Adventures with Julia

September 28, 2017

Sofie, the capital of Bulgaria, is named after the Church St Sofia from the 4^th century.  The name also means “Wisdom”.  It became the capital on April 3, 1879 and has a population of 1.2 million.  Bulgaria is a member of the EU, has a population of 7 million, and like all over Europe, is shrinking slowly.    From our hotel window in the middle of the city, we can see the University of Sofia down the street, the Embassies of Austria and Italy across the street and the Nevski Cathedral through a tree.   Philip, our Bulgarian guide, picked us up at 10am and began telling us about the city and the sites.

First we visited St Alexander Nevski Cathedral, which was built between 1880 and 1912 with donations from wealthy Bulgarian people.

When there was not enough money coming in, the state held lotteries to get it completed.  It is a Bulgarian Orthodox church with Greek Byzantine influences.

There are many beautiful details, but no seats.  We have learned that no orthodox church has seats.  People come and go and remain standing while they are there.

Then we passed by the Russian Church, stopped at the National Theater with a large fountain in front and saw many pictures of the recently completed renovations in 2004. For no good reason, it is not open.

We drove by the Palace of Justice, and St Nedelya Church where on April 16, 1925 the Communist Party bombed it during a funeral service for a general of the King’s army, killed 200 people and injured 500 more.  Three perpetrators were hanged within a month.  A real terrorist attack.

Then we stopped to see the ruins of ancient Serdica (2^nd to late 5^th century), the first name of the city of Sofia.  The ruins were discovered in 2008 while the city was excavating to connect two metro stations.

We walked a short distance to the Sofia City Center Mineral Water Spring and drank some of the pure water.  Watched as many people filled up containers of this water.

Then we walked to the Sofia History Museum, which had been the Public Bath until 30 years ago.  It was no longer being used and Philip was sorry about the closure.

We drove by a tall pedestal with a statue of Sofia, that used to have Lenin on it, then headed out of town to Plovdiv.

 

The drive to Plovdiv took 2 hours through rolling green countryside that is considered a plain rather than a valley.

Just before entering the city we stopped at a roadside chain restaurant called Happy.  The food was just passable.  Once in Plovdiv, we parked the car and walked to the East Gate of Philippopol, a relic from the 4^th century BC.

Then we walked through the old city, which was built on three hills also in the 4^th century BC.  We passed under a 2^nd century arch and up into the neighborhood of mid-19^th century merchant houses we saw and visited.   The area had been very prosperous even though the city was under ottoman domination.

In one of the houses was a museum where we saw their local history depicted.  The people in some of the photos were even dressed in Ottoman clothing.

The dominant industries were tobacco and rose oil, followed by woolen fabrics, rice, vegetable, honey farming and vineyards.   Further up the hill we visited the Constantine the Great and, his mother, Helena’s Church built in 1832.

Got nice images.  The iconostasis, or place for the icons, was made of walnut with gold leaf covering it.  Quite special.

We passed by the home of Boris Christov (1914-1993), reputed to be the best base opera singer in world.  Phlip played some of his singing for us right on the spot.  Quite rich and deep.  Then we arrived at the ancient Roman theater dating from middle  of the first century AD.   A concert rehearsal was underway.

The acoustics were pretty good considering the dilapidated state of the theater.  We could see down into the center of Plovdiv from the top of the theater.

From the theater we walked down the hill to the 1423 Friday Mosque and on to the 2^nd century AD roman stadium, which was only discovered in 1968.  They calculate it held 30,000 people in its day and was used for sports, not for gladiators.

Then we walked down the world’s longest open air shopping mall and stopped in front of a bronze statue of  Milyo, who was a homeless character in the neighborhood until the mid 90’s.  We continued walking through the mall to the end.  I found a sweater I wanted to buy, but the store would take only cash and we had only a cc.  So, no purchase.  Oh well, maybe the weather will improve.

At the end of the mall, we got back in the car and headed back to Sofia.

Phillip dropped us off at an Italian Restaurant near our hotel and had a super pasta dinner we ate with enthusiasm.

September 29, 2017

Today, we drove an hour and 40 minutes through the countryside south of Sofia to Rila Monastery in a canyon of the Rila Mountains, named by the Thracians in pre-roman times, because the hills were Rila, or “full of water”.  We came around a bend in the crooked mountain road and suddenly we were at the entrance to the monastery.

Established in the 10^th century by St Ivan of Rila, the monastery is Bulgaria’s most impressive example of National Revival architecture.

The monastery flourished until the Ottoman raids destroyed it in the late 1400’s.

The Russian Church sponsored its renovation, while the monks played a crucial role in preserving Bulgaria’s language and history during the repressive years of Ottoman rule.

Devastated by fire in 1833, the monastery was rebuilt with funding from wealthy Bulgarians and public raffles.  There was a call for national pride at a time of hope for liberation from the Ottomans.

In some ways Rila Monastery is similar to the round fortified churches in Harmon and Prejmer in Romania in that a four story structure containing 300 monk cells surrounds the church.

However, this place is not fortified unless you consider the mountains surrounding the monastery closely on all sides a fortification.

Once inside the compound, we saw well maintained and nicely painted buildings and a spectacular church in the center, called the Church of the Nativity.   Next to the church was an old brick tower dating to 1334, which had not burned and was called Hrelo’s tower for the man who paid to have it built and lived in it until he was killed by the Bulgarian King for being a traitor.  Apparently, he was very rich and owned much land including the monastery grounds, which were on his land.

As his land bordered two countries, he was considering which country to ally with when he picked the wrong country and was killed.  A portico was added to the tower in 1844 while the monastery was being reconstructed.

 

The tower and the monk cells are interesting, but the Church is by far the main attraction.

The open arcades on two sides of the church are quite spectacular for their color, design and stories.  Knowing we were not allowed to take photographs inside the church, we took many photos of the scenes on the arcades.

It was very cold and we were way underdressed for the crisp mountain air at 3700 feet.  Finally, we went into the dark church.  Such a shame that no photos are allowed.  We could see many frescos that all were dark from years of candle smoke and a huge, fantastic wall of gold leafed iconostasis.  All the work was completed by a team of master artists between 1839 and 1842.

 

The church contains two chapels, one freshly cleaned called the Chapel of St John and the other shrouded in scaffolding for cleaning and renovation called the Chapel of St Nicholas. What a difference a good cleaning can make.  The frescos and gold leaf glistened in the cleaned chapel with daylight streaming in the window.  The reconstruction was completed in 1862, but years of dirt and candle smoke and lack of electricity have made the interior walls difficult to appreciate.

There are murals adorning the church walls illustrating characters and stories from the bible that must be magnificent, if we could see them clean and in good light.  Anyway, as I could not take photos, you cannot see them anyway.

After a couple of hours, we had seen enough and needed to get warm.  We warmed up as we drove back down the mountain to another roadside restaurant for a bite to eat.  I had fried trout that tasted super and reminded me of our ranch trout as it was served whole.

We had one last sightseeing stop for the day, the tiny Boyana Church on the south west side of Sofia.  It is not even in our guide books, but Philip was certain we should see it.

What a gem it was.  Built in three stages in the 11^th, 13^th and 19^th centuries, it has been listed as a UNESCO site, one of only 10 in Bulgaria.  The church is renowned for its frescos dating back to 1259 and painted by an artist exceptionally talented for his time.

So much so that some scholars consider him a precursor of European Renaissance art.  The faces are much more shapely and colorful than other flat work of the day and the figures are fluid in their poses.

Again we were not allowed to take photos inside the building and we were given only 10 minutes to see the art.  Distressing.  So I bought a book.

Mark felt like staying in the hotel so we had Thai food in the hotel dining room.  The soup was excellent.  Not so much the crispy duck.  Then up to our nice room to read and work.  I have really liked Sofia as a city and would like to have had more time here.  There are few high rise buildings and the city is really spread out in all directions.  There are hills on the south side of the city that are full of houses.  The other sides are flat with much development into the plains.  Like every other city we have seen on this trip, Soviet stye housing blocks abound.  No one likes the architecture or appearance of the buildings, but they are solidly built, reasonably spacious and full of people, who are glad to have a home.  Most people own their apartment and can do what they want inside it.  However, they can do nothing to the outside or to services like plumbing, heating and electricity beyond their own walls.  Everyone would have to vote together to get work done to the whole building and that seems to be an impossibility.  If only they had CC&R’s like we have.  Seems like a good communist idea to me.

Good night for now.

 

 

 

 

 

First I must apologize for misspelling Romanian several times in the previous post as well as our guide’s name, which is Aurelian.  Normally, I have Mark spell check for me, but I was in too big of a hurry and he was asleep.

September 25, 2017

Yesterday, the 24^th, we woke up in Sibiu, Transylvania.  It is a town of 30,000 situated in a large plain with low hills all around in the distance.  Our hotel is right in the middle of the Old City with the town square about a block away.  The local festival is in full swing in the square.  Before going to bed last night, we wandered around the festival and were surprised by the huge crowds of people reveling in the temporary tented, beer hall and singing away like a bunch of drunken folk at a German brewfest.

Outside the tent were hundreds more people buying treats and riding the spin, tilt and upside-down rides I never do at home.  It was quite a lively scene.  It did not take much for us to head for home and bed.  Are we curmudgeons or what?

The next day, being Sunday, we walked around area until time to go to Mass. We looked at a 500-year old building in the square called Haller’s House.  It has old original frescos high on the outside wall.  Other buildings had “eye brows” in the roof to allow for air flow into the attics.  I entered the Catholic Church in time to miss the Romanian sermon.  After communion, I joined Mark and Aurelian, who told us Romania is the only Latin country in Eastern Europe.

We dropped into a Romanian Orthodox service.  The place was packed.  Obviously, Romanian Orthodox is the dominant religion in Transylvania.  Everyone just stands around and listens to the sermon.  There were lots of nice frescos on the walls.  We walked around taking in the 19 towers and stone walls that fortified the old city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each one was maintained by a professional guild- such as tailors, tin smiths, bakers, gold smiths, metal workers, etc. Beyond the first set of walls are two more.  The city was very well fortified in the 13-1400’s.

 

Then Aurelian took us to a park outside town, that is called Astra Muzeul.  It is an outdoor multicultural museum that is the largest of its kind in Romania.  It consists of 130 hectares ( 321 acres) populated with 480 original houses brought in from around Romania.

It was started in 1905 by one man and taken over by the government in 1963.  Aurelian rented us a horse and buggy to ride around the site and visit as many houses as we wanted.  It was very charming.  Most of the houses are in the 200-year old range.  We encountered a wedding festival while there and enjoyed the performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving the museum we stopped at a small church in a place called Sibiel.  In it were many paintings on glass done by townspeople during the 18th and 19th centuries  when they were not allowed to worship in their Orthodox churches, which Maria Teresa had closed during her reign.  So, they made their own immature paintings and hung them in their homes.   They were very sweet and I could not help but take some photos.  Then we drove back into Sibiu.

At 6pm, we attended an organ recital at the Romanian Orthodox Church, also known as the Black Church.

The organ was quite good and the organist very special.  We listened to one Bach piece neither of us liked. After that, the pieces played were gradually more appealing, especially a piece by Alexandre Guilmant (1837-1911).  We also liked a piece by Seth Bingham (1881-1972) composed in 1923.  Church programs last only an hour we have found and that suits us perfectly.  We went to dinner at a place called Jules and had pasta.  Good to get away from Romanian food.  We are mostly feeling better, but I am still coughing a lot.  Sure am getting tired of being tired and achy.

Today, Monday, we departed Sibiu for Brasov with a number of interim stops along the Transylvanian country side.  First along the way was the Monday animal and clothing market we stumbled upon a few miles out of Sibiu.

It was fun watching the farmers horse trading and the Gypsies handing out with their colorful outfits and funny looking hats.  That stop, enhanced by fair weather, was good for an hour.

 

 

The countryside drive was very scenic, with rolling hills, corn and other grains filling the fields and many small villages dotting the roadside as we passed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our big stop for the day was the old city of Sighisoara.  It is reputed to be one of the most charming towns in Transylvania.

 

 

 

 

 

The whole town is designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.  I liked the town, but must admit, I liked Sibiu better.

The interesting parts included a 175-step covered walk up to the “Church at the Top of the Hill”, which was burnt and rebuilt and very plain.

However, the cemetery was wonderful as the graves clung to the side of the hill.  Most were so old I could not make out any dates.

There were many from the 1900’s that looked like the people had been buried on top of old graves and added new stones.

Back down in the town square, we had a wonderful bowl of Transylvania Pork Soup.  That hit the spot.  Right near the square was a house marked with a sign designating the place where Count Dracula was born.  Aurelian promised more info about Dracula later tomorrow.  The name Dracul, which means “devil” was the name of Dracula’s father, Vlad Dracul. “ Dracula”means “of the devil”.

 

 

 

Back in the car we drove past another old castle fortification and took a photo from a distance.  Fortified towns in Transylvania are so common that many do not even get noticed.  We arrived at our hotel, Bela Muzica, in Brasov about 7pm.  Had dinner at a Romanian restaurant near our hotel that specializing in meat.  We had pork ribs.  They were ok, just not what we hopped.  I also had grilled vegetables and they were super.  Then we walked back to the hotel, flossed like mad and dove into bed.

This morning, September 26, we had another unsatisfying breakfast similar to the last several in our Transylvanian accommodations—cold cuts, cucumber, sliced tomatoes, steamed mushrooms and sausages and overcooked eggs.  Fortunately, they usually have yogurt and some fruit, although not always fresh.

Anyway, we met up with Aurelian and headed out of town to the Bran Castle, to learn the history of the place.  It was built in the mid 14^th century as a fortress between the two territories of Transylvania and Wallachia.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Its presence supported the trade opportunities over the Carpathian Mountains of the local citizens of the nearby town of Brasov.  The fortress began losing importance during the 1800’s.

In 1920 the City of Brasov gave the property to the new sovereign of Great Romania.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the opportunity for Queen Maria and her architect to remodel the fortress into a comfortable home, which she did: including electricity, plumbing, heating, sheet rock and paint.

 

 

 

Glorious times were spent there by the royal family until the Queen died in 1938.

The Queen’s daughter took care of the property until 1947, when her uncle, King Mihai abdicated the throne.

In 1957, the castle was turned into a Museum and opened to the public.  What we saw today was the museum, with many of the Queen’s mementos and photos placed around the building.

 

 

It was fun to walk around as almost every room was on a different level from every other room.  Without directions, we would surely have gotten lost in the many small rooms.

The Count Dracula story is an altogether different version about the property.  The Count probably never set foot in the place and his story is pure myth.   Launched in 1897 by the Irish writer, Bram Stoker, the novel “Dracula” imagines the story of a vampire who lives in a castle in the middle of the Carpathian Mountains.  The actual Prince Dracula, who did grow up in Transylvania, was the son of Vlad Dracul, whose name meant “devil, and was a nasty character who reputedly impaled people who crossed him, may have deserved the reference to the devil.  The association of the Castle with the Bran name is purely theatrical as far as I can tell.  The castle certainly looks like the setting for a great novel and a lot of money is being made as a result of the book. Aurelian told us It is considered the most popular books ever written, next to the bible, until Harry Potter. Don’t know, neither Mark nor I have read it.  Anyway, google Dracula if you want to learn more.

After spending time in and around the castle, we drove up into the mountains for a lovely picnic lunch.  The intent was to go for a hike, but the day was cold and windy, so we found a lovely spot high in the hills and ate our lunch in a little hollow.

Slowly we drove down the scenic mountain and back to Brasov.   Except for the cold and overcast sky we had had a very nice day.  Back in our room, we hung our in our small patio for a couple of hours, then walked to the Black Church for another organ concert.  This time there were 4 organs being used at different times.

During the final piece, two of the organs were played simultaneously for a very unusual and interesting sound.  The third piece was by Johann Pacabel, Ciacona in f –fa  minor.  Mark and I both really liked it.  The organ used for that piece sounded soft and melodic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the organ performance we walked into the square for dinner in a modern Italian restaurant called Prato.  We were both very satisfied with our meal.  And now Mark is asleep and I am about to quit.

 

September 21, 2017

Today was a whirlwind in rain.  Mariana, our Budapest guide for the day, picked us up at 10am with a car and driver.  Good thing.  Can’t imagine how we would have seen much walking in this huge city in the rain.  As it was, we saw many buildings through rain drops.

Our first stop was the 19^th century Market Hall.  It is an incredible facility with soaring metal columns, high walkways and attractive produce shops full of fancy fruits, vegetables and other edibles.  Our Hungarian friend, Annamaria Sauer, gave us several tips about what to do in Budapest.

 

 

 

 

 

The first was to buy and eat Langos with garlic.  So Mariana took us to the second level where we found much prepared food and Langos being freshly made.  Thanks for the idea Annamaria.  We really liked it and thought of you as we gobbled it down.

We also had some hot, puffy cheese scones.  They were good too.  We saw many prepared Hungarian dishes ready to take home for dinner.  This was a popular place for both tourists and locals.

 

We drove around many streets and buildings, including the Great Synagogue, and Heros Square, that were not worth stopping for in the rain.  Saw several interesting art noveau buildings.

Went into the Music Academy with beautiful tile work inside, and the opulent Szechenyi Spa.  We visited the Lizst Museum, which was his home during his later years.  Lizst had an interesting piano desk in his living quarters that he used for composing.  Mariana was very interested in café’s and told us it was a popular Budapest pastime at the turn of the century, when dwellings were very small, cramped and cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Café’s proliferated for different groups of people, who would hang out in several different ones every day.  The one we visited was the New York Café, in the Boscolo Hotel.

It was built by the New York Insurance company and is the most popular café in the city.  Huge and grand, it was completely full.  Not exactly your local neighborhood café.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a photo and left.  We tried several times to visit the House of Terror, but the line was so long, we finally gave up.  Did not want to spend an hour standing in the rain waiting.  The building was used by Fascists prior to WWII.  After the war, it became the headquarters for the Communist Party.  It was used by both organizations as the most notorious prison in Hungary.

After driving all around Pest, we crossed the Chain Bridge to the Buda side and drove past the old palace, and up the hill to St Matyas Church.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a beautiful building with a variety of interiors due to the occupation of the Ottomans, who made it into a mosque for 150 years.

Later it was destroyed and rebuilt by Franciscans in the 1600’s.  Damaged again in 1723, it was rebuilt in Neo-Gothic style in the late 1800’s.  It houses a baroque Madonna and a Black Madonna.  Next door to the church is the Hilton Hotel, which has incorporated ancient Roman ruins into the structure.  Well done.

Late in the afternoon, we made one last pass at the House of Terror and gave up.  The line went around the building.  We had no time to spare.  Back at the hotel, we said good bye to Mariana, changed clothes and walked quickly to dinner at a fine restaurant that came highly recommended, called Rezkakas.  It lived up to its reputation.  We finally had a good meal.  Mark had goulash soup and foie gras and I had venison.  How’s that for Hungarian food.  Then we grabbed a cab and went to the Bela Bartok National Concert Hall for a performance of Mozart’s Don Giovanni.  The theater is quite new and modern and so was the production of Don Giovanni.

Sadly, our seats were high and in the back, so it was difficult to see faces and actions.   The acoustics were very good.   We had read the synopsis thankfully, but the supertitles were in Hungarian and we could not keep up.  Besides the 8 singing parts, there were a dozen figures on stage all in white costumes and powder, who either held statue-like poses, or behaved quite sexually with each other.   They kept us entertained when we could not follow the singing.  By intermission, Mark had had enough, so we caught a cab back to the hotel and bed.

 

 

 

Sunday, September 17, 2017

I walked through the square to the pretty Church of St Mary for 8am Mass.  Could not understand a word, but knew the routine.  The organ music was not inspiring and neither was the cantor.  Maybe that is why there were so few people.  After communion, I walked back to the hotel and met Mark and Marta and our previous driver, Magic.

First we drove to Krakow’s former Jewish District, Kazimierz.  In the main square we saw the birthplace and home of Helen Rubinstein.

We visited the Old Synagogue from the 16^th Century and the Remu’h Synagogue and the cemetery behind it.  We saw Remu’h’s Tombstone and all the stones, prayers and messages left there by many worshipers.  The cold dreary day was a perfect setting for our visit.  We are both under the weather, but might as well keep going.  We also visited a couple other synagogues.  Did not get the names.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then we drove 1 ½ hours to Birkenau, the place where most of the captives, both Jews and others, lived and died.  It was raining, but we had umbrellas and the weather suited the dreary setting.  Magic drove us to the back end of the camp, so we walked only one way through it.  We started at the place where the Jews were made to take off their clothes, and walk into the gas chamber, where they thought they would be getting a shower.  Once they were dead, camp prisoners moved the bodies up and into the cremation chambers.

Nearby was a memorial to the deceased with bronze plagues printed in all the languages spoken by the victims, including English…..23 I think.  Many of the plaques had long stemmed white roses laying on them.  From there we walked through the center of the camp with barbed wire fences and brick barracks on either side.  Marta told us 600 people were assigned to each building, with bunks three levels high and 5 people to a bunk.

In the early years, the RR tracks came just to the entrance to the camp.  Later the tracks were brought inside the camp so people did not have to walk so far to the gas chambers.   There were a couple of old box cars sitting on the track, like the ones used to haul 80 Jews at a time.

Not all the barracks were brick.   Many were wooden.  They had been stalls for 52 horses back in Germany and were disassembled and brought here for housing for 600 Jews each.  We walked into two of them.  One was a rebuilt latrine showing how hundreds of people could use the bathroom at the same time.  We were told that the Jews were allowed to use the latrine only twice a day.  In the middle of the night, they did what they had to do right in bed.  Can’t imagine being on the bottom bunk.

Then we went into another barracks that had bunk beds for 600, with two fireplaces at either end of the building.  Only problem was lack of fuel.  So there was no heat anyway.  The worst time of the year was summer because the stench was so bad.  We passed through the Birkenau entrance and drove to a nearby restaurant for Polish lunch.  I had mushroom soup.  Not the best, but mushrooms are in season, so fresh….I hoped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then on to our appointment to visit Auschwitz.  It was intended for 3:15, but we got in early at 2:45, a blessing.  Here we visited a series of barracks, which had originally been barracks for the Polish Army.  Initially Poles (150,000) were imprisoned in the camp and died there, then they were joined by Soviet POWs (15,000), Gypsies (23,000),  and other nationalities (10,000).   Different barracks held luggage, shoes, glasses, brushes and hair – lots of hair that was made into rough fabric.  That was the hardest for me to see…..thick blond hair still in braids.

We saw rooms where prisoners had been made to stand 4 together in a tiny cell, so they could not even sit down.  After 12 hours, many did not survive.  Other rooms had no air and caused prisoners to die from suffocation.  The first experimental gas chamber was started in one of the barracks here.  It took awhile to learn how much Zyklon B was needed to kill people quickly.  The first attempts caused some people to linger for days.  How horrible was that?

 

Another room was dedicated to Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest,  who sacrificed his life for another prisoner.  There were three Easter size candles given by each of the three popes who have been here, John Paul II, Benedict 16 and Francis.  The priest has since been  canonized.    Between 2 of the barracks was a wall where prisoners were stood and shot – the death wall.  The barracks windows were boarded up, but the sound was still evident.  In another place,

Public Hangings took place.  One thing we did notice, was that Birkenou was out in the middle of empty fields, while Auschwitz was in the middle of the town.  You could not have lived there without seeing, smelling and hearing what was going on.  Anyway, none of this is news to most of you, but it is a painful and important reminder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another long day and we are back at the hotel at 6:30.  Still raining.  We walked around the corner to another restaurant and had a Polish meal – piroghi for Mark and Poultry liver with apples and onions for me.  I like liver, but could only eat half of the portion.  Mark said I had a henhouse full of chicken livers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It felt so good to go to sleep listening to the rain pounding on the skylights that cover our ceiling.  We are, unfortunately, not recovering quickly from our colds.

September 15, 2017

We were up and out to meet our Krakow guide at 9am.  Her name is Marta.  The plan for the day was to do a walking tour of the Wahel Royal Castle a few blocks away.  It was sunny, but cold ad windy, so we stood in protected corners while she talked and then walked fast.  We stopped in front of the house Pope John II lived in when he was Bishop of Krakow from 1951 -1967.

Then we walked up the hill to the castle site and took a few pix outside the castle walls.  The rocky outcropping towers over the banks of the Vistula River and has been the seat of secular and ecclesiastical power since the early middle ages, although the first historic ruler of the Polish state, Mieszko I,  established the first cathedral here in 1000.   Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos inside so this will be a dry day.  Sorry.  Not my idea.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

According to Marta, Wawel experienced its golden age from the 14^th through 16^th centuries, especially during the period of the Jagiellon dynasty.  Sigismund’s I and II (1506-1572) transformed the medieval castle into one of the finest Italianate Renaissance palaces in Central Europe. The next king, Sigismund III, moved the court to Warsaw and a thus began slow and steady decline.  The castle was sacked and looted during Polish-Swedish wars in the mid-17^th century.

The final blow came with the partition of Poland in the 18^th century and the conversion of the castle into barracks for the Austrian army in 1796.  Major restoration began in the early 20^th century and intensified after 1918, when Poland regained independence.  In the 1930’s the castle became a museum.

Marta went on and on about the Kings, Popes, Bishops, Nobles and the details became a muddle.  Aside from the interesting juxtaposition of architectural    styles through the centuries; we enjoyed seeing many exquisite tapestries with much gold threading, which were used to provide the rooms with some warmth as much as to display wealth and tell biblical stories.  The coffered wooden ceilings were original and quite impressive.  One ceiling had carved and painted wooden heads that were each uniquely different.  The floors, made of marble, were worn smooth and uneven by centuries of use.  It is mindboggling to think of the famous people who walked there through the ages.   By the time we passed through all the various rooms, large and larger, filled with Italian paintings, furniture, centuries of armor, guns, swords, canon and more, we were both done in.  Finally, we exited the castle and walked to a restaurant near our hotel, where we had Polish food.  It is pretty heavy, like Czech food.  Not our idea of “good eats”.  Marta was still full of energy in spite of all the talking she did.  All we wanted to do was finish lunch and get to our room to rest.

She gave us a suggestion for dinner, but I think we will keep it simple and light, if possible.  Tomorrow we have another full day.

September 13, 2017

Today we met Doris Grozdanovicova.  She is a 91-year old holocaust survivor.  What a treat.  She is sharp as a tack, highly educated and still tours around the world giving lectures.  In her younger years, she was trained in the printing business, and got involved in printing books for people who would later became famous writers.  She knows many important people and loves to talk about her experiences, including her time in the Terezin Concentration Camp, 45 minutes north of Prague.  She is close friends with our guide and was happy to join us on our visit to Terezin.  She reminded me of my mother, who was quite spry at 91 too.  Before leaving the hotel, I asked her what we should know about her and she told us she has a collection of sheep well in excess of 1000.  I asked her how that happened and she said she was once a shepherdess and would tell us more later.

Born in 1926, Doris was sent to Terezin Concentration Camp in January 1942, when she was 16, along with her parents and older brother.  When they arrived there, her father and brother were immediately transferred to Auschwitz.   She and her mother did not stay in the same barracks, as girls and women were kept separated.  However, they did get to see each other now and then.  Her mother became ill and died from pneumonia after 2 years.  She says she thought she was the only one left in her family, but felt lucky that she was healthy and stayed that way because she had an outdoor job, that got her away from the contagion that proliferated inside the buildings.  Also, she was blond, blue eyed, pretty and did not look Jewish.

The Czech police assigned to Terezin treated her well and gave her the job of tending sheep in the fields outside the camp.  Often, she was very cold and even got frostbite, but was glad to be outdoors in clean air.  She liked the 70 sheep she tended; milked them and even watched a lamb being born.  That was her job for 3 ½ years, until the camp was liberated by Russians in 1945.  One of the Czech policemen, who had lost his own daughter to disease, felt sorry for her because she was alone and offered to take her to his home and adopt her.  She agreed and stayed with his family a few months.  Fortunately, her brother, who had survived Auschwitz, surprised her and they moved together back to their home town of Brno, south east of Prague.  They both went back to school, finished university and enjoyed successful lives.  She has one son and 2 grandchildren.

Terezin had been a garrison town of 7000 people before Hitler converted it into a concentration camp in January 1942.  The citizens did not leave at first and Doris remembers seeing them going about their business as if everything was normal, while Jews continued to arrive.  The local public school was converted to a boys dormitory that is now the museum we visited.  Other buildings were converted into separate housing for women, girls and men.    Factories and work places were also created from existing buildings.  All the houses and garages and small buildings were put to use as well.  Doris told us the camp was governed by the Jews themselves with Czech police guarding the perimeter of the camp, but not bothering the Jews as to their behavior.  Everyone, including the police, was controlled by the 20 Nazis assigned to the camp.

Everyone was accepting of the situation, even though they were crowded into tiny, dirty spaces in the barracks, lived more like animals than people and had only 20 overlords.  Eventually the citizens left and the whole place was a concentration camp, which at its height held 58,000 people.  As another 1000 arrived, a thousand were shipped to Auschwitz for the final solution.  However, the Jews in Terezin had no idea what happened to the departed.

In the museum, we saw how the people lived in cramped quarters, tried to keep themselves somewhat clean, kept their few possessions in their luggage, and created culture in every way they could.  Men who worked with printing presses, printed their own books, made drawings and paintings.  Machine factory workers managed to create some sculptures.  Other people created musical instruments.  Classical music was not allowed, but jazz and blues was.  Go figure.

 

Jewish actors were also taken to the camp and soon started a theater in one of the buildings.  Doris said she got to see a theater program once and liked it.  One famous comedian who performed there and was later killed, was Kurt Gerron.  Maybe one of you will remember him.  I do not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We came upon a garage and found a hidden synagogue.  Apparently, there were seven so well hidden inside Terezin that they went undetected for many years after liberation.  People kept not only the synagogues quiet, but they hid their art, poetry and writings in walls and under floors.  Many things did not come to light until after Communism fell in 1989.  According to Doris, no one even talked about the concentration camps until then, including herself.  She did not even tell her children until the 90’s.  Then she became a flood of information even until now.

We learned the story of the Red Cross visit to the camp in April of 1944.  For weeks the camp had been cleaned and painted and made to look pleasant.  People were given nice clothes, toys were brought in for the children, movies were shown, exercise activities performed, better food served, even a play performed by camp members – all to impress the Red Cross visitors.  Doris said it was awful.  There were many obvious questions that could have been asked and signs noticed, but were not.  Things that could be ween, but were overlooked.  When they left, they were so pleased with their experience that they chose not to look at any other camps, including Auschwitz.  Doris believes that they were corrupted.  She did not know what country they came from, but she hated their lack of conscience.

Anyway, as soon as they were gone with their movies of the pretty camp, everything nice thing was removed and life went back to the way it had been, except that people soon started being transported to death camps in large numbers.  By then a crematorium had been installed and was in use there as well as Auschwitz.  We found it near the cemetery.  Doris chose to stay in the car when we were there.

 

 

Doris has long since stopped weeping.  She seems to be on a mission to tell her story, to get the world to know, understand and remember.  So she keeps lecturing and taking people like us to the camp.  She has a lot of work yet to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back in Prague, we stopped at the New Jewish Cemetery where Franz Kafka is buried.  It is a very spacious place with many trees and plants and beautiful black tombstones, although Kafka’s is a granite obelisk.

 

 

 

Soon we were at the hotel and saying good bye to Doris and Kamila.  They both added greatly to our appreciation of Prague and what it means to be a Jew in the Czech Republic.  Mark gave them each a nice tip.

 

 

 

Then we walked toward the Charles IV Bridge again to the clock tower to watch the mechanisms do their thing when the clock strikes the hour – in this case, 7pm.  On the way we were entranced by two figures in a meditative pose with one of them in the air.  How do they do that?  We think we figured it out.  Can you?

 

Once in front of the clock, I found the movement so small and far away that I could not make it out.  Fortunately, Mark took a video and I saw it that way.  Must say, it was not worth the trouble. It seemed to me, that the hundred or more people watching it with us, felt the same.  Much ado about not much.

 

 

We walked back to the Augustine, which we have finally learned how to find with its small entryway that is barely marked.  Mark went to bed while I worked.

Keep forgetting to mention that the weather here has been clear, but on the cool side – 52 to 65 at most.  Only a tiny bit of rain.  I hope it warms up as I did not pack for cold temps.  We are drinking tap water everywhere and eating everything we want, including greens.  Tomorrow we leave Prague and drive through the countryside to Krakow with a planned stop in a small town called Olomouc.  I would enjoy another couple of days in Prague, but am sure we will have seen enough impressive buildings long before we get home and we will be hard pressed to remember which is which anyway.  So we press on.  Poland here we come.

September 11, 2017

While we are waking up in a converted monastery, now the charming Augustine Hotel, to cool, overcast and calm weather in Prague, we are watching what is happening in Florida on TV.  The devastation from Irma and Harvey is overwhelming.  Our property manager in Dickinson, Texas is just now getting the demolition of our surgery center under way.  It took 2 weeks to get a property appraiser from the insurance company to inspect the building.  The timing for us to be here is pretty bad, but with my mother gone, we chose not to buy trip insurance.  So we are in Central Europe, while our team of helpers is working on our building.  I am grateful and concerned at the same time.   Although our attention is somewhat diverted, we will carry on with our adventure here.

It took more than a day to get from walking in Central Park to arriving at our hotel in Prague.  We are both glad that long haul is over.  We were on 2 flights with British Airways with a stop at Heathrow.  Both planes were old and tired.  Fortunately, there were no mechanical problems, the service was pleasant and we arrived on time.

After an afternoon nap, we walked 20 minutes across cobbled streets and a bridge over the Vitava River to the Spanish Synagogue for a wonderful performance by 6 members of the Czech Symphony Orchestra

including soprano soloist, Michaela Srumova.  Between the quality of the musicians and the acoustics in the synagogue, we experienced a very special performance of Bolero, Carmina Burana, Porgy and Bess, the Barber of Seville Overture and more.   Although we were tired, we were glad we went.  Next to the Synagogue was a statue created of Franz Kofka – a large headless suit with Kafka sitting on its shoulders and pointing at you.  Strange, but Kafka was strange himself.  He was born Jewish into an antisemitic society, had Czech citizenship, but wrote his stories in German.  He lived a No Win life and died at age 40 of TB. The statue was created by a man named Roma, who took inspiration from Kofka’s stories about one man’s struggles.  It is situated between the Spanish Synagogue, a Catholic Church  and a Protestant Church, the neighborhood in which he lived.

From there we walked through Old Town and got a bite to eat in an outdoor café.  I was surprised to see hundreds of people, all tourists, wandering around Old Town so late in the evening.  After eating we headed back to our hotel, but got hopelessly lost along the way.  Finally, Mark hailed a cab.  We were certainly never going to get home the way we were headed.  Fortunately, the cab driver knew the way and we were home in short order and went directly to bed, but after 3 hours I woke up listening to Mark snore.  It took a long time to relax enough to let go of his noise and go to sleep.  At 7:30 he woke me up for the day.  I was not ready, but got up anyway.

Our guide, Kamila, was waiting for us at 10am and off we went with her and our driver, George, for a 2-hour drive about the city.   She was very well informed and talked about the history of local architecture, the political history of the country and specific places we visited.  We stopped at the Lennon Wall covered in graffiti from the time he was killed, the Church of Our Lady Victorious with the wax statue of the Child Jesus,

the Memorial to the Victims of the Communism, the office building called the Dancing House, and a huge shopping center located within a cluster of regular looking renaissance buildings that are connected internally by large halls.  Not a place tourists would seek out or find.  Inside was a statue of St Wenceslas sitting on top of an upside down dead horse, representing Nationalism in Czechoslovakia following WWI.  Interesting subject.

Then George drove us to the top of Castle Hill and departed.  We slowly walked downhill taking in several sights starting with the view of the Vitava River, its bridges and the city.  Our first major stop was the Strahov Monastery and the large, ancient libraries inside.

We were given a VIP tour inside the 2 libraries and took our time walking through them, learning about the books covered in goat skin bindings dating back to 860 as well as contemporary works, the ceilings painted similarly to the Sistine Chapel, and the concept of binding a book in leather so that elongated pieces of leather held the book as if in a sack.  It kept the book safe and clean.  There was an interesting statue of a man holding one.   We visited both the Philosophical and the Theological libraries.  It took effort to resist our desire to touch the books and specially the old globes in the Theological library.

As we walked, we passed a wedding couple posing in front of a very convincing, etched 3 dimensional wall (another one of many seen on our travels).  Eventually we arrived at the Prague Castle.

Inside the Castle compound, however, are a few interesting sights.  First is St Vitus’s Cathedral, which was started in 1344 and took 600 years to complete.

It is Gothic in style and includes the tomb of Good King Wenceslas, several beautiful stained glass windows in Art Nouveau style and a rose window created in the 1920’s.  The cathedral, like everything else we visited, was crowded with tourists, but I still liked the space.  As cathedrals go, it was fairly unadorned and pleasing to the eye.

Also inside the castle walls was an area called Golden Lane.  It is a narrow lane filled with tiny houses that were lived in by castle guards during the 16th century.  In the 17^th century goldsmiths moved in and modified the buildings.  By the 19^th century the buildings had become slum dwellings, but by 1950 artists began to move in and the houses were converted into shops selling books and souvenirs.

For a time, Franz Kafka live in one of them.  The lane is very charming and attracts many tourists.

We continued to the bottom of the hill and were rewarded with a lovely view back up to the castle from the Wallenstein Palace Garden. Taken together, everything we have seen of old Prague is lovely and appealing.  No wonder so many people rave about the beauty and charm of Prague.  Thank goodness Hitler wanted to preserve the city for his future capital.

Kamila walked us to a shoe Exhibition we had heard about and departed with the agreement to meet at 9am Tuesday, the 12^th.

The Art of Shoes created by Manolo Blahnik, was a delightful exhibit, even if I could never even stand in a pair of his creations.  They were all fun to admire…..beautiful torture.

Then home we went to rest up for dinner at a nearby restaurant called Kampo Park.  It was right on the river looking out at Charles Bridge.  We both had tasty fish dinners.  Being so close to the river, I could not help thinking about Hurricane Irma and the damage she was causing even as we ate.  In 2002 there was a major flood here in Prague and we could still see where the high water mark had been and what the citizens have done to protect themselves in the future.

 

The head waiter described and showed use part of the system the city would use to keep the river within bounds.   After dinner we took a short walk on the Charles Bridge and then headed home to bed.

 

 

 

September 6, 2017

Ready or not, we are about to depart on another adventure.  We can’t wait for time to come back and get us.  So we are off to parts of Europe neither of us has ever visited.  Thirteen different countries in 45 days.  Are you tired already?  Starting in the Czech Republic, we will begin our adventure in Prague then travel by road to Krakow, Poland; the High Tatras in Slovakia; and on to Budapest, Hungary; from there fly to Bucharest in Romania; drive through Transylvania to Sofia, Bulgaria; continue driving through Bulgaria to Skopje, Macedonia; visit Pristina in Kosovo; drive through Albania; take a rest (Mark is looking forward to that already) at the Villa Milocer in Montenegro; drive to Mostar and the religious shrine, Medugorje, in Bosnia Herzegovenia; spend 10 days visiting the islands and seaside towns of Croatia; and finish in Bled, Slovenia.  Yep, there are 13 countries.  I will need this blog myself to remember where we have been and what we have seen and done.  I just hope I have time to do both the sight seeing and the blogging. Pray for fast wifi everywhere.  This map gives an overview of countries we are visiting.  I will also try to include a map of each country as we visit them.

I have already been reminded by a few of you that we are going only to Central Europe and not, as I supposed, to Eastern Europe.  But I am not giving up on Eastern Europe.  The maps I find on Eastern Europe  and Central Europe tend to overlap, although this one, which I picked because it is easy to read,  puts all 13 countries in Central Europe.  So it is not clear where the line is, if there is one.  When I get to Bulgaria and Albania, which do not show up on some Central European maps, I will ask people in what part of the world their country lies.  Stay tuned.  That will be in mid October.

Today we fly to New York and will spend three nights there so we can do some sightseeing we have missed on previous trips and see a couple of plays.  Then we will fly to Prague with a connection through Heathrow.  So Here is a map of the Check Republic.  We will spend 5 days in Prague and then drive east to Krakow, Poland.

We are about to board our plane.  More later. We are off.  Julia