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:

Poland - in Katowice

We travelled with my sister to the city of Katowice in the south of Poland, the area called Slask where there are many coal mines.  This was the very first time I was in this area.  We stayed with my sister's friends - Pawel and Tomek - two very nice guys.

The next day after we arrived, they took us to Zabrze and (unknowingly) fulfilled my dream of seeing an underground coal mine.  It was such a great idea also because it was a very hot day and the coal mine being 320 meters under ground had a temperature of 19 degrees.

The historic coal mine is called Guido:

Getting ready to go down:

We travelled down by a real mining lift, our ears were getting blocked quite a bit:

Underground with Pawel and Tomek:

 Some places were quite tight:

The guy on the left was our guide:

Walls were made of coal, lol:

This is the lowest letter box in Europe:

The coal mine was amazing and it gave us some idea about how extremely difficult and dangerous is the job of a miner, I can't imagine working in such conditions - noise, heat (normally the active coal mines are around 40 degrees), dirt, small spaces and danger.  We had a great and funny guide who was a coal miner for over 30 years and now is retired.

In the afternoon, the boys took us to this amazing historic suburb of Nikiszowiec.

The boys waving us good-bye when we were leaving by bus:

Poland - in Olsztyn

It was so good to get to my home town Olsztyn on the North East side of Poland.

During my visit, my sister and I often stayed in a country side in Gamerki Wielkie, in a forest and near a lake, where my sister has a block of land with an old Gypsy caravan.

Mushroom picking; there is nothing better than freshly picked forest mushrooms:

Bone fire at night:

Storks come to Poland in spring to breed and in early autumn they fly to north Africa for winter.  They build magnificent nests on top of houses, polls etc.  They are wonderful birds and very liked in Poland.

 Country transport:

An old church in Olsztyn:

My Dad:

My Mum:

With Copernicus who lived in Olsztyn:

A castle in Olsztyn built in the 14th century, where Copernicus lived in the 16th century:

 That's what happens to you when you misbehave over there, lol:

With my nephew Kuba:

My favourite snack, fresh sunflower seeds:

Even pigeons like sunflowers:

Heading away for a trip:

In Warsaw with the palace of science and culture in the background, a grand building built for us by the Russians as "a present" after the war: