When the clock sprung forward last month, it was a welcome change to the short days we had been having for 6 months. But soon, this too became somewhat of an adjustment. You see, the closer you live to the Arctic, the shorter or longer your days become depending on the season. Unfortunately, with the longer days, comes a really early sunrise (5:19 AM today) that continues to come earlier until summer solstice on 6/21. Why they decided to lengthen the day by adding time to the morning baffles me, but the point is that by summer solstice the sun will be rising at 4:13 AM and will then begin its decline until DST begins again. Sunset will be around 9:03 PM.
We have blackout curtains in our rooms. My problem is of a greater nature. We have always taught Thing 1 that he is not supposed to get up before he sees light in his window. Lately, he has been rising earlier and earlier. Not a good prognosis for summer vacation!
Speaking of which, if you are planning European travel, Scandinavian countries and cities along northern Europe are great to take in during the summer. Certainly, it may be crowded, but the weather is usually gorgeous with temperatures rarely getting into the 80's (average is 75) and if you travel in June, you will experience the longest days ever thereby maximing your vacation dollars or euros (especially in Oslo or Helsinki where the sun rises around 3:45AM and will not set until nearly 11PM).
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Gdańsk , Sopot and Malbork
This past weekend I found myself on a train trip to Gdańsk , Sopot and Malbork in the Pomeranian region of Poland on the north Baltic Coast . I was able to take this trip by myself which is the first trip I have taken without my family since a conference I attended in 2004. I missed them, but I really needed to take a break. Josh stayed home with the children and did a fantastic job caring for them and maintaining the house while I was gone. He admitted that while he handled everything ok, he realizes that it is much harder to stay home with them than he originally thought. So, in a way, it was good for him too.
Our Group
Our group consisted of 15 expats and the two Polish language instructors. Half of the group was quite fluent while the rest of us were beginners. I knew faces, but since I don’t work there, I didn’t really know anyone. It was nice to get to know all these people with such well traveled backgrounds. It made me feel normal to know that I was not the only one with a travel addiction traveling every two to three weeks. In this lifestyle, this is normal. Most people take trips monthly at a minimum.
There are many discounted airlines that fly anywhere in Europe fairly cheap. With the frequent flyer miles collected by many of these employees, you can get lots of tickets and only pay the taxes on them. The people I met, combined, had pretty much traveled the world. Many of their previous posts took them to Cairo, Kenya, Moscow, Budapest, Bucharest, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Tokyo, Bangkok, Shanghai, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico to name a few. They had great stories to tell and lots of travel tips.
It turned out to be a great group of people. We got along well and got to know a lot about each other especially on the train. The trip was perfectly timed. We had enough time so that we never felt like we were rushed (except for the shopping part). We left from Warszawa Centralna (central station) around 6pm Friday evening. We took the intercity train to Sopot which an hour away from Gdansk and where we would be staying overnight.
Traveling by train was fantastic. Unlike the air travel where you have to arrive hours in advance, we arrived at the station about 10 minutes before our train and hopped on as soon as it got there. Each car has several compartments with about 6-8 seats each. There is also a dining car. I was surprised because I did not expect much more than drinks and snacks. However, they served hot dishes in addition to kanapkas (sandwiches), zupy (soup) (don’t try that on a train) and piwo (beer). We spent most of our time in the dining car getting to know each other. Other than a couple of kids pulling the emergency brake and delaying us by a few minutes, it was a fairly easy train ride. We traveled second class on this trip. If I had my children with me, I would have probably traveled 1st class just to give them a bit more room.
Sopot
We arrived around 10:30pm in Sopot which is a resort town on the Baltic coast. We walked from the station through ulica (pronounce ulitsa and meaning street) Monte Cassino This street is closed to traffic and has a busy nightlife with clubs, bars, restaurants and cafés lining the streets as well as some art galleries and shops. Ul. Monte Cassino leads to the Sopot pier and boardwalk. We were staying at 3 separate hotels and ours was the only one on the water, so we were the last stop. By the time, we dropped off everyone, checked in and got to our rooms it was around midnight.
The hotel which I really can’t pronounce was abbreviated WDW. We joked that it a Walt Disney World resort, but since the W’s here are pronounced like “V’s”, that wouldn’t work. It was a 3 star resort right on the boardwalk. I had a single room consisting of a twin bed, small sitting area with a couch and TV and a bath room. It reminded me of a dormitory, but it was clean and had free breakfast. It was fine for 2 night solo trip. I would need more room if my family was along for the tour.
Saturday we met up on the boardwalk and walked along the pier and on the beach with shoes because it was still a bit cold in the morning. This was not easy and, combined with all the other walking and climbing to come, proved to be quite a workout for all of us. The pictures of the ocean are all on the Baltic Coast and there were lots of swans on the shore which I had never seen before. The pier leads out onto the Baltic. I saw nothing but clear blue water and the horizon. It was beautiful. We could not have had better weather with clear blue skies and highs in the upper 50’s/low 60’s. The weather remained the same throughout the weekend.
There are no attractions here. It is more of an entertainment-dining area reminiscent of Georgetown in DC, Fells Point in Baltimore , Las Olas Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale and Ocean Drive on South Beach or Cocowalk in Coconut Grove.
Gdańsk and Oliwa
We caught a train to Gdańsk around 10am. Gdańsk history dates back to 980 AD. In 1945, the city was demolished by World War II and rebuilt based on historical documents and pictures taken prior to the war. The city also symbolizes the Solidarnosć movement that began in the 1970’s and 1980’s that paved the way for the fall of Communism in 1989.
The poor and deteriorating economy along with the Polish exasperation with Communism prompted the working class to revolt in 1956, 1968, 1970 and 1976. The revolts failed and many people were killed or sent to labor camps. In 1980, workers in the Gdańsk shipyard began an uprising fueled by poor economic conditions, nationalism and a new elected Polish Pope. Pope Jana Pawel II returned to his homeland encouraging his fellow Poles to revolt against Communism. Workers went on strike and formed the trade union Solidarnosć.
Solidarnosć drafted 21 demands including the right to strike, freedom of speech (Lech Wałensa was fired from his job for discussing working conditions at the shipyard), and improved working conditions (including shortening the work week from 48 hours to 40 hours. Polish government instituted martial law. No one could leave town and a 6pm curfew was in place. Solidarnosć went underground and continued to press for reform. This continued for about 8 years when the Communists finally gave in to talks with Solidarnosć amid worsening economic conditions and much public discontent. By April 1989, the Communist party agreed to legalize the Solidarnosć party and to free elections in Parliament. By August 1989 (a few months before the wall fell) the Poles elected a non-communist prime minister and this was followed by the election of Lech Wałensa as president of Poland.
In the afternoon, we walked to Old Town Gdańsk. Unlike many European cities, Gdańsk has no market square. Rather, they have a long street or drugi. Gdańsk reminded me a lot of Germany and I later learned that it in its early history it was populated by Germans. This old town road was beautiful and it did lead into a small square. The road was lined with lots of cafes, ice cream shops, chocolate bars (these are wonderful places that serve chocolate beverages/liquors, pastries, truffles, etc.), restaurants, shops and museums.
We went in the town museum. One of the rooms, the red room, was the most ornate I had ever seen. The ceiling was a series of paintings on canvas. You couldn’t tell it was the actual ceiling in the pictures. In the same building there is a tower with a panoramic view. We made our way up the 600 steps. I kept telling myself that after climbing Diamond Head I could climb this. But at least Diamond Head had some trails that were level. This was a straight climb up. It was worth the view (see below). As a bonus, shortly after we arrived at the top, the church bells began playing melodies and this went on for about 15minutes. Some of the videos of the city from the tower include the melodies from the church bells.
Gdańsk is the amber capital of the world. Amber is a mineral of many colors. Depending on the age, amber can range from nearly white, through all shades of yellow and orange, to dark, almost cherry-like red. In addition to jewelry, I have seen bouquets of amber roses, ships made of amber, chests, jewelry boxes, etc. It is quite beautiful and very impressive artwork. We came upon a street where all the shops were amber shops. All of the women on the tour went a bit nuts and our instructor kept trying to get us out of the shops to continue our itinerary. Eventually, she broke down and let us have an hour to shop. Needless to say, I added to my jewelry collection.
We ate lunch at Restauracja Kubicki (established in 1918) at the end of Gdansk boardwalk on the banks of the Motława River . We had reservations and they led us to a room with a long candle lit table lined with laced tablecloths. The waiters wore bow ties. I felt more like I was at a state dinner party than an ordinary lunch. The food was quite good and inexpensive. In fact, everywhere we ate, the food was good and inexpensive. All my meals cost about $12-15 USD including appetizers or soup and drinks. The only time I paid a bit more was when I had a cocktail with my meal and even then the total was only about $20 USD.
Following lunch and shopping we headed back to the station and caught the train to a town called Oliwa (or Oliva/Olive). This was just supposed to be a short stop to walk through Oliwa Park and see Oliwa Cathedral.
When we arrived at cathedral, we were in for a treat: we inadvertently ended up crashing a Polish wedding. We arrived just as they were pronouncing them man and wife and the church’s pipe organ, a Rococo style organ built in the 1760’s and at the time the largest in Europe, began playing Mendelssohn’s Wedding March as the couple and their wedding party made their way out of the church. The timing was perfect. I got most of it on video although the beginning of the video is a little fuzzy. From there, we went back to Sopot via the train for dinner.
Dinner in European restaurants seems to go on for hours. Our dinner that evening began around 8pm and did not end until 11pm. We were so exhausted by the end of that day that many of us were falling asleep while waiting for the check. Taverna Rybacki (literally Fish Tavern in English) turned out to be a great seafood restaurant. This one was a bit more rustic and cozy with their warm décor and candles along the stairs and on the tables. I would definitely go back.
Malbork (Mariensburg)
After a really late night, I awoke Sunday very tired and trying to rush to catch the train to Malbork. It was an hour train ride heading south. The great thing about taking the train is that you can make stops along the way and leave your luggage (provided it is not oversized) in a secured storage locker or bag check at the station. You can then go sightseeing and pick up you bags upon departure. We took a 20 minute walk from the station to Zamek w Malborku (Malbork Castle ) on the river Nogat. This was an amazing site. It is probably one of the largest castles other than Schloss Neuschwanstein that I have ever seen. Unlike any that I have seen, this one is built solely of brick. According to our guide, it is one of the largest medieval gothic castles in Europe and it was built in stages beginning in the mid 1300’s. It was completed in the 15th century. There is a large moat around the castle which is now dry. You can envision what it must have been like when the knights lived here. The castle is divided into High castle which was a fortified monastery for the order consisting of St. Mary’s Church, Middle Castle which was the seat of Teutonic Power and location of the Palace of the Grand Master of the order, and the Outer Bailey which was the auxiliary service and military area for the fortress. A tour takes about 3 hours. After finishing the tour, we crossed over a bridge to the other side of the Nogat River which provided a more panoramic view of the castle.
The Teutonic Knights, an order limited to German aristocracy, were initially a chivalrous monastic order established in 1190 during the third Crusade offering help to those in need. However, Pope Urban II sent the order to Marienburg to convert the local pagan population (i.e. the Prussians) thereby becoming a more militaristic order. The knights took vows of chastity, obedience, poverty and the additional vow of battling enemies of Christ. The justification for the Crusades was that pagans were the embodiment of evil. They were not believed to human, making the teaching about doing onto others as one would have done unto oneself inapplicable (sounds a bit like the Islamic Jihad taking place against Christians and Jews today).
The Teutonic order developed a working relationship with the Polish monarchs. They allowed the order to remain in Poland as long as they kept the Prussians, always a threat to Poland , in check. The order conquered Prussia , but they didn’t stop there. They continued on to Pomerania , conquering that area as well (including Gdansk ). The alliance with Poland was broke. Poland allied itself with Lithuania against the order and eventually defeated them, thereby taking back Pomerania . Malbork became the residence of Polish Kings until the first partition of Poland in 1772 when it fell into the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Prussia .
During WWII, the Nazis used the castle as a kind of headquarters during the war. When the Soviet Army began its liberation of Poland they attacked the castle with American M4 Sherman tanks provided by the US . However, they proved futile in infiltrating the castle. The Soviet army began shelling the castle. Most of the castle has been rebuilt, but much still remains in ruins including the interior of St. Mary’s church adjacent to the castle. There are lots of artifacts that have survived and many that are damaged, but managed to survive.
On the castle grounds is the Hotel Zamek (Castle Hotel) complete with a restaurant where we had lunch. There are several souvenir shops selling medieval types of souvenirs. I brought home a bow and arrow set for Nicholas. There was a group of Russian children running around with swords, sling shots, and bow and arrow sets and they were having such a good time. They also sold medieval dresses and veils with rounded headpieces. I wanted to get one of the rounded veils for my princess, but her head is too small for the sizes offered. One green dress I saw reminded me of the one worn by Princess Fiona in Shrek.
We wrapped up our tour around 3:30pm and walked back to the station to collect our bags and catch the train to Warszawa. The train ride both ways was about 5 hours, but the time goes by so much more quickly than traveling by car. Again, perfectly timed, we rolled in Warszawa Centralny as the sun set over Warsaw .
The Pomerianian region of Poland is a port of call for a few Baltic cruise ships. If you ever find yourself in Poland in the spring, summer or early fall, I would definitely recommend a trip to the region.
Websites:
http://www.gdansk.pl/en/
http://www.sopot.pl/intgmservlets/WWW.Main?LANG_VERSION=ENGLISH
http://www.malbork.pl/mwc/en/
Our Group
Our group consisted of 15 expats and the two Polish language instructors. Half of the group was quite fluent while the rest of us were beginners. I knew faces, but since I don’t work there, I didn’t really know anyone. It was nice to get to know all these people with such well traveled backgrounds. It made me feel normal to know that I was not the only one with a travel addiction traveling every two to three weeks. In this lifestyle, this is normal. Most people take trips monthly at a minimum.
There are many discounted airlines that fly anywhere in Europe fairly cheap. With the frequent flyer miles collected by many of these employees, you can get lots of tickets and only pay the taxes on them. The people I met, combined, had pretty much traveled the world. Many of their previous posts took them to Cairo, Kenya, Moscow, Budapest, Bucharest, Frankfurt, Madrid, Rome, Tokyo, Bangkok, Shanghai, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico to name a few. They had great stories to tell and lots of travel tips.
It turned out to be a great group of people. We got along well and got to know a lot about each other especially on the train. The trip was perfectly timed. We had enough time so that we never felt like we were rushed (except for the shopping part). We left from Warszawa Centralna (central station) around 6pm Friday evening. We took the intercity train to Sopot which an hour away from Gdansk and where we would be staying overnight.
Traveling by train was fantastic. Unlike the air travel where you have to arrive hours in advance, we arrived at the station about 10 minutes before our train and hopped on as soon as it got there. Each car has several compartments with about 6-8 seats each. There is also a dining car. I was surprised because I did not expect much more than drinks and snacks. However, they served hot dishes in addition to kanapkas (sandwiches), zupy (soup) (don’t try that on a train) and piwo (beer). We spent most of our time in the dining car getting to know each other. Other than a couple of kids pulling the emergency brake and delaying us by a few minutes, it was a fairly easy train ride. We traveled second class on this trip. If I had my children with me, I would have probably traveled 1st class just to give them a bit more room.
Sopot
We arrived around 10:30pm in Sopot which is a resort town on the Baltic coast. We walked from the station through ulica (pronounce ulitsa and meaning street) Monte Cassino This street is closed to traffic and has a busy nightlife with clubs, bars, restaurants and cafés lining the streets as well as some art galleries and shops. Ul. Monte Cassino leads to the Sopot pier and boardwalk. We were staying at 3 separate hotels and ours was the only one on the water, so we were the last stop. By the time, we dropped off everyone, checked in and got to our rooms it was around midnight.
The hotel which I really can’t pronounce was abbreviated WDW. We joked that it a Walt Disney World resort, but since the W’s here are pronounced like “V’s”, that wouldn’t work. It was a 3 star resort right on the boardwalk. I had a single room consisting of a twin bed, small sitting area with a couch and TV and a bath room. It reminded me of a dormitory, but it was clean and had free breakfast. It was fine for 2 night solo trip. I would need more room if my family was along for the tour.
Saturday we met up on the boardwalk and walked along the pier and on the beach with shoes because it was still a bit cold in the morning. This was not easy and, combined with all the other walking and climbing to come, proved to be quite a workout for all of us. The pictures of the ocean are all on the Baltic Coast and there were lots of swans on the shore which I had never seen before. The pier leads out onto the Baltic. I saw nothing but clear blue water and the horizon. It was beautiful. We could not have had better weather with clear blue skies and highs in the upper 50’s/low 60’s. The weather remained the same throughout the weekend.
There are no attractions here. It is more of an entertainment-dining area reminiscent of Georgetown in DC, Fells Point in Baltimore , Las Olas Boulevard in Ft. Lauderdale and Ocean Drive on South Beach or Cocowalk in Coconut Grove.
Gdańsk and Oliwa
We caught a train to Gdańsk around 10am. Gdańsk history dates back to 980 AD. In 1945, the city was demolished by World War II and rebuilt based on historical documents and pictures taken prior to the war. The city also symbolizes the Solidarnosć movement that began in the 1970’s and 1980’s that paved the way for the fall of Communism in 1989.
The poor and deteriorating economy along with the Polish exasperation with Communism prompted the working class to revolt in 1956, 1968, 1970 and 1976. The revolts failed and many people were killed or sent to labor camps. In 1980, workers in the Gdańsk shipyard began an uprising fueled by poor economic conditions, nationalism and a new elected Polish Pope. Pope Jana Pawel II returned to his homeland encouraging his fellow Poles to revolt against Communism. Workers went on strike and formed the trade union Solidarnosć.
Solidarnosć drafted 21 demands including the right to strike, freedom of speech (Lech Wałensa was fired from his job for discussing working conditions at the shipyard), and improved working conditions (including shortening the work week from 48 hours to 40 hours. Polish government instituted martial law. No one could leave town and a 6pm curfew was in place. Solidarnosć went underground and continued to press for reform. This continued for about 8 years when the Communists finally gave in to talks with Solidarnosć amid worsening economic conditions and much public discontent. By April 1989, the Communist party agreed to legalize the Solidarnosć party and to free elections in Parliament. By August 1989 (a few months before the wall fell) the Poles elected a non-communist prime minister and this was followed by the election of Lech Wałensa as president of Poland.
In the afternoon, we walked to Old Town Gdańsk. Unlike many European cities, Gdańsk has no market square. Rather, they have a long street or drugi. Gdańsk reminded me a lot of Germany and I later learned that it in its early history it was populated by Germans. This old town road was beautiful and it did lead into a small square. The road was lined with lots of cafes, ice cream shops, chocolate bars (these are wonderful places that serve chocolate beverages/liquors, pastries, truffles, etc.), restaurants, shops and museums.
We went in the town museum. One of the rooms, the red room, was the most ornate I had ever seen. The ceiling was a series of paintings on canvas. You couldn’t tell it was the actual ceiling in the pictures. In the same building there is a tower with a panoramic view. We made our way up the 600 steps. I kept telling myself that after climbing Diamond Head I could climb this. But at least Diamond Head had some trails that were level. This was a straight climb up. It was worth the view (see below). As a bonus, shortly after we arrived at the top, the church bells began playing melodies and this went on for about 15minutes. Some of the videos of the city from the tower include the melodies from the church bells.
Gdańsk is the amber capital of the world. Amber is a mineral of many colors. Depending on the age, amber can range from nearly white, through all shades of yellow and orange, to dark, almost cherry-like red. In addition to jewelry, I have seen bouquets of amber roses, ships made of amber, chests, jewelry boxes, etc. It is quite beautiful and very impressive artwork. We came upon a street where all the shops were amber shops. All of the women on the tour went a bit nuts and our instructor kept trying to get us out of the shops to continue our itinerary. Eventually, she broke down and let us have an hour to shop. Needless to say, I added to my jewelry collection.
We ate lunch at Restauracja Kubicki (established in 1918) at the end of Gdansk boardwalk on the banks of the Motława River . We had reservations and they led us to a room with a long candle lit table lined with laced tablecloths. The waiters wore bow ties. I felt more like I was at a state dinner party than an ordinary lunch. The food was quite good and inexpensive. In fact, everywhere we ate, the food was good and inexpensive. All my meals cost about $12-15 USD including appetizers or soup and drinks. The only time I paid a bit more was when I had a cocktail with my meal and even then the total was only about $20 USD.
Following lunch and shopping we headed back to the station and caught the train to a town called Oliwa (or Oliva/Olive). This was just supposed to be a short stop to walk through Oliwa Park and see Oliwa Cathedral.
When we arrived at cathedral, we were in for a treat: we inadvertently ended up crashing a Polish wedding. We arrived just as they were pronouncing them man and wife and the church’s pipe organ, a Rococo style organ built in the 1760’s and at the time the largest in Europe, began playing Mendelssohn’s Wedding March as the couple and their wedding party made their way out of the church. The timing was perfect. I got most of it on video although the beginning of the video is a little fuzzy. From there, we went back to Sopot via the train for dinner.
Dinner in European restaurants seems to go on for hours. Our dinner that evening began around 8pm and did not end until 11pm. We were so exhausted by the end of that day that many of us were falling asleep while waiting for the check. Taverna Rybacki (literally Fish Tavern in English) turned out to be a great seafood restaurant. This one was a bit more rustic and cozy with their warm décor and candles along the stairs and on the tables. I would definitely go back.
Malbork (Mariensburg)
After a really late night, I awoke Sunday very tired and trying to rush to catch the train to Malbork. It was an hour train ride heading south. The great thing about taking the train is that you can make stops along the way and leave your luggage (provided it is not oversized) in a secured storage locker or bag check at the station. You can then go sightseeing and pick up you bags upon departure. We took a 20 minute walk from the station to Zamek w Malborku (Malbork Castle ) on the river Nogat. This was an amazing site. It is probably one of the largest castles other than Schloss Neuschwanstein that I have ever seen. Unlike any that I have seen, this one is built solely of brick. According to our guide, it is one of the largest medieval gothic castles in Europe and it was built in stages beginning in the mid 1300’s. It was completed in the 15th century. There is a large moat around the castle which is now dry. You can envision what it must have been like when the knights lived here. The castle is divided into High castle which was a fortified monastery for the order consisting of St. Mary’s Church, Middle Castle which was the seat of Teutonic Power and location of the Palace of the Grand Master of the order, and the Outer Bailey which was the auxiliary service and military area for the fortress. A tour takes about 3 hours. After finishing the tour, we crossed over a bridge to the other side of the Nogat River which provided a more panoramic view of the castle.
The Teutonic Knights, an order limited to German aristocracy, were initially a chivalrous monastic order established in 1190 during the third Crusade offering help to those in need. However, Pope Urban II sent the order to Marienburg to convert the local pagan population (i.e. the Prussians) thereby becoming a more militaristic order. The knights took vows of chastity, obedience, poverty and the additional vow of battling enemies of Christ. The justification for the Crusades was that pagans were the embodiment of evil. They were not believed to human, making the teaching about doing onto others as one would have done unto oneself inapplicable (sounds a bit like the Islamic Jihad taking place against Christians and Jews today).
The Teutonic order developed a working relationship with the Polish monarchs. They allowed the order to remain in Poland as long as they kept the Prussians, always a threat to Poland , in check. The order conquered Prussia , but they didn’t stop there. They continued on to Pomerania , conquering that area as well (including Gdansk ). The alliance with Poland was broke. Poland allied itself with Lithuania against the order and eventually defeated them, thereby taking back Pomerania . Malbork became the residence of Polish Kings until the first partition of Poland in 1772 when it fell into the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Prussia .
During WWII, the Nazis used the castle as a kind of headquarters during the war. When the Soviet Army began its liberation of Poland they attacked the castle with American M4 Sherman tanks provided by the US . However, they proved futile in infiltrating the castle. The Soviet army began shelling the castle. Most of the castle has been rebuilt, but much still remains in ruins including the interior of St. Mary’s church adjacent to the castle. There are lots of artifacts that have survived and many that are damaged, but managed to survive.
On the castle grounds is the Hotel Zamek (Castle Hotel) complete with a restaurant where we had lunch. There are several souvenir shops selling medieval types of souvenirs. I brought home a bow and arrow set for Nicholas. There was a group of Russian children running around with swords, sling shots, and bow and arrow sets and they were having such a good time. They also sold medieval dresses and veils with rounded headpieces. I wanted to get one of the rounded veils for my princess, but her head is too small for the sizes offered. One green dress I saw reminded me of the one worn by Princess Fiona in Shrek.
We wrapped up our tour around 3:30pm and walked back to the station to collect our bags and catch the train to Warszawa. The train ride both ways was about 5 hours, but the time goes by so much more quickly than traveling by car. Again, perfectly timed, we rolled in Warszawa Centralny as the sun set over Warsaw .
The Pomerianian region of Poland is a port of call for a few Baltic cruise ships. If you ever find yourself in Poland in the spring, summer or early fall, I would definitely recommend a trip to the region.
Websites:
http://www.gdansk.pl/en/
http://www.sopot.pl/intgmservlets/WWW.Main?LANG_VERSION=ENGLISH
http://www.malbork.pl/mwc/en/
Monday, April 9, 2007
Easter in Poland
I thought Christmas was the mother of all holidays, but Easter seems to be right up there. The Poles love Easter, both religious and secular traditions. Of course, being the predominantly Catholic country that Poland is, everyone flocks to church this week (like they do every week – really!). Only this past week, the churches have what I would call a marketplace area. Vendors sell flowers, edible specialties, and the most creative palm creations I have ever seen. They don’t just get a palm branch for Palm Sunday. They have to decorate their Palm. They can be small palms or they can be as large as 15 meters. I’ve never seen anything like it. They are very pretty. Polish people bake a lot during this time of year as I could tell from the crowds in the baking aisle at the store. They bake all kinds of novelties, but the one I have heard the most about is mazurek. It is a cake layered with fruit that is popular this time of year.
Then, of course, spring has arrived and with it what seems egg worship. I think the Germans do this too. You will find all kinds of jajka (egg) décor. Hand painted eggs (very ornate), egg ceramics (hand painted) that serve as candle holders, ceramic egg baskets, egg holders, etc. There’s quite a selection!
Moving on to the secular, you will find lots of chocolate eggs, chocolate eggs with surprises (not just the Kinder eggs), chocolate bunnies, ducks and lambs, baskets with candy, bird houses with candy, nests with candy, etc. The Polish go all out. They have Easter egg hunts like we do as well. On Good Friday, they have large “Way of the Cross” processions through Old Town. For most, it is a holiday. With good reason because everyone seems to make a dash for the grocery store to stock up on food to get them through the weekend since everything shuts down (like at Christmas) on Saturday and will not reopen until Tuesday. I had to engage in my shopping with both kids by myself since Josh was in Africa until Saturday. I was able to get through it by feeding my human vacuum (Mikayla) Cheerios throughout the grocery store. On Easter Eve, people bring baskets of breakfast food (including eggs) to their local churches to have them blessed. The following morning, they feast (more like gorge) on all the food. The tradition is that before beginning the meal you cut pieces of hard boiled eggs and pass them around the table and everyone takes a bite. Instead of breaking bread, they break eggs!
The only minor disappointment for us this year was the fact that there were no white eggs to be found. Only brown ones. We had an egg dyeing kit, but have you ever tried to dye a brown egg? Not exactly the spring like pastel colors we were looking for. The kids enjoyed it irregardless. Next year, we plan to buy actual paint and hand paint our eggs. It may prove to be more fun that way anyway.
Easter Monday is also a holiday. This is one of the things that I love about this country. In the United States, it does not seem that anything stops for any holiday. Even on Christmas, restaurants and entertainment venues open later in the day. People here work very hard and many work more than one job, but during Christmas and Easter, the focus is on family and the promise of hope. It is hard to focus on these things when family members are missing because they have to work or kids skip out family events to go out with their friends. Here it is not a problem. It is forced time off because your employer is closed. A refreshing thought!
Happy Easter to All!
Then, of course, spring has arrived and with it what seems egg worship. I think the Germans do this too. You will find all kinds of jajka (egg) décor. Hand painted eggs (very ornate), egg ceramics (hand painted) that serve as candle holders, ceramic egg baskets, egg holders, etc. There’s quite a selection!
Moving on to the secular, you will find lots of chocolate eggs, chocolate eggs with surprises (not just the Kinder eggs), chocolate bunnies, ducks and lambs, baskets with candy, bird houses with candy, nests with candy, etc. The Polish go all out. They have Easter egg hunts like we do as well. On Good Friday, they have large “Way of the Cross” processions through Old Town. For most, it is a holiday. With good reason because everyone seems to make a dash for the grocery store to stock up on food to get them through the weekend since everything shuts down (like at Christmas) on Saturday and will not reopen until Tuesday. I had to engage in my shopping with both kids by myself since Josh was in Africa until Saturday. I was able to get through it by feeding my human vacuum (Mikayla) Cheerios throughout the grocery store. On Easter Eve, people bring baskets of breakfast food (including eggs) to their local churches to have them blessed. The following morning, they feast (more like gorge) on all the food. The tradition is that before beginning the meal you cut pieces of hard boiled eggs and pass them around the table and everyone takes a bite. Instead of breaking bread, they break eggs!
The only minor disappointment for us this year was the fact that there were no white eggs to be found. Only brown ones. We had an egg dyeing kit, but have you ever tried to dye a brown egg? Not exactly the spring like pastel colors we were looking for. The kids enjoyed it irregardless. Next year, we plan to buy actual paint and hand paint our eggs. It may prove to be more fun that way anyway.
Easter Monday is also a holiday. This is one of the things that I love about this country. In the United States, it does not seem that anything stops for any holiday. Even on Christmas, restaurants and entertainment venues open later in the day. People here work very hard and many work more than one job, but during Christmas and Easter, the focus is on family and the promise of hope. It is hard to focus on these things when family members are missing because they have to work or kids skip out family events to go out with their friends. Here it is not a problem. It is forced time off because your employer is closed. A refreshing thought!
Happy Easter to All!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
A New Hope?
No, it's not Star Wars, it's Starbucks! Poland is certainly moving up in the world. Later this year, Starbucks is set to open its first shop in Poland, likely (I hope) here in Warsaw. Since other EU countries have Starbucks, I thought for sure I would find one in Warsaw. Wrong! It was disappointing at first, but I got used to Coffee Heaven – the Polish version of Starbucks. However, I prefer Starbucks. In Ireland, I asked the concierge for directions to the nearest Starbucks. Before he told me, he said “I just don’t get it. I just don’t get what Americans see in Starbucks.” I kept my mouth shut, but I was thinking “Don’t get what? The coffee I got at the local coffee shop this morning was horrible. I threw it out!” I can see why Irish food is not very popular around the world.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Our Irish Adventure
Driving in Dublin (or in Ireland in general)
There is a reason why the guidebook mentioned “don’t drive in Dublin.” Let's put it this way: we arrived at the Dublin airport around 12:15pm, claimed our bags and got our car rental and were on our way around 1:45pm. We did not walk into our hotel room until 5 pm and it was only a 10 mile drive from the airport!!! All the streets have names, but you can't ever find the street you are on because there are no markers for the majority of streets. Plus, if you find a marker for one street and drive a few blocks, you have probably driven on to another street even though you never turned off the original street. In other words, a street may be broken up into several different mini streets. Couple that with typical city streets that prevent you from turning right or left at any given time and I can now understand why the travel guide said that driving in Dublin was a nightmare! Listen to the travel guides!!!
My suggestion would be to rent the car and drive far away from Dublin towards the west or the south. But be warned: Traffic in Ireland is in every major city, including Cork. You may get in, but you will have a hell of a time trying to get out. We couldn’t wait to return our rental. If you go specifically to Dublin, take the Air Link bus from the airport which will drop you off in the city and then rely on public transportation. For the tourist sights, the Dublin Sightseeing Bus works well since you can hop on or off at over 20 different sites. And, by the way, driving on the left side of the road is not as difficult as it seems. As an added bonus, the Irish have markings on the street telling you to “look right or left” depending on where you are so. The hard part is having to consciously think about keeping left.
Ireland with Children
I love my kids. I think they are great little travelers and did well on our trip. However, if you can avoid traveling to Ireland with young children, I highly recommend it. Irish cities tend to be party towns and it is impossible to do a pub crawl with a toddler and a 4 year old (even with older ones). Even the Cat's embassy colleagues who have young children told him that it is very hard to live in Dublin with small children.
If you decide to travel with young children, here are some tips to help you along. Don’t get me wrong, the Irish were very friendly towards my children. The problem is that establishments don’t cater to families with small children unless the venue targets that demographic (i.e. The Dublin Zoo). The majority of restaurants do not have high chairs. It is not fun to juggle a human monkey who is trying to take your food while you are trying to eat. Many restaurants do not allow children under 12 after 6pm. It’s understandable. The Irish drink heavily. Alcoholism rates are high. Definitely not something you want to expose children to. We ran into quite a few drunks passed out on the street in middle of the morning and that was enough as far as trying to explain that to a 4 year old.
Baby care/changing tables or rooms are scarce. I had to change Thing 2 in the trunk of our rental car one time because we could not find a place to change her and car seats took up the entire backseat.
Babies won’t care about being in Ireland to begin with. Preschoolers like Thing 1 are different. The week prior was St. Patrick’s Day. At his preschool, they taught him about the holiday and symbols of Ireland like the shamrocks and leprechauns, etc. By the time we arrived in Dublin, he was very excited. They are very curious and inquisitive at this age. He asked about everythng and I tried to make my answers exciting for him.
At St. Patrick’s Cathedral, I told him about the man behind the legend. I told him about Jonathan Swift who was the dean of St. Patrick’s at one time and is buried there and about the popular Swift novel, Gulliver’s Travels. He was fascinated by the crypts in the churches, the statues and the stained glass windows. We also happened to go into St. Patrick’s while they were finishing morning mass. I took the opportunity to talk to him about the Catholic Church and the symbolism of the mass and the church, etc. He may not understand everything now, but it will come back to him at the appropriate time.
At the zoo, he would ask me to read all the animal information to him. He wanted to know what they ate, whether they were carnivores or herbivores or both, where the animals came from, etc. The Dublin Zoo was fantastic. I even got excited to see a lion right in front of my face (through the glass barrier). I had never seen one that close. Thing 2 loved the animals and the section with farm animals was popular with her as well.
Thing 1 enjoyed climbing up to the Blarney Castle, crawling through the dungeon, learning about the Druids, etc. He was fascinated by the tombs at NewGrange. The tombs were prehistoric. We got into a discussion about how they are called pre-historic because the people who lived at the time could not write/record their “stories.” Therefore, we really don’t know the true significance of the structures we were seeing. He learned that every year on the winter solstice, the sun lights the interior of the tomb for 17 minutes before it goes dark again. He was very entertained and easy to travel with.
Dublin also has many parks. St. Stephen’s Green, Merrion Square and Phoenix Park (home of the Dublin Zoo, the president of Ireland and the ambassador of the United States) are very well kept. Phoenix park is huge! Larger than Central Park in New York to give you an idea. We fed the birds and ducks at St. Stephen’s Green one afternoon and it was a very pleasant and relaxing experience.
As for child friendly restaurants, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King are everywhere and some do provide high chairs for young children. Many had changing tables in their restrooms. There is a family restaurant called SuperMac’s that is like an Irish McDonald’s that serves fast food and caters to families. NewGrange had a tea room that served hot food and tea and coffee. They had high chairs and a baby care room. They also had the best baked potato I have ever had. Other than that, you have to look hard to find child friendly places.
An interesting side note...
The McDonald here had an added treat - it had a McCafe! No, I'm not kidding. That was even the name. They sold gourmet coffee, pastries and cakes. The interior of the McDonalds was somewhat upscale minimalist style that seems to be very popular in Europe. Think IKEA. We left the camera in the car, because if we had not I would have taken a picture. The place even had automatic doors! I've noticed that what we consider fast food is somewhat upscale dining here. Very odd to me!
Euro vs. USD
Ireland is part of the European Union and chose to convert over to the Euro. Right now, the Euro is valued a third above the dollar. So, 1 EUR is equivalent to 1.33 USD. Needless to say, it is a very expensive country albeit not as expensive as Great Britain where 1 pound is valued at nearly 2 USD. The Irish will nickel and dime you for everything (including grocery bags 15 cents and ketchup 20 cents). I’m surprised they didn’t charge you to use their bathrooms like they do in France.
Things seem to be overpriced too. For example, a mediocre (at best) meal at a Eddie Rockets, a family restaurant comparable to its American counterpart Johnny Rockets in the USA, will run you about 45 EUR which is about $60 USD. Now, have you ever spent $60 USD on burgers, fries and drinks for a family of 4 at a place like Johnny Rockets? You get my point.
The food in Ireland is mediocre at best. It will come at no surprise that the one thing they do well here (other than whiskey and beer) is potatoes. I have never had a better potato. I could have had one as a meal every day. If you go (anywhere in the EU) and make major purchases, ask about VAT forms wherever you make purchases with your receipt. All of Europe charges you this VAT (value added tax or sales tax) which varies (22% in Poland, 21% in Ireland) on the sum of your entire purchase. If you get VAT forms, you can turn them in at the Dublin airport and get that cash back before you leave. Other countries have different rules. If you reside outside the European Union, you are entitled to claim back the sales tax on any goods you buy in Ireland or any EU country.
Global Refund (http://www.globalrefund.com/default.asp?viewSiteId=1) provides refunds at the airport. They operate in other countries as well and their website helps you locate participating merchants.
Blarney: The City, the Castle and the Stone
Blarney is a small quaint town about 8 km north of Cork famous for its castle and stone. The Blarney stone legend is that he/she who kisses the stone will receive the gift of eloquent speech. Legend also has it that in the past people have urinated on this stone. Seeing that my speech is fairly eloquent, we chose not to kiss it. To kiss it, you literally have to lower yourself upside down while holding on to some bars. You can reach the stone by climbing ot the top of the castle along a spiral staircase. We were lucky that there was no rain (a rarity in Ireland) the entire time we were there because it would have been a slippery climb to the top. Once you finish seeing the castle, you can tour the rock close, witch’s kitchen and fairy garden. There are some great trees you can climb to sit and relax. While we were not able to go, the city of Cork is nearby and further south is Cobh.
Cobh used to be known as Queenstown and happens to be famous for two reasons: it was the last port of call for the Titanic before it embarked on it’s fateful voyage and soonafter, it received the survivors and dead from the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-Boat during WWI. The Lusitania, a British passenger ship, was secretly carrying US weapons, a reason given by the Germans for torpedoing the ship.
For further information, please refer to:
http://www.blarneycastle.ie/
http://www.cobhheritage.com/
http://www.county-cork.com/
NewGrange: A Blast from the Past
The megalithic passage tombs at NewGrange built by neolithic communities 5000 years ago, pre date the pyramids at Giza and Stonehenge. There are several tombs located throughout the region at Knowth, Tara. They can only be reached through the Brú na Bóinne Visitor’s Center which is about a 45 -60 minute drive from Dublin. There are also tour buses from the Dublin. It is out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but farmland! The facility however is modern. The Center includes an exhibit about the tombs, a short film and the Tea Room for a bite to eat pre or post tour, restrooms and a baby care room. A bus takes you to the site from the visitor centre.
A word of warning: If you are claustrophobic, don't go into the tomb. Only 10 people fit inside and it is a tight squeeze. My backpack got stuck in the passageway and I had to back up remove it and then continue on. It's a very confined space.
If you go between April-October and you have children with you, the Newgrange farm operates moments from the visitor centre. It is a working farm. Children get to pet the animals and are given a lamb to care for while they are there. There is a sheep "derby" at 3pm on Sundays weather permitting. We were ready to go, but were apparently a week early.
For more information:
http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm
http://www.newgrangefarm.com/
The Irish
For the most part, the Irish were very friendly people. Everyone we encountered were very kind and helpful. They love to chat and if you are pressed for time be careful what you ask.
Twice we had to ask for directions when we arrived. Both times, the people we spoke to engaged us in stories that we probably would have enjoyed if we weren’t so tired and wanting to get to our hotel.
About directions…all directions tend to be given in terms of how many traffic lights before you need to turn, bridges you need to cross, forks in roads or T-intersections. All this because streets are not marked. It worked though and we got to our destination at last.
Polish Immigrants in Ireland
Poland is still in its infancy as a country. Since joining the EU in 2004, they have been working towards integrating into the EU. Warsaw is not the most beautiful European capital, but you can already tell that there are projects on the way to change that. EU membership for the most part removes the need for a work visa in other EU countries. Like the states, EU citizens from one country can work in another without a permit. However, new member nations have transitional provision placed upon them by other member nations as to when they will be allowed to work in a particular country.
When Poland entered the EU, Great Britain and Ireland were two of the few countries to welcome the Poles to their workforce. The Poles for the most part have migrated in droves to both. Unemployment here is 14.9 %. Many young Poles attend university only to find no jobs available in their country. Therefore, this has become a good opportunity for them. Sadly, there are side effects to it as well. Many unemployed parents are choosing to migrate to these countries in order to make money that they can then send home to provide for their children. On our flight back, there were two children 11 and 9 years old who were being dropped off at the Dublin airport by their mother and were then claimed by a relative when they arrived in Poland. They were obviously visiting their parent(s) in Ireland. At this time, there are as many as 600,000 Poles living in the UK and Ireland. Several times, we were asked where we were living and when we let them know we lived in Warsaw, they had nothing but nice things to say about the Poles.
The Irish and Poles are very similar. For one, they love to drink whiskey and vodka respectively. Both nationalities are hard workers. That’s probably what I heard about the most – what hard workers they were. Both are predominantly Catholic. Both countries have histories seeded in the struggle to become an independent nation. Both are working class people and hard workers at that. The Poles have integrated well into British and Irish Society. I was surprised to see many Polish products available in Irish grocery stores. Many have learned to speak English.
Economically, this is great for both nations. The Irish are able to find workers for jobs most Irish won’t do or are not qualifies to do and the Poles take the money they earn, send some to their families who in turn spend it on Polish goods thereby helping the Polish economy. This is a good example of a successful immigration policy – so far.
There is a reason why the guidebook mentioned “don’t drive in Dublin.” Let's put it this way: we arrived at the Dublin airport around 12:15pm, claimed our bags and got our car rental and were on our way around 1:45pm. We did not walk into our hotel room until 5 pm and it was only a 10 mile drive from the airport!!! All the streets have names, but you can't ever find the street you are on because there are no markers for the majority of streets. Plus, if you find a marker for one street and drive a few blocks, you have probably driven on to another street even though you never turned off the original street. In other words, a street may be broken up into several different mini streets. Couple that with typical city streets that prevent you from turning right or left at any given time and I can now understand why the travel guide said that driving in Dublin was a nightmare! Listen to the travel guides!!!
My suggestion would be to rent the car and drive far away from Dublin towards the west or the south. But be warned: Traffic in Ireland is in every major city, including Cork. You may get in, but you will have a hell of a time trying to get out. We couldn’t wait to return our rental. If you go specifically to Dublin, take the Air Link bus from the airport which will drop you off in the city and then rely on public transportation. For the tourist sights, the Dublin Sightseeing Bus works well since you can hop on or off at over 20 different sites. And, by the way, driving on the left side of the road is not as difficult as it seems. As an added bonus, the Irish have markings on the street telling you to “look right or left” depending on where you are so. The hard part is having to consciously think about keeping left.
Ireland with Children
I love my kids. I think they are great little travelers and did well on our trip. However, if you can avoid traveling to Ireland with young children, I highly recommend it. Irish cities tend to be party towns and it is impossible to do a pub crawl with a toddler and a 4 year old (even with older ones). Even the Cat's embassy colleagues who have young children told him that it is very hard to live in Dublin with small children.
If you decide to travel with young children, here are some tips to help you along. Don’t get me wrong, the Irish were very friendly towards my children. The problem is that establishments don’t cater to families with small children unless the venue targets that demographic (i.e. The Dublin Zoo). The majority of restaurants do not have high chairs. It is not fun to juggle a human monkey who is trying to take your food while you are trying to eat. Many restaurants do not allow children under 12 after 6pm. It’s understandable. The Irish drink heavily. Alcoholism rates are high. Definitely not something you want to expose children to. We ran into quite a few drunks passed out on the street in middle of the morning and that was enough as far as trying to explain that to a 4 year old.
Baby care/changing tables or rooms are scarce. I had to change Thing 2 in the trunk of our rental car one time because we could not find a place to change her and car seats took up the entire backseat.
Babies won’t care about being in Ireland to begin with. Preschoolers like Thing 1 are different. The week prior was St. Patrick’s Day. At his preschool, they taught him about the holiday and symbols of Ireland like the shamrocks and leprechauns, etc. By the time we arrived in Dublin, he was very excited. They are very curious and inquisitive at this age. He asked about everythng and I tried to make my answers exciting for him.
At St. Patrick’s Cathedral, I told him about the man behind the legend. I told him about Jonathan Swift who was the dean of St. Patrick’s at one time and is buried there and about the popular Swift novel, Gulliver’s Travels. He was fascinated by the crypts in the churches, the statues and the stained glass windows. We also happened to go into St. Patrick’s while they were finishing morning mass. I took the opportunity to talk to him about the Catholic Church and the symbolism of the mass and the church, etc. He may not understand everything now, but it will come back to him at the appropriate time.
At the zoo, he would ask me to read all the animal information to him. He wanted to know what they ate, whether they were carnivores or herbivores or both, where the animals came from, etc. The Dublin Zoo was fantastic. I even got excited to see a lion right in front of my face (through the glass barrier). I had never seen one that close. Thing 2 loved the animals and the section with farm animals was popular with her as well.
Thing 1 enjoyed climbing up to the Blarney Castle, crawling through the dungeon, learning about the Druids, etc. He was fascinated by the tombs at NewGrange. The tombs were prehistoric. We got into a discussion about how they are called pre-historic because the people who lived at the time could not write/record their “stories.” Therefore, we really don’t know the true significance of the structures we were seeing. He learned that every year on the winter solstice, the sun lights the interior of the tomb for 17 minutes before it goes dark again. He was very entertained and easy to travel with.
Dublin also has many parks. St. Stephen’s Green, Merrion Square and Phoenix Park (home of the Dublin Zoo, the president of Ireland and the ambassador of the United States) are very well kept. Phoenix park is huge! Larger than Central Park in New York to give you an idea. We fed the birds and ducks at St. Stephen’s Green one afternoon and it was a very pleasant and relaxing experience.
As for child friendly restaurants, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King are everywhere and some do provide high chairs for young children. Many had changing tables in their restrooms. There is a family restaurant called SuperMac’s that is like an Irish McDonald’s that serves fast food and caters to families. NewGrange had a tea room that served hot food and tea and coffee. They had high chairs and a baby care room. They also had the best baked potato I have ever had. Other than that, you have to look hard to find child friendly places.
An interesting side note...
The McDonald here had an added treat - it had a McCafe! No, I'm not kidding. That was even the name. They sold gourmet coffee, pastries and cakes. The interior of the McDonalds was somewhat upscale minimalist style that seems to be very popular in Europe. Think IKEA. We left the camera in the car, because if we had not I would have taken a picture. The place even had automatic doors! I've noticed that what we consider fast food is somewhat upscale dining here. Very odd to me!
Euro vs. USD
Ireland is part of the European Union and chose to convert over to the Euro. Right now, the Euro is valued a third above the dollar. So, 1 EUR is equivalent to 1.33 USD. Needless to say, it is a very expensive country albeit not as expensive as Great Britain where 1 pound is valued at nearly 2 USD. The Irish will nickel and dime you for everything (including grocery bags 15 cents and ketchup 20 cents). I’m surprised they didn’t charge you to use their bathrooms like they do in France.
Things seem to be overpriced too. For example, a mediocre (at best) meal at a Eddie Rockets, a family restaurant comparable to its American counterpart Johnny Rockets in the USA, will run you about 45 EUR which is about $60 USD. Now, have you ever spent $60 USD on burgers, fries and drinks for a family of 4 at a place like Johnny Rockets? You get my point.
The food in Ireland is mediocre at best. It will come at no surprise that the one thing they do well here (other than whiskey and beer) is potatoes. I have never had a better potato. I could have had one as a meal every day. If you go (anywhere in the EU) and make major purchases, ask about VAT forms wherever you make purchases with your receipt. All of Europe charges you this VAT (value added tax or sales tax) which varies (22% in Poland, 21% in Ireland) on the sum of your entire purchase. If you get VAT forms, you can turn them in at the Dublin airport and get that cash back before you leave. Other countries have different rules. If you reside outside the European Union, you are entitled to claim back the sales tax on any goods you buy in Ireland or any EU country.
Global Refund (http://www.globalrefund.com/default.asp?viewSiteId=1) provides refunds at the airport. They operate in other countries as well and their website helps you locate participating merchants.
Blarney: The City, the Castle and the Stone
Blarney is a small quaint town about 8 km north of Cork famous for its castle and stone. The Blarney stone legend is that he/she who kisses the stone will receive the gift of eloquent speech. Legend also has it that in the past people have urinated on this stone. Seeing that my speech is fairly eloquent, we chose not to kiss it. To kiss it, you literally have to lower yourself upside down while holding on to some bars. You can reach the stone by climbing ot the top of the castle along a spiral staircase. We were lucky that there was no rain (a rarity in Ireland) the entire time we were there because it would have been a slippery climb to the top. Once you finish seeing the castle, you can tour the rock close, witch’s kitchen and fairy garden. There are some great trees you can climb to sit and relax. While we were not able to go, the city of Cork is nearby and further south is Cobh.
Cobh used to be known as Queenstown and happens to be famous for two reasons: it was the last port of call for the Titanic before it embarked on it’s fateful voyage and soonafter, it received the survivors and dead from the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-Boat during WWI. The Lusitania, a British passenger ship, was secretly carrying US weapons, a reason given by the Germans for torpedoing the ship.
For further information, please refer to:
http://www.blarneycastle.ie/
http://www.cobhheritage.com/
http://www.county-cork.com/
NewGrange: A Blast from the Past
The megalithic passage tombs at NewGrange built by neolithic communities 5000 years ago, pre date the pyramids at Giza and Stonehenge. There are several tombs located throughout the region at Knowth, Tara. They can only be reached through the Brú na Bóinne Visitor’s Center which is about a 45 -60 minute drive from Dublin. There are also tour buses from the Dublin. It is out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing but farmland! The facility however is modern. The Center includes an exhibit about the tombs, a short film and the Tea Room for a bite to eat pre or post tour, restrooms and a baby care room. A bus takes you to the site from the visitor centre.
A word of warning: If you are claustrophobic, don't go into the tomb. Only 10 people fit inside and it is a tight squeeze. My backpack got stuck in the passageway and I had to back up remove it and then continue on. It's a very confined space.
If you go between April-October and you have children with you, the Newgrange farm operates moments from the visitor centre. It is a working farm. Children get to pet the animals and are given a lamb to care for while they are there. There is a sheep "derby" at 3pm on Sundays weather permitting. We were ready to go, but were apparently a week early.
For more information:
http://www.knowth.com/newgrange.htm
http://www.newgrangefarm.com/
The Irish
For the most part, the Irish were very friendly people. Everyone we encountered were very kind and helpful. They love to chat and if you are pressed for time be careful what you ask.
Twice we had to ask for directions when we arrived. Both times, the people we spoke to engaged us in stories that we probably would have enjoyed if we weren’t so tired and wanting to get to our hotel.
About directions…all directions tend to be given in terms of how many traffic lights before you need to turn, bridges you need to cross, forks in roads or T-intersections. All this because streets are not marked. It worked though and we got to our destination at last.
Polish Immigrants in Ireland
Poland is still in its infancy as a country. Since joining the EU in 2004, they have been working towards integrating into the EU. Warsaw is not the most beautiful European capital, but you can already tell that there are projects on the way to change that. EU membership for the most part removes the need for a work visa in other EU countries. Like the states, EU citizens from one country can work in another without a permit. However, new member nations have transitional provision placed upon them by other member nations as to when they will be allowed to work in a particular country.
When Poland entered the EU, Great Britain and Ireland were two of the few countries to welcome the Poles to their workforce. The Poles for the most part have migrated in droves to both. Unemployment here is 14.9 %. Many young Poles attend university only to find no jobs available in their country. Therefore, this has become a good opportunity for them. Sadly, there are side effects to it as well. Many unemployed parents are choosing to migrate to these countries in order to make money that they can then send home to provide for their children. On our flight back, there were two children 11 and 9 years old who were being dropped off at the Dublin airport by their mother and were then claimed by a relative when they arrived in Poland. They were obviously visiting their parent(s) in Ireland. At this time, there are as many as 600,000 Poles living in the UK and Ireland. Several times, we were asked where we were living and when we let them know we lived in Warsaw, they had nothing but nice things to say about the Poles.
The Irish and Poles are very similar. For one, they love to drink whiskey and vodka respectively. Both nationalities are hard workers. That’s probably what I heard about the most – what hard workers they were. Both are predominantly Catholic. Both countries have histories seeded in the struggle to become an independent nation. Both are working class people and hard workers at that. The Poles have integrated well into British and Irish Society. I was surprised to see many Polish products available in Irish grocery stores. Many have learned to speak English.
Economically, this is great for both nations. The Irish are able to find workers for jobs most Irish won’t do or are not qualifies to do and the Poles take the money they earn, send some to their families who in turn spend it on Polish goods thereby helping the Polish economy. This is a good example of a successful immigration policy – so far.
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