No idea here either. ??

Schindler's factory, the setting of the 1993 movie Schindler's List

Originally Posted By markornikov (25 JUL 2012 11:13am)

Schindler's factory, the setting of the 1993 movie Schindler's List

WOW ___ WOW ___

That seems correct ! 

Congrats !!

markornikov is correct.

We visited the Wieliczka salt mine in Krakow.  It is a UNESCO Heritage site because miners in the 19th century carved exquisite sculptures out of the salt rock, including an entire chapel.  We descended some 30 flights of stairs to witness them.

A chandelier carved out of salt

The chapel from above:

And yes Thaumaturge we did notice mention in the Fodor's guide to a replica of a fire breathing dragon in Krakow but it sounded kind of cheezy so we took a pass on seeing it. 

mmm....1993????

It wouldn't by any chance be the Oskar Schindler Factory immortalized by Steven Spielburg would it!

Wow.  Markornikov you beat me to the punch.  Awesome!  I did not see your previous post.  Darn slow computer...well one question though Anthony.   How does the museum carry out the tours inside it?

Lovely thread Anthony!  I don't visit JA much anymore these days, I'm sure you have seen why, but anyway, what a lovely surprise to find one of your (breathtaking as always) pictorial voyage photo threads on my visit here.

Hey, Shadow! How are things? Is your new avatar from a game?

Hi Anthony,

                  I've just sent you a PM - something I've probably done LESS than a dozen times in my whole life.

I don't really know how it works and how you are informed - ;

If you can, please answer and just tell me so  that I can search for your reply.

 Very many thanks in advance.

We visited Auschwitz; we felt we had to.  The town is called Oswiecim.  When the Nazis invaded and occupied Poland, they germanized the name of the town to Auschwitz.  They were barracks there that housed the Polish army.  The Nazis first used it to incarcerate anyone who they suspected would interfere with their occupation, Polish political leaders, army officers and leading intellectuals.  It was thereafter used to incarcerate and exterminate jews and other minorities.  No need for commentary here; the pictures speak for themselves.  I will add a brief word at the end:

The thing that gets me is that the camp was "liberated" by the Red Army.  They made films, collected evidence and took photos to show the world.  But did what they found have any influence on their own behavior?  By the time they were finished with their 70+ years' experiment with economic equality, irreligion and social reconstruction, the Soviet communists had killed more people than anyone.  It is ironic in the extreme. 

Shadowwalker, I don't know how or if you can tour the factory.  It looked closed when we visited.

Traveller, glad to hear from you.  My visits here have been limited so I'm sorry to say that I did not know that you rarely visit here or why.  You were always a valued member when I frequented the site.

Len, sorry but my PM inbox is empty.  You must not have gotten it right, or maybe I am missing something.

That's strange Anthony.

I sent it again just now at 20:35 (New York is 13:35.

I am a complete novice with PMs - it seems to have gone off OK - but then so did it last time a few hours ago !!

I have no idea whatsoever how long PM's are supposed to take - but if this one does not arrive within the nornal time I wonder if you will let me have your email address.

I know that this entails trusting me that I won't pass it on to ANYBODY !!!  But that is up to you 

My email address is ------lengreen@hotmail.com.

Best regards ------ Len

EDIT - LATER 23:56 HERE

NOTHING IN MY PM OR HOTMAIL INVBOXES.

Maybe your not online - or busy ?!?!?!

[IMG]http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/2104/popebenedictxv1danaholl.png[/IMG]

Originally Posted By anthony (25 JUL 2012 4:06pm)

And yes Thaumaturge we did notice mention in the Fodor's guide to a replica of a fire breathing dragon in Krakow but it sounded kind of cheezy so we took a pass on seeing it. 

Ah, fair enough.  I rather liked it, myself: a great, fire-bursting many-legged metal monstrosity.  If you like, I could post a picture of my own of it here. ^_^

Pope John Paul II's residence in his younger days in Krakow.

Scholars and experts around the world still debate what caused communism to collapse in Europe: the Arms Race, standard of living issues, economic breakdown, Reagan, Gorbachov, Yeltsin, Glasnost, Peristroika, trade unions, etc.  In Poland, it appears as if there is no such debate. According to them, it was his election as Pontiff, the first non-Italian and from a communist country at that,  that gave Poles the self-esteem and confidence to transform a shipyard trade union dispute over prices and wages into a national solidarity movement.

He is revered in Poland.

Thaumaturge feel free to post it.

Len, I did get the PM and have replied.

Originally Posted By anthony (27 JUL 2012 8:47am)

Thaumaturge feel free to post it.

 

Len, I did get the PM and have replied.

ANTHONY 
"----------   It is painfully slow and laborious the first few times you do it.  Once you get used to it, it becomes easier and you move more quickly. ….Hope this helps …. Tony"

At last our PMs 'worked'.
Sincere thanks on your *ENORMOUSLY  HELPFUL* as well as 'gentlemanly' reply which must have taken you some time & work.   

I  TAKE  MY  HAT  OFF  ANTHON Y  !!

!!! 

Originally Posted By Traveller (26 JUL 2012 4:59am)

I don't visit JA much anymore these days, I'm sure you have seen why,

Your voice and wonderful posts are missed... I try to avoid the melee myself - if that's what you are alluding to - except of course the DRM discussions in "Hot Spots" which always get me going...

I agree with Tincup Traveller, your posts are missed.

You haven't mentioned the food Anthony nor how your children coped with all this history.  Did you go anywhere else in Europe while you were there?

Caroline, after Krakow, we visited Budapest in Hungary, Vienna in Austria, a short day trip to Bratislava, which is in Slovakia, Prague of the Czech Republic, and then Dresden and Berlin in Germany.

The local food at all of these locations a little too hardy for my taste.  A lot of braised meets and pork shanks.  But I could always find one dish at each place that I liked--weiner schnitzel, goulash--and each city had lots of restaurants devoted to other cuisines, like Italian, Mexican, and Chinese.  Vienna had exquisite restaurants.

As for the kids, people have asked me how did I manage to get my kids out of bed and onto a tour bus every morning for sightseeing and historical background.  I say that, as a parent, you  have to be firmly committed to the educational experience.

Before anyone calls the child welfare department, my son did that to himself with a pair of handcuffs that he bought from a vendor at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.

Most importantly, my family makes a great effort to blend in with the locals and not standout like a bunch of American tourists.  See what I mean:

Your children are growing up - they were a lot shorter when you bought your beagle, Daisy I think you called her. I do hope you intend to post some more photos of your trip.  I'm really liking your wife's haircut btw.

Our tour headed south from Krakow through the Tetra Mountains in Eastern Slovakia and into the Danube River Valley, the nation of Hungary, and, lastly our destination, the city of Budapest.

Budapest is actually a combination of two cities. Buda, which lies on one side of the Danube River, and Pest, which lies on the other. It is supposedly where East (Buda) meets West (Pest).