saw deer, as we climbed along the paved walkways. Krakow is sort of situated in a little valley, so this forest is hilly. Had a little snack at a cute cafe, complete with a crackling fire in the fireplace.

Also on our tour, was the view from a restaurant that had been used for the SS during the second world war. It sits on a ridge and overlooks the river. It is now used by the University as a Polish culture center, which I think is very fitting.

The Kosciuszko Mound was a windy climb. This is a symbolic burial place for Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Polish general and American freedom fighter. Dirt from Polish and American battlefields where he fought was placed here. I have found new importance to that little hill now! Marcin was giving a narration for our video, but as you can hear, the wind drowned him out. From this mound you can see the castle at Wawel Hill. When it isn't foggy or snowing we can see the Mound from our apartment.

We ended back in Kazimierz, the old Jewish center of Krakow, at a wonderful little restaurant. Our photo is taken by a pair of French girls at our table. poor Keith was bending over backwards to get into the photo. Keith asked Marcin about how the people have changed since the fall of Communism in 1989. He was a young teenager at the time but sees the people as more independent and individually stronger. As we talk and enjoy our Jewish meal, Keith is distracted by a guy waving at him through the window. In a minute he sticks his head in the door to say hi, and it's our solitary traveler friend from breakfast!

There are bars and pubs that have such personality and we peek in a few, as he tells us which ones are the favorites of the beer club at work. Keith is not a member of this, but maybe it's open to spouses? walking back to the car he points out the school where the basketball club plays, it too was used by the Germans during the war. Kazimierz buildings are still scarred from Nazi and Russian occupation and neglect, and it is easy to imagine ourselves in a past decade. Even with their crumbling appearance, this section of town is quite beautiful, and we enjoy wandering through the streets. Marcin still has sights for us to see, and another restaurant in mind for our evening meal, but the synagogues are closed for the day and we are exhausted! He is a gracious host and guide and we look forward to another outing with him!

Alarming behavior.

We have been out and about on these snowy days. The first snow has barely melted and we have more! But our apartment in nice and warm. And I bought a new coat!, so going out is not as bad. Lately, we have had a rash of alarms surrounding us, one was because I didn't pay attention to a sign and the other two we're still not sure why.

Keith's razor doesn't seem to want to work, his hair is getting shabby, so we are at the store checking out ones to buy and we kept hearing the store alarm go off, a security guard was on our aisle, but didn't tell Keith to stop what he was doing. We weren't sure if it was us or not, until, as we left with our razor, the alarm sounded again when the store clerk went to put the demo back in it's place! We were blushing all the way to the checkout.

Today I met Keith at the American Embassy, which is a very picturesque stone building, with the American flag flying, striking official emblem by the arched iron doors. You know, picture worthy. He has traveled so much that his passport book is full of stamps and in need of more blank pages. These must be sewn in at the embassy. When you go in the agent takes your camera and phone any electrical devices, then puts coats and purses through the scanner, and you walk through the detector, just like the airport security. Anyway, I did see the sign with the symbol for no photographs. On the inside I figured. No, outside the building as well! Having accomplished this task we leave the building and thinking it was a good photo op for this blog I focus my camera back at the entrance, and again heard alarms! This time the security guard did approach me, and for a minute there I thought the camera would be his camera. I must learn Polish, and I was trying to pick up words as he very sternly explained or demanded that what I was doing was not allowed. Yes of course I understood! I think I am fortunate to still have our camera.


And the latest alarm was from our stairwell. Still don't know what triggered it. Just so happened I was expecting someone at our door when it sounded, and he assured me nothing was wrong. He was here to look at our shower. The day before I had a knock at the door. Visitors!? no , it seem our shower has been leaking and the tenant from underneath us is at the door with the doorman. Of course none of us speak the other's language, so they have me follow them to the apartment to see the problem. I called my language teacher Joanna on the phone and she was able to translate for us. Back to the present, after 5 people visiting our bathroom, of which we are not even sure any of them was our neighbor, the gaps have been sealed. Keith's not at all sure that has the leak fixed. We'll see....

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.

Views from our window

Keith found an apartment with a river view in the old part a Krakow. It's a huge city, third largest in the country, approximately 750,000 people, considered Poland's cultural capital. But here in Old Town, the feeling is still very quaint and old world. Our place is actually newer, open floor plan with stainless steel appliances, granite, tile, and glass. Ya'll know we tend to like the old fixer-upper type of home so we're in the modern era here!



These photos are from the front window. That is the Vistula River. The Japanese Cultural Centre. From the back we look out over property of St. Bernardine's Church, an orchard. Then directly below is common ground of the buildings. Look closely for the cats, there are kittens, and no I'm not bringing in any, my heart belongs to Lillie!




On the corner our neighbor is the Wawel Castle and Cathedral. Each day groups of school kids and tourists go by. Sometimes we can hear the strolling folk band in their bright red and white costumes. Those aren't bagels in the man's cart, they are obwarzanki, and come with three toppings, sesames seeds, poppy seeds, or salt. I can only guess what the lady was thinking that first tried to explain to me that I had a choice. Needless to say I point a lot. Language lessons start next week! Anyway he is one of several vendors that set up around the castle, selling trinkets, postcards, the usual tourist stuff.