Blog 397
I have returned mentally refreshed and physically fit after
our week’s break in Poland. I don’t know about you and your holidays, but we
seem to pack an awful lot into ours and cover a lot of ground. (I swear I am 2”
shorter after all the pavement pounding!) We have walked around the sights of
Krakow amongst the thousands of other tourists who were there doing the same
thing. It was heaving with humanity and the good weather made it all the more enjoyable.
There were lots of things to see and to enjoy including the Wawel Castle,
Krakow Cathedral, the Market Square and the Cloth Hall, Baroque and Romanesque
facades and river walks along the Vistula.
The quilt show turned out to be an evening event on Saturday
night, with a buffet supper and wine. It was a happy occasion celebrating the diligence
of the teacher (Julie) and the creativity of her students and I was delighted
to be part of it. After a formal welcome and introduction, of which I
understood not a word, the garden gate quilters were invited on stage and given
a peony (such a luscious and extravagant bloom!). Julie and I were presented
with a bunch of peonies each and I also received fabric flowers (tulips) as a
lasting reminder of the event. I was thrilled! Here are some pictures of the
event and garden gate quilts.
We then hired a car and drove to the ski town of Zakopane,
settling into our hotel before visiting a nephew and his family. (It does help
to have inside information about a place when you are a tourist and we greatly
appreciated the advice given to us in both Kracow and Zakopane!) After a couple
of days exploring, we came back via Auschwitz and Birkenau. The tour with an
English speaking guide lasted about 4 hours and nothing but nothing was left
unsaid. Our feelings were very raw and it was a grim and often uncomfortable visit
through very recent European history. I shall never forget it. As this is a
quilting log, I will just post one relevant picture with the hope that these
quilts warmed and comforted those who were fortunate enough to own them.
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