10 Thoughts about Poland

10. Poland was torn apart by WW2.  The first fighting of the war took place in Poland, as Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 to start WW2.  The rest of the war, they were controlled by either Germany or the Soviet Union.  Almost all of the current cities have been completely rebuilt because German bombs decimated the country during the war.  After the war, the Soviets occupied Poland for the next many years, so Poland is a relatively new independent country. 

9. Polish people have 2 celebrations for themselves per year.  People celebrate their birthday and a “name day,” on the day that is designated for your specific name.  Polish people have to choose a name for their baby off a list (of about 365 names) and then if January 1 is the day of St. Katherine, and your baby’s name is Katherine, then the parents would celebrate both the child’s birthday (on the actual day of birth) and the child’s name day, on January 1.  I got to see a “name day” celebration, and it looked very similar to an American birthday party: food, games, presents, and hanging out with friends and family. 

8.  Krakow is known as the tourist capital of the country, while Warsaw is the political and business capital of the country.  People from Krakow asked me why I was going o Warsaw, because there was “nothing to see there,” but I quite enjoyed the many museums and monuments in Warsaw too. 

7. Each museum in Warsaw has one day of the week that is free entry, so I took advantage and saved $15 to enter the National Museum of Poland.  It was actually quite a sad to see though: the National Museum had so very few artifacts from Polish history of artists, because much of their important artifacts were burned or stolen by the Germans during WW2.  Most of the museum was filled with German, Italian, or English artifacts. 

6. Polish food is quite delicious- my favorite thing I had were pierogies, little dumplings filled with spinach, feta cheese and sausage, then eaten with sour cream.  They were delicious; I was sad I only tried them on my last day!  Pierogies are also popular in Pittsburgh, PA, so I wonder if there is or was a large Polish population in Pittsburgh.

5. Polish people are incredibly friendly towards tourists!  More in Krakow than in Warsaw, but I had so many conversations with friendly Polish people about their culture and their way of life.  It definitely made the trip more enjoyable to feel I connected with a few people while I was there. 

4.  Polish Jews are so incredibly proud of their heritage, regardless of the troubles they have had.  In Krakow, they had the annual Jewish Celebration Festival, complete with food, dance, music, workshops, and reading of the Torah, and although I didn’t have time to attend many of the activities, I went to their evening concert one night.  At the concert, the people were so filled with joy, dancing and singing and inviting anyone who wasn’t Jewish to participate in the celebration as well.  An old Jewish man even kissed me as I walked into the front of the park.  The band also translated a few of the lyrics (they were all in Hebrew), and the line that stuck out to me the most was “How can be stop dancing when You are watching over us?”  This attitude of thankfulness and joy in worship was a really special thing to see, and I wish more Christian churches had this same attitude of joyful worship every service.

3. I was surprised that very little was still intact from either the Warsaw or Krakow Ghettos.  Warsaw has one 20m stretch of the wall still that still stands with a small plaque, while Krakow only has a wall without the plaque.  I wonder if they wanted to forget about this terrible part of their history, or if in rebuilding their cities, they didn’t find that to be an important part. 

2. Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp is an incredibly touching place.  It is representative of one of the worst periods in world history, and seeing how these people treated others caused me to think of love.  Love is the absence of hate, so even if I can’t do too much, I can love the people I interact with and make sure I don’t contribute to a lack of love like I saw there.  If you get a chance to visit, you absolutely should: photos or textbooks don’t begin to share the emotion you feel when you actually step into their barracks and walk through the gas chambers where 1 million people were killed.  It was surely not an easy visit, but one I believe every human on earth should experience.

1. While touring Krakow, I saw some of the most beautiful places of worship I have ever seen.  They were all decorated in such elaborate gold, with statues and candles and so much beauty in one place.  These cathedrals were located almost one per block, with one street holding 4 or 5 or up to 8 cathedrals on that street alone.   Throughout my whole trip, I have been amazed at the buildings that people build to honor God- I only hope the original builders and all the people who visit the building have hearts that are as beautiful, pure and wanting to honor God as well.  

Luke Forshey
July 15, 2017