Tonight we had our first movie night and were given the opportunity to view the film Katyn, directed by Andrzej Wajda.
In 1943, while fighting against the Soviet Union, German troops came across mass graves in the forest of Katyn in present-day Belarus. The Soviets denied accountability for this crime and instead blamed it on the Nazis. This incident remained taboo in Poland for decades, until 1990, when the Soviets finally admitted that they were guilty of the massacre.
Since I have been in Poland I have seen some good films (including others by the talented Wajda), but hands down this is my favorite so far.
On a lighter note we had a little surprise party for Emily, who turns 21 tomorrow! Wszystkiego Najlepszego!
It's amazing how a single mineral can produce such a multitude of artwork. This working mine has many chambers with various statues and monuments all constructed out of sodium chloride. There was even a large underground church where they hold classical music concerts occasionally. And I though salt was just for seasoning...
Today we went to Auschwitz. I think Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel says it best in his acceptance speech:
"As long as one child is hungry, our life will be filled with anguish and shame. What all these victims need above all is to know that they are not alone; that we are not forgetting them, that when their voices are stifled we shall lend them ours, that while their freedom depends on ours, the quality of our freedom depends on theirs."
Please, if you are ever nearby, take the time to go to Auschwitz and educate yourself about this unfathomable moment in history.
Today we took a step back with the tour company Crazy Guides, into the not so distant past and revisited Nowa Huta (New Steelworks). This town was created by the Communists near Krakow, in hopes of injecting industrialization into Polish society. Of course the dream never fully materialized and only resulted in labor strikes and creating poor health conditions due to the terrible pollution.
Crazy Guides specializes in giving tours of communist Poland and go all out on making sure that we got to experience Communism at its finest. We rode in a beat-up bus from that era that had definitely seen better days.
Later on we rode in an "authentic," Communist car. The whole experience felt like being in a cartoon, especially since the driver drove like a maniac.
For dinner we had a meal fit for a King (or Queen) of Poland at Pod Wawelem.
Over the weekend we traveled to Zakopane, a popular Polish resort town, situated two hours from Krakow, in the shadow of the Tatra mountain range. As we drove deeper into the Polish countryside, I was exposed to a slower pace of life. It was a change from the hectic city life that I had been a part of and was refreshing to take in the simplicity of country life. The town itself was very quaint and reminded me of a small New England town. The leaves were in the middle of their fiery transformation and littered the cobblestone streets with color. After getting some nourishment we climbed to the top of one of the lower peaks of the Tatras.
Beginning our ascend...
Taking a much needed break.
At the top!
There were small patches of snow on the slope and I won the award hands down for taking the most spills.
I'm glad that I had the freedom to choose classes in Poland based on elective credits, and not be restricted to my major requirements. The final courses I chose were:
The Holocaust: Research and Memory
Polish Contemporary Film
Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism
Polish Language: COMPLETE BEGINNER
Social Life Under Communism: The Polish Case
Ever since I saw the Holocaust course in the catalog back at home, I have been anxiously awaiting it. This atrocity plays such a large part in Polish history and I knew that if I took this course I would have a much better understanding of Poland as a whole.
Today I decided to take advantage of having a day off from classes and channeling my inner kid, decided to explore the legendary Dragon's Cave at Wawel Castle.
According to legend, there once was a terrible, fire-breathing dragon who inhabited a cave underneath the Wawel Castle. This monster beast would reek havoc on the townspeople and their livestock, seeing them only as tasty morsels. Prince Krakus (who the city is named after) wisely decided to throw a sheep's hide with sulfur into the cave. Long story short, the dragon exploded and the town was saved.
It's funny because they have a saying in Krakow. If you don't know the origin of something, make up a story for it.
The dragon is Krakow's "mascot," and is seen replicated endlessly in every tourist trinket imaginable. To access the cave is quite a workout, where you have to descend a narrow, winding staircase of approximately 135 steps. Afterwards you enter into a cluster of spacious caves. It was mostly frequented by tourists and large groups of school children, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Today marks the beginning of my courses at Uniwersytet Jagiellonski. It was a bit intimidating stepping into the school building, with so many different languages colliding in the air. I kind of felt like the new kid in high school, who transfered junior year. Completely disoriented.
I got a bit lost on my way to class, but made it to Sociology and Psychology of Terrorism just in time. The classroom itself was very similar to the American ones I had been frequenting for the past three years. My professor was much more relaxed than I had anticipated, since I expected a more traditional teaching approach with a lecture hall and hundreds of students inhaling the professor's every word. Instead there was only around fifty students and our teacher treated us as equals, allowing discussion and questions.
We had a late start to our day because of some fridge problems, and I realized that our apartment's visual appearance was deceiving to its actual function.
We decided to venture over to Galeria Krakowska, another mecca for materialism. It was sad to see such commercialism imposing on the Old Town.
That evening, I had my first jazz club experience, since it is surprisingly popular here in Poland. The club was located in an underground cellar, which made the performance much more intimate and memorable. The music was very soothing and someone mentioned that it was "free jazz." The bass player was especially talented, and I enjoyed his solo improvisation.
