Czesc everyone,

Our vacation has come to an end and we have all safely returned home. You may wonder why I came to Poland looking for Copernicus. Well, you see Copernicus was not just a great Polish astronomer, but it was also the name of the place where my parents first met and fell in love. Yes I did find Copernicus, but I also found more; the beautiful people, culture, and country of Poland which is a part of who I am. Thank you for following my blog.  Until next time....

 

<3 Lauren

 

 

  

 

 

My mom and dad at Copernicus where they met

 

 

My whole family sitting down for dinner at Aunt Ella's 

 



    

My parents then and now, walking down the same road near my grandma's flat 21 years apart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Czesc everyone,

As our trip comes closer to the end we spend more and more time with family and friends. Unfortunately Alex had to fly home early for work. The weather has been extremely hot so of course this requires lots of ice cream. Yummmm!! We will write more later.

<3 Lauren

                                                         

Taking a walk around the city

 

City Hall

 

At a café with my dad and cousin Paul

 

One of the many statues around town

 



Czesc everyone,

On Monday, we came back to beautiful Szczecin to be with friends and family. My cousin Paul flew in from Toronto and my cousin Agnieszka came up from Wroclaw. It was the first time we have all been together at the same time. We spent a lot of time at the park and just enjoying each others company. We celebrated both of my Aunts birthdays and had a wonderful dinner with my moms childhood friend Kasia, her husband Tomek, and their daughter Karolina and her boyfriend Lukasz. We had dinner in a 15th century gothic cellar in Szczecin's old town. It was a great night!!!!! I will keep you posted for more!

<3 Lauren

 

Birthday dinner for Aunt Stasia

 

 

Dinner with friends and some family

 

A day at the park

 

 

A beautiful statue near a 12th century church

Walking in the park

 

 

Czesc everyone
Next we went back into one of the dark chapters of human history....... we went to Auschwitz.  This camp was built by the Nazi's at the beginning of WWII, originally to house Polish prisoners.  Later it was expanded as a death camp as part of Hitler's Final Solution to rid Europe of the Jews.  Over 1.5 million people were murdered at Auschwitz, including 1.1 million Jews.  The lies used to control the prisoners, and the cruelty they later faced, is just unimaginable.  I actually did not want to go to Auschwitz but my parents insisted that I see it.  I won't forget it.

Lauren



The entrance to Auschwitz ; It says in German, "Work Brings Freedom"

Fence and guard tower

Security fence

Blockhouse 10, one of the many prison houses at Auschwitz I camp

Thousands of shoes taken from those who died here

Birkenau, site of Auschwitz II, the largest of the concentration camps.  The Nazi's destroyed the buildings just before they vacated the area in order to try to hide the evidence of their crimes.

Railway leading into Birkenau (in black and white)

Unloading area with one of the cars used to transport Hungarian Jews

Czesc everyone,

 Next we went to the town of Wieliczka to see its famous salt mine. It was one of the most amazing places I've ever been to. Definitely a recommendation for vacationers!! The mine is over 800 yrs old and there are 2,000 chambers and almost 200 miles of tunnels. The local artisans and miners carved out elaborate art in each chamber, they did it for the local village and they even had cathedrals in the mine where locals held Sunday mass and also were married.  Many chambers in the mine took about a century to complete; 30 years to dig out and 70 years to carve out all the beautiful art and sculptures. All of the chambers are made entirely out of salt rock except the chandeliers(which were made out of wood and salt rock).  It is still a working salt mine however they stopped digging in 1996, they only process the brine now.  This is one of the original UNESCO World Heritage sites.  It was a great day filled with a lot of history!!! I'll keep you posted for more!!

 

 

<3 Lauren

 

 

 

Walking down the mine shaft to the first chamber

The St. Kinga's chapel chamber

One of the elaborate carvings

The Virgin Mary

Salt carving of the Last Supper

Princess Kinga receiving her ring; This is a carving of a polish folklore 

 

The Nativity

 

Czesc everyone,

What a wonderful day it has been!! We were able to see two of the original UNESCO World Heritage sites in one day!  First up we went on a tour of the beautiful Wawel Castle which is the royal castle of Poland where every Polish king was coronated. We even saw an original Leonardo Da Vinci painting, Lady with an Ermine, in one of the state rooms. Sadly no photography was permitted in that area:(   I will write about the 2nd Heritage Site in my next post.  Enjoy the pics!!

<3 Lauren

Inside of the castle walls

The castle courtyard

Me and mom posing in the castle

 

 

Lady with an Ermine

 

 

The perfect ice cream

 

Czesc everyone,

We are now in the beautiful city of Krakow!! Yesterday we arrived from Berlin with my dad and brother. We toured the plaza first and then sat down in a café for ice cream and coffee. We then took a horse-drawn carriage around the city where we saw the castle, many beautiful churches, and Krakow's city hall. For dinner we had a traditional polish dish; pierogies. It was a wonderful day overall!!! Enjoy the pics!!!!

Riding in a horse-drawn carriage with Wawel castle in the background

 

The family in the horse-drawn carriage in front of the plaza

 

Swimming in our hotel's underground pool

 

 St Adalbert, the oldest church in Krakow, is 1,000 yrs old, from the 1100's!