Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life-and travel-leaves marks on you.
The day we disembarked from the Amadeus, we went from 3 buses to 2. We traveled from Budapest through Slovakia, then to Poland. The trip was uneventful; we stopped for lunch in Donovaly, Slovakia. This village is the home of a ski resort and, during WWII, is reported as being an important center of an anti-German resistance. The bean soup was incredible, and was followed by pork, potato bread, and sauerkraut. Even though I was beginning to feel a bit under the weather, everything was delicious. Dessert was a traditional Slovak dessert. I would describe it as being similar to a donut with chocolate powder on it. The middle had some kind of chocolate/plum filling, possibly. It wasn't very sweet, and most people didn't really care for it.
The village of Donovaly as we continued on our way
The bar inside the restaurant at the ski resort
I believe this is Chocolate Roulade. Once I cut into it, the chocolate/plum syrup exploded out of it
It is described as a sponge cake flavored with cocoa, then filled.
As soon as we crossed over into Poland, we stopped in Orawka to visit a wooden church built in 1659. St. John the Baptist was cold and musty-smelling, but that didn't take away from how beautiful it was.
St. John the Baptist is the oldest church in the Upper Orawa Region, and the only wooden church
The side panels depict everyday life in the village.
Our first dinner in Krakow was a traditional Polish dinner with traditional dancers at Biała Roża. I missed the day's excursion due to staying in bed to knock out whatever it was I caught. I felt well enough to attend the dinner, and I'm so glad I did. Our guides told us this was a typical Sunday dinner that they would have at their grandmother's house. It started with Zurik, a soup that starts with an egg and sausage in your bowl, then the broth is added. This was followed by breaded pork and potatoes, and then dessert.
The finished Zurik. The broth's base is a fermented rye flour.
A typical Sunday dinner at Babcia's.
I'm not sure what this dessert was but it was delicious.
Part of the time in Krakow was filled with visiting the John Paul II Center. Our guide informed us that the design inside is quite controversial. Some people think it looks too "modern" with all of the mosaics.
John Paul II Center
The cassock Pope JPII was wearing when he was shot.
Chapel made from Wieliczka Salt Mine
The slab from JPII's grave
Since it was All Saints Day, when we arrived at the Divine Mercy Basilica and the Convent of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, we were given a candle to place either on a gravesite of a nun, or one of the unknown WWI soldiers.
The nun's cemetery
Cemetery of unknown WWI soldiers
The "Old Chapel" of the convent was incredible. We were able to view a reproduction of the cell where St. Faustina lived, see the window of the cell where she died, but the most amazing thing to me was the Chapel. First, it was just beautiful. We had some time to venerate St. Faustina's remains, which are under the original painting of the Divine Mercy. It was so peaceful; I could have sat in that chapel all day long.
Statue of JPII looking toward the Divine Mercy Basilica
The cell where St. Faustina died
The "Old Chapel" at the Convent
St. Faustina's remains under the original painting of the Divine Mercy
Once back in Krakow proper, we toured Krakow Castle and the Wawel Cathedral. On the walk to the castle we walked through a park. Our guide pointed out a statue honoring Dzock, a dog whose owner passed away. Dzock wouldn't leave the area, waiting for his owner to come back. He allowed people to feed him, but they weren't able to catch him. An animal shelter was built nearby.
Statue of Dzock the dog
As we neared the castle, we passed by a dragon statue that breathes fire. We happened to be there in time to watch it. The dragon lived in a cave at the foot of the hill. He terrorized the people, and King Krakus promised his daughter's hand in marriage to any man who could defeat the dragon. A cobbler named Skuba stuffed a lamb with sulphur and left it near the cave. The dragon ate the lamb and was so thirsty that he drank so much water from the River Vistula that he exploded. This was the version our guide (who is from Krakow) told us, which may be different than the one you may read online.
The Wawel Dragon
Photography was prohibited in the cathedral, so I only have pictures from the outside. The Cathedral contains many side chapels which is why (I think) it looks like different churches attached together.
Wawel Cathedral
Within the tombs of the cathedral is the chapel where JPII said his first Mass. We also saw the coronation site for Polish Monarchs. JPII was also ordained as auxiliary bishop for Krakow here.
The walking tour of Krakow was heavily about JPII (since we were on Pilgrimage). Some of the sites we saw:
St. Francis Cathedral where JPII celebrated Mass while he was the Archbishop
St. Florian- JPII's first parish as a priest
JPII's residence from 1951-1967
The Archbishop of Krakow's residence. It's across the street from St. Francis.
The walking tour wasn't all about JPII though. We saw some awesome things and learned some great history.
St. Adalbert in the middle of the square
Battle of Grunwald Monument with St. Florian in the background. It commemorates the victory of the Poles and Lithuanians against the Teutonic Knights in 1410. The monument was demolished in 1939 by the Germans, but was reconstructed in 1979.
Krakow Square with St. Mary's in the background and St. Adalbert on the right
St. Andrews: The oldest church in Krakow
St. Florian's Gate: Built in the 14th century, it was the main gate into the city. It was named after the St. Florian church (see above)
Sts. Peter & Paul: Built in the 16th century, the sculptured figures were added in the 18th century.
We were treated to the St. Mary's Trumpet Call. Played since the 14th century, the trumpeter plays at the top of every hour, repeating the tune 4 times directed toward the 4 cardinal points (North, South, East, West). The trumpeter is a firefighter who abruptly ends the tune in honor of the trumpeter who was shot with an arrow in the throat while alarming the city of approaching troops. The tradition continues over 6 centuries with breaks happening during the 19th century and WWII.
Incredibly, we did Krakow in one exhausting day. It was almost time to leave for home, but we had one more day ahead of us first.
If you're interested in more of the religious sites, please visit my Catholic Blog.
We had 2 ports of call left. In Bratislava, we had another walking tour through the Old Town. The things that stick out in my mind about this city are the curvy streets and the details on the buildings.
Laurinc's Gate was one of 3 gates leading into the city in the 14th century. This area of the city is known for its restaurants.
The Leering Man
A piece of the city's defensive walls.
The UFO Restaurant
We walked around Bratislava Castle but did not go inside. St. Elizabeth of Hungary is believed to have been born in this castle. Even though we didn't tour the castle, the view of the city from the castle was spectacular.
Bratislava from the castle
Bratislava from the castle
Roland's Fountain (also called Maximillian's Fountain) can be found in the town center. On the top of the fountain is either King Maximillian II (who donated the funds for its construction) or the knight Roland. It is said that at midnight as the new year arrives, he turns from looking at the town center and bows. However, only those who are born and bred citizens of Bratislava are able to witness this event.
Brussels doesn't have anything on Bratislava. On this fountain, there is not 1 "Manequin Pis" but 4!
During our free time, I wanted to find an honest-to-goodness kolache but had no luck. We did, however, find a Bajgel shop. I thought it tasted a little dry until I got to the almond filling.
St. Micheal's Gate is one of the other 3 gates that led into the city. It is truly magnificent.
We stumbled upon Čumil, the Sewer Worker. Apparently, the poor guy lost his head a couple of times by drivers who didn't know he was there. Really quirky, but I thought it was pretty cool.
St. Martin bending down to a beggar to give him part of his coat
St. Martin's Cathedral
Budapest
I feel like we had more free time in Budapest than anywhere else since we celebrated Mass on the ship while we were floating down the Danube. That was quite the experience! As we made our way to dock, we were invited to the deck so we could see this absolutely beautiful city as we entered. Instead of a walking tour, we were thankfully given a bus tour around Buda and Pest. The downside is that it was extremely difficult to take pictures.
Our free time was on the Pest side with the gathering space at St. Stephen's Basilica. There was a choir from Northern Ireland performing when we entered.
St. Stephen's Basilica is named after Hungary's first king
The organ
The High Altar
The dome collapsed following the death of the architect and had to be rebuilt
The right hand of St. Stephen was very neatly severed when moving his body from the center of the basilica to under it
A friend and I went on a hunt for pastries. After using Google Maps and taking several wrong turns, we ended up at a cute little shop. It's on a side street so there was very little traffic.
I love how the outside tables had blankets for those chilly evenings
One thing I learned from my first time in Copenhagen: Don't sit at outside tables unless you are ordering from the eating establishment that they belong to. There was a couple sitting at a table, and a lady from the pastry shop came out to tell them to move. The ladies inside the shop were very delightful and friendly. I would highly recommend this little spot for dessert & coffee, or lunch.
After having such a hard time finding the confectionery, we were a little concerned about our ability to find our way back to the basilica. But it turns out that we were just around the corner. We were back at the meeting place in about 3-5 minutes. Then we realized we forgot something that our guide told us about: Gelarto Rosa.
We stopped this man and asked if we could take a picture of his ice cream; we weren't sure we were going to have the time to get our own
But we did! You just walk up to the counter, tell the girl what flavors you want, and voila!
The highlight of Budapest was being able to see the city from the river at night. It was just absolutely breathtaking. One word of caution: Don't wait to take pictures after the ship turns around because you may miss the buildings being lit up. My roommate said she didn't get any pictures because she was waiting for the ride back to port, and the lights went out.
Buda at night
Buda Castle
Gellért Hill
Hungarian Parliament Building
Budapest University of Technology and Economics on the left with Gellért Hotel on the right.
Inner City Parish of the Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Matthias Church
The Calvinist Church
Vigado Concert Hall
What a perfect ending to the river cruise portion of the trip! The next day, we boarded the buses to make our way to Krakow, Poland. In other words, there's more to come...
