Stockholm and Uppsala (30/01-04/02/2017)

Ania and I decided to take a trip to Sweden right after our exams and before beginning the second semester. So we took a flight from Krakow leaving around 9am and reaching Nykoping, where Ryanair's Stockholm location is, at around 11am. From there we took a bus which eventually took us into Stockholm around 12:30. After getting out from the bus station we decided to head to our hostel to leave our luggage and explore the city. After walking quickly through the old town we reached the place; the Red Boat, a hostel inside a boat. Our rooms weren't ready yet so we decided to leave the bags and return later. It was a beautiful sunny day, quite unexpected, and the view form the boat's location was really great towards the Gamla Stan, or Old town. As it was late January the water was partially frozen and large ice blocks were floating around. We crossed the footbridge and reached the western end of the old town, where the Riddarholmen Church is located. Unfortunately it was closed but we could still admire its Gothic features from the outside. From there we walked past the Riddarhuset, or House of Nobility, and the Bonde Palace both dating from the 17th century in Baroque style. Walking up Storkyrkobrinken street we reached the Storkyrkan or the Great church, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The interior in brick Gothic, contains a beautiful wooden St George and the dragon and several baroque altars. Once outside the church we walked through Slottsbacken, or Castle slope, a large street resembling more a square, with a 19th century obelisk at its center and the Swedish Royal Palace at its northern end. Descending down we went around the eastern side of the old town and walked through several narrow streets including the particular Dryckesgrand, or Drunkenness street. We also walked through the city's narrowest street Mårten Trotzigs Gränd which measures 90cm at its tighest point. We reached Stortorget the city's oldest square yet quite small compared to the newer ones. It is here that the heart of the Gamla Stan is located. At its western end stand some old tenement houses giving the square a pretty look. At its northern end is the Stock Exchange now housing the Nobel museum. As we were getting hungry we decided to buy a few groceries and head back to check in at the boat. Once there we went in our room, a super tiny room with a tiny bunk bed, and made ourselves some sandwiches to eat. We were quite tired so we decided to nap a little. After waking up quite late we decided to take a stroll back into town without the light of the sun; the weather was getting cloudier and colder but we enjoyed it nonetheless. For dinner, I had found a place on internet, and decided to see if it was worth it. After walking a little bit and reaching the new part of the city and the Norrmalm district. The place was called K25 and is a kind of hip foodhall with several different small restaurant/stalls selling their food. Mostly ethnic, we decided to eat at the Korean/Asian one which was really good; plus for Swedish prices it was really great. On the way back home, we stopped along one of the main medieval streets of the old town to admire a runic inscription probably dating to the 11th century. After sleeping the night we woke up the next morning and decided to visit a few museums as it was cloudy and partly rainy. We reached Djugarden, an island right by the old town, where we started our visit with the Vasa Museum. For this one we had to pay 110sek or 11,5 euros, but the visit was really worth it. The museum in fact contains an almost fully intact 17th century ship, the only one anywhere on display, which has been salvaged from not far from the museum's location. The wood carvings on the ship, especially on the back were still perfectly maintained and the size of it was really immense. After this museum we headed back out and moved towards the next one. We had a quick sandwich for lunch and after passing by the Parliament House we entered the Royal Palace, the entrance costing 80sek. We started the visit with the Tre Konor Museum, or Three Crowns, which featured remains of what used to be the castle of the city. From there we moved to the palace itself and walked through the rooms of the royal apartments, all finely decorated. Most are just for display while others are still used by the current royal family. After exiting the museum we headed back home to rest a while and then went to have dinner at the same place of the previous night, trying another Asian dish. The next day, getting up quite early, we headed out to more museums due to the weather and that some were free. We visited the Royal Treasury first, as it was closed the previous day, and then moved on as it had stopped raining and the museums were going to be open till late. We walked back to Djugarden, the island where the Vasa Museum was located, and took the initiative to walk its entire perimeter. Despite being really close to the center of the city, the island is still highly wooded and has some really nice spots to walk around. After a nice stroll we headed back into town and went to visit the Hallwyll museum, a house museum, holding objects and furniture from the Victorian period and several paintings; entrance was free on that day We had quick lunch and headed to next museum: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities located on Skeppsholmen island. Inside were objects from countries such as Japan, India, Korea, China and others in southeast Asia. Then we headed back to the Royal Palace and finished that museum with the Royal Armory which we weren't able to see the previous day. It contained some beautiful examples of medieval and renaissance armors and weapons including those of several Swedish kings. It was then the turn of the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, not far from the palace. A bit of a disappointment, albeit free, it was targeted more for children as it just had a few old objects while the rest was mostly reconstructed to show how things were. Much better was the Swedish History Museum, where we were able to admire some beautiful runic stones, viking weapons and armor and even a ship. There was also a lot of medieval religious artifacts such as altar panels, relics, stonework and other objects. Particularly interesting, though gruesome, was the display featuring dead corpses and skeletons of those soldiers that had participated in the Battle of Visby in 1361, with their bodies showing the effects of blows and hits. It was already dark outside, but the day wasn't over, so we headed on to visit the last museum for the day: the Nordiska Museet. Also free, the Nordic museum had collections showing the cultural and ethnographic history of populations of the Nordic countries. After the visit we headed back home, and being really tired from this long day we decided to eat dinner at the hostel and go to sleep early. The next day, waking up at around 9am, we left the hostel and headed up the hill right behind the boat, called Mariaberget where we had a beautiful view over the city. We then walked a little further and reached the Per Anders Fogelstroms terrass with yet another view of the city. After that, we headed to the nearest metro train station and headed south for a few minutes, reaching Skogskyrkogarden, a cemetery immersed in the woods. A Unesco world heritage site, this beautiful cemetery was built at the beginning of the 20th century by two Swedish architects following the Nordic classicism style combined with functionalism. We walked around the grounds, and despite being a cemetery it never felt eerie as the tombs were peacefully laid one next to the other among the beautiful spruces and pines.Coming back to the city, we decided to have dinner at a place called Kalf & Hansen near our hostel, we had some really good yet not fully filling Nordic ecological food. After sleeping the night, we woke up the next day having decided to visit Uppsala. We took the first train from the main station and reached the destination around 11am. Getting off the train we headed into town and walked its pretty streets, passing by the main square, Stora Torget and reaching the small river traversing the city, the Fyris. Walking along its bank we reached the town's main attraction: the Cathedral. Built in the 13th century, it is the tallest church of the Nordic countries and holds tombs of several important Swedish monarchs and other famous people such as Gustav Vasa and Carl Linnaeus. The interior was mostly redone in Neo-Gothic style but some older things remains such as the beautifully ornamented tomb of King Vasa.  From the cathedral we then entered the nearby church of the Holy Trinity, also built in the Gothic style. Walking on, we passed by the University's Main Library building from the 19th century, and reached the top of the hill where the Castle is located. The castle built in the 16th century, was rebuilt in the 18th century. We decided to skip its visit and instead head down on the other side of the hill through the Linneanum, with its nicely laid out garden though not at its finest as it was still winter. As we were quite hungry we decided to look for a place to eat; i had read that actually the university had some nice lunch options for relatively low prices. After touring the university, we eventually found the canteen, and decided to eat the buffet option they had. I took fish and a large salad bowl and Ania took a large salad bowl too; it was really good and well priced especially for Sweden. After lunch we headed north and decided to walk for little more than an hour reaching Gamla Uppsala, or the site where old Uppsala was located. This used to be the political and religious center of Sweden before it even became a country and where Swedish kings. After arriving there we explored the small medieval church dating to the 13th century; here used to be the main temple and then later on the cathedral which was partially damaged by fire and left what we see today. Not far were the three main Royal mounds, three barrows which used to hold the remains of ancient kings. Walking around them for a while we enjoyed the view and the tranquility of the place; then as it was starting to get late we decided to head back towards the city. An hour later we reached town and took the next train headed to Stockholm. After getting off the train we decided to head to have dinner; we opted for K25 again this time trying another one of the restaurants there. We then headed home feeling very tired but ready for the next day. Our last day we decided to head out of the city again to visit the not too distant Drottningholm Palace. We took the metro first and then switched on a bus before arriving to the palace. Still owned by the Swedish royal family, it is available for visits and a UNESCO world heritage site. Originally built in the 16th century the present one dates to the 18th century. After visiting its Baroque interiors with all the decorated rooms including the king and queen's chambers, we headed out into the gardens. The Palace was built right next to the water, and behind it a whole baroque garden. We walked through the garden and then past the Chinese pavilion and the English landscape garden. Walking around for a while we then went back to take the bus back into the city. We were quite hungry so we headed towards the Hotorgshallen, the city market which also had a food court. There I had a tasty fish soup at a local fish restaurant/market. After lunch heading back towards the hostel, we stopped at the German church which had been closed on the other days. Built in the Baroque and Neo-Gothic styles, it holds a really nice golden pulpit. We then reached the hostel and got our luggage ready to head to the airport. We had booked a flight in the early hours of the coming morning so we had booked a bus around 3am. We decided to first have dinner at Vigarda, a popular and delicious hamburger place next to the station and then went to the Skybar of the Radisson Blu where we enjoyed some wine with a view over the city before eventually catching the bus to the airport and going back to Krakow.

View of Gamla Stan

The Storkyrkan

St George and the dragon inside the main church

Stora torget

The ship inside the Vasa Museum

One of the rooms inside the Royal Palace

One of the rooms of the Hallwyll Museum

A Viking runestone

The Skogskyrkogarden

Inside the Uppsala Cathedral

The Vasa tomb inside the cathedral

View of the Uppsala cathedral

The church in Gamla Uppsala

The King's Mounds in Gamla Uppsala

View of the Drottningholm gardens

The Drottninghom Palace from the front

Auschwitz (13/01/2017)

After Veera and Pinja decided to visit me in Krakow, we chose to take a day trip to Auschwitz.
We took a bus right in front of my house and reached the site about one hour and twenty minutes later. A Unesco world heritage site, it is infamous for being one of the largest and most known concentration and extermination camps. After getting off the bus we headed inside (the entrance is free), and immediately found ourselves confronted with the main entrance and its infamous Arbeit macht frei or work brings freedom. We walked along the main pathway, lined by barbed wire and wooden barracks. Each barrack contained the story, objects and info of prisoners coming from different regions and countries of Europe. We visited most of them, and then moved on towards the gas chambers. It was a grim place, a small sized room with dark walls and mostly dark and right next door the ovens were set to show what happened after. We then went back to the barracks and saw the living quarters, bathrooms and rooms the prisoners had to stay in; they were mostly recreated as the Nazis destroyed most of the camps throughout Europe when retreating. We then headed out, and thought it was a lot to take in; especially at this moment of the year when most of the camp is empty f tourists and there is snow everywhere making it even more eerie. Just outside, we decided to have lunch in a restaurant, before then catching the bus back to Krakow.

The barracks and barbed wire

Interior of the gas chamber

The ovens

General view of the barracks

One of the living quarters

Guard tower 

Udine, Venzone & Gemona (02/01/2017)

After coming back to Italy for the Christmas break and right before heading back to Krakow for the end of the semester, we decided to have a family trip in Friuli together with Kyle, will's good friend. We woke up later in the morning and headed by car first to the town of Udine. After parking the car, we headed into town and passed by the old walls that used to surround the city. We passed next to Porta Torriani, and entered the pretty Piazza Matteotti, lined with beautiful palaces and houses all around its perimeter. At its center stands a renaissance fountain and column and on its western side stands the Church of S Giacomo which originally gave its name to the square. We entered the church and walked around its pretty baroque interior; in one of the chapels we also admired a well made nativity scene. After exiting the church, we headed south west, passing in front of the early 20th century city hall and reaching the Cathedral. As it was midday, the Cathedral had just closed, but we nonetheless enjoyed its Gothic structure from the outside with its hexagonal bell tower. Walking a little further we reached the beautiful Piazza della Libertá, the oldest square of the city, and certainly the most impressive. At its center sit a column with the Lion of St Mar's symbol of Venice's rule over the city in the past, a renaissance fountain, the justice column, and two statues of Hercules and Cacus. At the southern end of the square is the Loggia del Lionello from the 15th century in Venetian Gothic style; it used to serve as the municipal building in the past and still serves that purpose today. On the opposite side stands the Loggia and Tempietto of San Giovanni dating to the 16th century with at its top the Clock tower, dating to the same period and very similar to the one in Venice's main square. From there we headed uphill through the Arco Bollani, an arch buil by Palladio and the entrance to the castle hill. Alongside the path, ran the Porticato del Lippomanno, a gothic arched way leading up the top of the hill. We passed by the church of S Maria in Castello which was closed, and reached the top where the castle is located. Rather than an actual defensive structure, the castle is more like a renaissance palace and holds a few museums inside, which we had no time to visit. After getting back to the car we headed out and met with a good friend of the family to have lunch in a place called Taverna Al Grop in the nearby town of Tavagnacco. Then we headed north and reached the town of Venzone, considered one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. The town was unfortunately struck by an earthquake in 1976 and completely destroyed; it was then fully reconstructed using each single stone back to where it belonged. After having parked the car, we headed into town following the main street that cuts right into the centre. All around were lavender shops, as there are quite some field around the area and the place is famous for it, After stopping briefly to admire the main square with its gothic stone town hall and clock tower, we continued on and reached the Cathedral. Dating to the 14th century it still holds some medieval frescoes despite the destruction by the earthquake, and the slender rebuilt bell tower which can be seen from far away due to its height. We then entered the bar besides the church and got the coins to visit one of the main attractions of the town, located in the former baptistery right in front of the cathedral entrance. Under the baptistery are displayed 5 of the 42 mummies which were found during works on the cathedral in the 17th century. Only 15 remained after the earthquake and 5 are permanently displayed to the public. The bodies date between the 13th and 19th centuries (others were buried after the first were found); supposedly the bodies mummified due to the presence of a specific soil and fungus. After that we exited, and I decided to quickly walk around the town's perimeter admiring the stone walls and the surrounding landscape. Once back in the car we headed south and stopped in the town of Gemona del Friuli. It was dark as we reached the place, and heading through the main street we took some stairs which brought as the top of a hill where the castle is located. Only a tower stands there but there is a great view over the town and cathedral. After getting back down into town, we headed inside the Cathedral itself. The town was hit by the earthquake too and partially reconstructed. The Cathedral took its Gothic form back and holds a beautiful facade with statues, and impressive rose windows. The interior holds some ancient decorations still but most was unfortunately lost during the quake. After visiting we ended the day by having dinner at San Daniele del Friuli in a place which served only Prosciutto San Daniele with a few sides such as various vegetables.

Piazza Matteotti in Udine

Facade of Udine's Cathedral

The Loggia and clock tower of San Giovanni

The Loggia del Lionello

The Porticato del Lippomano 

Venzone's main street

One of the mummies 

View of the Cathedral and Baptistery

View of the walls and Cathedral 

Gemona's Cathedral