Travels Through Poland

Besides the city of Krakow,  I adventured to a variety of sites inside Poland, accompanied by my good friends and guides, Ali & John.
Krakow is in the southern part of the country. If you travel even further south, you come to the small town of Zakopane, which is a "gateway" of sorts to the Tatras Mountains.
The Tatras are the highest in all the Carpathian range of mountains, and Zakopane reminds me somewhat of Banff, as it's principal attraction (in winter) is skiing. It has put its name into consideration for hosting the Olympic Winter Games many times.
We took the bus from Krakow to Zakopane, and then a smaller tourist bus up into the mountains. From a tourist lodge, we hiked up further still. The day was beautiful, but it grew colder the higher the elevation became. The "hiking trail" was actually an asphalt road winding up between tall fir trees, with rocky snow-capped mountains rearing up behind.

Our destination was a still iced-over lake called "Morskie Oko," or the "Eye of the Moon."

There is a lodge, but we had sandwiches on the lakeshore, before continuing to go all the way around.

There was still quite a bit of snow on the ground, and streams of icy water rushing into the lake.

On the far side of the lake, the trail continued on and up over the mountains into Czechoslovakia. A cell phone didn't place us in Poland any longer, we were so close. We climbed up a difficult, snow and ice covered trail to yet another lake, the name of which escapes me.

It was a physical, though thoroughly enjoying day.

The following week, John and I (Ali had to work) took an overnight trip to the other end of the country, to Gdansk on the Baltic Sea. Gdansk is a city that has over 1000 years of history behind it. As a seaport it has a large strategic importance, and has been fought over many times. Much of the city was destroyed during World War II, but it has been lovingly recreated, so that tourists can see the delightful examples of its architecture. 

The central train station in Gdansk

The gates of the old city walls have been restored, and there is a marvelous Maritime Museum that sprawls over many sites.

The museum includes an old crane, which was used to load and unload ships as well as aid in the installation of masts.

From the outside, it looks like a fairly nondescript building overhanging the waterfront. Inside, you can see the great wheels that are used during the crane's operation.

The museum also features an old freighter, with displays of various kinds of shipping inside. The museum features  a history of the town as it pertains to its maritime importance. Very interesting.

Down the river, at its emergence into the Baltic Sea,

is the Westerplatte.

This is where some of the first shots of World War II were fired. Gdansk had formerly been a part of Germany (it was called Danzig then) and it became a free city after World War I. Its return to Germany was one of the demands that Hitler made to Poland, and the excuse he needed to declare war.

The Polish Army had a base there, near the mouth of the river. In the days leading up to the outbreak of hostilities, the Germans sent an old warship to Danzig as part of a "training exercise." On the morning of September 1st, this ship opened fire on the Poles at point blank range. There is a building left standing from that time, testifying to the damage wrought. Soldiers hidden inside the warship swarmed ashore, and the city was in German hands before the day was out. It wasn't long before Hitler himself made a triumphal entry. 

Memorial column marking the spot where World War II began

I reflected that the previous December, in Hawaii, I had toured the Battleship Missouri, where the Japanese surrender was signed. I had now been where the war began, as well as where it ended. The historian in me rejoiced.

On our way back from Gdansk, John and I stopped at Malbork Castle.

This was the former seat of the Tuetonic Knights after they moved from Venice. It is the largest gothic fortress in existence. Much of it has been rebuilt after the damage inflicted by the Red Army in World War II. Repairs are still ongoing, but it is a beautiful site.

 A lot of the structures have been made from red bricks,

causing some wits to call it "the largest heap of bricks north of the Alps."

The view of the surrounding countryside from the tallest tower is excellent, as is an overview of the three main courtyards of the castle. 

There are extensive rooms full of examples of medieval furnishings,

and an idea of what life was like during those times. There is also a museum on site dedicated to amber, a big industry in the area. Jewelry made from this is on display (and also for sale).

One of the main features of the castle is a view of one of the first examples of central heating in Europe. Fires were built in chambers beneath the castle, and the warm air traveled through ducts into the upper rooms. Ingenious.

In my next story I will conclude the story of my adventures in Poland with a description of my visit to the concentration camp, Auschwitz.

Plaszow

Well, the tale of my trip to Africa is done, so I thought I would pick up where I left off telling about my trip to Poland. I had spoken about the mound named Kopiec Kosciuski that I climbed. There are three mounds around Krakow, Poland, and I climbed two. The second one was south of the Old Town. Before arriving at this mound, you pass through a  section of the town called the Kazimierz. This was where Krakow's 60,000 Jews lived before the Second World War. It was here that the "Isaac Synagogue" was built and opened in 1644. This synagogue served the Jews of Krakow for almost three hundred years. There is a documentary film on display showing images of life in the Jewish community just before the war, and what happened after the Nazis invaded in September, 1939.

The synagogue was desecrated, and an official was shot for refusing to burn the scrolls of the Torah. The building was used for storage during the war, and by an artist's group after, until the Jewish community regained possession in 1989. It is possible to go on a tour, and see many displays about its history. It was very strange to be told to keep my hat on during the tour (yarmulkas are available for those without a hat), as a sign of respect. During my visits to cathedrals in Poland, it was instinctual to remove my hat as a sign of respect in the house of God.
Besides the film about life in the area before the war, there is footage of the removal of everyone to the ghetto in March, 1941. Anyone familiar with the book or film Schindler's List will know the history of what followed. Krakow's Jews were confined to a small area, 656 x 437 yards. They were forced to build the wall that surrounded the ghetto, and the Jewish Council worked with the Nazi authority to provide workers to complete it. Thousands of Jews from the surrounding countryside were crammed in, as well. 4-5 people per room was the norm, meaning that privacy was non-existent and sanitary conditions became appalling. Jews were required to carry identification papers, and these were checked often by the police. Anyone caught without them was punished or deported to a death camp like Auschwitz. During the official roundups and deportations of 1942, Jews scrambled to get papers that identified them as "essential workers," immune to deportation.
Some Jews found work in the factory of Oskar Schindler, which still stands. There was nothing in it when I passed by, but it was undergoing some kind of renovation. Maybe it is a tourist attraction by now.

Schindler eventually saved over 1,000 Jews by giving them work here and when he moved to Brunnlitz near the end of the war. He even went to Auschwitz to save 300 of "his" women who had been mistakenly sent there.

Eventually, the ghetto was liquidated. and the Jews were removed to the labour camp at Plaszow. This camp was at first policed by Ukrainian guards, but when it became a concentration camp in 1944, it was controlled directly by the SS.
In March of 1942, as a prelude to the mass deportation, 50 Jews were arrested and sent to Auschwitz, where they were immediately gassed. This action was directed at the intellectuals among the Jews. Deportations began in earnest in May and continued into June. The Jews were the subject of brutal treatment as they were rounded up. A man with one leg was tortured by the SS, as was a man who had been blinded in World War I. He had fought for Germany.
6,000 Jews were deported to the death camp at Belzec, where 300 were murdered on the spot. In a second deportation in October, 7,000 were sent there, and 600 were killed immediately. Eventually, they all went to the gas.
In the final deportations in March, 1943, 2,000 Jews were sent to Plaszow, while 2,300 were sent to Auschwitz. Small children and the elderly were killed indiscriminately in the streets, and Gestapo agents disposed of those still in hospital.
Some Jews in Krakow did resist, and there was a group that fought the Germans any way they could. In December, 1942, Nazi officers gathered in a coffee shop were attacked by Jewish partisans, and several were killed at the cost of two lives. The Jewish resistance helped people to escape and engaged the Germans in several gun battles in an effort to slow the deportations.
In April, 1943, some Jewish women who had been rounded up to be sent to Auschwitz attacked their male guards. Two escaped, but the rest were killed.
Some Poles dared to help the Jews, and five were arrested and condemned to death in June, 1944. One of them was hung in the public square as a warning.
Eventually, Plaszow itself was liquidated, and in September, 1944, 2,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz and immediately gassed. The last prisoners were evacuated in January, 1945, just before the Soviet army liberated the camp. These prisoners were marched off to other camps, but the march itself was an effective way to kill off those who were unable to resist the cold and starvation and endless marching.
The site of Plaszow is still there, inside an old stone quarry.

There is a memorial dedicated to the victims, and a green space where the camp buildings used to be.

The quarry where the mockup of the camp constructed for the film is surrounded by a fence,

and I had to go all the way around it before finding a hole big enough to squeeze through. There is a short walk downhill before you are on the main road to the "camp."

This road, built to stand in for the real one, more than anything else brings home the evil that was the Holocaust. It was made from the tombstones that used to mark the graves of Krakow's Jewish dead. Some of the stones are still in one piece, but others were broken up to fit into place.

The barbed wire, the fences, the deserted buildings, the memorial; all are as nothing compared to the sight of this road. The contempt and inhumanity behind this gesture affected me, and still affects me, very deeply. It is hard to put into words, but I think it is important for everyone to think about what happened, and pray that it never happens again.

Masai Mara: The Second Day

Well, I haven't posted in a while because I've been distracted by the job hunt, eh? I've got a student loan coming due, and I have to figure out some way short of robbing a bank to pay for it. I did have one interview, but they offered the job to someone else.
Sigh.
I may have to go abroad again. I have a friend who keeps sending me information about China that looks interesting. I'd like to be in Canada, but...
Anyway, let's go look at some more photos of wild animals, taken during a full day in the Masai Mara game preserve.
I should say something about our third day. It was pretty short, only a morning trip, and it was cut short due to circumstance, so there is not too many photos from there. I did take quite a few movies during my time in the park, and some of them are quite amazing. But you won't see them here because I haven't figured out how to get them off of the camera.
Technical difficulties.
Anyway, on to the second day. The preserve is open from 6:30 to 6:30, and we were there the whole time, which necessitated getting up early and arriving as the gates opened. We saw the usual grazing herds near the gates.

We saw some hyenas, but they ran off. The second picture is of a jackal.

 

Then we saw a couple of lionesses, who were very interested in the herds of grazers, as you can imagine.

 

Then we got a real dividend. The lions were trailed by about six cubs, of various ages. snapping and growling and gamboling along. Probably looking for breakfast.

Pretty cool, eh?

We saw some birds, as well, including a plumed peacock,

 

and an ostrich, who had a strange walk, with its head moving backwards and forwards in an exaggerated movement. We saw another male following two females around the next morning. I got some good movie footage of the females enticing the male onwards, and the male looking very interested in what they were showing him.

We also saw a stork,

some impala,



some buckheart,

and some more giraffes.

There were about nine giraffes in all. Some were just standing, looking as if they were on guard while the rest ate. They passed quite close to the van, and it was just amazing to see them like that. There must have been quite a deep watercourse in those bushes behind them, because we saw one giraffe's head peeking out at near ground level!On our way deeper into the preserve, we saw a great cloud of smoke from the south. Our driver told us it was on the Tanzanian side of the border. Apparently, they set fire to their grasslands in order to discourage the animals from making their migration. The Tanzanians want them to stay on their side of the border, in order to attract tourists (and their dollars) away from Kenya. Good thing it doesn't work.

Our destination for the day was the South Mara River Bridge, where there are quite a few hippos to be seen. The bridge is right on the border with Tanzania, and there is a pleasant spot for picnicking. I was taking a shot of it with my movie camera when a monkey hopped up on the table and, quick as wink, stole my apple.
Sheesh!
But we saw some hippos in the water, coming up for air, blowing and grunting, and then going back down to get out of the heat. We also saw a couple of crocodiles lazing in the shallows, and we realized why there was an armed soldier shadowing us as we walked down the riverbank.

 
On our way out of the park, we passed a group of cape buffalo, with small birds eating the insects out of their hides,

and we saw the sun setting on our time in Africa. I got one great pan, starting with the sun setting ahead of us, a raincloud off on the western horizon, and a cloud of smoke from the fires in Tanzania behind us. But until I get my movie camera figured out, you'll have to wait to see it.

 

 

Masai Mara: The First Day

Our first trip into the reserve started about 3:30 in the afternoon, and we would have three hours to tour around before the gate closed. They open up at 6:30 in the morning. As I said, there are no fences around the park, just gates at the point where roads enter.

There were some women from the Masai lined up at the gate, showing off various souveneirs, which they offered at vastly inflated prices. I think all of us were pretty much set for souveneirs at this time, so we tried to ignore them until the armed guard opened the gate and allowed us in. For the following two days, when we entered and left as the park opened/closed, we did not see these women. I guess they make enough that they don't have to get up early or stay til the end of the day.

A selection of skulls, just inside the entrance.

 



 Our ride was a van, and the roof lifted up to allow us to stand and get a view of whatever animal was in the area.

I have to admit I was uncertain about how many animals we would see. It was at the beginning of the migration time, so I thought that maybe we would spend a lot of time chasing down something to see. But we found some animals just a few short metres from the gate; wildebeest and Thomson's gazelles grazing together.

 

 

They were a little skittish, and kept an eye on us as we slowly passed by. Later on, as we were leaving, we saw some of the male wildebeest chasing off some hyenas. It was dusk, and they were a ways off, so we couldn't get a good picture. We saw some hyenas the next day, as well, which is when I took their picture.

 

 



 

We also saw some jackals:

 

and we would just catch a glimpse of warthogs before they disappeared into the tall grass. I don't think any of us got a good picture of them.

Anyway, the next animal we saw was a lone giraffe, ambling across the plain. Looking for Rusty, I think.
Heh.

 

Seeing these animals in the wild is hard to describe. At the time, you can hardly believe what you are seeing. Someone once said that if you have to beg, borrow, or steal in order to go on a safari, it's definitely worth it. The truth of that statement was becoming clearer and clearer as this first day went on.

We came across some more grazing animals as we went further, including zebras:

 

topi:

and impalas:

But then we saw, off in the distance.... elephants.
Ooooooh.
We raced over to them just as they reached a pool of water about the size of a dining room table. They stopped to throw some mud and water over themselves. They were very protective of their young, and especially of a very young elephant, and we were just in awe of them as they went about their business and then ambled off.

This was about an hour and a half into our very first foray into the park, and I thought at the time that this would be as good as it got. The variety of animals we had seen so far, culminating in the small herd of elephants, had made the expense of the trip more than worth it, in my eyes.
But it just kept getting better.
We were heading further in to the park. The sky was kind of cloudy, threatening rain, and there was a haze that obscured the hills on the horizon. We had just seen a secretary bird:

when we saw the first predator, gazing at the grazing animals in the distance, a cheetah:

And then, futher on down the road, a couple of lionesses on the prowl.

They were nice enough to pose for us:

 and even smile... nicely... for the camera:

 

And then it was time to head back to the camp. There was some rain coming down as drove out of the park, but it didn't last too long. As I reflected on the variety of animals we had seen, I was thankful that the trip had gone so well. We were going to have a couple more trips over the next two days, and I looked forward to what they would bring.