Experiencing the Baltic Sea and a bit of history in Swinoujscie - Sunday, June 4

On Sunday, we left Szczecin early again for another day trip. This time, we traveled North to Swinoujscie, a town that is on the coast of the Baltic Sea as well as on the German Border. The town is on a group of 44 islands (only three of which have people living on them) and is only accessible by ferry!

We arrived at the ferry and were met by several Rotarians who took us on the ferry. On our way, we saw the NATO base, which was very exciting for all of us and especially Seth after his awesome vocational visit on Friday!



We had a small tour of the city and then crossed the German border again, on foot. Jerry was excited to get four more stamps in his passport for free! (He bought a Checkpoint Charlie stamp in Berlin, if you ask, he will show you.)

After the tour, we had a meeting with the President of the city (whom we would probably call the mayor). He was interesting to talk to and we talked about many hot issues for Swinoujscie that were interesting to us. Watch for some possible new developments regarding the shipping/storing of oil in the near future!

We toured more of the city and went into a high church tower to see the coast, which was beautiful. However, one of the highlights of the trip was definitely playing in the water on the beach. The Polish people with us thought we were a little crazy for putting our feet in the water, but it felt great and we had a lot of fun!



Probably the most exciting thing that happened in Swinoujscie and one of the most memorable events of our trip was having lunch with several Rotarians including Lechosław Goździk. He was, according to another Rotarian at lunch, the Lech Walesa of the 1956 revolution in Poland. Mr. Gozdzik was the Secretary of the Party fighting the Communists during the revolution and organized the labor union at the car factory in which he worked. Following the revolt, he moved to Swinoujscie and became a fisherman. However, his leadership and politics did not end. He was the Vice President of Western Pomerania (a region in Poland), the head of the City Council in Swinoujscie, and the President of the Society for Sea Fishers.

Since meeting him, we have been able to read about him in the Polish encyclopedia and several people have confirmed his importance in Polish history. What an awesome experience! There is a Wikipedia article on him, but it is in Polish. If you want to check it out, here is the link: http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lechos%C5%82aw_Go%C5%BAdzik

Day-trip to Berlin - Saturday, June 3

As part of our visit to Szczecin, the Rotarians provided us with a day-trip to Berlin. The German border is only 20 km from Szczecin and many people come from Germany to visit Poland and vice versa. It was a rainy day, but we had a wonderful time and are very grateful for the Rotarians and their wives from Szczecin who accompanied us. Of course, we made time to sample the German pastries and the German chocolate! Thank you!

This picture is of the Reichstag, the seat of the German parliament:



The World Cup is starting in Germany on June 9. The town was buzzing with soccer fever and we saw people from many of the countries that will be playing in the next month.



We had the opportunity to visit several historical sites in Berlin that were very meaningful including the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie.





We also visited a new Holocaust memorial that was recently constructed.



We had a great time in Berlin!

Some more pictures from Kolobrzeg!

I am finally catching up with the blog and am running out of time to write a lot, but want to get some of these pictures in while I have reliable internet access, so these are just going to have quick descriptions!

Tuesday evening, we presented at the Kolobrzeg Rotary Club. This is me and Ann with the Club president, Miroslaw, exchanging banners.



On Wednesday, we went on a 21-kilometer bike ride in Kolobrzeg. It wasg great. We rode on the old Soviet air-base runways and then rode to see the oldest Oak tree in Poland.



These are pictures of our host families in Poland. I realized today that we haven't posted many pictures of the people who we have been visiting and I wanted to include the pictures of these families that took us in and made us feel at home. We have had great hosts throughtout our trip.

Backstage passes for Polish Sausage - Tuesday, May 30

Kielbasa, Polish sausage, has been a major staple of our diet while we have been in Poland (our diet needs to be the subject of a future blog). We love kilebasa! One of our Rotarian hosts in Kolobrzeg owns a company that processes sausage and other meats and he took us for a visit.

We had a hard time tearing Seth away after the visit because he loves kielbasa more than anyone I've ever met. If you're lucky, he might bring some back to you!

Alex's Farm and the "Abort Machine" - Monday, May 29

On Monday evening, we visited one of the Rotarians' (Alex) farms. He told us that his farming is only a hobby, but I think you'll see from the picture of the farmhouse below, that it might be more. The farm is a former State-run farm and is very large (at one time I knew how many hectares).

While we were there for dinner, he offered to take us for a ride in the "Abort Machine." We were not apprehensive in the least and went on a great adventure. It was good for us to find out that redneck activities (like driving old jeeps through fields) are fun whether in West Virginia or Kolobrzeg, Poland. We had a fabulous time and if you're lucky, you'll get to see Seth's video footage of the ride someday.

GSE on the seashore in Kołobrzeg, Poland - May 28 - 31

After returning to Wroclaw for a couple of days following Swidnica, we boarded a train Sunday morning for Kołobrzeg. The three hour train ride to Wroclaw was only a warm-up for the seven hours we road as far North as possible. Kolobrzeg (pronounced Kowobzheg)is a small (50,000) city on the Baltic Coast. We were very excited to arrive at the Baltic Sea and were greeted at the train station by several Rotarians.

Monday, our first full day in Kolobrzeg, we enjoyed a tour of the city that included a short tour out into the Baltic Sea on a large vessel as well as an unplanned jaunt in a rowboat with some of the maritime academy students. Ann grew up in California and Seth, Jerry and I love the beach as well, so we really enjoyed being at the beach. We only wish the weather had been a little warmer and drier so that we could have taken better advantage of our time there. Seth did go swimming one evening!

Our new dream car - the Polish Maluch

Since we arrived in Poland, Ann and I have admired, talked about, and even discussed business deals with Rotarians involving Maluchs A Maluch is a Polski Fiat 126p - a small car produced in Poland between 1973 and 2000. Due to a relatively low price it used to be very popular in Poland, and its very small size gave it the nickname Maluch ("the small one"). The nick-name became so popular, that in 1997 it was accepted by the producer as the official name of the car.

Maluchs are all over Poland and are available in pretty much ever color imaginable. Ann's personal favorite was a pink-purple one we saw on the streets of Krakow.

We have asked most of the people who have given us tours where we could buy one, if they wanted to sell us one (or a few), etc. Finally, the club president in Swidnica took me seriously about wanting to drive one. One of the employees at his hotel in Swidnica let me drive hers around the parking lot.





Disclaimer - I hadn't read the GSE rule that we aren't allowed to drive cars - and Jerry was watching and photographing the entire experience!

Swidnica - May 25

Slightly delayed following our hiking adventure, we arrived late Thursday afternoon in Swidnica. Swidnica is very famous because it houses the Church of Peace, which we visited along with the Cathedral. Both churches were very ornate. We walked through the town on a tour. Ann and I especially enjoyed visiting with Hanna, the daughter of one of the Rotarians.

After the Swidnica Rotary Club meeting where we got to know some of the members better, one member, Jacek, took us on a ride to see the Swidnica hospital which was impressively modern and nice and the Siaz Castle, one of the largest in Poland. It was dark and we couldn't see much of the castle, but we did get to see a sword-fight reenactment in which the swords were on fire!

"Climb Every Mountain" - Our trek to Czech - Thursday, May 25

, our fabulous interpreter in Jelenia Gora and Karpacz, along with the Rotarians, allowed us to talk them into a hike on Thursday morning. Seth and Ann left an hour earlier and Jerry and I followed, with our guide. We took a ski lift up the mountain that Seth and Ann climbed (it was easier, but also a lot colder). From the top of that mountain, we didn't have to hike far before we entered the Czech Republic! We hiked in the Czech Republic, near the border, for a while and then back down into Karpacz. It was beautiful and great to be out in nature after being inside for so many days!

We slept in a castle! - May 24

On Tuesday night at dinner, the Rotarians told us that we would be sleeping in a castle in Jelenia Gora. We had overeaten and they had had a few drinks, so we weren't sure if we should believe them or not. But, we did and all day we talked about sleeping in our castle.

We were not disappointed! The castle we slept in was the Palac Staniszow and it was amazing. It is owned by a Rotarian and ran by him and his wife (and their newborn son!). We loved staying there and could have stayed for weeks.







They spent a long time fixing up the main building and are now working on another building on the property. I believe this building next door is available if any Rotarians are looking for a fixer-upper!

The hills are alive . . . Jelenia Gora - Wednesday, May 24

On Wednesday morning, we were taken by taxi to the bus station and placed on a bus to Jelenia Gora. We stayed the night before in a nice hotel in Wroclaw and had no idea what to expect in Jelenia Gora as we didn't know we would be visiting there until Tuesday evening.

We were pleasantly surprised because Jelenia Gora (Polish for deer mountain) is in the Lower Silesia region of Poland and is in the Polish mountains (similar to Virginia "mountains"). When we arrived, our Rotarian host drove us to the top of a hill from which we could see all of the surrounding valleys. We loved being out of the city and I think he was amused by our frolicking. We visited the home and business of the Rotarian who picked us up and then an optical lens factory ran by another Rotarian.



We had a fabulous guide and interpreter who took us to visit Karpacz, a town in the mountains where there is a beautiful Vang church that was built without nails. We had a great time (from the pictures you will see that Ann and I possibly had too great of a time) and then we were off to the Rotary Club meeting.

Our first train ride (!!) to Wroclaw, Poland - May 23, 26, 27

On Tuesday, we had an 8:00 am train from Krakow to Wroclaw, Poland. The Polish countryside was beautiful and we enjoyed traveling through several small towns, Katowice (the birthplace of Pope John Paul II), and kilometers of agricultural communities. Some of the fields were a beautiful yellow and we later found out that a major crop in Poland is rapeseed.

We arrived in Wroclaw (pronounced Vrotswav) and were able to go on a tour of the city before we presented at one of the Wroclaw Rotary Clubs that evening. We haven't written much about our presentations at Rotary Clubs, but we have been making a lot of them! We made four in Lodz, two in Krakow . . . and our presentations have gone well. The hula has definitely been a hit in every club and we have spread the hula across Poland by teaching it in the clubs as part of our presentation. We quickly went through the box of leis that we brought with us to give away and gave away the last ones at the District Conference in Krakow.

Here are some pictures of Wroclaw - a city with a market square possibly as beautiful as Krakow's that is also very alive because of the large amount of students that attend the many universities and academies there.

Auschwitz-Berkenau - Monday, May 22

Today we visited Aushwitz-Berkenau. Ann posted some of her thoughts and pictures and I wanted to add a few of my own as well.

I have never visited a death camp before and the experience was almost overwhelming. Since we have been in Poland, I have read a book about the Holocaust, Night by Ellie Weisel, and watched a movie about the Warsaw Ghetto, The Pianist. Both the book and the movie were quite emotional for me and I was already thinking a lot about the events that took place at Auschwitz. The feelings I felt there were very thick and dense. I was also most affected by the hair, eyeglasses, suitcases and prosthetic limbs left behind from those who were killed in the camps.

Walking around Birkenau was also amazing to me. The buildings they lived in there were much more primitive than at Auschwitz I and we were there on a warm day. It is very discouraging to think that people have been and can be so closed-minded and full of hatred.

Wawel Castle and the Best Lody in Krakow - Sunday, May 21st

Sunday afternoon, we met to tour Wawel Castle, an amazing castle and chapel dating back to the mid-11th Century. It was very interesting to see the architecture of the castle as well as the art displayed. The chapel was especially interesting and eclectic in its architectural style. There were many small chapels surrounding the main chapel and each was completed in a different architectural style. The highlight for me was climbing the bell tower (on a very ancient staircase) where we had a fabulous view of Krakow.







Following our tour of the Wawel Castle, we visited Kazimierz, the Jewish Old Town in Krakow. It is a part of Krakow that has been revived in the past couple of years and, according to our hosts, the place to be for local nightlife, opposed to the tourist nightlife in the Krakow Main Market Square. We enjoyed walking the streets, visiting some synagogues and the Jewish Cemetary. However, one highlight of Kazimierz was eating the best Lody in Krakow.

Lody is Polish for ice cream and we have become expert Lody critiques during our two weeks in Poland. We have found some great ice creams shops and in order to become true experts, try to eat lody at least once a day. Anna informed us that her favorite lody was from a shop on the main square in Kazimierz, so we tried it and she was right, it was great!

Having a Ball at the 2230 District Conference - May 20, 2006

Saturday, May 20, we had the opportunity to participate in the District 2230 District Conference. It was both very similar to and very different from our experience at the District 7610 Conference in Fredericksburg. We were very fortunate to be able to meet participants from all of District 2230 including Belarus and Ukraine. Seth and I enjoyed using our Russian skills to speak with them.

On Saturday afternoon, we did our presentation in a large auditorium in a state-of-the-art conference center in the Krakow Old Town. We presented along with a GSE team from Germany who were just finishing up a two-week exchange. It was fun to speak with them and share experiences. The presentation went very well and everyone loved the hula, especially. Upon recommendation from the incoming team from Poland, we taught the hula to District Governor Jan, the Rotary International Council Director, Solve Kernell, and many others during our presentation. It was very fun! Mr. Kernell used the hula and leis as an example of extending friendship during a speech later at the conference.

On Saturday evening, we were guests of District Governor Jan and the District at their Rotary Gala. Live music and a lot of great food (and drinks) provided for a very entertaining evening. We had a great time mingling and visiting with Rotarians and I think we all found at least one person to speak with who shared some of our vocational interests. We enjoyed sitting at a table with some Rotarians from the Ukraine and discussing the changes taking place in their country now.

We were forewarned that their would be dancing into the middle of the night at the District Conference and there was. The live music was interrupted throughout the night for an auction and the presentation of awards, but the dancing floor was full from about 8:00 pm to about 1:30 am. It was very fun to watch and participate in some of the traditional Polish dances. I personally am amazed at how well everyone knows the traditional songs and dances, especially after they have had a few drinks.

It was an honor to participate in the District Conference in such a beautiful city. I think we were all surprised by how quickly we fell in love with Krakow. It is a beautiful city that never sleeps. As soon as I have some pictures ready to post, we will share them with everyone!

Moving on to Krakow - May 19th, 2006

I'm finally adding pictures to these past blog entries (6/5/06)!! Here are some highlights of our first day in Krakow!







Last Friday (hard to believe it was a week ago), we left Lodz for Krakow. The drive to Krakow was interesting for both groups, Ann and I went separately from Seth and Jerry. We rode down with Eva, our hostess in Lodz, and her friend. There was a lot of traffic. Ann slept and I watched a movie most of the time. It took us quite a while to find our way around when we got into the city, but we did, and as soon as we were out of the car, we were off!

The District 2230 Conference in Krakow began on Friday night with a social at a pub in the staroe miasto (old town). We walked around before it started and got soaked and by the time we were at the social, we were pretty tired. We had a great time visiting with the Rotarians from the District and were able to spend some time with the Governor, Jan Wrana, and the President's Representative, Sollve Kernell, and his wife from Sweden. We learned pretty early on that Krakow doesn't sleep, ever!!

In Krakow, we had great hosts. Seth stayed with the Governor and his family, Jerry was with the President of one of the Krakow Rotary Clubs, and Ann and I stayed with Anna, a friend of one of the Rotarians. We had a great time learning about the Clubs in Krakow. Earlier, Ann and I had spoken further about the strength of Polish women and how we thought that there should be a women-only club in Poland because the women get things done. In Krakow, there is a women's only club. It is the third club in Krakow and it was very interesting to meet the women who lead it. Especially interesting for me because one of them is an expert in the area of building accessibility for people with disabilities.

I have been blessed to have many spontaneous vocational visits, including speaking with that woman, Hanna. The District Governor's wife is even a special education teacher and she and I had a great time talking about our passion for helping people with disabilities have fulfilling lives.

Touring with Piotr - Monday, May 15

Today our day was planned by the fourth Lodz Rotary Club, the Culture Club and we were led by Piotr Korczynski of that club.

We began the day by visiting a special school for children with severe disabilities, the Specjalny Osrodek Szkolno-Wychowawyczy Nr. 3 Im. Henryka Jordana W Lodzi (www.soswnr3.prv.pl). The school houses 150 students and has about 60 teachers. The students receive a variety of instruction there including vocational instruction, indpendent living skills, and different therapies (speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and sensory therapy). It was very interesting (especially for me) to learn about special education in Poland. Each child in the school has an individualized educational program and receives individual attention. We were able to interact with a lot of students who were very pleasant and happy to be in school.

In addition to a school, the center also included a workshop for graduates of the school where they learn arts, woodworking and other trades and make items to sell to sponsor community and other activities for themselves. We were able to meet some of the students of that program as well and even purchased some of their art!







After the school, we went to visit a plant where they can energy drinks. The factory is owned by a friend of Piotr's and was interesting for us to see, even though most of us either knew before or found out that we weren't very interested in energy drinks. The factory cans drinks that are shipped all over the world and our tour guide provided us with samples, but I think that Piotr and Jerry were the only ones who sampled them. They'll have to let us know if they experienced the euphoria promised by one of the drinks! The woman who gave us our tour was very nice and showed us the different parts of the factory.

After the factory, we had an excellent lunch at Hola Amigo, Piotr's restaurant. The food and service were great. Following lunch, we visited the main Lodz fire station, where we learned about Lodz's great fire brigades. They have a fire brigade olympics here every year with fire brigades from many countries. Lodz always wins! It was interesting to see their facilities and equipment. Seth and I were even able to sit in one of the trucks.





We spent the rest of the afternoon touring with Piotr and then made our first Rotary Club Presentation in the Rotary Club of Lodz, the oldest and, according to them, best Rotary Club in Lodz. We had a nice dinner and made it through our presentation. We taught several of the Rotarians the hula during our presentation, which we and they enjoyed.