Poland Day 14

I am sad to say that today is my last full day in Poland–for the time being–but it is certainly not the last I shall write in this blog. First I will tell of the first part of the day. Any maybe later I will write again about the dinner we’ll have tonight—our farewell dinner. But then there are quite a few other things I want to write about, lest I forget them all, especially about the people here, the history and culture of Poland, the roads and construction, the automobiles, the cleanliness, the politeness…the list goes on and on. With your encouragement and continued kind works, I know there is lots more to write down, this is an amazing and, yes, enchanted and blessed place. I know it. I feel it. I’ve experienced it.

After breakfast this morning, we had a 9 AM start for about a 4 hour or so tour of Wrocław. Our tour guide for this particular tour was very competent, spoke very good English, and was also funny. It was a good tour.

We had a nice tour all around the older parts of the city with a number of stops. Wrocław used to be known as Breslau, and it’s a very old city, over a thousand years old. But at various times it’s belonged to the Czechs, Hungarians, Russians, Prussians, Austrians, and just about everyone else you can think of, besides the Polish and Poland. But at the end of World War II, it became a part of Poland and many Germans from the area were “resettled” by the Communist Russians. Such was the way of the world that Truman and Roosevelt bartered away with Stalin. But, you can look up that history if you want….but make sure you read the truth, not just what some people would tell you.

As that “last” city between Moscow  and Germany, the Germans in World War II defended it heavily, and so there was a lot of destruction. Not quite to the extent of Warszawa, but close. So a lot of what we saw today was rebuilt, though some original structures remain. The cathedral here dates back nearly a thousand years as well, can you believe that? It is very pretty inside and out.  And old.

We also walked along and around the town square, the second largest on in Poland, second in size only to that of Kraków. It is very nice and full of life. I sure wish we had town squares back home in the US, they are a very cool thing.

There are many bridges in Wrocław as well. Sometimes it’s called the venice of Poland. It has a lot of canals and the like too over 100 bridges, maybe 138 was the number, but a lot. The Odra (Oder) river runs through Wrocław. It is the second biggest river in Poland, after the Wisła, of course.

Eventually we went to a museum where there is a huge panoramic painting of the Battle of Racławicka. This is a very famous battle in Polish history because it’s where Tadeusz Kosciuszko let the Polish insurrection against the Russians—and defeated them. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of Polish peasants armed with sickles managed to defeat the Russian army with their artillery. Unfortunately, though the battle was won, the insurrection failed and Poland remained partitioned between Austria, Germany, and Russia for another hundred years. But it serves as a memory to every Pole that “yes we can.” See, the Poles invented that phrase, not some American politiciansf who merely think they can (or thought they could).  But I digress. The panorama is 15 meters high and 115 meters long, an huge artwork. It is very impressive and tells a great story. I was very moved by it.

So the battle depicted in the panorama, though a win in a loss (won the battle, lost the war, so to speak), still speaks for the feeling all Poles have of the love of their country and their desire to be free. If it was not for that spirit that came out in 1980 and subsequent years, the world would be a very different place today. Because of that spirit, the oppressive socialistic, leftist yoke of communism was eventually thrown off and the result was not only a free world for much of eastern Europe and more, but an end to the cold war that existed from the end of World War II. So this panorama speaks to the heart and soul of the Polish people, and I felt that today.

After the tour, I returned with my “stuff” to the hotel, then walked back to the square, maybe ¾ of a mile away. I met some of the others there at Karczma Lwowska, a very nice restaurant ( and coincidentally right next to  Dwór Polski where we are having our farewell meal later.). I had dwa drugie piwo and the Talerz pierogów mieszanych. It was very good, and the pierogi dough was very homemade like. Excellent food, but I could not eat all 12 of them. Oh well, I had my fill!

After that, I did some more souvenir shopping, picking up just a few trinkets here and there. More stuff that I didn’t need but wanted. Oh well.  I will return with an empty wallet but a full head—and stomach!

So that is pretty much the end of this travelogue, but not the end of the story. Actually, it’s only the beginning. I’ve had a sweet taste of something very good, very intoxicating, and very addictive. I know I will be back….I have to come back, I just have to. And I will. But for now, I will continue to tell some of what I learned about this amazing country, the land of my ancestors. In learning about it, I also learn more about myself. How amazing is that?