Kocham Krakow

A local character

I really enjoyed my time in Warsaw but I absolutely loved Krakow.  Whereas Warsaw had a more modern, edgy feel Krakow immediately made me think of all of the stereotypes about "old Europe".  (And this isn't a bad thing; in fact, I loved it).  We were still in Poland, just 300 kilometers from Warsaw but just about everything felt different in Krakow.  In Warsaw we stayed in a uber modern high rise hotel; our hotel in Krakow was quirky old, had thick walls, tall windows, and little heat and oozed a charm that immediately made me feel at home.

Krakow's Old Town is ringed by green space with grassy areas and old trees sharing space with pedestrians.  The crisp autumn air made it especially inviting to walk around the oldest part of the city.  And the Old Town itself is centered around the impressive main market square was truly old whereas Warsaw's, having been decimated during World War II, was painstakingly rebuilt. Flower vendors, horse drawn carriages, and musicians shared the square with the hundreds of pigeons and the hoards of tourists that I have come to expect when visiting European cities.  Restaurants and cafes filled the perimeter of the square with their outdoor tables, complete with heaters and blankets to ward off the fall chill, inviting people to stop and sit.  And we did, on numerous occasions, enjoying traditional Polish foods and warming beverages as we people watched.  People watching and absorbing the atmosphere is always my favorite part of any vacation and Krakow proved to be no exception.  There was just so much to see here that it made it difficult to leave the heart of Old Town but when we did, we were further rewarded for our efforts.

The main square at night

And a bird's eye view 

Off of the main square but still in the Old Town, we explored the narrow cobblestone roads that twisted their way between stately stone buildings that housed shops, hotels, restaurants, and residences.  (Old cities like this are organically "mixed use").  A winding alley might empty us into a vast square anchored by a stately church or one filled with fountains, pop up vendors and more pigeons.  Narrow doorways often lead into hidden courtyards that proved to be my favorite parts of the city since you never knew what you would find around the corner.  Here there might be small museums and historic sites or shops and restaurants that most tourists likely never see.  At the far edge of the Old Town was the Wawel Castle, an impressive fortress like compound sitting high on the hill above the city.  Getting our exercise, we climbed our way up the steep wooden stairs in the belfry of the cathedral where we were able to look down upon the numerous bells.  Unlike other parts of Europe where great structures are made out of marble and stone, massive wood timbers serve as the backbones of so many of Poland's old buildings.

The grounds of the Wawel Castle

And then there were all of the other things that makes Krakow so special.  From the street musicians, traditional crafts, and of course the food, I loved it all.  Our best discovery by far was a street festival filled with traditional foods and crafts.  The pierogi, kapusta and kielbasa we ate washed down with Zywiec beer reminded me of my grandmother's cooking.  Add in the polka music that caused feet to automatically start tapping and it felt as though we were in the midst of a Polish version of Oktober-fest.  Although this was my first trip to Poland so many of the sounds and smells were flashbacks to my childhood.  I felt like I was home.

Local pottery- famous the world over

The Art of Wycinanki

Wycinanki is the art of Polish paper cutting.  Dating back to the  mid 1800s, this form of folk art is thought to have originated with shepherds who cut ornate designs out of pieces of bark.  Over time the art evolved into a craft performed mostly by women who used paper to create decorative arts for their homes and churches. Designs vary by region and often reflect natural themes.  These designs can be simple or ornate and often include animals, birds, and flowers, all ordinary sights in every day life.  This artwork has transformed from folk lore into something trendy with Wycinanki inspired designs showing up on handbags, wall hangings, and fashion runways around the world.  Today this folk art is thoroughly modern.  Fancy and colorful papers are just as apt to be used are the basic black or white sheets of years gone by and while shepherds used sheep sheers to cut their designs, modern artists use small pairs of scissors.  Some things definitely have changed but the ideas remain the same.

I was lucky enough to be able to participate in a paper cutting workshop while in Warsaw. The workshop was facilitated by Susan Throckmorton, a Mount Holyoke alumnae and Warsaw resident who is a member of the American Guild of Paper Cutters.  Susan's work (examples are shown above and below) is truly impressive.  From black and white designs to multicolored birds and medallions, the intricate details are incredible.  It amazes me that with a few (or several) snips of the scissors, amazing artwork appears.

Demonstration of a finished
black & white design

Our group was shown examples of the finished product and provided with pointers on how to begin before actually beginning.  The concept may appear to be simple enough but such details as the way the scissors are pointing--always towards you-- and the importance of moving the paper rather than the scissors themselves, makes all the difference in the finished product.  We were encouraged to sketch out our designs before we took scissors to paper and most importantly, since the designs are symmetrical, make sure we cut on the right side of our folded paper.

Birds- a common theme

We were tasked with making a simple tree that we could elaborate upon to make as fancy or as simple as we chose.  Susan's were tiny with minute details but ours were larger in scale making the process significantly "easier".  (Or so we were told).  Regardless of how fancy we were going to go, we all started with a basic "stem" feature with birds, a traditional Polish symbol, accenting the base. From there the possibilities were endless.  We could go ornate with lots of intricate details or we could go simple.  As a student I struggled with geometry, symmetry, and have always struggled to visualize how things look so this project proved to be a challenge. While others in my class happily went about drawing and cutting, for the life of me I just couldn't visualize what each pencil marking and snip of the scissors would produce.  I was already impressed by Susan's skills but my attempt at my own piece of paper art only strengthened my admiration.  Paper cutting is hard work!

A collection of smaller designs

A black and white forest scene

Now I have never been what I consider to be artistic, but I entered this workshop with the naive idea that I could produce something impressive.  Perhaps it was the "type A" in me but I thought this was possible.  But this is what I ended up with:

And my first attempt; it is basic but
symmetrical so I can't complain

It wasn't nearly as pretty as I had envisioned but I didn't cut through the stem the way some other people did and my birds, those tricky symbols that either make or break the finished product, while not ornate, were symmetrical.  It wasn't good but it wasn't bad.  True to form, however, I'm thinking about how I can improve on this with my next project.  I've even bought the correct paper and scissors to make it happen.  Stay tuned!

Sofia Underground

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Like our stop in Bucharest, Sofia was a very pleasant surprise.  Sofia has been in the news lately because of their ongoing protests against public corruption.  We witnessed several of these daily protests ourselves and while there was always a strong police presence surrounding them, overall they felt very civil.  One of the larger protests we witnessed, complete with flags, drums, and families pushing baby strollers, could have easily been mistaken for a parade.  These protests were nothing like the more riotous ones that have been the hallmark of public angst throughout the rest of Europe.

Snack time in the (underground)
Ancient Complex Serdika

Sofia has kilometer after kilometer of cobblestone streets, old trams and streetcars operating in conjunction with a modern underground metro system, and architecture that rivals that of other European cities.  There were pedestrian zoned areas lined with upscale stores, large fountain filled parks, and this being a former Communist controlled city, the ubiquitous statues.  And yet, Sofia is definitely international; we heard and saw people from around the world and ate some of our best meals of our trip, including a spicy Indian dinner and a night of sushi, here.  Sofia felt simultaneously old yet modern and with its combination of old blending with new, the word I would use to describe this compact capitol city is spunky.  Her people, her politics, and her history all speak to this.  And while there was some magnificent architecture to be seen throughout Sofia, the biggest surprise for me, and my favorite part of the city, was what laid underground.

I had heard about Sofia's notorious "squat shops", basement level shops where patrons bent down and made their snack and drink purchases from the vendor whose head appeared to be poking up out of the sidewalk, so when I saw them, I laughed but I wasn't surprised.  The underground metro stations we visited were clean and modern to a level I haven't seen in awhile but again, while they were nice, these weren't the surprise. What did surprise me was the underground archaeological sites that served as both passageways under the city and historic landmarks.  The Ancient Complex Serdika was one such site.  From the street level, sandwiched between government buildings, a metro station, and a highway, it was so unassuming.  We stumbled upon it when we thought we were entering an underground passage that would allow us to cross a major traffic artery without having to play Frogger.  It was this, complete with a smattering of kiosks selling knick-knacks, cigarettes, and bottled water.  But upon closer examination the area was also ancient ruins on top of which modern Sofia was built.  Intermingled with the modern conveniences mentioned above were the ruins of partial walls, pottery shards, and even a Roman amphitheater.  Who knew all of this was hidden under the city?  (Actually, no one really did until 2004 when construction workers stumbled upon the ruins).  This was just such a neat surprise.

Looking up into church apse from below

But for me, the most impressive underground site, however, was the archaeological museum housed under the Basilica of Santa Sophia.  This namesake church dates back to the 5th Century AD.  From the outside it didn't appear to be nearly as impressive as the neighboring Alexander Nevesky Cathedral or even the other churches and mosques we visited throughout the city.  The inside of the Basilica had the dark wood, stern soot covered murals, and intense smell of incense that I have come to associate with churches from the Byzantine Era.  The church was still active, with the pious outnumbering the tourists.  We thought the Basilica itself was the highlight of the church but we were wrong; when we noticed people disappearing through a staircase in the floor, we decided to follow suit and we surprised by what we found.  Hidden under the church was a complete archeological museum that had been excavated from the city ruins.  In the cool, dimly lit underground we wandered through narrow passageways as we explored one room after another.  Walking into a new room was like exploring a maze since we never knew when we would reach a dead end and have to turn around or when we would be able to continue on our way.  Some rooms were simply a combination of brick and stone ruins; others held tombs, mosaics, and crypts.  Some walls were plain stone while others were ornately painted.  From the street, I never would have guessed that all of this under here.  And this was the type of surprise I loved about Sofia. On a hot summer day, finding underground treasures was just what these weary travelers needed.

An underground chamber

Wall painting

Pieces of a floor mosaic 

Another above ground treasure- the immaculate Russian
Orthodox Church- the interior was under construction
during our visit

A Warsaw Pact Reunion

Each month the Tirana Military Attache Association, the odd conglomerate of military attaches posted to Albania, gathers together for a social event.  The intent of these gatherings is to provide an opportunity for military attaches and their spouses to get together in a social setting.  Throughout the course of the month the men (yes, all of the attaches here are men and in this machismo driven environment, I can't imagine it being any other way) work together and the wives will have a group coffee or two, but this is the single event that brings us all together under one roof.

Collectively we are an odd group comprised of mostly former Warsaw Pact countries with a smattering of others (Italy, China, Turkey, and the United States) thrown in for diversity.  Perhaps it is the state of the current world economy or because of Albania's less than significant role in world affairs but there are only eight attaches in residence here in Tirana.  Our already low numbers were further reduced this past year by the financial crisis in Hungary causing the Hungarian attache to close up his office and move home.  We may be a small group but by the end of each evening we are a lively one.

Each month a different country hosts the social event but for the most part these events essentially follow the same formula.  We meet in a local restaurant for a cocktail hour that has the men standing in one group and the women in another sipping sparkling wine or the host country's local fire water (which for some reason always seems to be a version of raki).  We mingle in our respective groups until we gather around a table large enough to accommodate thirty to forty people.  The hosts sit in the center and the rest of us gather around arranging ourselves near the people we enjoy spending time with the most.  (I can attest to the fact that if you sit next to someone who does not share the same languages, these evening are very long affairs).  Because there are never tables that can accommodate this many people, the restaurants cobble together enough smaller tables to form one long one.  For some reason, each month I always find myself straddling two table legs but if I am lucky the two abutting tables are the same height.  And then the eating and toasting begins.  Platter after platter of food arrives at the table and just when you think you can't eat any more, the entrees arrive.  The eating is only punctuated by numerous toasts and cheers lead by just about every man present.  Since the people of many of the countries represented in our group suffered greatly during Communist times, and experienced food shortages, I always wonder if the copious amounts of food are symbolic of the fact that the host countries now have plenty of food.  (With the exception of the United States, the only country that doesn't always over feed us is Italy).

The latest trend over the past year has been the inclusion of live music and dancing during dinner.  Sometimes we just watch the dancers; one particularly strange dinner included a combination of "American" country western dancers that moved more like strippers, traditional Albanian folk dancers, and a very bad belly dancer (no, this event was not hosted by Americans, Turks, or Albanians).  Other times we are active participants in the dancing. Have you ever tried to learn a lively Turkish circle dance with a belly full of too much grilled meat?  Some of the singers have been better than others but inevitably they are flashily dressed Albanian women whose repertoire includes American pop music from the 1980s (think Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson) and Russian folk songs.  The evening inevitably starts with the American songs being crooned quietly but quickly escalates as both the guests and the performers consume glass after glass of raki.  By the time dessert arrives not only are we over filled with food but the music is at a deafening level that all but prohibits normal conversation.   By this point American or even western music has been thrown by the wayside in favor of nothing by traditional Eastern European songs that have everyone clapping their hands and stomping their feet.  As one friend wryly commented to me, these events are a Warsaw Pact reunion.  The noise level only continues to rise until the event abruptly ends upon our departure.  For some strange reason, everyone follows the lead of the Americans so when we leave the party ends.

Glenn and I are slated to host the social event in April.  As was the case last year, the event will continue long after its designated end time since if we don't leave (and as hosts we can't) no one is really sure when to go.  Our plans for the evening are still developing but we're thinking that karaoke might be in order.  After all what is more American in format while allowing each represented country to sing to their true colors?  Of course, if we follow this route as the hosts we would be required to kick off the singing with an American classic and that might result in an ugly international incident.