Wednesday, 8/29/12 Warsaw to Krakow

Today was primarily a day of travel. The first leg was 2 hours to Czestochowa, site of a Pauline monastery that houses the portrait of The Black Madonna. Every day pilgrims come from all over to pray for healing to this icon of the Virgin Mary located in the Jasna Gora Monastery. We had a tour by one of the Pauline monks, Father Simon, that brought us pushing ahead of the true pilgrims, some of whom came crawling on their knees, and who had been waiting more than an hour in line to see the portrait and the relics.

Father Simon and some shots of the chapel:









It was a very uncomfortable situation. One woman in line was so angry that she pushed me, elbowed me, and called me lovely things in Polish. Frankly, she had every right to be so incensed.

The line to see The Black Madonna and the portrait:





Father Simon was a joker telling us we were lucky to have such a funny monk giving us a tour. His best joke of the morning - "How do you make Holy Water? You boil the hell out of it."

Following boxed lunches in Czestochowa, we travelled another three hours to Krakow. There we had a fascinating tour of the library at Jagellonian University, followed by a city tour with our guide Basha. Both were interesting and informative.

Jagellonian University and Library









Model of an early globe without North America


Ceiling in lecture hall:


Waterspout on roof with gargoyle:


Twisted chimney:


Gate to University courtyard:


The central square of Krakow is enormous, filled with churches, restaurants, cafes, stores, a local crafts market (that used to be the cloth market), and teeming with people.





Had a lovely dinner in an outdoor cafe and our friends ordered a bottle of champagne to toast our anniversary. Forty-one fabulous years! Who'd have thought we'd celebrate in between visits to Treblinka and Auschwitz!!


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