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One Foot Out the Door

Category Archives: Poland

“A Cry of Despair and a Warning to Humanity”

27 Tuesday Jan 2015

Posted by lexklein in Poland

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Tags

anniversary, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Holocaust, liberation, Poland

Today is the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. In fact, this January 27 marks seventy years since the Soviet army entered the camp and freed thousands of suffering prisoners. What can I possibly say about a visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps that can convey the depth of sadness and disbelief that one feels here? We were silent for almost this whole visit one summer day, and our lack of words then is reflected in my post today.

I’ll let my photos and these brief words from the camp’s memorial suffice.

“Forever let this place be

a cry of despair

and a warning to humanity,

where the Nazis murdered

about one and a half

million

men, women, and children,

mainly Jews

from various countries

of Europe”

********

Auschwitz-Birkenau

1940-1945

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Here’s to Beer

20 Saturday Sep 2014

Posted by lexklein in Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Croatia, Germany, Himalayas, Iceland, Ireland, Nepal, Peru, Poland, Slovenia, Tanzania, Tibet, Travel - General, United States

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Beer

My recent Friday Photo of some Guinness kegs in Dublin got me thinking about beer. The nectar of the gods is always a big part of my travel enjoyment. Before you think me a sot, let me say that I am simply an enthusiastic social drinker who particularly relishes a cold beer after a long day of trekking, sightseeing, or laboring.Ireland 2010 053One of my fondest beer memories is from a trip we took to the Monteverde cloud forest area in Costa Rica. Our family joined a larger group to work for nine days in Santa Elena, CR, where we mixed concrete by hand, dug trenches, hauled concrete blocks, and built bookshelves, among other duties. At the end of each long, hot day, we were filthy and exhausted. When we arrived back at our humble hostel each night, the dilemma was what to do first: quench our thirst and relax our aching bodies with a drink, or clean ourselves up? ImperialAs the days passed, the original binary choice of Beer or Shower morphed into a multivariable quandary expressed as Beer-Shower-Beer? or Shower-Beer-Beer? or Beer-Beer-Shower? or (screw the shower!) Beer-Beer-Beer! Imperial was definitely the ale of choice here, regardless of whether it was consumed before or after the bathing.

A good, local beer after a long day of trekking is also a marvelous reward. At dusk in the Great Rift Valley in Tanzania, we enjoyed many a Safari, Tusker, or Kilimanjaro outside our tents. African beers

On the Inca Trail in Peru, we became quite partial to Cusqueña Dark, while in Glacier National Park in northern Montana and Canada, we consistently grabbed a Moose Drool out of the cooler. Asia is not a high point for beer, but once we had acclimatized in the Himalayas in Nepal, we enjoyed a Gorkha or Everest most evenings after a day on the Khumbu trails. And a cold and rainy Mount Fitz Roy climb in Argentina was blissfully followed by two delicious home-brewed dark and blonde beers at cozy La Cervecería in the tiny town of El Chaltén.

Balkans & E Europe 2013 035Even a casual sightseeing day is enhanced by a good beer during or after. The light and dark Sarajevska brews in Bosnia & Herzegovina were both excellent at the end of a travel day, and in Düsseldorf, Germany, we drank our way through a day-long layover at the Braueries Uerige and Zum Schlüssel, both famous for their altbiers.

Iceland June 2014 133In Iceland, we happily whiled away several afternoons in Reykjavik with some Brios, Gulls, and Egils, and we tamed our post-trek PTSD after a particularly daunting mountain hike with a good Borg Úlfur draft.

Iceland June 2014 187And then there’s Ireland, oh Ireland! A real Guinness Draught the minute we arrived in Dublin at 10:30 am and a weekend full of Murphy’s Irish Stout, Harp Lager, and so many more rich and creamy Irish ales. Ireland 2010 087A “beer from the roof of the world,” a Lhasa, perked up a lunch at 11,000+ feet in Tibet, an Ožujsko welcomed us to Dubrovnik, Croatia, and we lingered over a luscious Laško in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

China and Tibet 2009 410

 

Balkans & E Europe 2013 447Another dark beauty, a Książęce, bid us farewell on our last night in Krakow, Poland … and on that note, I’m off to the fridge! Cheers!

Balkans & E Europe 2013 864

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A Grave Situation

06 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by lexklein in Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, France, Greece, Poland, Travel - General

≈ 10 Comments

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Buenos Aires, Cemeteries, Greece, Kazimierz, Krakow, La Recoleta, Paris, Pere-Lachaise, Sarajevo

What is it about cemeteries that attracts visitors and photographers? Some find it morbid and bizarre to walk around among gravestones and the dead, but I find most cemeteries to be peaceful and hauntingly beautiful places to spend an hour or two.

A rainy morning in Père-Lachaise Cemetery is one of my favorite memories of Paris. The weak morning sun seeping through the mist and illuminating the cobblestone walkways was the perfect backdrop for the mossy headstones engraved with famous names. Any reader, musician, artist, or just plain citizen of the world can appreciate a reflective stroll by the resting places of Proust, Molière, Chopin, Jim Morrison, and Seurat, among many others.

Paris 2012 103Paris 2012 124Paris 2012 112  An Ottoman-era cemetery high above Sarajevo is an incredible vantage point for seeing the valley in which this embattled Balkan city lies. The stories of snipers shooting down from these hills during the Seige of Sarajevo come frightening alive with this view, and the 15th century setting adds to the drama of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tangled history.

Balkans & E Europe 2013 117Balkans & E Europe 2013 124Eva Perón’s grave is but one small reason to venture into La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires. As in Paris, the architecture of the tombs is spectacular in itself, and the narrow lanes arranged in a grid pattern evoke almost a neighborhood feeling among the tiny buildings. An abundance of cats and cobwebs adds to the mysterious allure here.

Argentina & Uruguay Dec 2012 453Argentina & Uruguay Dec 2012 468

 

Argentina & Uruguay Dec 2012

In Krakow, there are two fascinating cemeteries in the Kazimierz neighborhood, the “New” (1800s) and “Old” (1500s) Jewish Cemeteries. Oddly, the “new” one feels more ancient than the older one (also known as Remuh), perhaps because so many of the headstones are aslant and covered with moss. The older-growth trees half block the sun, dappling the toppling graves with light and shadow.

Balkans & E Europe 2013 825RemuhWhen I thought back on a number of trips, I was astonished to realize just how many other cemeteries I had visited, from the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, to Arlington National in Washington, D.C., Montparnasse in Paris, and St. Louis in New Orleans.

Among all these monuments to mortality, perhaps the most emotional was an overgrown plot in Vasta, Greece, where I located the rough stone under which my great-grandfather lies. Grand or humble, cemeteries can be a quiet step back in time and a surprisingly serene way to spend a few hours outside on my travels.

Vasta grave

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Friday Photos: Sun, Moon and Water

18 Friday Apr 2014

Posted by lexklein in Nepal, Photos, Just Photos from All Over, Poland, Slovenia, Travel - General

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Ama Dablam, Krakow, Lake Bled, Nepal, Pangboche, Poland, Slovenia

Once again, a lazy Friday post of pictures only … a few more favorites from around the world.

New Jewish Cemetery (1800s) in Krakow, Poland

New Jewish Cemetery (1800s) in Krakow, Poland

Sunset and moonrise in Pangboche, Nepal

Sunset and moonrise in Pangboche, Nepal

Lake Bled island in Bled, Slovenia

Lake Bled island in Bled, Slovenia

 

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I’m a restless, world-wandering, language-loving, book-devouring traveler trying to straddle the threshold between a traditional, stable family life and a free-spirited, irresistible urge to roam. I’m sure I won’t have a travel story every time I add to this blog, but I’ve got a lot! I’m a pretty happy camper (literally), but there is some angst as well as excitement in always having one foot out the door. Come along for the trip as I take the second step …

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Favorite pic from Antigua, Guatemala by a mile. This guy didn’t move a muscle or twitch an eye when I stopped cold and began snapping photos of him chilling out on his skinny windowsill. ❤️🧡him!

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