It all started about a year ago….

Posted on 3 March 2011 by lkonieczny

….when I received a letter (yes, a real letter, like via the US Postal Service) from my sister, Mary. It was a brochure along with a brief note. The brief note says:

Hey, Leon

Thought I’d send this brochure your way. Our friend Chris Kulinski dropped it off and I know this is a dream of yours. He said it’s the best tour he’s put together yet!! Never hurts to dream, right?

Love you, Mary

 And so I did begin to dream. I read that brochure over and over, and it didn’t take me long to come to a decision, to go on the tour. There are times in life when you find you’ve really made the best decision, and that is one of them. 

I still have that brochure, though I pretty much had it memorized by the time the trip began. I spent a lot of time reading, planning, thinking, and dreaming. But I never, ever, was able to dream that the trip would be as good as it was. I got to see a lot of Poland, though often briefly. I got to soak up some of the heart and soul of Poland while I was there, too. And, best of all–the absolute best moments of the trip–I got to meet relatives of mine. That was absolutely, without a doubt the highest point of my trip. I will never forget that moment when Alicja knocked on my hotel room door. I was perplexed for a moment, and then overjoyed. What a great moment.

And I continue to dream. That first trip to Poland has led me to more dreaming, and now I am starting to plan my next trip to Poland late this summer. You know I’ll write more about that as time goes on. But I am already planning, already dreaming. And once again, I’m sure that the reality will surpass even my wildest dreams! I cannot wait to go back again. And again. And….

Posted in My love of Poland, My Polish Family, Poland Trip Prep | Leave a comment

Learning Polish

Posted on 23 February 2011 by lkonieczny

I am leaning the Polish Language. Well, to be truthful, I’ve known just a few words of Polish since I was a little child. I grew up around Polish people, and they sometime spoke Polish. I knew what bread and butter and milk were, and when Grandpa was trying to listen to the radio and said “cicho!” I knew I’d better be quiet!

Many years ago, i took an adult Polish language course, but it did not go very far. I still have the book, though, though it may have belonged to my mother at one time, I am not sure. But from that course I sort of learned to “read” Polish in the sense that I learned the sounds that go with most of the letters.

That served me well at times. Many years ago, I helped teach my cousins a Polish hymn. I know that it brought a tear to my Grandma’s eye when we sang “Serdeczna Matko” at their 50th wedding anniversary Mass. And knowing the pronunciation served me well over the years as I learned to sing along with various Kolędy–Polish Christmas Carols.

Then, when I was preparing for my trip to Poland, I started using Rosetta Stone, and started to learn some Polish. I was able to use a few phrases and count and get a price in Polish, and that served me well on my trip.

But now I am on a mission, a mission to learn at least a little bit of Polish so that on my next trip–where I will not have a translator nor a group of other English-speaking people always at hand–I will be able to at least get by with a few simple phrases, and may be able to understand the gist of some simple conversation. But some day, I hope to be somewhat proficient in Polish. That will take practice, I’m sure. Of course, maybe living there for some time in the future will help too!

So, how am I learning Polish? What am I doing to work on my skills? Well, I am doing a number of things, and I’ll give you my secrets now:

  • First and foremost, I am using Rosetta Stone. I find it quite helpful and intuitive. At least I think it’s working. There are a lot of words I know from it. I don’t always understand the technical (grammatical) issues, but it has been very helpful
  • Bloggy Polish. This is a web site that started as a blog. There are short lessons that deal with various aspects of Polish in a conversational setting. I download these to my iPhone and listen to them when I walk and at they gym, and have burned them to a CD to listen to in the car. They are very helpful. And if you go to their web site, you can find some of the words there, too. Very helpful.
  • Polish Surival Phrases from survivalphrases.com. This is a really good web site. I have subscribed for the whole 60-set version. It basically teaches everyday phrases that may come in handy when in Poland. Each lesson also has a PDF file of the words to go along with it. I find it very helpful.
  • Mówimy po Polsku— This is the book I mentioned earlier. I have not spent a lot of time with it yet, but it appears to be very good and comprehensive. I need to delve into it more!
  • Online Books:
  • And I am sure there are many other fine references and web sites out there.

But, this is what I’ve found helpful so far. Also, I find that if I study a bit just before I go to bed, sometimes I continue to study Polish in my dreams! True! Good Luck!

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Bogurodzica

Posted on 12 February 2011 by lkonieczny

Bogurodzica is tranlated “Mother of God.” It is the oldest Polish religious hymn and was written somewhere between the 10th and 13th centuries.

I learned about Bogurodzica today from my friend Jurek who is helping me learn Polish via Skype. We’ve been meeting once a week for an hour or two and he has been extremely helpful. In the course of our conversation today he told me about this ancient hymn which was sang by the Polish Knights as an anthem before the Battle of Grunwald (1410) and the Battle Of Varma (1444), both very important battles, not only in the history of Poland, but for the fate and history of Europe.  Bogurodzica was also used at the coronation ceremonies of the first Jageillonian kings.

You can read more about Bogurodzica here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogurodzica.

You can hear it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgtTapXGWXA

It is very intersting and well worth a few minutes of your time.

Posted in culture, history, music | Leave a comment

Olesko Castle

Posted on 31 January 2011 by lkonieczny

I learned a bit more about Poland and Polish history today, and the topic of this post is not even located in Poland. The Olesko Castle is in what is today Ukraine, a country just to the east of present day Poland. But it has many ties to Poland and Polish history.

One of most famous people in Polish history is King Jan Sobieski III. This king of Poland was born at the Olesko Castle near Lwow in 1629. As a young man, he studied in Krakow and at the Jagiellonian University there, and then travelled all around Europe. During his travels, he met many famous figures. Returning to Poland, he joined the army and quickly excelled. Later he became an ambassador to Turkey and learned alot of Turkish military tactics–something which would soon prove invaluable.  Time and again, Sobieski fought for Poland and the king and eventually (in 1668) became the Grand Hetman of the Crown, the commander-in-chief of the Polish army.  Eventually he was elected king and crowned King of Poland in 1676. At that time, Poland was the largest and one of the most populous states in Europe, but also one often besieged by enemies. King Jan Sobieski III’s greatest achievement was in 1683 when he commanded a joint army of Polish, Austrian, and German troops facing the invading Turks near Vienna. Some historians call this a turning point in European history. Had the Turks pervailed, Europe would be a very different place today. But Sobieski was brilliant and his army defeated the Turks. The Pope and others called him the “Savior of Vienna and Western European civilization.”

King Jan Sobieski spent many of his “off” times at the Olesko Castle, it was a favorite place for him. He died in 1696 and is interred, with his wife, in the Wawel Cathedral. I saw his tomb when I was there at Wawel.

I am hopeful that next summer, when I visit Poland, I will also have a chance to see this historic place, the Olesko Castle. I am grateful for my good friend Chris Kulinski who told me about it and got me interested enough to do some research. It sounds like a very historically moving place. And now you know a bit more about Polish history, and how Poland saved Europe from the Ottoman Empire in 1683, nearly 425 years ago.

Posted in history, History of Poland | Leave a comment

The Trumpeter of Kraków

Posted on 22 January 2011 by lkonieczny

When I was in Kraków in September, we had a tour of the old city. We stopped near the base of the beautiful and old St. Mary’s Church ( Kościół mariacki) a Basilica, right on the rynek or market square. Then, right on the top of the hour, a trumpter appeared high atop the church in the steeple. He pointed the long golden trumpet out of the window high atop the spire, first to the west, then to east, then, south, and then north. The trumpter played a tune each time, and each time the tune stopped abruptly. And so we learned of the tradition and legend behind this practice which happens every hour, on the hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. This tradition, in one form or another, has been said to have gone on nearly uninterruptedly for over 700 years!

The legend behind this is thus. In medieval times, the trumpeter would play his call morning and night to announce the opening and closing of the city gates. But they would also use this vantage point to sound an alarm if needed. It was in 1241 that the Mongol horder arrived at the gates of Kraków to lay seige to the city. Legend has it that as the trumpter was sounding the alarm, he was shot dead in mid note by a Mongol arrow–but the gates of the city did get closed and the Tatars were locked out. And so to this day, every day, every hour on the hour, the trumpet is sounded in memory of the act by which this ancient trumpeter sounded the alarm and raised the call the prevented the fall of Kraków to the Mongols over 700 years ago.

Not only is this repeated every day and every hour, but since 1927 it has also been played live every noon on Polish national radio. The tune that is played is called the Hejnał mariacki. If you’d like to hear it and learn a bit more about it, you can do so here: http://www.krakow-info.com/hejnal.htm. And you can learn more about the Trumpeter of Kraków here: http://www.cracow-life.com/poland/trumpeter-krakow-hejnal. 

When I was in Hejnał played a number of times when I was on the rynek (square). It never ceased to move me. And It took the time (and paid the few zloty it cost) to climb the 400 or so uneven and steep stairs all the way to the top of the spire at St. Mary’s Basilica, and I was there when the trumpeter played, and got to look out those very same windows where nearly 736 years ago the trupeter spied the invading Mongols. An amazing experience and one I higly recommend. No wonder I enjoyed so much, there is so much history there.

Posted in history, History of Poland, music, Poland Tour 2010 | Leave a comment

Learning Polish

Posted on 18 January 2011 by lkonieczny

I am learning Polish. Of course, I already knew a very, very little bit of Polish, from my earliest years. I remember the words for bread, butter, milk, and a few others from my childhood. I’ve never forgotten those. And when I hear Polish spoken, it sounds “familiar” to me because many of my relatives spoke it when I was a child. To this day there are certain words which would probably twist up most people’s tongues, but to me they just sound normal. Like the word wszytko which means “everything.” I just remember the word, and remember hearing it. Other words I know include those for breat, butter, milk, mushrooms, potatoes, cabbage, sausage, and a whole bunch of others.

On the darker side of things, there are a few words I remember which are not good words. Well, they are good words, but only when you want to swear. I remember those because when my grandpa would use them in front of me, grandma would scold him for using them. So i paid special attention to them. In truth a know a few choice Polish swear words, and like to use them once in a while, since those around me have no clue what I’m saying.

But, back to seriousness. I am working on my Polish, and diligently lately. Like over an hour or more every night. My mainstay is using Rosetta Stone. It is a fine program and I am learning a lot from it. But I’m also finding some other web resources to help me, and recently found a web site that tries to connect people wanting to learn various languages–you can connect using email, text messaging, and even Skype. How cool is that.

I know that i can learn words, but I have to use them in order to be able to use and understand the language. That’s where I am at, at a beginning level. But I’m working on it.

My plan for 2011 is to return to Poland in the late summer to visit my cousin Alicja–she has graciously invited me. I know she is working on learning English. And with me learning Polish along with the help of others like her son who speaks both and of course a dictionary, I believe we’ll make out fine. I sure hope so.

So, periodically I may blog about my Polish learning. I’m sure that right now a Polish 2-year-old could run circles around me in the language department. But look out! I’m smart and determined. And finding out that it sounds “familiar.” Here I come!

Posted in culture, language | 1 Comment

Niedzica Castle

Posted on 16 January 2011 by lkonieczny

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then this blog post is going to end up at over 80,000 “words.” You see, I was surfing the web today looking for more information on Poland. One thing led to another and I found a web site that posts some pretty pictures and videos of places in Poland, and one of the places they’d covered was the Niedzica Castle, sometimes called the Dunajec Castle, a place that I visited on September 8, 2010.

The Niedzica Castle was first built between 1320-1326. Yep, that’s right, nearly 700 years ago. It’s got a long history and you can read more about that on Wikipedia here. It is often called one of the most picturesque castles in Poland, and sits high atop a hill overlooking the Dunajec River. The modern structure is one that was many years in the making, having been expanded and expanded again over the centuries. It is now a museum and contains many old artifacts.

We had a great tour of Niedzica and I’ve posted quite a few of the pictures I took there here: http://poland.leonkonieczny.com/images/2010PolandTour/0908-Niedzica/index.html. It is quite a fascinating place, and well worth a visit if you’re in southern Poland, in the Nowy Targ area.

But back to how I got here today. The blog/website I found has some pictures and video of Niedzica, and it too is worth checking out. You can see the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0UUEx82nqM. It’s really worth your time, a nice outside view of the area–it gives you a great feel for southern Poland.

Looking at my pictures of Niedzica brought back a lot of memories, and very good memories. This was a special place, so full of history, so old. A piece of the heart of Poland lives here and I am glad to share it with you.

Posted in culture, history, multimedia, Poland Tour 2010 | Leave a comment

The Polish National Anthem

Posted on 15 January 2011 by lkonieczny

The Polish National Anthem is a song of hope. It was written by  Józef Rufin Wybicki in Italy in 1797. It was written to help general Jan Henryk Dąbrowski organize Polish Legions (Polish units serving in Napoleon’s army). He wrote it to celebrate the departure of these Polish legionaries from Reggio Italy, and this is where it was sung for the first time. By 1797, the tragic partitioning of Poland by it’s greedy and more powerful neighbors had already begun. In hopes of getting help to stand against these actions, some of the Polish Army joined up with Napoleon’s army. They fought in French campaigns outside of Poland, hoping that their involvement and contribution result in liberation of their Polish homeland. Of course, France did not succeed. But, the song caught on like wildfire and became a rallying point for polish nationalistic feelings.

The Polish National Anthem is formally known as Dąbrowski’s Mazurka, but is more commonly know by its first line,  Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, or Poland is not yet lost. You can hear it and learn more about it here.In musical form, it is a mazurka, one of the folk musics of Poland, though the exact origins of this melody are unknown. You can get a good sense of the nationalistic fervor that this anthem entails if you take a look at the lyrics:

Poland has not perished yet
So long as we still live
That which alien force has seized
We at sabrepoint shall retrieve

March, march, Dąbrowski
From Italy to Poland
Under thy command
Let us now rejoin the nation

Cross the Vistula and Warta
And Poles we shall be
We’ve been shown by Bonaparte
Ways to victory

March, march…

Like Czarniecki to Poznań
After Swedish occupation,
To rescue our homeland
We shall return by sea

March, march…

Father, in tears
Says to his Basia
Just listen, it seems that our people
Are beating the drums

March, march…

Yes, it is tryly a song of great fervor and emotion, and I was a firsthand witness to that when I was in Poland. I was at Westerplatte on September 1st, 2010, at 04:48 AM, the exact moment 71 years earlier when World War II began (the story of this battle itself is quite moving and a story of great heroism and national determination). There was a moving ceremony there, but one of the most amazing things I experienced was this: The orchestra started playing the Polish National Anthem. Suddenly, hats were whisked off of head, to a person, and heads bowed, hands over hearts. And then the crowd gathered there began to sing. All of them. And I mean everyone. Young people, kids, teenagers, adults, old people, dignitaries–everyone. I’ve been to many an event in the US where our national anthem is played and young (and not so young) people just kind of move around in stupid apathy, hats on head, hands in pockets, looking around, waiting for the moment to pass. That was not my experience in Poland. Poland is a nation, it seems to me, where all are proud of their heritage and glad for their freedom, but respect freedom’s fragility. In the past 200+ years, Poland has lost and regained its independence a number of times. We can learn a lot from Poland. No matter what, the people of Poland had hope and confidence in the preservation of their national identity, and they have succeeded.

Poland and her history should be a lesson to all of us in the US who sometimes think that we’re so great, number one, a super power. That thinking and complacence got Poland into trouble hundreds of years ago, but the belief, patriotism, and hope of her people never wavered, never perished. Once again Poland is a great nation. We can learn lessons from her.

So, the Polish National Anthem is a song of inspiration, of determinance, of hope, of nationalism, and of confidence. It brings a tear to my eyes every time I hear it–and that means any time a family member calls my cell phone, because Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła is the ring tone I use for all my family members, and only for them.

Posted in culture, History of Poland | 2 Comments

Trzech Kroli

Posted on 6 January 2011 by lkonieczny

Well, here it is, the 12th Day of Christmas and the Feast of the Three Kings, also called the Epiphany, called Trzech Kroli in Polish. On this day people in Poland take small boxes containing chalk, a gold ring, and a small piece of amber (in memory of the 3 kings) to church to be blessed. At home they inscribe +K+M+B with the chalk above all the doors to bring good luck thorugh all the year. You can read the details here: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/polishchristmastraditions/a/threekings.htm. They also may bake King Cake with a lucky coin in it.

 So tonight I will light all my lights for the last time and enjoy the warm glow of it. I’ll even have the back yard lights on, even if I’m the only one to enjoy them. Then over the weekend I can start putting stuff away.

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Życzę ci tylko z najlepszych w 2011 roku!

Posted on 4 January 2011 by lkonieczny

Translation: I wish you only the best in 2011. Yes, Christmas 2010 is history for a lot of people, at least in America, but in Poland it has just started. In Poland, I am told, they really don’t do a lot of decoration or preparation until just before Christmas. The Christmas season begins with Wigilia on the 24th, and Christmas Day is often a quiet and solemn day, the day of Jesus’s birth. But after that, the visiting and partying begins. Poles celebrate the twelve days of Christmas which culminates with the Feast of the Three Kings on the twelfth day of Christmas, January 6th. In the Eastern Rite church, it is often January 6th which is the big feast day and when gifts are exchange.

At my home, I celebrate Christmas through January 6th. Right now I am the only house in my area and one of few that still have up their Christmas lights, and I light my tree every night as well. I believe that Christmas should be celebrated more as a season rather than a day.

And in the middle of this, we have the New Year. Yes, a big feast and celebration here in America, but quite secular in nature. The ball falling in Time’s Square, the bowl games on New Year’s Day. Many New Year’s Eve parties filled with drink and festivity. The beginning of a new year. And so I celebrate it all and wish all who read this only the best in 2011, and may you celebrate Christmas in your heart as more than just one day a year.

Posted in culture | 1 Comment