A busy couple of days have happened since my last entry. On Friday, we took a train to Lublin and checked into our hotel (it was neat to have card keys and to each have our own). Our room had a nice view of the square towards the rynek/old town area - which at one point gave us a view of a crowd of spectators and dancers doing 'Brazilian Dance Fighting.' :-P Once we made it to our rooms and left our bags, we went around the city, seeing a group that is trying to preserve Lublin's Jewish history and their exhibit at a special gate in the city. After that point, we went near the city's castle, into an underground area near the town hall to see models and hear stories of the cities historical progress (including a moving model with lights, sounds, and Wislawa Szymborska reciting a poem before we heard the story of a fire that almost burned down the city). We later walked around the town, seeing the remains of a former cathedral, a former orphanage, 'Christian' versus 'Jewish' areas (before and now) and the gates and bridges between them, different places of worship, a Jewish university, a Jewish cemetery, and more of the city (paths, squares - but in the shape of an eye with 10 buildings on one side and stairs to the castle hill on the other). It is a cute little city. We stopped for snacks at one point before having a nice dinner at a Jewish restaurant in the Old Town area. I had a really good cabbage soup, plus an okay grilled salmon salad and this neat Israeli drink (with little bits of apple and cinnamon, which I had served warm since it was a chilly day). Later on, I had the chance to watch some TV and then some of us spent some time at a cafe.
On Saturday, we had a nice breakfast at the hotel (one of the better I have had at an accommodation since coming to Poland) before going to the Majdanek concentration/extermination camp. It is very well-preserved, which makes it seem as though we are on a movie set. It is also very close to the city and interesting to see after visiting Auschwitz (especially for comparison reasons). It is free to enter (just need to set up and to pay for a guide if wanted). It had some neat historical exhibits and the different buildings seem almost left untouched since the camp stopped being used. There was one room that had THOUSANDS of shoes. It was as startling as the amounts of hair and belongings on display at Auschwitz, but Majdanek also has gas chambers and crematoria that were not destroyed. It was a very informative trip and interesting to see how more than one camp appears, even so many years later. We also have been fortunate to have had AMAZING tour guides on every tour, from tours in Warsaw to tours in the tri-cities on the Baltic to Auschwitz and Krakow and Lublin and this camp. The guide also reminded me of someone I know, which made me almost laugh to myself. I appreciate people who care to learn and to teach about historical places with such knowledge and passion (particularly difficult places, such as cemeteries and death camps).
After we returned, I relaxed and did some work before going to the wonderful Night of the Museums. I stuck with a group of us who went, so we mostly saw just a performance at Lazienki Park (cool lights, tons of people, jazz music, a guitarist from Genesis) - on the way there some of us saw a few Annie Leibovitz portraits up along the street - then walked around the park (pretty dark except some candles, lanterns, or lights shined at certain points; saw some loud - they were making their presence known in sound, not sight - peacock friends again, but hard to spot in the tops of trees) and then headed towards a park near a castle/museum before walking around (the soccer stadium was lit up with cool lights and we walked by a hip-hop/rap concert in a park) and then going to Old Town. We sat at a cafe before heading back for the night. There were so many events and available museums (a couple of us checked the extensive schedule for the participating museums, galleries, cafes, and other places), it was crazy! And I am not sure I have ever seen so many people out... even during the day. :-/ There were lines and people everywhere, of all kinds and ages. :-P
Today, sadly, I have work and it is predicted to rain. HOWEVER, I may try to head out in the grayness soon. ;) Not sure what and when, but I want to see Wilanow and the first day of Chopin concerts! On Tuesday, we go to the Presidential Palace for a visit/tour.
Photos added to Photobucket. :-D
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