LIB'S LABYRINTH

Friday, October 26, 2007

Maze: Krakow

The Cultural and Religious Capital of Poland. This beautiful city was for almost 500 years the country's capital, before Warsaw.

Jewish side of town

Market Square

St. Mary's Church

Wawel Royal Castle

Archdiocese of Krakow - Former seat of Blessed John Paul II

Previous Publication 6/7/10 lib's labyrinth blogspot

Modified 5/23/2013

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Maze: Ghetto Uprising Memorial

Warsaw

Old Town location of Ghetto Uprising.

Autumn in Central Europe

LAB TECHS IN CENTRAL EUROPE

CENTRAL EUROPE

WE LAB TECHS (Lib, MILA & SUSAN) agree the ever best time to see the historic cities and medieval places of Central and Eastern Europe is in the fall. The trees along the rolling hills and mountains as we travel along show leaves of red and gold, green and purple. A beautiful, beautiful sight to see and behold! Check this group picture of us taken at a lovely Warsaw park in front of the statue of the Polish great composer, Frydryk Chopin.

We came from all corners of the globe, as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, UK, Scotland, Canada, Puerto Rico, and of course, United States of America the Great! Hmmm.... equally, everywhere we go everything was great.

Traveling folks, forget about paying extra (0.50 euro)for the WC (water closet). What is important is to enjoy the beauty and the best of Europe, west, central, and east.

Front (l-r): Sheilah of NZ, Sandra of Scotland, Dawn of New Mexico, Soo of So. Korea, Tour Director Judith of Hungary, Tour Driver Franco of Naples, Italy, Brigitta of Carmel, CA, Evelyn of NZ, --, Erica, Maya
Center (l-r) Attorney Rudy of The Philippines, Nora, --, Jeanette of Florida, Jenna of Australia, Luella of Oaklawn, IL,Mila, Lib , Susan, Hiroko of Japan, Dorothy of Australia, Marielle of Canada, Louise of NZ, Peter of NZ, Diana of Australia
Back (l-r) Reggie of Singapore,Dan of NM, Michael of Australia,-,Ross of Australia,-, Robert of Scotland, Gerry, Louis of Puerto Rico, Peter of NZ, Travis of New Mexico, Wayn of NZ,

World Travelers 11182007

Warsaw

10/2007 ALT MSN Group

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Maze: Warsaw

Poland

Polians, meaning dwellers of the fields, are descendants of slavic people around 400 A.D. In 966 A.D., the Poles converted to Christianity. Boleslav the Brave (992-1025) was crowned first king of Poland. The country was divided and weakened upon the death of Boleslav III in 1138. In 1241 Mongols invaded Poland. Ladislas I ruled from 1260-1333 but Poland prospered under his son Casimir the Great. In 1347 he established the first statute of laws in Europe, founded the University of Krakow, and gave refuge to the Jews. Poland had the highest percentage of Jews of any European country after that. In 1384 Judwiga (1370-1399) became queen and married Ladislas Jagello, Duke of Lithuania, establishing the Jagellon dynasty. It died in 1572. In 1575 Stephen Bathory was crowned king. From 1587 to 1668, three Swedish nobles ruled Poland. In 1674 General John Sobieski became King John III and he defeated the Turks. The many partition of Poland started in 1772 with Thaddeus Kosciusko (1746-1817) opposing the breakup but was defeated. Kosciusko built the military academy at West Point. Pulaski founded the U.S. Cavalry. In 1807, Napoleon I united the territory, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. The Treaty of Versailles gave Poland access to the Baltic Sea, also called the Polish Corridor. The Curzon Line, the proposed boundary line between Poland and Russia was rejected by both.

Palace of Culture & Science

Nickname: Russian wedding cake.

It's a "gift" of Stalin to the Polish people. It was inspired by the Empire State Building, symbol at the time of Capitalism not Communism or Socialism. Stalin had even sent a secret delegation to New York to learn about the building and American method of construction. It wasn't until 1952 that his designer Lev Rudynev & Associates put their knowledge into practice and the "monstrous" structure was finished after three years. Up to this day, the "peoples castle" became the object of hate and a "stain" on the skyline. In spite of recent highrises it remains the tallest building in Poland. The palace had 3,288 rooms and during our visit had an interactive exhibit of Einstein.

Warsaw Palace of Culture and Science (Palac Kultury I Nauki)

Statue of Frydryck Chopin (1810-1849). He immortalized the folk cultures, preludes, mazurkas, sonatas and polonaises.

Hotel Novotel

17th Floor - beautiful view of the illuminated Palace of Culture & Science

At the Hotel's Le Bar, we listened for a while to the one and only Filipino performer in Poland - Sherie and Joe Rosimo at the piano. Imagine that! We were told there are about 78 Filipinos in Warsaw doing domestic and miscellaneous jobs.

Memorial of Ghetto Uprising

Previous Publication ALT MSN Groups 2007

Web Page: A World of Yours, Ours and Mine

Published 6/3/10 lib's labyrinth

Maze: Poland

Poznan, one of Poland's oldest trading centers and now an international marketplace during industrial fairs.

Polish Countryside on the way to Warsaw: Jasna Gora near Czestochowa, the monastery which withstood the repeated onslaught of overwhelming Swedish forces during the religious wars of the 17th century. Since then its Black Madonna is venerated as the Queen of Poland and has become the country's national symbol. Poland is 90 percent Roman Catholic.