Polish Independence Day

Today is Polish Independence Day. The Last few days there have been a lot of Polish Flags hung up all over Bielsko. Including several from people's balconies on our apartment building. I did a little research and below is  a nice summary of the Holiday. I am kind of bummed because it landed on a Sunday so we don't get a day off from school. 

National Independence Day is the most important Polish national holiday. On November 11, 1918, after 123 years of captivity, Poland regained its independence.

The date of 11 November was announced a national holiday in 1937. From 1939 to 1989, celebration of the holiday was forbidden. After the collapse of communist government, the holiday gained significance and it is now public holiday.

Major celebrations, attended by Polish State authorities, are held in Warsaw. At noon, a ceremonious change of guards takes place before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.Patriotic gatherings and parades are held throughout Poland. Churches celebrate masses with the intentions of the Homeland.

Photo via: Google Images

Information via: http://en.poland.gov.pl/

Best Grilled Cheese

A few weeks ago I picked up a fresh loaf of bread on my way home from work. It wasn't sliced so we did our best to cut it with our dull knives. The pieces were nice and thick! The bread was light and airy and made the best Grilled Cheese Sandwich EVER! 

Reunion!

The last weekend in October Genna and I took the bus to Krakow. We met up with my friend Nicole. She is from Germany and came to Minnesota as an exchange student in High School. 6 years later we met up Poland. Who would have thought? It was great to see you Nicole. I hope we meet again during my time here in Europe!

So Long Prague

On Saturday morning we walked south and ventured into New Prague to climb UP to Vysehrad. 

Vysehrad is a large park surrounded by a brick wall. On the grounds is the Church of SS Peter and Paul and a large cemetery. As you walk around the grounds you are able to see the city from every angle. I was most excited to see Old Prague and all the bridges. The view wasn't exactly what I dreamed, but you can see the castle! 

Lots of people were running and walking their dogs here. It was definitely off the beaten tourist path and was kind of nice to do something without hordes of people around. 

After taking in all the views on top of Vysehrad, we went back down the hill and walked along the river back to Old Prague. Along the river there was a wonderful farmers market. Most of the shoppers were locals. They carried their fresh goods in simple, but large wicker baskets. I loved it. We stopped and bought some hot apple cider. It was warm, sweet and tasted like fall. It made our walk perfect on the chilly morning. 

There were more swans along this part of the river too. I didn't mind. Notice the ledge. They couldn't get out of the water and attack me! 

Once we made it back to Old Prague we crossed the river and set out to find John Lennon's wall. We spent a long time reading all the quotes, taking lots of pictures and just enjoying the wall. "Imagine" has been stuck in my head since. 

Right around the corner from the wall is the bridge with all the locks. People who are in love come to bridge and attach their lock and throw away the key into the river. 

 I was kind of disappointed because most of the locks were from this year. I was hoping to see some really old ones. I am not sure, but I think because so many people participate they have to cut them off from time to time. 

Our final day in Prague was my favorite. We weren't in a hurry. We saw the sun and blue skies. We warmed up by drinking hot chocolate and cider. We spent every last Czech Crown we had to buy 1 more piece of delicious cinnamon bread.  I completely enjoyed the fall day in a beautiful city with a great friend. 

Prague Day 2

Day 2 we were determined to have a more productive day of site seeing. We got up pretty early and went to Old Town Square to take some pictures during the day. 

 From there we went to the Jewish Quarter. We took a few pictures, but didn’t go on any tours.

After that, we crossed the river and started making our way up the hill to the Prague Castle. At the top of the very long staircase was an amazing view of Prague. After taking a ridiculous number of pictures we continued on into the castle grounds.

We happened to arrive right on the hour so we were able to see the changing of the guard. We knew we wanted to go on a tour of the Castel so we got in the LONG line and waited to buy our tickets. 

The Castle grounds were pretty cool. My favorite part was the cathedral. If you ever visit Prague I would recommend going to the castle, but don’t bother with the tour. You can still go into the Cathedral without a ticket and the rest of buildings weren’t too exciting.

 After seeing the crown jewels at the castle we left and took a few pictures of the Schwarzenbersky Palace. 

 By then we were starving so we stopped and had pizza at a little restaurant near the Palace and the Castle.

  

  

Then we went to the Franz Kafka Museum. He was a famous German Author who was born in Prague. His style of writing is difficult to translate into English and I hope that is why I hadn't heard of him before.  As we continued home we crossed the river and that’s when we saw all the swans.