The abbey where St. Maria Faustyna had her vision of Jesus (who she later described to an artist, who then painted what we Ritchies like to call “Patriotic Jesus”--Jesus holding an orb of light that's streaming red, white and blue. It's awesome and a very coveted prayer card in our household).
An uber-modern church in Krakow, opened in 2002, just in time for Pope J.P. II to visit.
An old 10th-century church.
Another of Krakow's mounds--this one is, in fact, called Krakow Mound, named after Poland's cherished king Krak. We would have climbed up to the top, but it was much too muddy.
The main square of the Jewish Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland. This was not used in Schindler's List because of how modern it now looks. The chairs are a tribute to those killed there during WWII (the symbolism of said chairs remains, however, a mystery to me).
Creepy ad
Crumbling buildings within the old Jewish ghetto.
No, seriously.
Remains of the ghetto walls.
Schindler's factory! It is being renovated into a museum, because the location has grown so popular due to the success of the film (I know, in typical Polish fashion, it's taken them over a decade to begin to cash in on such a touristy spot, but heck, that's part of this country's charm--I've only seen two souvenir shops in the entire city).
Memorial at the sight of the Plazow concentration camp in Krakow.
The back of the memorial describes the atrocities that happened at this sight between 1943 and '45, when the concentration camp was in operation.
Berries on a bush near by--spring has yet to arrive here in Poland, even though there is little or no snow.
More of the green ring around the Medieval part of the city.
Cashing in on Valentine's Day, Heineken-style.
We went under Cloth Hall and saw the archaeological excavation--amazing! This is the entrance--it was a toilet, but now it leads to...
...this, which leads to...
...oh, these guys, but also...
this and...
this, and...
this.
It. Was. Awesome. This is of the old medieval walls that made up several rows of shops stalls.
Medieval steps leading up from the market stalls.
Well-preserved shop stalls from the Middle Ages.
Archaeological tools, durh.
So awesome.
Whoa! Who's that?!
This is Beata. She's the program director here at Lexia, and aslo the arts director up at Wawel Castle (she's going to take us through all of the excavations going on at the castle, too!). She's an archaeologist and a sweetheart. She's also adorably Polish.
...And that was it. This is how we got out: another toilet entrance. It was a completely surreal (and AWESOME) experience, and made me crave to work on an archaeological dig like nobody's business. Summer 2009--Greece, here I come!
A Valentine's Day dinner. . . . Love from Poland!
