Poland 2024

The Poland trip has come and gone. Talk about a whirlwind experience. Over the course of six days I found myself on trains, buses, taxis, and planes. I don’t think I have ever done so much hopping around simply to experience more of a country. Perhaps it was a preview of my planned 2024 summer experiences, a lofty cross country adventure in the USA. While that might be worth a paragraph or two, this is a story for another day when Poland is no longer fresh on my mind and hours of editing that deem my attention have passed. 

Instead, I am taking a breather in between a series of vlogs that take us from Toruń to Sopot, Gdańsk, Szczecin, Poznań, and Warsaw. Some are familiar places, while others are unknowns, but ones I had put on my list last year while living in Krakow. At the time, I vowed to visit the top ten Polish cities in size. After this ambitious trip, only two cities remain that I have not visited or crossed over – Wrocław and Łódź. There’s always a future trip, especially as I hear the eastern border whispering my name and parts of Silesia motioning me to come closer.

Whenever you travel somewhere there are always some places we naturally gravitate towards. In Poland, while I have spent a good portion of time in the tri-city area as well as Warsaw, there are other spots that have left lasting impressions. I am remiss to leave out the cities of Lublin, Białystok, and Przemyśl. The first two have lasting legacies from Russian expansion and the German invasion from World War 2. Until I walked those streets and got glimpses into the past, I wouldn’t have known or appreciated either place. 

Lublin is more than just the old town or their stargate. I can still hear the guitar playing near the Jewish gate and can see the ominous lights from Lublin Castle when I sought out the old and new Jewish cemeteries. Wanting to get a glimpse of what my doctor friend saw in his youth, it was haunting to see the razed cemetery and what remained of the Jewish legacy in this city. 

The unforgiving wind made the trek to the railroad depot and the warehouses a grueling journey, but I appreciated those steps even more when I found the lasting monument. To be reminded of the sheer number of people who walked those same paths, who faced uncertain death, and did so with dignity, is something I will never forget. 

Białystok’s tale is yet more of the same. With the Sybir Memorial Museum and the soul-stirring railroad tracks, we get to experience a different fate. I don’t know what was worse, the German concentration camps or the journey to Siberia that many faced over several hundred years. The museum drove home this bit of history that is often overlooked in the West, that of Polish citizens being deported, kidnapped, or simply forced from their homes and put in exile. 

Certainly there is more to these two cities than bits of history, but it helps define the area and puts in perspective the churches, the buildings, the garden plots, and everything one sees. Przemyśl is significantly smaller, and yet it ties in well with both places. The legacy of World War 2 lingers, being divided up by Germany and the Soviet Union where some residents were deported to Siberia and others were handed over to Nazis for their uncertain fates. I still see the monument to Katyn and the pedestrian bridge where Dr. Subczynski would say, “Soldiers from both sides did Satan’s bidding.”

All three places had a profound impact on my travels. Of course, I could have visited all three again on this most recent trip. And yet I wanted to see more of Poland and experience different streets, places, and food. My hope in the weeks and months ahead, after publishing my vlogs to the cities listed in the beginning, are that new memories develop and new stories worth sharing find their words here for all to see. 

We all know that every place has a tale or two that many can appreciate. The hardest part is sussing out the details and finding the emotional connection that leaves a lasting impression.  

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