Poland - in Tarnow

From Katowice, we travelled to Tarnow, also in the south of Poland and we stayed with Gosia and her family.

The next day, we travelled to the nearby town of Jaslo, where my father came from, as we decided to visit our grandfather's grave.  We never met him as he died when our Dad was 16 years old.  He was born in Detroit and came back to Poland with his Polish parents in his early 20s when he married our grandmother.  They had three children and he worked as a bureaucrat for the railways but apparently he always talked and dreamt of going back to live in America.  The whole family applied for the travel documents to move there but sadly he died a week before the documents arrived.  It is a pity we never met him but on the other hand my sister and I might not have existed if he lived as my Dad would have moved to the USA and he would have never met our Mum...  Nevertheless, it was very special to visit his grave, it felt special.  The below is an entrance to the old cemetery in Jaslo, followed by the grandfather's grave. 

The cemetery was amazing with huge and historic graves:

The two following photos were taken in the centre of Jaslo.  I have been there once as a small child to visit our grandmother but I cannot remember much from that trip.

On the way back to Tarnow, we visited a Museum of Dolls in Pilzno.  They have a section with historic dolls, specifically made exhibitions of famous people eg Pope John Paul the Second, international dolls etc.  They also have a large workshop where they produce their dolls.  It was an amazing place worth seeing.

The guide showed us how they make fabric flowers which they use to decorate their dolls.  It was like a giant Cuttlebug with lots and lots metal dies:

The dies are stored in this cabinet:

This form is used to shape fabric faces:

Some other tools at the

 A doll currently being finished:

Some finished dolls:

I managed to squeeze into the witch's house:

In this workshop they produce their own ceramic faces, hands, legs etc:

Pope John Paul the Second with Cardinals:

John Paul the Second in the window of his old residence in Poland:

Some historic dolls:

This is Vinnie, an amazing pug who belongs to Gosia with whom we stayed:

The following photos were talking during a walk around Tarnow's old town:

My sister with Gosia (our host) and Gosia's husband and daughter: