Europe
weekly photo challenge: silhouette
This B&W photo was taken at sunset in Krakow Old Town Square.
The silhouette is of Adam Mickiewicz, a famous Polish Romantic poet of the 19th Century. We captured this photo as a real pigeon landed to perch on his head.
The silhouette buildings around him are the Krakow Bell tower and the Krakow Cloth Hall. The rooster is part of the Cloth Hall.
Other silhouette photos can be found here.
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the hill of crosses: a photo essay
Looking around, we see fields and fields of green grass! And then we see a hill. And on that hill, we see thousands and thousands of crosses.
Hundreds of thousands of crucifixes of all different varieties: wooden ones, metal ones, miniscule ones and gigantic ones.
The Hill of Crosses is quite a remarkable sight. We felt a great reverence for those who have had a cross placed here for them as we walk through the narrow paths lined with crosses. This is a sacred pilgrimage site and we can certainly see why. There is a strong spiritual feel and a sense of peacefulness. Its location probably helps as it is rather removed from the hustle bustle of a major city.
The information behind the origin is all very hazy but it is believed that relatives placed crosses here for those who were killed during the 1800s uprising between Eastern Europe and the Russian Empire. Over the years, it has become a symbolic “grave” for anyone that has passed away.
During the Russian Occupation of Lithuania, this was the Lithuanians show of their unity, faith and identity.
The last thing we see during our visit is a stone that is inscribed with the words of Pope John Paul II following his visit. This really was a fitting summary of what we saw!
We found this a moving place to visit.
Have you been to the Hill of Crosses?
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photo of the day: carcassonne
After walking up 242 steps to the top of St Vincent’s Bell Tower for a view of the medieval city of Carcassonne, we had to share what we saw.
This is our photo of the day!
Click on the picture to enlarge and click here to leave us a comment.
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our first month in review
We have been away exactly a month now and we have enjoyed every moment and experience! We have seen some mind-blowing, spectacular and confronting things. And we have learnt soooo much more about European history from the countries that we have visited.
Here is our first month in a quick review:
Our first stop was Russia where we visited Moscow and St Petersburg. There we saw some amazingly opulent palaces and got a sneak peak into the lives of the past royals. Our standout moment from here would be setting eyes on St Basil’s in Red Square for the first time.
The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were next on the agenda. We learnt about the Singing Revolution which we had no idea about and also learnt about the Baltic Way – 2 million people holding hands across the 3 countries to make a 600 km human chain to stand up for their independence. A few of our favourites in this area would be visiting the Hill of Crosses and experiencing the old towns of each capital city
Poland was definitely a little surprise package for us. We enjoyed what the country had to offer; its history, food, people and culture. Here we experienced awe as well as sadness. There were moments of joy and wonderment as we visited the Wieliczka Salt Mines, walked around the Old Town of Krakow and be impressed at the restoration efforts of Warsaw. Then there were moments of heart-break where we shed tears for those who lost their lives during World War II especially when we visited the concentrations camps.
We had a small taste of Czech Republic back in 2006 when we visited Prague for a few days. This time, we had an opportunity to visit Cesky Krumlov as well. One of our highlights in Cesky Krumlov was definitely getting a tour of the Zámecké Divadlo (Castle Theatre). One of the last few remaining wooden theatres still with costumes, props and stage sets. Prague was nothing like we remembered, probably because we came this time with “older” eyes and a different mindset to travel. A highlight would have to be seeing the Astronomical Clock again and really appreciating it for what it was this time.
Now we are in Bordeaux, France and we are loving France all over again. Despite common belief, the French people are very friendly and always willing to help. Two memorable experiences amongst the many so far (as we still have all up another 10 days or so) was watching Moulin Rouge and seeing Mont St Michel. Next stop Carcassonne 🙂
Have a great week ahead, folks!
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wise monkeys abroad 