Holy Thursday, With a Dose of Folklore

At breakfast and on the bus as we left this morning, there was a lot of talk amongst our group about how much we had all enjoyed Wrocław.  Much of the discussion had to do with our being surprised and lack of prior knowledge about the city.  I never visited here back in the 1990's, nor do I recall anyone even talking about it as a destination.  Our local guide the day before had spoken in detail about the boom in building and business growth over the past 10-15 years, fueled by EU membership and a burgeoning IT industry in Wrocław.  He said that when he was growing up, much of the inner city -- aside from the restored market square -- was still in ruins.  He said it seemed like an entirely new city.  I later read that Wrocław was voted one of the top-10 "most livable" mid-sized cities in the world.

I Got Us Some Polish Donuts -- Paczki -- To Sample

On the drive out of the city, we learned about everyone's gnome-hunting successes the prior day.  While I didn't win the contest to spot the most, it was fun nonetheless to hear stories and see pictures people had taken of some of the more unique statues around the city.  It was another sunny and warm day.  In fact, aside from thunderstorms overnight when we first arrived and a brief shower at Wilanów Palace in Warsaw, we had sunny and very warm weather until the morning of our departure home.  Joanna had prepared us that this day was going to be the warmest so far on our trip, so we dressed accordingly.  As we were stopping at the holy shrine of Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa along the way, however, we had to dress modestly and avoid showing a lot of skin.  

The monastery in Częstochowa is the holiest site in all of Poland, dedicated to Mary, and famous for the so-called "Black Madonna" icon, to which miraculous powers have been attributed for centuries.  The monastery was founded in 1382 by Pauline monks who came from Hungary.  It has been a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years, and the Black Madonna of Częstochowa is widely venerated and credited with many miracles, including saving the monastery during a 17th-century Swedish invasion.  Jasna Góra is also famous for so-called walking pilgrimages.  Since the Middle Ages, thousands pilgrims visit, averaging up to 5 million per year.  Most of the pilgrims arrive on foot, with many completing their journey on their knees.  I visited here several times when I lived in Warsaw, and I have distinct memories of walking up the dedicated pilgram stairs, walking around worshippers slowly making their way up to the hilltop on their knees.  As elsewhere in Europe, money from the EU has been used to greatly improve the facilities at Jasna Góra, so non-pilgrims and pilgrims each have their own entry points and the infrastructure is now top notch.  

Statue to the Parents of Pope John Paul II

Non-Pilgrim Entrance to Jasna Góra Monastery

We Were Visiting on Ukrainian National Day, With a Special Mass Planned

We had a tour of the entire complex from one of the Pauline monks who lives on site.  There were hundres of visitors and pilgrims, but we were able to visit unhindered nonetheless.  The Black Madonna herself is normally unveiled twice a day, with a break midday, when she is covered back up.  As Mary is known as the Queen of Poland, it is said these midday breaks are for her to complete official state duties.  For reasons I still do not understand, on the day we visited, the icon remained uncovered all day, so we were able to visit at a time when she normally wouldn't have been visible.  As they do every hour, of every day, there was a mass underway when we entered the chapel, but the layout was such that we could visit, walk behind the altar, and back out.  This is now such a normal site that no one looked twice as tourists shuffled through an active mass.

In addition to the Black Madonna, Jasna Góra has an excellent museum and treasury, displaying priceless treasures and relics from across the centuries.  Lots of memorabilia relates, unsurprisingly, to Pope John Paul II, who visited the shrine countless times, before and after he became Pope.  I believe I wrote earlier, too, how John Paul had asked that statues not be erected to his memory, and how the Poles have chosen to completely ignore this, as his image and visage are literally everywhere across Poland.  Well, at Jasna Góra they went one step further and even erected a statue depicting John Paul's parents.

Entering the Side Chapel Which Houses the Black Madonna

Waiting in Line To File Behind the Black Madonna

Rosaries Left Over the Years

Crutches Left by Supposedly Healed Visitors

Our Guide, a Pauline Monk Who Has Lived in Jasna Góra Monastery for 50 Years

Memorial to the Smolensk Air Tragedy

The Pilgrims Approach to Jasna Góra.  Many Complete the Walk on Their Knees

Anna Outside the Relics Crypt, Which Was Closed

On the drive to and from Częstochowa, we heard how Poland remains the most religious country in Europe, with upwards of 90 percent of the population considering themselves practicing Roman Catholics.  You have another 5 percent or so of Lutherans, and a smattering of Jews and atheists.  Church attendance -- at least one mass per week -- was estimated at almost 70 percent of the population pre-Covid, but that has since dropped to around 50%.  Evidently virtual attendance via the Internet has become quite popular.  It was pointed out, too, how we were less than 200 miles from the Czech Republic, which is considered Europe's country with the fewest religious believers, where approximately 50% of the population identify as atheist.

Back on the bus, we had about 100 miles to cover to reach Kraków, where we would spend the next three nights.  The highway was wide and new, but the volume of truck traffic was extreme.  We saw so much commerce underway, and we learned that it has only gotten more extreme, with all the trade to and from Ukraine, on top of regular inter-EU activity.  With that traffic comes accidents, and our driver had to take a couple of detours, meaning that our afternoon trip took much longer than anticipated. We arrived in Kraków about an hour later than planned, but our hotel had a great location, immediately outside the walled city center, next to the central train station.  Katherine had visited Kraków with a friend back in 2002, when we lived in Vienna.  They took the train up for the weekend, and would have arrived at the station and stayed somewhere nearby.  That said, as with my experience in Warsaw, K said nothing really looked familiar.  The original train station, which had been black with industrial soot, was now bright yellow.  In fact, it was now a cultural center, as a massive new glass-encased train station was built next door, attached to a high-end mall, as nice if not nicer than Tysons Galleria.  Our hotel sat across a plaza from both of these structures, and the entire area looked completely different.  Several historic communist-era hotels, which had been the best in town back in the day, sat across the street, in various stages of rehabilitation.  K believes she may have stayed in one of those hotels, but couldn't remember.  Also next to our hotel was a Starbucks Coffee, housed in a historic manor home.  We had seen a few Starbucks during the tour, but they were not omnipresent by any stretch of the imagination.  We learned later that, despite Poland's coffee culture, Starbucks never really took off.  Poles are very formal, and in almost every situation -- outside of immediate family -- you refer to others as Mr., Mrs, or Ms.  It is very rare to use someone's first name, and that was and is a problem for Starbucks, which always asks for a name after you make an order.  It sounds as though they never came up with a logical compromise, and as such the chain seems destined to grow no further in Poland. 

Approaching Kraków

The  Starbucks in Kraków

The Former Central Train Station, Across From Our Hotel -- New Station is Next Door

Our Hotel -- Andells Vienna House

This was technically a free evening, but we had signed up for an optional -- and we felt obligatory -- Folklore Evening, which included a traditional Polish meal accompanied by a folklore song and dance show.  Almost every Gate1 trip we have taken has offered something like this and we've always found them enjoyable, if not a little kitsch.  This was no exception, and it was great fun.  Almost everyone from our group attended and it was a very interactive show, with all of us getting ample opportunity to dance, whether we wanted to or not.

The Restaurant for our Dinner and Show

Bottoms Up!