Auschwitz

On Monday Jim and I took an early train from Warsaw to Krakow, southwest of the capital. The Polish countryside features rolling hills, verdant farmland, and forests full of birch, oak, spruce and pine trees. After checking in to our hotel and grabbing a quick lunch, we journeyed to Auschwitz, an unbelievable site, by private car. Jim called it "sobering and surreal." It remains incredible that the Nazi barbarism and cruelty is stranger than fiction. The photos show: "Work Will Make You Free," the inscription over the main gate; rail cars used to transport a hundred prisoners at a time; the main gate and prisoner blocks; barbed wire fortifications that were electrified; prisoner blocks; pots and pans, possessions stolen from prisoners; a young man who perished at Auschwitz; one of the gas chambers; crematorium ovens; the main entrance to Auschwitz II (Birkinau extermination camp.) - Dan

Warsaw Day 3

On Sunday, another sunny day, we took a Viator excursion to Zelazowa Wola, to see the house where Chopin was born. It is modest, surrounded by a lovely park landscaped in the 1930s and after. On the way back to Warsaw we stopped at a fortress-like Renaissance-built church, St. Roche & St. John, where Chopin was baptized. In the afternoon we visited the Museum Of The Warsaw Uprising. Tragically, the People's Liberation Army was defeated and destroyed in 1944, leading to the destruction of Warsaw. Surprisingly, under the Communist regime, the soldiers and commanders - the Insurgents - were accused of collaboration with the Germans. They were only honored and memorialized after the Communist era ended in 1989. Dinner at the most famed restaurant in the Old City, U Fukiera, was lavish and a grand way to end our stay in Warsaw. - Dan

Warsaw Day 2

Jim's photos do not show the hoards of tourists in the Polish capital. Like the rest of Europe, tourism has grown in an enormous way in the past 20 years. Saturday morning's attractions, on another bright, sunny day were twofold. Our tour of the Royal Castle was amazing, particularly since it was totally destroyed by the Germans in 1944 during the famed "Uprising." Parquet floors with 20 different types of wood, marble-walled rooms and two profound, soul-searching Rembrandt portraits are some of the treasures, along with a room containing 22 views of this city by Canaletto. Most of the best rooms were designed and built during the reign of Poland's last king, Stanislas Poniatowski. After the castle, we heard an organ recital in St. John's Cathedral, including works by Bach, Vivaldi and others. After a rest, we walked to the Chopin Museum. In a 17th century palace, this huge collection of sound bites, images and memorabilia (includes manuscripts) highlighted the life and career of Poland's greatest composer. Chopin has been close to my heart for most of my life, and I still think he's the most significant composer for piano, and one of the all-time masters of music. We had a very authentic Polish dinner afterwards, back in the "Old Town." - Dan

Warsaw Day 1

After a long flight from Philadelphia-Toronto-Warsaw, we arrived at the beautiful Hotel Bellotto. Like most of the city's old buildings, it was reconstructed after WWII, when the capital lay in ruins. We are near the Stare Miasto, where we saw the Gothic Cathedral of St. John, and various shops. At the old market, we had a good lunch of pierogies, dark bread, fish and red wine. We headed back to the hotel for a rest and sleep. The pierogies were the best we're ever tasted, paper-thin, and stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms. After our relaxation period at the hotel, Jim and I enjoyed the Chopin concert played by Maria Silva, a great Polish pianist, at the Dean's Place, aka Archdiocese Museum. Dinner followed at the excellent Magda Gessler restaurant, also in the Old Town. The chanterelle soup and crayfish and chanterelle casserole in red sauce were delicious, topped by a fun chocolate sponge cake with fresh whipped cream. - Dan

Dan And Katie At The Art Show

Dan and Katie pose with Dan's paintings at the Pines Biennial Art Show Saturday, August 3, 2019.