September 27, 2013

September 27, 2013

During the Civil War, Sherman fortified the road cut here at Allatoona Pass, GA because all his supply trains from Chattanooga had to funnel through here. And they still do! Yesterday a noisy train passed within a hundred yards of us every fifteen minutes. I like learning about history, but not when it slaps me in the face.

A half hour closer to Atlanta we reach Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. We start with the obligatory film and then run through the large museum. The history covers Sherman’s 1864 progress from Chattanooga to Atlanta. Outnumbering the Rebels, Sherman was able to end run (or flank) his enemy’s every movement, forcing them to retreat. Everywhere, but here on this twin-humped mountain. Temporarily stymied, he made a frontal assault uphill against a fortified position. The attack failed and he went back to flanking. On September 1, the Rebels evacuated Atlanta to avoid a siege and total destruction.

We drove around the sprawling battlefield. It is packed with people pushing strollers and walking dogs. The park is pretty but is not terribly interesting militarily. This battle wasn’t that pivotal. From the top of Kennesaw Mountain we do get a good view of Atlanta in the distance.

From Kennesaw we drove east to Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. This park encompasses the lazy Chattahoochee River as it winds through Atlanta suburbs. It is a snoozer, not worthy of National Park status.

September 26, 2013

September 26, 2013

We woke outside Chattanooga, TN to better weather this morning. It is still overcast, but the clouds look higher. From our campground I can see the top of Lookout Mountain so we head up there. The eastern side of the Appalachians is a series of parallel steep ridges and valleys, akin to corduroy. Lookout Mountain is one ridge. As we head up the mountain we find it packed with nice houses with extraordinary views. At the top we drive to Point Park at the far northeast end. As we walk out to the Point, it starts to rain and the clouds descend obscuring our view. With clear weather you are supposed to be able to see for miles. We walk around the rocky precipice reading about the taking of Lookout Mountain during the Battle of Chattanooga. It is known as the “Battle above the Clouds”. With our weather today, I can relate to the soldiers involved.

From Chattanooga, we head an hour west to Russell Cave National Monument in Alabama. I was expecting this to be a cave visit but it turns out to be an Indian archeology site. Digging into the cave floor, scientists found evidence of habitation by Indians for the last 8000 years. I didn’t find the archeology to be that interesting but after walking out to the site, I was intrigued by the geology. Next to the cave is a large stream that disappears into a second cave. I notice the water source is a third cave. Then I realize that the stream is an underground river or spring that just happened to find the light of day because a section of roof fell away. 

An hour south of the cave is Little River Canyon National Preserve. I feel a little déjà vu because the park is atop Lookout Mountain. Apparently the ridge extends all the way here from Chattanooga. At the Visitor Center we watch a movie about it and then drive down the western rim stopping at several lookouts. One has a nice waterfall, but in winter, this stream apparently roars with flow. The canyon is nice but I am more intrigued by the fact that this is a river-cut gorge that runs down the center of a flat top ridge (called a mesa in Arizona). 

Afterwards we drive east into Georgia and stay at a lakeside campground. As we pull in, I notice a sign for Allatoona Pass Battlefield. Ooh, a bonus! Aimee groans. While she cooks dinner, I walk to check it out. It looks like just a plaque, or two or three. Wow, there is an extensive trail with tons of storyboards. It turns out to be a very cool battlefield. I don’t care that the battle was small and probably insignificant. After the fall of Atlanta, Sherman marched south. The Rebels decided to attack his supplyline from Chattanooga. Allatoona was a pinchpoint. Here the rail line runs through a narrow man-made ravine cut. On both sides, Union troops built small forts with supply bases. The rebels attacked on October 5, 1864, outnumbering the Union greatly. Fortunately they were dug in well and had a supply of new Henry repeating rifles. They survived.

September 25, 2013

September 25, 2013

The rain caught up to us again. It rained all night. Not a good thing for an outdoor park. We drive the couple miles to nearby Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. This is both the oldest and the largest battlefield park. It was preserved in 1890 six years before the more famous Gettysburg.

Since it is raining, we spend the first half of the morning watching the excellent movie and perusing the exhibits. Chattanooga with its railroad hub was a prize that the Union coveted. The Rebels pulled out all the stops to save it. General Rosecrans led the Army of the Cumberland from Nashville beautifully up to doorstep of Chattanooga. He then brilliantly flanked the Confederate general who gave up the city without a fight. Rosecrans was hot.

Unfortunately his opposition didn’t give up. Seeing Rosecrans stretched thin, the Rebels received timely reinforcement and attacked him here along Chickamauga Creek south of town. Rosecrans was prepared and would have repelled the attack but he made an unlucky error and left a hole in his line, which the Rebels walked right through. The Union Army could have been wiped out but for a stubborn Union officer and a bunch of new Spencer Repeating rifles that allowed an orderly retreat. In war, glory and success is fleeting and fickle. A hero is the man who beats the odds the longest.

Rosecrans was relieved of command and replaced with Grant. Grant had his work cut out for him. Chattanooga is surrounded by steep hills that gave the Rebels great defensive positions. Under his leadership, the Union rolled ahead easily. Now the road to Atlanta was wide open.

Last week was the 150th anniversary of Chickamauga and it was completely packed. Today we only have to share it with a dozen others. The rain has stopped so we spend the rest of the morning driving around the Chickamauga battlefield. Like Gettysburg, it is full of memorials. I would love to now head to the second part of the park atop nearby Lookout Mountain but with the rain, this tall hill is in the clouds. Instead we drive into Chattanooga along Missionary Ridge. It is here that Grant defied the odds, and took the high ground. The Ridge is now lined with expensive houses alternated with War memorials. The terrain falls steeply away. Maybe that was Grant’s luck. It was too steep and wooded to make defensive artillery very useful.

We decide to quit early and return to the same campground as last night. I am crossing my fingers we get clear skies tomorrow.

September 24, 2013

September 24, 2013

From eastern Tennessee we traveled west to Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. We stopped first at an overlook where we see a small river flowing inside a heavily forested valley. After stopping at the Visitor Center we went on to a river access area and walked the shore. Like West Virginia rivers, this area must also have exposed coal seams as highly polished river pebbles of coal litter the shoreline.

A half hour south is a similar park called Obed Wild and Scenic River. We drove down to the river and are surprised to see it is just a tiny stream. Reading the literature we find that in the winter the water rises and becomes a whitewater kayaking hot spot.

On our way south through Tennessee we pass through the town of Dayton that was made famous (or infamous) in July 1925.  At the county courthouse here, the Scopes Monkey Trial was held.  At that time the teaching of evolution was illegal.  A teacher named Scopes agreed to be the test case.  The trial was a national media sensation pitting the famous lawyer Clarence Darrow against William Jennings Bryan, a politician who ran for president three times.  The museum about the trial is closed already but I know the general story from watching the movie, Inherit the Wind.  Scopes was convicted but given a slap on the wrist.  During the trial, Bryan agreed to testify as a bible expert. The testimony tarnished his reputation and he died just days afterwards.  A statue of Bryan was added a few years ago in front of the courthouse.

September 23, 2013

September 23, 2013

Our campground last night just south Asheville, NC was full of snowbirds. Not the usual kind. This variety, known as a “halfback”, spends the winter in Florida but only goes halfway back north. They stop and summer here in the Appalachian foothills. I have to say I can see why. Now that civilization has come to the mountains, it is a very scenic place to spend serious time.

Our first stop is another Illinois man who thought the same thing; Carl Sandburg. We are at his Home National Historic Site. Sandburg was born in Galesburg, IL into poverty but went on to become a famous Pulitzer-winning author and poet. He is probably best known for his biography of Lincoln (all six volumes of it).

He bought this idyllic and beautiful farm when he was 67. We got a private tour of the house, which looks just like it did when he died in 1967. Sandburg was definitely a packrat. The entire house is filled with books, and more books, 16,000 of them. It was interesting to learn a little about Sandburg, but I think this historic site is a little of a stretch. He was an icon of popular culture in his day, but I would bet there are few today who have ever heard of him. This site is more than a museum to his life. It is also looks like a financial drain. The Park System employs many staff members mostly devoted to raising goats, the hobby that Sandburg’s wife enjoyed.

From North Carolina, we popped across the border to Greeneville, Tennessee, a town named after the Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Greene we met yesterday. We are here to visit Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. Andrew Johnson was our 17th president, who was elevated to the office after Lincoln was assassinated. Mostly he is famous as the only president to be impeached (until Clinton). We learn a lot more about him in the small museum. Johnson, who started out a tailor, went on to hold just about every elected local, state and federal office possible. Although a Democrat, Lincoln added him as a running mate, hoping to broaden his support and win re-election. Despite being a southern Democrat, Johnson was anti-secession and grew to oppose slavery. He followed Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan, but Congress became controlled by more radical elements. Frequent vetoes prompted them to initiate impeachment. The ensuing trial failed to convict by only one vote.

Afterwards we toured the house he lived in as an adult and then rode up to his burial monument atop a steep local hill with a great view of the surrounding countryside.

We are tired so we stop for the night just east of town at Davy Crockett Birthplace State Park. Before dinner we walk to see his family’s log cabin sitting next to a beautiful river. The museum is closed but we learn about his life from a bunch of storyboards. He was a congressman for three terms who garnered fame for his outlandish frontier character. After failing to get reelected he left Tennessee for Texas where his reputation was immortalized at the battle of the Alamo in 1836.

September 22, 2013

September 22, 2013

Our stop today is Guilford Courthouse National Military Park outside Greensboro, NC. Here on the Ides of March, 1781, a major battle of the Revolutionary War was fought. After many years of stalemate in the northern colonies, the British under Cornwallis moved their focus to the southern colonies. They initially succeed capturing the major southern port cities. When they move inland, the Americans under Nathaniel Greene play a cat and mouse action until reinforcements arrive from the north. When he thinks he has enough troops Greene makes a stand here at this little hamlet in the forest. The British advance and send fleeing three separate defensive lines. The British win the battle but at high cost, one fourth of their troops lost. The result convinces Cornwallis to return to the coast and north to Virginia, where he meets defeat at the hands of George Washington and the French.

We start out driving the tour road but soon find the park is small enough to walk. I am surprised how forested it is. It must have made for a very confusing battle. I am also surprised at the number of monuments erected throughout the battlefield. That is usually what we see on Civil War sites. North Carolinians had planned on this ground being their state Revolutionary War cemetery. The most impressive monument is a mounted statue of Greene. The park is very crowded; there is even a handful of re-enactors encamped at one section of the park. Unfortunately since we are so close to Greensboro, the vast majority are here to walk their dog. If only they wouldn’t hog the road while they do so.

September 21, 2013

September 21, 2013

We drove an hour this morning arriving at Booker T Washington National Monument in southwest Virginia. By luck we arrived for their annual Harvest Festival and the park is filled with volunteers in period costume. While the docents were setting up we looked around the tiny museum. We met Booker before at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. A hundred years ago Booker was the most famous and influential black man in the nation. He believed former slaves needed to get educated and become financially independent. Respect will follow. That philosophy, which applies to all people, seems to have been lost today.

Booker was born on this farm as one of a dozen slaves. It was mostly a subsistence farm where only enough tobacco was grown as a cash crop to buy what couldn’t be grown or made locally. We walked around the farm talking to the volunteers. Their enthusiasm made this living history park quite interesting.  

After an hour we drove east to Appomattox Court House National Historical Park. This is the famous site where Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate Army to Grant essentially ending the Civil War. The hamlet of Appomattox has been preserved, as it would have looked on April 9, 1865. We first stop in the courthouse building Visitor Center to watch two movies and peruse the exhibits containing lots of artifacts from the surrender. We then listened to a living history talk and walked through the old buildings. The surrender was negotiated in the McLean House. Ironically, McLean’s previous home was caught up in the first battle of the War in Manassas. He moved his family here to escape the war. Instead it followed him here.

September 20, 2013

September 20, 2013

When the dam was built on the Gauley River, it flooded the town of Gad, West Virginia. By normal practice, it should have been named Gad Dam. That is also kind of how I am feeling. It rained all night, and our little home is not so water tight anymore. I think all the joints have expanded and loosened under the Tucson sun and heat. I need to caulk all the windows and corners when we get home.

The high humidity combined with the cold water off the dam is causing the whole area to be dark and enclosed in fog. Atop the dam we don’t see any evidence of a river below. I am glad we aren’t rafting today. We leave the Gauley and travel south back to the New River stopping at the Grandview Overlook. Here we have a great vista of a large bend in the New River. We can easily see the rail line that still runs along the bottom of the gorge. It opened up travel and industry to West Virginia in 1873. We continue on to the Sandstone Visitor Center where we learn more about the history of the gorge.

We follow the New River south to its junction with the Bluestone. The Bluestone is another National Scenic River. Two State Parks lie at either end. At Pipestem State Park we take a gondola ride down to the river. The Bluestone, while scenic, is a tiny river, more of an overgrown stream.
Since rain is still in the forecast we continue following the New River south as it cuts across the Appalachians, crossing into Virginia.

September 19, 2013

September 19, 2013

From the Ohio River, we traveled along the Kanawha River into the heart of West Virginia. Near the capital Charleston, we stopped so Aimee could spend the morning sitting at McDonalds. At noon we continued following the river upstream. It was very slow going. Situated in the middle of the steep-sided Appalachian Mountains, West Virginia cities are long and thin crowding the narrow riverbanks. There is barely room for a two-lane winding road and a rail line, let alone houses and businesses too.

Eventually we make it to the Visitor Center for New River Gorge National River. Here the Kanawha changes to the New River. Apparently an early surveyor seeing the river flow into an impassable gorge temporarily marked it as "new" on a map. Unfortunately it stuck. The name is also ironic since it is very possible the New River is actually the oldest in North America. It is one of the few rivers that doesn’t originate in the mountains but cuts across them indicating it is far older than even the ancient Appalachians.

The Visitor Center sits next to the New River Gorge Bridge, the world’s longest single-arch span and the second highest in the US. We take a rainy walk out to a vista point. Today the river gorge looks pristine and forested (and shrouded in fog). A century ago it was the opposite; the river was almost completely lined with coalmines, houses, smoke, and roiling with labor strife. After the coal seams played out, Mother Nature quickly reclaimed the land.

From the New River we drive a half hour north to the Gauley River National Recreation Area. The Gauley is a tributary of the New. When water is released from the Summersville dam, the Gauley becomes a torrent and is a favorite of white water enthusiasts. I got invited to raft it when I was younger and chickened out when I read how dangerous it can be. Older and wiser, we are again passing on the opportunity. Instead we watch the water shoot out from the dam and then spend the night along the lake above the dam. It is the exact opposite of the river; very peaceful and quiet.


September 18, 2013

September 18, 2013

We are just west of Cincinnati. Our first stop is William Howard Taft National Historic Site. Our route takes us across the heart of the city. I am shocked how hilly the city is. Taft’s boyhood home is on the top of one hill. For most people Taft is only known as the fattest president we have had. That is sad, for he had a long and illustrious political career. Theodore Roosevelt chose him to be his successor. He probably would have had a second presidential term except for a major falling out with TR who then ran against him. They split the Republican vote letting Wilson steal the Presidency. Taft spent the last years of his life as Supreme Court Chief Justice.

From Cincinnati we drove east to Chillicothe to visit Hopewell Culture National Historic Park. Indian mounds blanket the eastern half of the US. The mounds here are from the Hopewell culture 2000 years ago. Near my home town is Cahokia Mounds from the much later Mississipian culture.

We watch the film and tour the small museum where we learn the mounds were mostly ceremonial burial sites. In most they found cremated remains. Buried with them were items that indicate this culture traded for goods throughout the US. Even to far off Yellowstone for obsidian!

All the mounds lie within large earthen walled compounds of unknown purpose. In addition most mound sites of this culture contain a large square and two circles of different sizes. Aimee and I take a walk around the mounds in the earthen square in this site. As we do, the only thing I can think is that if I spent my time hunting and gathering to feed my family, the last thing I would do in my spare time was haul thousands of baskets of dirt to build these structures. Something doesn’t add up.

From Chillicothe we continued east. It started raining so we stopped early and spent the night at a public park just across the Ohio River in West Virginia.  Interestingly the campground is also the location of Fort Randolph, a Revolutionary War-era fort and battle site.

September 17, 2013

September 17, 2013

Tucson is still in summer heat mode so we decide to take our time moseying back. We head south around the bottom of Lake Michigan into Indiana. We soon cross the Kankakee River. It looks like a canal crossing expansive cornfields. For good reason. After watching a PBS episode a few days ago I learned this river used to be a swamp covering almost the entire northwest part of Indiana. In the 19th century industrial steam shovels cut a new channel draining the swamp and turning the land into the fertile farms they are today.

Another hour south we stopped in Purdue country to visit the Tippecanoe Battlefield. In 1809, the Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his Prophet-like brother were organizing a confederation of Indian tribes to resist further westward expansion of the US. They drew the battle line at the Wabash River and created an Indian center here called Prophetstown. When Tecumseh made a trip south in 1811 to recruit more tribes, the territorial governor William Henry Harrison marched troops here hoping to provoke a reaction. Tecumseh’s impulsive brother attacked, but Harrison was prepared. He won the skirmish, scattered the tribes, and burned Prophetstown. Harrison, now a hero, rode the fame to president in 1840 using the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler too.”

We toured the museum and then walked the small battlefield. A hundred years after the battle a large monument was erected on the site. We also drove to nearby Prophetstown State Park, but were disappointed to learn that none of the history of that settlement remains.

Another hour brings us to Indianapolis where we plan to visit Benjamin Harrison’s house. Like his grandfather, Ben was also a war hero and President (elected 1888). Unfortunately the highway is closed downtown so we decide to punt and bypass Indy. We end our day crossing into the rolling hills of southern Ohio stopping at a pretty little public campground in the Whitewater Forest.

September 14, 2013

September 14, 2013

Aimee and I came back to the Midwest to see our parents and attend the wedding of a nephew. By sheer coincidence we met the new couple on their first date when we visited my sister in Milwaukee ten years ago.

August 14, 2013

August 14, 2013

Today we start the long process of going home. This is the one part of international travelling I dislike. We are up early to take the train to the small Krakow airport. Four flights and a full day of travel, we arrive home safely.

We had a great trip but we are glad to be back. I am ready for free toilets and less pounding of the pavement. I don't know if my feet would have held out any longer.  We will be driving everywhere we need to go for awhile.

And we will be glad to be just speaking English and navigating only one currency. Even after visiting Eastern Europe, it boggles my mind that an area of the world smaller than our home state of Arizona can harbor so many different currencies, languages, and cultures. It is something that Americans can't appreciate.

I had trepidation going to Russia and Eastern Europe, not knowing what vestiges of Socialism were remaining.  I was pleased to see that in most cases they have shaken it off and are embracing capitalism wholeheartedly.  Unfortunately, I think they have shaken Socialism off too well.  For the younger generation, it is already some period of ancient history.  Those old enough to remember are happy to forget the pain and don't want to depress their children with the stories.  As the old saying goes, "those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it."  I can easily see this new generation getting lured again by the false hopes of Socialism in some not so distant future.

August 13, 2013

August 13, 2013

The movie, Schindler's List, was about a German industrialist who came to Krakow during WWII seeking war profits. Instead he lost his fortune aiding local Jews avoid being sent to concentration camp.  His factory is only a few miles south of our hotel.  A museum opened up in the former site a couple years ago.

We take the tram that runs outside our hotel south across the Vistula to Ghetto Heroes Square.  This was the site of the main gate into Krakow's walled Jewish ghetto and its only open space.  The plaza now is a memorial and is filled with seventy empty metal chairs eerily similar to the Oklahoma City bombing Memorial.  We walk east under the rail line to Schindler's Emalia Fabrika (Enamelware) plant.  All that is left of the pots and pans factory is the administration building easily recognizable from the movie.

Some people are disappointed by the museum because it has only a few exhibits directly related to Schindler.  We knew this going in.  It is rather about the whole occupation of Krakow by the Nazis and the suffering that occurred by all the residents.  Aimee and I found it fascinating and ended up spending four hours there.  For a new museum, it was well done. 

When Germany invaded Poland, their intent was to make it an extension of Germany as their Prussian predecessors did centuries earlier.  The Nazis systematically Germanified city names, moved out or killed the Polish and Jews, and settled German citizens in the area.  They went on to destroy any link to Polish history or culture.  Yesterday by the train station we saw a monument to the Polish defeat of the Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.  Today we were shocked by photos of the Nazis destroying it.

After four hours of walking the museum, our feet are sore.  We rested at a little Polish diner across from Ghetto Square.  We had a bowl of barley or rye soup and stuffed cabbage.  It was delicious.

Refreshed we walk down the street to find the last two remnants of the Ghetto Wall.  The wall is shaped like a line of tombstones, and strikingly one runs right by a children's playground.  We then walk north back across the river to the old Jewish district of Kazimierz.  Like many areas of prewar Eastern Europe, Jews made up a quarter of Krakow's population.  We walk by several old synagogues but don't go in any.  Instead we hear traditional Jewish music (think Fiddler on the Roof) being played at a restaurant and decide to sit and listen over a beer.  The musicians are pretty good and we end up buying one of their CD's to remember this rest break.

This is our last night in Poland and Eastern Europe so we decide to try something a little more exotic for dinner.  Just off Old Town's main square, we find a traditional Georgian restaurant.  Georgia is a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus Mountains.  We had a hot pepper soup followed by stuffed red peppers.

August 12, 2013

August 12, 2013

This morning we walked to the main Krakow bus station hidden behind the train station.  There we caught a bus that took us the forty miles to the town of Oswiecim.  The road goes through pretty rolling Polish countryside, but since there is no highway, the trip takes two hours.

A lot of Polish towns also have German names because large parts of present day Poland were German territory.  Oswiecim is better known by its infamous German name of Auschwitz.  We arrive to a madhouse.  I tell Aimee that there must be considerably more tourists now than my last tour of Europe thirty years ago.

Auschwitz entry is free, but after 10 am, all entrants must be escorted by a guide.  It is just as well. With this crowd, it would have been impossible to navigate the buildings solo.  Even by Polish standards the guided tour is not expensive, and I have to say our docent was very good and added a lot of emotion.  So much so, that I thought she was going to burst out crying several times.

Auschwitz was originally a Polish army barracks that was commandeered by the Nazis for a concentration camp to house Polish prisoners who resisted the German occupation.  Since prisoners were used as slave labor on subsistence diet, most did not survive long.  If you ignore the barbed wire fences surrounding it, Auschwitz looks like a nice little community of brick buildings with lots of trees. Unfortunately inside the barracks, prisoners were packed in like sardines.

Several of the Auschwitz buildings have displays about its concentration camp history.  Our guide adds a stirring account.  Auschwitz became really infamous when it was used to exterminate European Jews.  Our guide tells us about the process of transfer, stripping of valuables, gas chamber death, and removal of evidence through cremation.  The most stirring exhibits by far are the ones that show the items found in the warehouses.  Huge piles of eyeglasses, luggage, prosthetics, and shoes, especially kids shoes.  Every fifth person killed in Auschwitz was a child.

Across town is Auschwitz II, better known as Birkenau.  It was where most of the real action took place. We took a shuttle bus over to it for the second half of the tour.  Here most of the barracks were wooden structures.  Birkenau is enormous; the remains of barrack chimneys extend as far as you can see.  It was built as an industrial scale death camp.  A single rail line in, smoke and ash out the other end.  My feet hurt after walking one length and back.  Most of Birkenau has been obliterated.  The crematoriums were dynamited when the Nazis retreated.  A pile of rubble (and memories) are all that remains of them.

The level of human suffering and cruelty that took place here is so severe that it is mind numbing and unbelievable.  No wonder reports of the atrocities that leaked out were seen as propaganda even by Jews.

August 11, 2013

August 11, 2013

Taking the overnight train, while travel savvy, can be hectic.  It requires checking out of the hotel and hanging out late at night somewhere in town till the train leaves.  The train usually arrives at the destination at the crack of dawn, as it did with us here in Krakow, Poland, too early to check in. 

We dropped our bags off at the hotel and went to Krakow's nearby Old Town central square for breakfast of coffee and chocolate croissants.  At first glance Krakow seemed a little seedy, with trash everywhere and more than a couple drunks staggering home.  Then again this is the first time we have seen any of the cities this early in the morning. I bet Chicago is not much different.

Since it is still way too early for most tourist spots, we decide to take a short day trip to the suburb of Wieliczka.  Near the Krakow train station we find the city bus that heads in that direction.  While waiting, we check out the vicinity and find a private bus that will leave sooner.  It turns out to be perfect.  Not only is it a tad cheaper, it is much quicker with fewer stops.

We are in Wieliczka to see its salt mine.  We sign up for the English language tour. At first I thought the price expensive but I have to say the tour was well worth it.  This mine tour is fascinating on several fronts.  First is its history; it has long been a tourist draw.  Copernicus, the famed astronomer, visited five centuries ago. The mine first opened in the Middle Ages when salt was more valuable than gold. Salt was the only way to preserve many foods to last through the winter.  It could mean the difference between life and death.

The mine was owned by the king and produced almost a third of Poland's GDP. The mine is full of ancient wooden mining hoists.  Since wood doesn't rot in the salty air, here is the largest collection anywhere in the world.

The mine is also vast.  We walked for three hours and only covered 1% of its extent.  Many of the passages are lined with thick wooden beams, millions of logs, enough to clear all of Poland of forest. Fortunately they had seven centuries to accumulate this amount of wood.  Some of the chambers are enormous, big enough for cafeterias.

The last reason this mine is special is the carvings.  Over the centuries, miners had lots of time to add their mark.  There are dozens of chapels, statues, and wall art, all made of salt.  The largest chapel is church-size with even its tile floor carved from salt.  It is impressive.

Our tour lasted three hours with only a short rest in between.  We were the only ones on the second half of the tour;  all the others quit.  Our private tour was probably the best part; the quitters don't know what they missed.

After the tour, we were exhausted from all the walking, so we sat outside Wieliczka's castle and had a late lunch of White Borscht soup and Russian-style pirogi.  Both were delicious.  We were surprised to find a hard-boiled egg floating in the soup.

Back in Krakow, we retrieve our luggage, check into the hotel and then set out for a stroll through Old Town.  The Old Town is balloon-shaped and surrounded by a green belt park called the Planty, where the city walls once stood.  Only a gate and barbican remain on the north side.  The Old Town is nice with its winding streets and pretty central square.  While way above average, it does not have the architectural beauty of Prague. 

On the far south end sits Wawel Castle overlooking the Wisla (Vistula) River.  We walk through the castle and then cross the bridge to get a good photo.  Above us we see a hotel's rooftop restaurant.  It looks like a great place for dinner, but when we get there, we find they only have low slung deck chairs for seating.  So we opt only for a drink while enjoying the view.

August 10, 2013

August 10, 2013

Today we bought a 24-hour metro pass, so we can cover some ground in Prague. Our first stop is Vysehrad Castle west of our hotel. It is a large fortress sitting atop a hill on the east bank of the Vltava River on the opposite side from Prague Castle.  It is the legendary first settlement of Prague in the tenth century. Vysehrad is mostly a large park now.  The extensive outer walls are intact but are relatively modern, from the mid 19th century.  There are a handful of buildings inside the fortress including a church, and a cemetery with some of Prague's famous. The fortress has a nice view of the Vltava far below.  I spy an RV park on an island below and tell Aimee, that could have been us.

A little north of the castle is the Dancing House, a Frank Gehry-designed modern art building that looks like two people swaying to music. Nearby is the St. Cyril and Methodius Church. Cyril and Methodius were Greek missionary brothers who brought Christianity to the Slavic countries in the 9th century.  Unfortunately we also have them to blame for the Cyrillic alphabet used by Russia. This church, however, is famous for being the last holdout of Czech patriots who had assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi SS chief, during WWII. Bulletholes can still be seen in the wall.

We then took the Metro to the eastern end of Old Town and stopped at the Municipal House.  This city concert hall is an Art Nouveau beauty.  We stop for desert in the cafe and admire the architecture.

Afterwards we walk the northern part of Old Town past the Jewish sector.  There are several synagogues and cemeteries that can be toured.  The ticket price is exorbitant but fortunately they are closed on the Sabbath so I don't have to make a decision.

We went on to the central square for a pizza lunch and beer.  Afterwards we sat on a park bench and people watched.  We suddenly remembered we hadn't seen the inside of some of the old town churches. We quickly peeked inside a few before they were closed again for organ concerts.  Aimee and I both read Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth, so when we see the inside of these highly decorated churches, we admire the massive columns and think about the medieval workmen who shaped the stones.

We still have some time to kill so we got on the tram that follows the river and took it for a while to see some of outer Prague.  Just south of the Charles Bridge, I spot a good view of Prague Castle so we get off and take a photo.  We then head for our hotel to have dinner and retrieve our bags.

Before we left for this trip, Aimee read that everybody should take a sleeper train once in Europe.  I indulged her sense of adventure and bought a private couchette ticket to Krakow. Since this leg of our trip is long it made good travel sense too.  Aimee got a little nervous when she saw the small bunk beds we have. Fortunately I ordered the honeymoon package that came with a bottle of water, a towel, and in the morning a cup of coffee and croissant.

August 9, 2013

August 9, 2013

Today we are going on an adventure taking a day trip into the Czech countryside.  From the main station in Prague we catch the next train going the fifty miles east to Kutna Hora.  During the Middle Ages, Kutna Hora was a very prominent and wealthy city in Bohemia because it was a major source of silver ore.

A short walk from the train station on the outskirts of town is the biggest tourist draw of Kutna Hora, the Sedlec Ossuary.  It is in the basement chapel of the cemetery church of an old Cistercian Monastery.  According to legend a small amount of soil was brought back from Golgotha in Jerusalem and was sprinkled on this cemetery making it a desirable burial site.  Because of plague and war, many thousands were buried here.  Eventually the graves were dug up and stored in this Ossuary.  Later a demented woodcarver organized the bones.   The basement is truly macabre, containing the bones of some 40-70 thousand skeletons.  Besides four gigantic pyramid bone piles in each corner, the ceiling is decorated with a chandelier and long garlands, all made of bone segments.  Bone decorations also adorn the walls.  One is in the shape of a coat of arms.  Based on what we saw the decorator had to be a member of the Addams Family.

From the Bone Church we walked over a mile into the old section of Kutna Hora.  The Old Town is a smaller version of Prague, without the crowds.  It definitely is a pleasure walking the narrow streets not dodging thousands of tourists taking photos.  We pass through the Old Town square, see a monument to Plague victims, and then stop for a pint and a bowl of Garlic soup. On the complete opposite end of town is Kutna Hora's Old Town gem, Santa Barbara Cathedral.  It is a Gothic medieval masterpiece with all its flying buttresses.

There are limited trains to Kutna Hora, so we cut short our visit and head to Kutna Hora City station.  We pass one of the old silver mines along the way.  They are just commencing a tour.  Fortunately it is not of interest to us.  We don't like caves.  At the city station we take an eight minute local electric train back to the other Kutna Hora station saving us at least a mile of walking.

Back in Prague, it starts to rain.  No problem, we are having dinner tonight at the hotel and it was great.  I had Schnitzel and Aimee had Schweinebraten with potato dumplings.

August 8, 2013

August 8, 2013

We were on our way out of the hotel early to find a cafe for coffee and croissant when we discovered breakfast is included in our rate.  That is a welcome benefit.  A large (free) breakfast means we don't have to stop for a big lunch in prime sight-seeing time.  A bowl of soup or something similar will usually suffice.

Today we are headed to the west bank of the Vltava River. We walk up the long ramp to the top of Castle Hill.  Since the weather is more conducive to touring the inside of old buildings we buy the short tour pass of Prague Castle.  Our first stop is Golden Lane, a narrow line of buildings tucked between the castle and the outer wall.  It used to be the home of goldsmiths, seamstresses and castle guards.  The buildings have been mostly restored to illustrate life in medieval times. Aimee finds it very cute; she likes learning about people's lives, plus it has a few shops scattered along.

We then toured the Old Palace built atop the old castle walls. It is mostly empty and uninteresting; although it did have a vaulted central hall which was enormous for medieval times.  The gem of the castle is St Vitus Cathedral that dominates and towers over the interior courtyard.  It is a Gothic masterpiece complete with flying buttresses and the interior doesn't disappoint either.

At noon on the way out of the castle, we try and see the Changing of the Guard, but it is way too crowded to see anything (unless I grew a head or two taller).  We keep walking uphill to Strahov Monastery.  We spy a terrace restaurant overlooking the monastery vineyard and orchard (and Prague in the distance), so we stop and snag a front row table.  We order a few appetizers so we can enjoy the view for a while.

After lunch we enter the monastery to see the library.  The hallway has a variety of illuminated manuscripts on display but the star of this site is the two library rooms.  Both are spectacular with ceiling frescoes which even photographs can't do justice.

From the monastery we head back down the hill crossing the Charles Bridge again. We linger quite a while watching several artists painting portraits. All are quite talented. Back in the main square of Old Town, we can't resist sitting and having another glass of beer and doing some people watching. Somehow time flew and it was six by the time we left. Just in time to watch the world's oldest Astronomical Clock on the Town Hall go off. All the apostles parade by an open door, while a skeleton rings the church bell.

August 7, 2013

August 7, 2013

We are up early to catch the morning train from Bratislava to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.  It is a long but pleasant journey.  We arrive at our hotel before check in time so we have the fixed lunch menu in the hotel restaurant.  It is delicious.

After getting our room we decide to take a short stroll through New Town to Wenceslas Square.  The weather is finally cooler.  I am full and not sweating.  At this point I can't ask for more.  Wenceslas Square turns out to be a very long rectangular mall lined with shops and food stands.  We stroll checking out the merchandise. We find lots of unique items.  We are liking Prague a lot.  I can't pinpoint why, but I am sure the weather is a big factor.

The square (and Christmas carol) is named after a famous tenth century Duke of Bohemia (who never was a king, but he was good) who was later canonized a saint. Wenceslas Square has been the traditional site for historic demonstrations of Czech independence.

Wenceslas Square leads into the narrow streets of Old Town Prague.  I can tell immediately from the uniform and well maintained architecture that this is one of the nicer Old Towns in Europe.  But I am not prepared for entering the main square.  It is exquisite.  In every direction is a beautiful building, church or tower.  This is why all other Eastern Europe cities want to be the new Prague. Unfortunately Prague is not a secret and it is jam packed.  In the center of the Square is a monument to Jan Hus.  Hus was a Church reformer long before Martin Luther.  He was ex-communicated and burned at the stake as a heretic, but the Czech people continued to follow his beliefs for a century.  The pope even sent several crusades here trying to restore Catholicism and Papal supremacy.

Prague's Old Town is huge.  We stroll for the rest of the evening through the narrow streets and I am amazed at the extent and beauty of the architecture.  Clearly Prague was a rich city for a long time and it fortunately escaped the WWII damage that razed most other large cities. The town fathers also deserve credit for renovating every building and preventing the intrusion of modern structures.

Eventually our stroll takes us over one of the bridges spanning the Valtava River.  There we run into more than sixty White Swans congregating by the shore.  They are huge and very comfortable with all the people. It is rare to see more than a half dozen swans together.

We cross back over the Valtava on the medieval Charles Bridge.  It deserves its fame.  This pedestrian span is lined with dozens of statues and has a guard tower on each end.  It would make a great photo if only I could lose the thousand people walking it with us.

We make our way back to Wenceslas Square where we have a Bratwurst for dinner.  This is my first sausage meal and it is delicious.  For some reason I assumed sausage would be a part of every meal in Eastern Europe.  It has rarely been on the menu.