Pavel Černošek, Smartours guide extraordinaire, tells us about Warsaw's Old Town
Pavel answers a question in front of the old wall of the city in Warsaw
Nicolai Copernicus, who put the sun at the center of our universe well before Galileo, is a Polish favorite son.
Spires of the main Warsaw cathedral
Chopin left his heart in Warsaw (not San Francisco) at this church, where it's still preserved.
A copy of a Canaletto painting (of it) graces this typical Warsaw street.
You don't expect to see these anywhere - any more - but this guy represented the antithesis of the bike race going on behind him.
Colorful decorations on facades abound in Warsaw's old town.
You may recognize one of the shoppers here - usually on the lookout for more pashminas.
This very old Warsaw clock has an astrological theme, plus animation on the hour.
This memorial to another of Poland's favorite sons, Frederic Chopin, is surrounded by a lovely rose garden.
Other local attractions abound. But this one's roots are Austrian, as I recall, rather than Polish.
Here's another colorful view of Warsaw's Old Town market area.
Most of the transportation is a little more up-to-date in Poland's capital.
Warsaw's Old Town market area is truly colorful - even on a chilly, cloudy day.
This is a little more of the old town wall, Warsaw.
This monoment memorializes Warsaw's Resistance fighters - who held the Nazis off for awhile.
In the old Jewish ghetto stands this monument to its resistance and to its population which was annihilated in WWII.
A close-up of the front of the Ghetto Memorial
This is another Ghetto Memorial - modelled after sewer covers, under which resisting Poles hid from the Nazis.
Here is the reverse side of the Ghetto Memorial. Yes, that's a chilled Wendy in green.
This erection is Stalin's - a remainder from Cold War days - and Poles today have an even more vulgar word for it.
Behind this altar is Warsaw's famous Black Madonna icon.
Organ at Warsaw's Black Madonna chapel.
Over the entrance to Auschwitz (near Krakow) was the ironic slogan, “Freedom thru Work.”
These are just a few of the shoes of victims warehoused for re-use (along with hair, eyeglasses, &c.) by the Nazis and found when the camp was liberated in 1945. There's a memorial using this shoe theme on the Danube in Budapest.
This is one of the grisly Auschwitz ovens in which gassed Jews, homosexuals and political dissdents were incinerated by the Nazis.
Inner court of the ??? monastery, Krakow
Part of the Old Town square in Krakow, Poland
The huge, ancient Wielczka Salt Mines, near Krakow, are filled with (mostly pious) sculptures of natural rock salt. (Photo by H S Tsang)
Some of the higher passagesways once used by miners now give tourists access to the mines, once lowered several stories by elevator. (Photo by H S Tsang)
Bob & Wendy Swain in the Wielczka Salt Mines (Photo by H S Tsang)
This wall stands at the start of Krakow's Jewish Ghetto.
One night in Krakow's old Jewish quarter we enjoyed a concert by the Gallician Kletzmer Trio. (Photo by H S Tsang)
The Kletzmer bassist
The Kletzmer accordianist
The Kletzmer clarinetist was fantastic - and could hold her own and more in any jazz ensemble.
Street scene in the Ghetto
Krakow cathedral
Walls of the old fortress once surrounding Krakow, Poland's capital for centuries
Clock tower in Old Krakow
Inside the Krakow _???
Part of the defenses for Poland's old capital, Krakow.
The Swains lunching at a lovely little Krakow cafe they stumbled onto
Statuary in Budapest's Heroes Square
Budapest's Museum of Fine Arts is in Heroes Square
Budapest's Basilica - exterior
Budapest's Basilica - interior
Budapest's Basilica - interior dome
Budapest's Basilica - interior is full of staues of saints, such as this of St. Ladislaus, a Hungarian king
Budapest's Basilica - main altar
Among Budapest's many souvenir & novelty shops we found one selling fine masks from Venice.
So-called Fishermsn's Bastion was never a walled fortress. Built in 1905, it is a prime viewing spot from Buda's highlands overlooking (lower) Pest on the other bank of the Danube.
The Matyas Church in Buda was undergoing renovations, but this brass model outside - with braille labels for the blind - offers a pretty good exterior view.
St Stephen, here, is Budapest's patron saint.
This 21st-century falconer was displaying his masked bird for tourists near Matyas Church.
This is proof that we had a few sunny days - well, hours - on our tour. Wendy is here overlooking Budapest.
Wendy is here with somewhat-look-alike Wilma from the tour.
View from Fisherman's Bastion. That's the Hungarian Parliament (dome) in the distance, in Pest.
Fisherman's Bastion again
Another view from Fisherman's Bastion - this time with 19th century Margit Hid (Margaret Bridge) in the distance, upstream
Doheny Street Synagogue in Budapest is notable for its Moorish style, but it has always been Ashkenazic, not Sefardic.
Atop Doheny St Synagogue is a stone replica of Moses' tablets.
An exterior window of Doheny St Synagogue
Rose window (with Star of David motif) at entrance of Doheny St Synagogue
Interior of Doheny St Synagogue with white-globe chandelliers
Looking toward the ark at Doheny St Synagogue
Holocaust Memorial in garden outside Doheny St Synagogue
Unique Holocaust Memorial in garden outside Doheny St Synagogue. Stainless “leaves” each bear the name of a Hungarian Jewish victim.
Budapest Opera House
Required to be smaller than Vienna's, Hungarians built their Opera House to be twice as beautiful, with gilt galore.
Beside a bust of Liszt (?) at the Opera House, an admirer
Another one of the glittering side rooms at the Opera House in Budapest
Another one of the glittering ceilings at the Opera House in Budapest
Yet another ceiling, under the dome
The Royal Box at the Opera House in Budapest
Budapest's Chain Bridge (LancHid) has a 1,250-ft span between its towers - extraordinary in 1849. (Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883 & is almost 6000 ft long.)
Budapest's Chain Bridge & Royal Palace
Shoe Memorial to Holocaust victims along Pest shore of the Danube (near Parliament) - shoes are metal replicas.
Shoe Memorial
Party boats & floating restaurants on the Danube, near Chain Bridge
Yolanda, Wendy & Esther on the river side of Parliament
Hungary's Parliament from the Danube
Hungarian Parliament building on eastern (Pest) bank of the Danube in Budapest
A street in the quaint Hungarian town of Szentendre
Parliament - all made out of marzipan candy! - at the Marzipan Museum in Szantendre
This scene from Disney's version of Pinocchio - all made out of marzipan candy - is one of many sweet sculptures at the Marzipan Museum in Szantendre.
Marzipan gourmand on the loose in Szentendre
Bob & Wendy Swain in Szentendre, Hungary
Slavic Orthodox altar in Szentendre
Szentendre home
Szentendre street
Szentendre shop for pelts & pocketbooks; note the heads on the boar hides.
This Szentendre shopper seems disgruntled by the price of pashminas here.
Tea room in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Stairwell & halls in the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
Aong treasures of the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, is this Tiepolo - ”St James the Great Conquering the Moors“
The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest, owns the largest & finest collection of Spanish paintings outside the Prado in Madrid. This is El Greco's “St James the Lesser.”
This was a lovely tea room we found in downtown Budapest. Incongruously, just outside . . .
. . . there was this street demonstration going on - laborers whom locals we talked with feared might collide with Gypsies demonstrating only blocks away.
Budapest's classic old train station
Pouring wine (into a small glass) at our Hungarian hootenanny
Dancing at the Hungarian hootenanny
Dancing at the Hungarian hootenanny - a traditional Gypsy-style performance (with, it seems, no Gypsies)
Dancing at the Hungarian hootenanny - a traditional Gypsy-style event
The quartet at the Hungarian hootenanny featured Gypsy-style music & a hammer-dulcimer-like instrument plus fiddles.
They even had a rhythm section sporting “spoons”!
Principal fiddler at the Hungarian hootenanny - a traditional Gypsy-style performance
Wendy offers a toast at the hootenanny
Vienna's Kunsthistoriche Museum, which houses a fine collection of old masters
Inside the Kunsthistoriche in Vienna, Austria
Among the fine paintings at the Kunsthistoriche in Vienna is this Vermeer, ”The Art of Painting.“
The Vienna Museum also features an impressive collection of Bruegels.
Goethe was born German, but this fine statue of him in Vienna presumably exists because of his contributions to German & world literature (e.g., “Faust”).
Hofburg Imperial Palace (of the Hapsburgs) in Vienna - home to the Lipizzaner stallions, Vienna Boys Choir, Austria's presidential office, &c.
One tower of Stephansdom ("Stephen's Cathedral")
Nave of the Stephansdom ("Stephen's Cathedral") built in 1147
Memorial to the victims of the Black (bubonic) Plague in the mid-14th century, which killed close to half the population of Europe. Similar monuments are found all over Europe.
The Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna - their “summer palace”
Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna; statue at top is Austrian Emperor Franz I as a Roman Emeror
Royal crest of the Hapsburgs
Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna - interior court
Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna - Imperial Chapel
Heilgenkreuxz Abbey in Austria's Wienerwald (Vienna Woods)
Heilgenkreuxz Abbey
Bob Sain at Heilgenkreuxz Abbey - by another Plague Memorial
Wilma & Wendy at the Heilgenkreuxz Abbey Plague Memorial
Street in Baden, Austria (home of Sigmund Freud)
Schoenbrunn Palace courtyard, Vienna]
Hall of mirrors at the Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna - meant to rival Versailles
Gardens at Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna
Bob & Wendy Swain at the Gardens of Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna
Central sculpture in the fountain of Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna
There's a nice marionette theatre & museum near the Schoenbrunn Palace, Vienna
Street scene in Duernstein, Austria
Scene from hiking trail above the Danube at Duernstein, Austria
Wendy in Duernstein, Austria
Overlooking the Danube in Duernstein, Austria
Bob Swain by a wall of the “damned rocks” that gave Duernstein its name
Scene in Telc, Austria
Intaglio historical scene in Telc, Austria
Scene in Telc, Austria; the facades are fake, as in Amsterdam, &c.
Monastery in Telc, Austria
Changing of the guard at the Royal Castle (Prazsky hrad) in Prague
Window designed by the great Czech artist (& Art Nouveau creator) Alphonse Mucha in the Prague Cathedral
Stone latticework in Prague's St Vitus Cathedral
Elaborate ornamentation in Prague Cathedral
St Vitus Cathedral, Prague
Pavel explaining about St Vitus Cathedral, Prague
Elaborate facade ornamentation at entrance to St Vitus, Prague's principal Cathedral
Facade of the St Vitus Cathedral in the Prague Palace
Flying buttresses & street scene at rear of Prague Cathedral
Flying buttresses supporting towers of St Vitus Cathedral, Prague
Nave of Castle Cathedral, Prague
View from Prague's Castle
The Charles Bridge (Karluv Most) over the Moldau (Vltava) River in Prague
The Church of Our Lady Before Tyn in Prague's Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti)
Prague's medieval Astronomical Clock shows positions of the sun & moon, &c, the astronomical months, & an animated “walk of the apostles” on each hour.
Looking into the old square from the Powder Tower entrance
Some of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha's Sarah Bernhardt posters which brought him fame & helped launch the Art Noubeau movement
More in Prague's Mucha Museum
Church of Our Lady Before Tyn in Prague's Old Town Square (Staromestske Namesti)
Statue of Jan Hus, 15th century pre-Reformation heretic, who championed placing the sacred into common, not just priestly, hands. Kinsky Palace is behind.
Formerly (pre WWII) homes of wealthy Jews in Prague's ghetto - named Josefov for King Joseph I, who treated them well.
Clock tower of the Jewish Town Hall (once a synagogue) with its Hebrew-character clock
Atop the clock tower of Jewish Town Hall is a star of David & the “yellow hat” all Jewish men had to wear in medieval Prague
“Old-New Synagogue,” Prague - founded in 1275; the next “New Synagogue” didn't come till 16th century.
Graveyard in Josefov Ghetto, Prague
Wendy with Prague's most celebrated Jew, Franz Kafka - who never wanted to have his work published
Stairs descending from the Palace to St Nicholas Church, Prague
St Nicholas Church (Kostel sv Mikulase) - a magnificent baroque cathedral
Nave & altar of St Nicholas Church (Kostel sv Mikulase)
St Nicholas Church - one of several baroque side chapels
Main altar at St Nicholas Church in Prague
Dome interior at St Nicholas Church, Prague
View from the Powder Tower in Prague's Old Town Square (more views in Czech album)
Prague Street near Charles Bridge
Prague, near the Charles Bridge
Bob & Wendy Swain in Prague, near the Charles Bridge
The “John Lennon” wall. It was covered in graffiti by Czech students upon the famous Beatle's death. Soviets whitewashed the wall. The graffiti reappeared & reappeared till they finally just left it alone -- long before the Berlin Wall was torn down.
A canal & old water wheel, Prague, near the Charles Bridge
A Prague view from the Charles Bridge
Prague - near Charles Bridge
Church near Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge tower
Prague street
Colorful pendants in a Prague jewelry store
??? church, Prague
King Wenceslaus statue, Wenceslaus Square, Prague
Old building remade into our hotel in Helsinki, Finland
Front row: Sylvia Belzer, Bess Alderman, Janie Capito, Jean Combs, Judy Cardell, Pavel Černošek (tour guide), Mary Ann Chevalier, Mary Ann Dreiling, Edna Sehmel, Elisa Wong, Betty Hao; Mid row: Wendy Swain, Bob Swain, Nellie Lee Tan, Heide Lee, Diane Bolender, Luisa Ang, Yolanda Murdock, Gale Whyte, Wilma Nourie, Arlene Corey, Mary Tsang, Jorge Torres, ? Torres, Esther Pilch, Alfonso Wong, HungShing Tsang, William Ang; Back row: Tom Whyte, ? (local guide), Bruce Nourie, Lamont Combs, Stanley Cua, Crispin Hao, Barry Corey, Bob Pierce, George Sehmel, Mike Kurtz, Judy Uman, Conception Lee , George Lee
Boleslaw Prus, Warsaw (nee Aleksander Głowacki; leading figure in Polish literature of the late 19th century)
