Three Kings and Two Fighting Goats

Poznań gets the award for having one of the most charming old town squares I've seen in all of Poland. Stary Rynek is the old Main Market Square where the town hall and several other buildings stand. The Market Square is literally a big square, the outline of which is made up of quaint little pubs, cafes, and shops. Among the particularly well-known sights are the merchant houses, charming, colorful little houses dating from the 16th century which neighbor the town hall.

Market Square

Especially charming in the snow

The merchant houses

I spent a night in Poznań and then explored the city for a day before heading back to Elblag. I walked around sightseeing until I felt numb from the cold and then popped into Poznań's art museum to sightsee inside where it was warm!

I was in Poznań on January 6th, Epiphany, which happens to be a national holiday in Poland. According to my Polish friends, the holiday is relatively new, only three or four years old, although it was actually brought back from before the Communist period. Many of the shops and restaurants were closed (so I resorted to McDonald's for lunch), but there seemed to be a lot going on in town for the holiday. A stage was set up in the town square for entertainment, and on all the corners around the old town, people were giving out little paper crowns. Everyone from little kids to grandmas and grandpas were wearing the paper crowns and walking about town, and I couldn't help smiling at how cute it was!

At noon, I gathered with a little crowd in the town square to see the fighting goats. As the clock in the town square strikes twelve, two little mechanical goats come out of the tower and butt heads. Why goats? Well according to a town legend, during a large banquet held at the town hall, the cook burnt the main course, a large roast deer which was to be the centerpiece of the meal. Nervous he would be fired if anyone found out, he attempted to replace the deer with two goats which he stole from a nearby meadow. But before he could cook them up, the goats escaped from him and ran up to the town hall's tower where they began fighting and butting heads, attracting the attention of all the townspeople and visiting dignitaries, who thought it great entertainment. Rather than being upset, the voivode pardoned the cook (and the goats) in appreciation for the amusement that they provided. Later, the goats were added to the town hall's clock tower, becoming a major symbol of the town.

The goats are still fighting several centuries later

I left Poznań later that afternoon, barely catching my train thanks to some heavy snow that made it difficult to get to the train station. My boss was sweet enough to pick me up at the train station that evening, where she brought me to her house and served me dinner so I wouldn't have to worry about finding food with all the shops closed for the holiay. We talked for a bit, and I watched the end of one of the Star Wars prequels in Polish with her son, whom I tutor at the school. Then I got back to my apartment where I had just enough energy to unpack my clothes (and the boxes of Kraft macaroni I brought back from home) before going right to sleep!

The World's Tallest Statue of Jesus

The name Świebodzin first came up during one of my tutoring sessions at school. My student and I were reading an article about the Seven Wonders of the World, and when 'Christ the Redeemer' statue was mentioned, my student stopped reading and said, "You know, there's a larger one in Poland." He proceeded to tell me about 'Christ the King,' the much lesser known (but ever so slightly taller) statue located in Świebodzin, Poland. My student was critical of the monument, saying he thought the money used to build it would have been better off going to a charity, but I thought it was an interesting piece of information nonetheless. A week or so later, when I was planning my trip from Berlin back to Elblag, I came across Świebodzin on the map and realized that it would be quite easy for me to stop along the way back to visit Pomnik Chrystusa Króla, as he is known in Polish.

And so I did. I hopped off the train on my way to Poznan to see what is officially the world's tallest statue of Jesus on a cold January afternoon. Dragging my suitcase behind me, I walked about a half a mile from the train station in search of the statue. And I learned as I was walking that Świebodzin is a strange place. The town is pretty tired and worn down, with nothing else to recommend it as a tourist destination. You would think that the tallest statue of Jesus in the world would be a centerpiece of the town, but the statue itself is hard to find, located in the middle of an empty field far from the center of town. There's not even sidewalk halfway along the road as you walk to the statue, a detail of which I was acutely aware as I tugged my suitcase through the gravel on my mini-pilgrimage.

The statue finally became visible as I emerged from among the houses, trees, and power lines along the gravel road. It really is massive, and it had an impact on me when I finally saw it. Christ the King is 33 meters tall, 3 meters taller than its Brazilian counterpart, but only due to the crown on his head (which seems a little like cheating to me, I don't know...)The statue overlooks a giant, empty field and a Tesco supermarket across the street. Such a big monument seems out of place in the middle of nowhere. On a cold Wednesday afternoon, the place was deserted, which only added to the strangeness of it all. I decided to hide my suitcase in a big bush and climb up to see Jesus up close. There's a narrow, winding path up and around to the top of the statue, where you can hike up and see the view (mainly an empty field). I spent a little bit of time up there on my own, in the cold and quiet. Then I climbed back down, fetched my suitcase from the bush, and headed back to the train station. 

The statue's view

So now I can check that landmark off the list. It may not be one of the world's 'Seven Wonders,' but it was an interesting (if slightly peculiar) detour along the way.

Frankfurt and the Great Train Fiasco

On my way back to Poland, my plane had a seven hour layover in Frankfurt. I didn't really book the ticket to have such a long layover on purpose, but when I realized I had so much time on my hands, I decided to hop on one of the subway trains from the airport and go and see what there was to see. Luckily, the city center is not far at all from the airport, and about four train stops later I was walking the streets of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt's an interesting city. The traditional, restored buildings and churches from as far back as the middle ages are nestled among giant skyscrapers and modern, 21st century architecture without appearing like there was any deliberate plan in building all of it. It reminded me of a little kid building a city with two different sets of building blocks.

I really wasn't in Frankfurt for very long, but that was my first impression. I saw the Römeberg, Frankfurt's Old Town square with it's cobbled square and timber houses, peeked into the giant old gothic church near the town center, and took a walk to Palmengarten, the largest garden/greenhouse complex in the country. I spent a little time enjoying the greenhouses there, which were a lovely and refreshing source of green in the middle of the winter. 

I decided to start back on the train for the airport a few hours before I had to catch my next flight. Unfortunately, it was right about this time that the nine-hour plane ride from Chicago and all the jet lag started to catch up with me. I got to the subway, quickly squinted at the German names to determine which train would take me back to the airport, hopped on the next train I saw, and proceeded to space out for the next five stops. At the sixth stop, I finally realized I was headed in the wrong direction. I sighed to myself, grateful I had allotted plenty of time to get back to the airport, and switched trains at the next stop. Problem solved right? Wrong. While I was spacing out in the other direction, I managed to mix up the names of the stops for the central train station and the airport and got off the subway at the train station, which was three stops too early. After wandering around baffled for about ten minutes, I realized my (second) mistake and headed back to the subway, with a major sense of deja vu. I then got on another train. In the wrong direction. Twenty-five minutes later I turned myself around and (finally) made it to the airport with time to spare (and get a much needed cup of coffee), but if there's a lesson to be learned here it's make sure to give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport. Particularly if you're sleep deprived, directionally challenged, and in a foreign country where subway stops have names like Vogelweidstraße and Bludspendedienst.

Jenny Goes to Germany

I kicked off my Christmas break with a three day stay in Berlin before catching my plane home to the good ol' USA. I had mixed feelings about the city, which was a little edgy, a little artsy, a little dirty, a full of more history than is physically possible to take in in a few days, let alone several semeters of college.

Here are some of the highlights of my stay.

1. Brandenburg Gate

2. Victory Column
For some reason the Victory monument looks like it's a lot closer to the Brandenburg Gate than it actually is, or so I learned when I decided to walk from one to the other. On the way back I wandered through Berlin's giant park, Tiergarten, although not much was growing in the middle of December.

3. Reichstag Building

4. Checkpoint Charlie

5. East Side Gallery 

The East Side Gallery displays what's left of the Berlin wall. It's is 1.3 km (a little less than a mile) long. Along the wall's east side are paintings done by artists from all over the world in 1990.

6. The Fernsehturm (Berlin TV tower) and Alexanderplatz
The tallest structure in Berlin and a symbol of the city since it was built in the 1960s.

7. Pergamom Museum

8. The Berlin Cathedral

9. Art Galleries

I decided to check out a bit of the art scene in Berlin since the city is so well known for its artists. I visited two of the city's galleries, the Berlinische and Kunstehalle during the trip.

 

So that's Berlin in pictures. An interesting trip by all accounts!

Christmastime in Europe

Traveling during the off-season may not seem as appealing as taking a trip in the summer when the weather is beautiful and warm, but there are a lot of perks to winter trips, particularly during Christmastime, when all the big cities in Europe are all dressed up for the holidays!

The big Christmas tree in Gdansk

Presents all over Warsaw

A tree in Pariser Platz

Old Town Warsaw

A tree in the Stockholm harbor

Christmas elk!

Plenty of opportunities for ice skating!

Even Checkpoint Charlie is festive

Frankfurt's Christmas tree

More holiday spirit in Frankfurt

Poznan's sculptures are ready for Christmas

And so is the main square

Christmas markets, where you can buy handmade and homemade goods, are a European tradition, and I have seen my share of quaint and cozy little Christmas markets where locals sell everything from candles and woodcarvings to cheeses and jams. I think I've been to at least six or seven big ones this season.

Stockholm

Skansen

Gamla Stan

Berlin

Alexanderplatz

The Christmas spirit might just be worth the cold weather!

At Home in Stockholm

The only downside to the Christmas party was that it was the night before my (really early) flight to Stockholm. I managed to get a few hours of sleep before I had to catch a shuttle to the airport. The flight itself was a quick hop over the Baltic Sea. I had the entire row of seats on the plane to myself which was the first time that's ever happened!

One bus ride and a large cup of coffee later and I was ready to check out (and fall in love with!) the city. I dropped my bag off at my hostel where the owner gave me a map and directions to the Old Town and set off to eagerly explore. The weather was sunny (if not warm) and the sights of Stockholm did not disappoint.

Gamla Stan is Stockholm's Old Town, a union of winding cobblestone streets, rows of shops and flats in shades of gold and red, climbing ivy, and whirlwind activity. Västerlånggatan and Österlånggatan are the two main roads that wind through the old town, framed by spindly trees and frescoed facades . I could appreciate them, even though I couldn't pronounce them! Situated within the Old Town is the Stockholm Cathedral, Storkyrkan, which used to be a Catholic church and is now part of the Church of Sweden. 

Beautiful Stockholm

Gamla Stan

St. George and the Dragon in Storkyrkan

The Royal Palace is also located in Gamla Stan, home to the Swedish Royal family, over 1,000 elaborately bedecked rooms, and plenty of interesting historical artifacts. I caught the changing of the guards in front of the palace at noon, which was a pretty elaborate affair.

The Royal Palace

The changing of the guards at noon

Inside the palace

Am I royalty yet?

Neighboring the Old Town is the little islet of Riddarholmen, the Knight's Islet. Riddarholmen is perhaps one of the easiest sights to find in Stockholm thanks to the towering church, Riddarholmskyrkan, which is a familiar silhouette on the Stockholm skyline. This was my next destination. Unfortunately the church is closed between December and February, so I couldn't go inside, but the outside is plenty impressive.

Riddarholmskyrkan

I managed to squeeze in a visit to the Moderna Museet before the end of the day. It was a smallish museum on Skeppsholmen island, and it had some really fantastic displays. So far it's my favorite modern art museum that I've been to!

Back at the hostel I learned that I luckily and completely coincidentally happened to be in Stockholm on St. Lucia's Day (December 13). St. Lucia's Day is one of the biggest Christmastime traditions in Sweden. St. Lucia (whose name means 'light') was a Christian martyr who, according to a legend, brought food to Christians hiding from persecution in the catacombs of Rome. She wore candles on her head so that she could carry as much as possible to the catacombs. Today, the tradition is celebrated in churches and in homes with a young girl dressing as St. Lucia with a wreath of candles on her head, bringing food to the family and singing traditional songs. The hostel owner told us we could see a public celebration of St. Lucia's Day in Skansen.

Skansen is the world's first open-air museum, founded in 1891. It's like a miniature little town recreated to past historical periods, complete with plenty of animals. Me and a friend I made at the hostel decided we couldn't miss the celebration that we so serendipitously had arrived in Stockholm for, so on Sunday we headed to Skansen to witness our first St. Lucia's Day. In Skansen, we were directed to a public hall where we were packed in with crowds of people on wooden benches. A Swedish woman gave a little presentation (in four different languages) to all of us, and then the children came in, singing songs. The processed around the hall, lead by the oldest girl who was dressed as St. Lucia with the wreath of candles on her head. They were really cute (and amazingly well harmonized)! After the celebration, there was plenty more to do in Skansen such as wander the giant Christmas market, eat delicious homemade waffles, watch a Swedish choir performance, and avoid all the chickens and pigs running amok! It started to snow lightly in the evening, and honestly, Stockholm in a gentle snow felt like something from a fairytale!

St. Lucia and her entourage

A Christmas market!

A surprise Christmas choir

I had just enough time after the Skansen to see one last sight before heading back to the airport: the giant Vasa warship in the Vasamuseet. Luckily, the museum was quite close to Skansen since they are both located on the same island of Djurgården, so I was able to get there very easily. The Vasa is a gigantic Swedish warship that was built in the 17th century, but sank on its maiden voyage. It wasn't found again until the 1950s where it was salvaged, restored, and given its very own museum. The ship is really impressive, especially because so much of it and its contents were preserved as it lay undisturbed under the sea. The museum is also extremely nice and well put together; it's often listed as one of the top sights to see in Stockholm.

The Vasa

And so I was very, very pleasantly surprised by Stockholm and how much I liked the city! It's definitely gained a spot as one of my top five favorite cities!

I really liked the famous Stockholm elk!

 

(P.S. - if you need another reason to like Stockholm as much as I do, just Google 'the King of Sweden wearing hats.')