JASNA GORA

Babcie's candle is that tiny baby one on the top stair, all the way to the left.

Jasna Gora

Seriously hope I spelled that right. This past week, on All Saint's Day, we went to Czestochowa to see the infamous Jasna Gora. It's a church and monastery that survived the Swedish invasion. We were able to venture inside this past Wednesday and see the Black Madonna, the catacombs and some very different confessional booths. I was also able to light a candle, for my late babcie, which was something I'm so glad I was able to do.

The trip home was even more eventful. Basically, we took the train to Czesto with the intention of taking the 6:30 train but knowing that we could take the 8 or 10pm. When we got to the station, we realized that the only train after the 6:30 was the 2am one. Ummm...yea. Had to teach a 7am class. So we venture to the cabbies and hope that one's corrupted enough that we can afford them to drive us all the way to Opole. No luck. 300 zl ($100 US) So we trek to the bus station where they tell us it costs 20zl for a bus at 1:20 am. A little better for time but it's not that much of a difference and train tickets are 12zl. So we decide to do the train but go to get some hot chocolate in the meantime. So it's freezing at this point and we find this little hut of a place that serves hot chocolate but doesn't have a heating system. We hang out there and suffer for an hour or so and then decide to head back to the station. We go to buy our tickets and find that they're 24zl. Okay...so we trudge up to the top of the station (it's less skeezy than the bus station) and try to sleep until security comes asking what we're doing. So we say we're riding the train (lie) and pick up and start heading to the bus station. Freezing again. We get to the bus station and it's closed. Of course. There's no way to get in and so I just start walking back. I get to the train station, buy my ticket, and we all just wait there until 2 am.

Nearly 2 am and the train is finally coming. We head to the platform and Carrie and I are literally hugging each other for warmth. With the snow coming down on the tracks and the distant whistle of the train, all that is going through my head at this point is the thoughts that people in the holocaust actually suffered and died in this intense cold. I can't even imagine.

So the train, after being delayed 15 minutes and a nice Polish gentleman telling us so in English, finally comes. We get on, sleep for an hour or so, and then come near the Opole train station. But we don't think that we're actually at the station so we don't get off here. We wait and end up missing our stop, on our way to Wroclaw. When we get there, we jump off, find the train for Opole and jump back on. Insane. It's about 6 am at this point and I'm supposed to teach at 7. I text my boss, finally walk home when we get to Opole, sleep for an hour (I called my awesome roomie who took my one on one for me) and start showering for my uber long day.