Wednesday in Czestochowa and traveling to Krakow

We started today in Czestochowa.  It is about 2 hours southwest of Warsaw.  The main purpose of this 18-hour stop was to visit Jasna Gora (a church/shrine for Our Lady of Czestochowa).  I had heard of the Black Madonna (Our Lady of Czestochowa), but didn’t really understand what that meant. 

Our Lady of Czestochowa is an icon of Mary and baby Jesus.  It was made by St. Luke on a table that was made by Jesus, when he was doing carpentry.  We first saw Our Lady of Czestochowa while having Mass in the little chapel she is in.  All 40 pilgrims squeezed inside for Mass.  We have a Polish pilgrim, and she read the first reading and the psalm in Polish.

I was ambivalent about going to Czestochowa.  Our Lady is well known and the patroness of Poland.  When I first sat down for Mass and looked up to Our Lady, I was mesmerized.  The painting almost looks like a wood carving.  There is a very decorative overlay to the painting (that has been changed throughout the years) that is very ornate and decorative.  But the face on this painting is just beautiful.  Just like you would envision mother Mary; holding her son close, patiently listening and holding many sorrows in her heart.  It was much more moving than I anticipated to have Mass in her chapel and pray there. 

The main church (Basilika) was also beautiful.  The altar was glorious statues of gold and white depicting the Assumption (Mary rising to heaven).  Everything was so light, so heavenly, really. 

There was also a really beautiful organ in the back of the church!

Dad and I had lunch with Gladys and Lenny today.  Not a fun Polish lunch of pierogis, kilbasa and sauerkraut – we had chicken, carrot salad and carrot cake.  (For our Polish family, I was excited to see “Kompote” on the menu, but it wasn’t a whole fruit salad, it was a fruit drink.  We passed on that.

We then left Czestochowa and headed to Krakow (another 2 hours by bus).  Driving through Poland is very beautiful.  Lots of green grass, rolling hills and often feels of a golden flower.

Upon arriving in Krakow we had a surprise.  We were able to visit the newly built Saint John Paul II shrine.  Most of the church structure is built, but the surrounding area, pilgrim house, etc. are not finished.  We said a rosary in the chapel, where there is a relic from JPII, as well as the “tombstone” from the Vatican.  I use tombstone loosely, as he is still buried in St. Peter’s.  However, in recent months his tomb was moved from the crypt (below) to the main sanctuary at St. Peter’s for all the pilgrims.  What is in Krakow is the tombstone from his grave in the crypt.

We then entered the medium-sized chapel, to view artwork that shows JPII’s pilgrimages.  It was beautiful, but unusual to see a space filled with so many pieces of art about the Pope.

We then went upstairs to the main sanctuary -  WOW!!!  It is nearly finished.  There are stone mosaics throughout the church, depicting events from Jesus’ life and the bible.  And they are HUGE!  I was astounded at the artistry. 

I was especially moved by the central mosaic, behind the altar.  There were three images of Jesus.  The central image was of His birth; Mary holding Jesus and the three wise men worshipping him.  St. John Paul II is near them, with his arm outstretched, showing you the way to Christ.  It was a beautiful image of what the Pope does; lead us to Christ.

We are now at our last hotel for the trip.  Dinner is to be a buffet – I am hoping for sauerkraut, pierogis, kilbasa and sledgie!  (I had sledgie for breakfast in Warsaw, yum!!)

Love to all at home.  Know that you are all in our prayers each and every day.

Photos from Warsaw! (Tuesday)

Tuesday began in Warsaw.   We had a new tour guide, Agneska (Agnes).  Our first stop was the church of Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko, who was violently murdered in 1984.  (A modern day martyr)

 

We then continued on our bus tour of Warsaw.  We drove through the area that was the Jewish ghetto during WWII.  It is now a neighborhood with many apartments and in the middle there is a large memorial to the Jewish people of the area.

This was one of my favorite spots, the memorial statue for Frederic Chopin.  Beautiful park with a striking sculpture.

 

 

Before heading into "old town" Warsaw, we had a stop at the bathroom.  Dad and Fr. Joe found some sort of antique substation control panel.

 

"Old Town" Warsaw.  It is in the location of the old town of Warsaw, but almost all of Warsaw was destroyed during WWII.  This is the "new" old town.  Dad and I had some delicious pierogi's here!

 

I have been trying to get a photo up of St. Maximillian Kolbe's church/center up.  I am having a little trouble with the blogger software.  Will try again soon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A message from Dad!

“Today was our first full day in Poland.  We spent most of the day visiting sites in Warsaw, including a beautiful memorial to Frederic Chopin. 

It was also a day of reflection and remembrance for me as I realized that with this visit, Lindsay and I are the first of our immediate Szwed family to return to Poland in the last 60+ years.

Being here and experiencing the people and the sites, you are struck by all that happened ot the Polish people (both Christian and Jewish) pre-World War II, during the War, and after.  It caused us to reflect on what Babci and Grandpa Szwed experienced when they were here.  Driving through the countryside, I couldn’t help but think that Babci’s farm was close by.

After leaving Warsaw, we visited the Church and Museum of St. Maximillian Kolbe, a Fransician priest who gave his life at Auschwitz so that another man could live.  Our pilgrimage celebrated his life with a special Mass with Father Joe Bambenek.  He gave a very inspirational and personal homily.  It is a blessing to have him on this trip!

We are now in Czestochowa.  We will visit our Lady of Czestochowa Church and have Mass there before heading to Krakow, Poland’s cultural center.”  

Photo highlights from Monday

A beautiful day at the Catacombs (no photos inside the catacombs), but we were far enough out in the country, it was just so beautiful!

Our brief lunch stop outside the Vatican!

Inside the Vatican on our tour.  Such a lovely Day!!!

Touring the art at the Vatican.  This was the tapestry I spoke about in the earlier post.

Goodbye Roma!

Hello Warsaw!

Much better photos from Canonization Day!

This will be short again, since I have to go to sleep, but the internet is much better here!

Our mini-group, headed to the canonization via the subway.

When we got off the subway, we were at the beautiful Spanish Steps.

Dad and I went up the steps with Fr. Joe and some friends.  When then headed toward the Vatican.  The streets were just beautiful and you could turn around to see the Spanish Steps.

Looking forward and around on this walk, the apartments looked so lovely!

Our position for watching the Canonization.  You really could see through the trees!

We stood by this marker the whole time; afterwards we learned it was some sort of tribute to the great composer, Verdi!

After lunch, we walked to the Castel Sant'Angelo.  Looking from the Castel back to where we were standing,, you can see that Verdi tribute.

Dad and I with Fr. Joe and his cousin Randy at the top of the Spanish Steps.

Monday (Last day in Roma)

Wow! Another day has passed. I am putting down my notes here while flying to Berlin. Our time in Roma is finished. Today was a beautiful day. We began today by packing out of our hotel in Roma – Hotel Eurostars Aeterna. We had breakfast at the hotel – which I didn’t ever describe. It seems that “Italian buffet hotel breakfast” consists of fruit, cereal, eggs, coffee, juice, pastries and many kinds of meat and cheese (Yes, Justin and Joe – you would love it!) Lots of prosciutto, salami and mortedella. I only ate a little of that because you all know how I feel about breakfast at 7 am! We boarded up the bus (with our new driver, Claudio, who by the way was not as gentle on the pedal as Francesco!) and headed to the outer part of Roma. Our first stop of the day was the Catacombs. This was outside the city (for health reasons) and was a very large burial place for ancient Christians. The tombs were prolific. I could hardly believe that they were carved out when they were. So deep into the earth and so many! It was an especially touching place for me to visit, because it was where they found the body of St. Cecilia (my Confirmation name, the patron saint of music). Though her body was also found uncorrupted, we did not see her. There was a replica of a statue of how she was found, in the 1500s I think. After the Catacombs, we returned to the Vatican. We had a tour scheduled in the Vatican museum that would include a tour of the Sistine Chapel (Cappella Sistina). We had a new local guide, Christina, that gave excellent descriptions of the art we were about to see. The first items to view were tapestries from the 1500s. Most were in the time of Pope Urban. I was especially struck by one of the tapestries that depicted Holy Week. For one thing, it was huge – floor to ceiling, and the ceiling had to be 20 ft. There was Palm Sunday, the Last Supper and the betrayal of Jesus. Just stunning art. The Sistine Chapel was breathtaking. We were warned that photos, video and talking were not allowed. When you enter the chapel, you are fist overwhelmed by the number of people standing in this large open space. It’s a rectangle; with paintings on all the walls. Michelangelo’s work beautiful. But what surprised me most, was the size of the paintings on the ceiling. They are huge! When you see a photo in a book, I always thought, oh that painting must be so small. But even as a tiny person standing in the middle of this huge chapel, the art is also huge. The painting of God’s finger reaching out to touch Adam’s is so large. So beautiful. Very much worth seeing if you are in Roma. We then had to exit quickly, as it was 2:30 and we needed to get to the airport for our flight to Berlin. We thanked Christina, took a group picture and headed out. We made it on the airport safely and on time! We checked in and said goodbye and thank you to Tommasso. (Incidently, Dad and I spoke with him earlier and found out he was getting a much needed 6 day break from work! I imagine he’s drinking some vino right now!) So after a mozzarella and prosciutto Panini, two glasses of delightful red Italian wine and a Cassada cake at the Roma Airport, we are on the plane heading to Berlin to get to Warsaw. Upon reflection, Roma was truly wonderful. I wasn’t looking forward to it as much, as I was concerned about the crowds and being exhausted from the canonization. It surpassed my expectations, and I can’t wait to visit Roma again – but without a tour group! They are truly wonderful people to travel with, but I miss Joe and want to have time to sit at a café outside and eat pasta, salami and drink wine! I’ll try to p

Photos 2

A few photos from Day 2 (Basilica day). St. Peter's

St. Paul's Outside the Walls (walls of Rome that is)

St. Mary Major (I think, it took so long to download, I forgot!

Photos 1

So it takes awhile to get the photos uploaded in Rome. So here are two from Friday: Colosseo and ruins of the Forum.

Canonization Day (Sunday in Roma)

I realize, as I write this, my grammar has become abysmal. I think I will chalk it up to trying to recall events of the day late at night! Today was the big day in Rome! We were given three choices for viewing the canonization Mass (at 10am) of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII. A. Meet the bus at 4:30 am in the lobby to head to the Vatican. You would be dropped off at the Castel Sant’Angelo (about a mile or two from St. Peter’s) and be able to head that way by about 5 am. B. Leave with our Chaplain Fr. Joe at about 7:30 am. You would take the Metro with him to get near the Vatican, but plan on watching it from a jumbotron screen. C. Wake up whenever you want, do whatever you want! After careful consideration, Dad decided on Plan B. Being part of the canonization was important, but not the end all. Rome has been overflowing with people, and St. Peter’s Square was to be PACKED with people this morning. We had a little experience with crowds Monday at St. Peter’s when touring. We were viewing John Paul II’s grave and all of a sudden the crowd started moving and pushing. We were being moved without even walking. When our American guide said that what we experienced there was ¼ of what we might feel on Sunday. You all know how much Dad likes crowds! As it turns out, Plan B was fantastic! Our fellow pilgrims left at 4:30 am. Dad and I went down to breakfast at the hotel at 7 am. Three or four pilgrims had already come back!! Apparently, you had to be very dedicated at 5 am (in fact, St. Peter’s square opened at 1 am, instead of 5:30 am as originally shared! The early pilgrims didn’t have any room!) Anyways, we took the Metro from San Giovanni to Spagna. When we got off the Metro at Spagna and were at the Spanish Steps. They were beautiful! We then walked through the streets to try to get near Castel Sant’Angelo to watch the Mass. (The streets we walked through were the high-end fashion streets – Prada, Gucci, you name it!) We made it to the River Tevere and could see Castel Sant’Angelo. We tried to cross the bridge to get to the Castel, but the crowds started to get very heavy and pushy. So we made a decision to watch the Mass from the other side of the river Tevere. We had a great view of the jumbotrons and could hear all of the music and speaking very clearly! There were two favorite parts of the mass. First was during the liturgy of the Eucharist. Pope Francis (Papa Francesco, as he is called here) was blessing the bread and wine and during the consecration, the bells were rung. In olden days, many Catholics didn’t know when the bread and wine were consecrated since churches were so large and the priests faced the altar, not the people (it was hard to see). Bells were rung to let the congregation know that the consecration happened. This was meaningful here, because we couldn’t see Pope Francis, or the jumbotron all the time. Second, it was very special to do the passing of peace with our neighbors from the pilgrimage, Hungary, Germany and Italy. After the canonization, our small went for pizza. Dad and I shared melon and prosciutto appetizer and a pizza margarita. Delicious! We met our tour group back at Castel Sant’Angelo (well, the ones that stayed at the Vatican, many returned to the hotel). I was struck at how much litter and trash there was! All those pilgrims, with no space, no trash cans, but oh so much mess! We met all our pilgrims at the church of St. Joachim and St. Anne. We celebrated mass there (since no one received communion at the canonization mass earlier!) with pilgrims from another Mater Dei tour group. After Mass we headed into what seemed like Rome’s suburbs for dinner at Benino’s. It was a nice meal, but one defiantly geared towards large groups of foreigners. Nice food, but a LOT of it! We were entertained by a guitarist and singer from time to time. Let’s just say the pilgrims celebrated with lots of Sangiovese and Veredecci (new kind of grape for white wine… I think that’s the name) We headed back to the hotel and said goodbye to our weekend bus driver, Francesco. He spoke very little English, but very nice. As we tipped him, many of the ladies wanted to give him a hug as well. This led to an endless line of women from our tour hugging and Italian kissing (one kiss per cheek) Francesco. I couldn't tell if he was just being polite, enjoying it or thought we were crazy! More touring in Rome tomorrow before heading to Poland in the evening. Sorry about the delays in posting. We have only been at the hotel at night, and the internet is VERY slow at our hotel then. I hope to post this and maybe a picture or two before we leave tomorrow!

Saturday in Italy

Today was basilica day. We started with Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. It has been very nice to have Dad’s friend Fr. Joe as the chaplain for our tour. He has said the Mass for us each day. What was most surprising to me, is that all the cathedrals have many little chapels. At St. Peter’s we went into the crypt (below the main church) where we passed at least 6 buried popes and probably 8 smaller chapels. It was wonderful to hear people of many nations all coming to celebrate the Mass here. As we received communion, we heard pilgrims from another chapel singing “Seek Ye First” from another chapel. We then had a “boxed” breakfast at St. Peter’s. Our local guide Deborah, met us again and was with us the entire day. She took us on an excellent tour of St. Peter’s Basilica. There are just so many things to look at in these churches. So much beautiful art (Michelangelo sculpture), the tomb of John Paul II, the uncorrupted body of Pope John XXIII (also to be canonized Sunday). And much much more. After this, we went to St. Paul’s Outside the Walls. This basilica was just as beautiful. But had a different feel, as there was a beautiful garden outside the main church. I also liked seeing the paining of the Paschal Lamb on the outside of the church. Inside, we saw a beautiful chapel, but also some unique things. St. Paul is buried here. We also saw the chains he was placed in. Part of the artwork includes a portrait of every single pope (up to Pope Francis). All was so lovely. We had a quick lunch here (prosciutto and mozzarella Panini and mignons (chocolate filled pastry). When then went to St. Mary Minor church. I was very impressed with our local guides, Thommaso and Deborah. They were able to keep everyone on track! St. Mary Minor was a slightly smaller sanctuary, but just as grand. The main thing we were to see here was some of the relics from Christ. There was the sign from his cross and wood from the cross of St. ?? Who was the man crucified on Jesus’s side. Stones from the tomb of Jesus were saved, along with other items. The most thought provoking was the shroud of Christ (what Jesus was buried in). It was a replica, but even in the replica it was humbling to think about the marks and imprints left on that cloth. Our last church was St. John V?. This is the church that is for the bishop of Rome (the pope). Again, a truly beautiful church. It was very special, as they began a Mass there at 4pm, the organ was played! At this point Dad was getting a little tired. But he kept up. We had one more stop at the Sacred Steps, then it was back to the hotel before dinner. Dad and I decided to take a moment to get a drink. We had hoped to sit outside at a little café and have a coffee or glass of wine. Unfortunate for us, the rain held off all day until this point. Good for the tour group, less good for those wanting to just soak in some local culture. So we had glasses of Pino Grigio from northern Italy and chatted. Dinner was with the group again at the hotel. It’s now after dinner and the internet is slow (again!) I guess I need to post these mid-day, instead of at the end! While typing this into word, before I forget it all, Dad is sleeping and I have the TV on. One of my favorite travel pastimes is to watch TV in a foreign language. I think I have stumbled upon a musical Pope John Paul II tribute. Seems like a lot of high schoolers giving a program of singing, dance & music. Love to all. Thank you for praying for our group. We continue to pray for those at home!

Travel & Day 1

Hi all! Sorry for the delay in posting. I was awake last night to post, but the internet at the hotel was very poor. I will give some updates now! Today (Thursday) we flew to Rome from Chicago O’Hare via Berlin. The flight wet very smoothly and we were fortunate to make it to Rome with everything (and everyone) in one piece. We have about 40 pilgrims on this tour, of all ages and from throughout the U.S. After arriving in Rome (about noon Rome time) we met our local tour guide, Thommase and bus driver Francesco. Our plan was to tour ancient Roma. We started with a brief lunch near the Coliseum. Dad and I shared a delicious tomato, mozzarella and basil Panini with these little butter cookies with chocolate in the middle. Yum! We met back up with our group and had another local tour guide, Deborah. She took us all around Ancient Rome. It was beautiful, but after being awake for many, many hours, it was sometimes hard to focus on all the wonderful information she was sharing! We saw the Forum. The Coliseum. Many Arcs. Statues of Ceasar, Nero and Augustus. I love walking around the ruins of the Forum. We could look at it from above and see the great depth and beauty. It really is amazing to think all of this was built so long ago. We then had our first Mass at St. Peter in Chains. This is where the chains St. Peter was bound in Jerusalem and Rome are saved as a relic. They were also fused together (a miracle!) Very beautiful and it was a wonderful first mass. We finally made it to our hotel at 6pm. After a quick shower we met our pilgrims for dinner at the hotel. We are now fighting with our technology to get it to work! Funny thoughts from day one: 1. Every time I go to a new country, I want to say “thank you” in the language from the last coutry I was in. In Okinawa, I was trying to say thank you in my high school French. In Italy, I’m saying “hai hai” for yes! 2. When landing in Berlin, we parked our big airbus way out away from the terminal. We were bussed into the terminal and then went through passport control. We then went to our gate, wherein we got on another bus to get to our plane. After driving way away from the terminal we arrive at a large airbus plane to take us to Roma. I am pretty sure it was the same plane! We went in a big cirle, and I’m pretty Sure Grandpa Straka was laughing at us. PS - I wrote this blog but didn't post it. Pictures to come soon!

Here we go!

Another adventure, another blog. Many of you remember the blog Joe and I made for our adventures while living in Japan. I'm starting a new adventure this week with my dad as we travel to Italy and Poland. Those of you who know my family know how much I have enjoyed our Polish traditions. I am looking forward to experiencing my heritage in person. I hope to blog a little each day about our travel (podroz). Enjoy!