This ski lift operates throughout the year, so even when it is not snowing you can use it to ride to the top or the bottom of one of the many ski slopes in Zakopane, Poland. Of course if you are feeling active you are welcome to walk up or down on the grass, but it is a very long way down, and since I had already down a crazy run in the mountains, I decided that the ski lift would be a far more civilized route to take.
When walking through the forest I saw these mushrooms growing happily on an old and decaying tree trunk. I know that you can gather mushrooms in the forest (my inlaws in Poland and their neighbours do it all the time), but my knowledge is dangerous. Actually my knowledge is not even dangerous. It is nonexistent. I know nothing about what mushrooms are safe to eat, so I though it best to just look, take a photograph and leave my breakfast until I got back to the house.
The memory of the Warsaw Ghetto is very much alive in Warsaw, and it is something we should remember. Hopefully to prevent a repeat of it in the future. While there is only 1 small piece of the ghetto wall still standing, there are plenty of reminders of the ghetto. In particular you keep coming across these brass plaques commemorating where the walls used to stand. A sad reminder of our history, and hoping it will not happen again.
My in-law’s house in Krakow is on the border of the Ojcow national forest. It is a small yet beautiful forest, full of trails, steams and wildlife. So of course I spent as much time as possible exploring the trails in the forest.
Running along the trail
One of the many rivers; I found many otter dams on this river, and lots of trees that the otters had cut down (yes the otters quite literally cut down the trees to use as dam-building material)
A most-covered tree; when you get deep in the forest it gets very earthy and wet. You can smell the earthy smell of the decomposing plants on the forest floor
I even found an old castle in the middle of the forest
Running uphill – the forest was suprisingly hilly – they were plenty of good climbs
Finally, here is the route I ran – about 14k. If you’re ever in the area I highly recommend a run through the forest.
Many of the houses have these cute pencil fences. Most of them (like this fence) are plain pencils, but occasionally you see pencil-crayons as well. It almost looks like the city was designed as a huge children’s playground.
While wondering around the hills of Zakopane we came across this lively little A-frame house. It is so small and cute, and it looks like the perfect place to spend a few relaxing` days.
I saw this strange building on the main road into Zakopane, and it really interested me. It looks exactly what Guidi would have built if he was an artist in Zakopane instead of in Barcelona. I love the way the two architectural styles are so seamlessly blended in this building.
If you want to find out more about the house (and are willing to read Polish or at least use Google translate), here is an interesting interview.
By the way, they say that the best camera is the one in your hand. I shot this with my phone and the processed it in Photomatix afterwards.
Mila 18, the location of the underground bunker where most the the ghetto uprising was orchestrated from is the grave of hundreds of resistant fighters during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. It is a difficult place to talk about, but it is an important remember of human suffering and the will to survive.
The plaque reads:
Grave of the fighters of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising built from the rubble of Mi?a Street, one of the liveliest streets of pre-war Jewish Warsaw. These ruins of the bunker at 18 Mi?a Street are the place of rest of the commanders and fighters of the Jewish Combat Organization, as well as some civilians. Among them lies Mordechaj Anielewicz, the Commander in Chief. On May 8, 1943, surrounded by the Nazis after three weeks of struggle, many perished or took their own lives, refusing to perish at the hands of their enemies. There were several hundred bunkers built in the Ghetto. Found and destroyed by the Nazis, they became graves. They could not save those who sought refuge inside them, yet they remain everlasting symbols of the Warsaw Jews’ will to live. The bunker at Mi?a Street was the largest in the ghetto. It is the place of rest of over one hundred fighters, only some of whom are known by name. Here they rest, buried as they fell, to remind us that the whole earth is their grave.
If you want to read an excellent book on the subject, I highly recommend the novel of the same name written by Leon Uris.
Many of my recent posts have been about Warsaw in World War 2. The war is remembered wherever you go. They are determined to never forget what happened, and certainly they should not forget. It is recovering, and I think perhaps that it will never recover. And I don’t think that is a bad thing at all. Never ever forget.
This lovely old cart has clearly been retired for many years. It is now serving the rest of its live as a flower box.
If you want to visit it, you need to get to Chocho?owy Dwór just outside of Krakow, Poland, which is a lovely log-cabin hotel (my brother-in-law got married there).
The ceiling of St. Mary’s Basilica on Krakow Square, Poland. I love the intricate detail and workmanship that went into building the lovely church.
Leave a Comment