Day Trip Event # 2 -- A visit to Janów Podlaski Village

About an hour after we left the Flying Fortress Monument we arrived at the outskirts of Janów Podlaski. This is a village in the county (powiat) of Biała Podlaska in the voivodeship of Lublin. It is very near the Bug River, which in this area marks the boundary between Poland and Belarus.

Much of the time spent in the village of Janów related to religious history, so I will write about the odd thing first. 

In this village there remains two gas pumps from the 1920s. 

Notice it says CPN on the top. My guide told me that even though officially the CPN company no longer exists (I think it's Orlen now), people still say they go to the CPN. 

 The picture above shows the inside the pump. One literally had to hand pump gas into the two glass cylinders before being able then to use gravity into a hose to fill the gas tank of a car. 

Now back to the religious history -- and on May 5 I saw the buildings but had to come back and do some internet research to understand the story and implications of what I saw.  The first mention of this geographic area dates back to about 1326. 

The first Roman Catholic diocese was established here in 1404. Over time the church has changed back and forth between Roman Catholic to Orthodox or Uniate/Greek Catholic. My understanding of Greek Catholic is that religious practices of the Orthodox Church were used but allegiance was to the Pope rather than the head of the Orthodox Church. The changes largely related to whatever country had political control of the geographic area.

At times it was known by the diocese name of Lutsk, even as recently as 1925. One Bishop of Lutsk decided there would be more physical safety on the west side of the Bug River and so built a palace there. I believe when it was built it was in Ukraine, but as most know borders have moved back and forth in this part of the world.

That palace deteriorated over time and now is the site of new hotel. 

We went inside and were graciously given a tour that took us to the cellar area of the building where we could see the  brick walls of the Bishop's Palace. And also we could see how elegant are the rooms. I took no photos of rooms, but did take a photo of the bar. 

 Notice how elegant this is. We had coffee there.

Outside there are newly constructed buildings that look like horse stables. Everything about

Janów is "horsey" because of the famous horse stud farm there. More about the horse stud farm will be in the next blog post. These buildings hold additional hotel room for guests, not horses. 

Above is the sculpture on the wall above the reception desk for the hotel. 

A third part of this complex is a building that houses the swimming pool and the spa facilities. I was told there are actually underground tunnels that run between the buildings so guests may dress in a robe and travel to the pool or spa without having to go outdoors. 

Now back to buildings that still exist. 

 This church was the Cathedral with the diocese of Lutsk was active. The priest who gave us a tour said the church now has collegiate status.

Above is the main altar of the church, a church that is now 300 years old. I thought I could see  how it had changed in its affiliations over time, for it had been a Polish Roman Catholic Church all that time the walls would have been decorated as well. 

The priest giving us the tour called my attention to what looks like a balcony window on the left. Notice in the exterior picture of the church there is a building contiguous to the church. This was housing for the bishops and other priests associated with the cathedral. The Bishop could use this window to pray towards the altar or simply see what was happening inside the cathedral without having to leave his room. 

In what was somewhat a small church, there are many side altars. The priest explained this was  so several priests could say Mass at the same time, doing so in whispers. This photo too gives a good view of something unique about this church. It has a wooden floor. The Bishop who led construction of this building thought wooden floors would be warmer than stone floors. The oak we walked on had been there 300 years. 

At one time there had been a seminary attached to the cathedral as well. 

 

 This building now houses a high school with an agricultural emphasis. 

Also in the village is the Church of St. John. 

Its architecture is unique -- square with two columns in front. We could only drive by this church as it is closed for renovation. 

Thus, you can see I had a marvelous hour in this village, with yet more to come during this day. 

 

Day Trip Event #1 -- the Flying Fortess Memorial

On Thursday, May 5 I took a guided day trip to places east of Siedlce, Poland. I have been to many places in Poland, but never east of Siedlce and to places one can't reach unless having car transportation. My adventures on this day went from from early morning to bedtime, so I'm breaking this into several posts.

My guide picked me at the hotel at the Warsaw airport at 7:30. After the trouble with flying I was somewhat amazed I was actually walking around. I had enjoyed a good breakfast at the hotel.  I was carrying a bag with a new computer for the Poland Country Manager for Global Volunteers so our first stop was Reymontówka where I met her. My guide was seeing this place for the first time so I showed up around a bit, especially showing him all the wood carvings there. We enjoyed coffee with Dorota and the Reymontówka director. Then soon we were on our way towards Siedlce. Every time I've been in Poland I go into the central part of the city. I didn't even know there was a highway bypass to go around the town. We drove for perhaps 45 - 50 minutes when we pulled off the main highway near the village of Woroniec, Poland.

I saw this. 

In the photo one can easily see the number 38202. On the right is text engraved which can't be read on the photo. It explains U.S Army flight 38202 coming back from a mission in the Ukraine was downed in this area. The pilot and two other airmen were taken prisoner by the Nazi forces, but the remaining crew somehow escaped and were embraced by the Polish Home Army. They served with this group for about 45 days until they could be taken somehow back to the American military. 

On the reverse of monument is a statement from the Polish people. 

The script on this side is done in both Polish and English. It recognizes the 42,802 airmen who died in the quest to bring freedom to occupied Europe during World War 2. 

Someone obviously cares for this monument regularly because yesterday there were fresh flowers at the monument. 

If one steps away a bit, then one can see a representation of a plane on the ground 

And yes, it is May and the grasslands are covered with dandelions.

What a Misadventure!!!

I left the MSP airport about 10 PM on Monday, May 2. I was happy to see that I had an entire row to myself and thought I would be able to sleep. Well, that surely didn't happen again for a very long time.

We were finished with the evening meal service about the time we left the eastern border of Canada and I could see the tip of Greenland appearing on the flight map. Then suddenly the map showed the plane flying south instead of east. My first thought was did something terrible happen again at an airport in Europe. Well in a bit the pilot announced we were flying to JFK in New York to fix a problem with the temperature in the plane. We got there at 3:30 AM New York time.

It took another 1.5 hours to get to JFK. We were told we could get off if we wanted and that the fix would take 1 hour. Well, I tried, but there was such a pile up at the top of the ramps leading to the terminal that I went back to my seat. About 1 hour later we were told we all had to get off because we would be going to Amsterdam on a different plane. When we got into the terminal the digital signs said we were going to Amsterdam at 7:30 AM. Then in a bit the signs changed to 6:00.  We boarded again and I found it was the same plane, only now my in-flight entertainment center had been changed to Italian and there was a neck sleeping pillow in the seat that didn't belong to me.

I dropped off to sleep for a bit and then next thing I knew everyone was getting off again. I had missed the announcement and had a hard time figuring out what was happening. Well the parade of people let to Delta customer service, where we all stood in line for a very long time waiting to have our flights totally rebooked. There were 4 Delta staff to help and it took forever to deal with each party for rebooking. While standing in line I used my phone to cancel my hotel reservation in Amsterdam for it was very clear I wasn't going to be there by 6 pm Amsterdam time, since Central Europe is 6 hours ahead of New York and I still wasn't on a plane.

When it was my turn I was told, not offered, the 6:30 PM flight to Amsterdam. I slightly protested saying that would mean no sleep for nearly 48 hours. The staff person gave me two meal vouchers and arranged for me. I explained I'd never been in that airport before and didn't know where anything was. She arranged for me to be taken via wheelchair to a restaurant for breakfast. When eating breakfast a 1-800 number popped up on my phone. It was Delta calling to say they would be sending me a check for $100 for the inconvenience. I didn't think that was enough to cover the stress and inconvenience, but what can one do??

The nice  young man who escorted me asked when to return and I told him about in one hour. About thirty minutes later he came back asking if I indeed I wanted the other 30 minutes and I said yes.

My breakfast with coffee and tax came to a bit more than $17.00. The restaurant staff had called the number on the voucher and found it would only honor $15.00, so I had to pay the difference.

When the young man came back he took me to customer service where I got my boarding pass for 6:30 and then told me he had a surprise. He went and knocked on a door that had no signage, and I found myself in an area called Delta Sky Zone. The staff there asked if I wanted to watch a movie. I said no I'd like to read a bit and then fall to asleep. They made me a bed, and I did sleep until I heard what sound like an alarm. I thought I had by mistake left an alarm to ring on my phone for Wednesday, but when I looked at it, it was blank for alarms. Staff cell phone ringing I guess. I remained in that room until some children were escorted in and then figured out this must be the special place for children flying alone who need to transfer. The children were well behaved, but talkative.

I used the Delta app on my phone to track my luggage. Yes, it showed it loaded onto the 6:30 PM flight. Love the app service!!!

I took my boarding pass to the staff and asked them to tell me where I was and where was the gate for the flight. I yet had no idea of what terminal we were in and knew I had to be in terminal 4 for an international flight. Well, it turned out we were in Terminal 4 and the gate for the flight was just a short walk. Got some Snicker Bites to eat and sat there to read until it was finally time to board. While waiting I saw a whole parade of Delta flight attendants and wondered what was happening. Turns out they were posing for a picture. That is not something one sees every day.

Again we had an evening meal on the plane and again I had a whole row to myself. I did manage to sleep a couple hours on the flight. We landed in Amsterdam about 7:00. I stopped before at a bench before the passport line to get a dose of Ibuprofen to cover the walking at Schiphol airport. The passport line was a bit long but moved fast.

Then it was a long walk to the luggage belt used by Delta. Right out of passport control are luggage belts 1-8, 15-24 are a long way from there and Delta always used 16. Got my bag -- it's purple paisley so I don't have to inspect a number of black bags to know if I have the right one, and then enter the arrival area. It was now around 8:30 and I had a flight to Warsaw at 2:30 PM.

Found Starbucks and got a cappuccino. Then went to find a comfortable place to sit for awhile. The departure screens were only displaying info for flights through 12:30 PM. I was quite certain I needed to be at Departure Hall 1 since I have taken this flight to Warsaw so many times before. Finally thought I would try obtaining my boarding pass at one of the kiosks, and that worked, it popped out my boarding pass. Then I went up one level to check my bag.

Had a long time yet for the flight. Wandered by a restaurant called Het Palais. Looked like an interested menu so I went in and had a Toasti. This is rather like a grilled sandwich with cheese and ham along with catsup for dipping. Had a coffee along with this.

Then took the trip through security and the long walk to Gate D60. This is in an area called Airport Park. The seating there is comfortable and I was so scared I'd fall asleep that I did set an alarm on my phone. Here I am at Airport Park thinking I didn't too bad for someone with 4 hours of sleep in two days.

Took a walk to Gate D60 and found we couldn't enter it, door locked. Went back to the comfortable seating again for awhile. Went back to the area again and found a whole group of people seated on an escalator edge. I asked if they were going to Warsaw and when heard yes, decided to join them.


The magic boarding area has finally arrived. People with special status where let through, and the gate attendant invited a family with a small baby to board. Then appeared about 6 quite disabled men in wheelchairs along with their caretakers. Everyone was stopped from boarding while these people boarded, the disabled me were seated and their wheelchairs taken off the plane and stored in the cargo area.

We departed Amsterdam about 30 minutes late. The day brightened with the approach to Warsaw. The clouds lifted and I could see beautiful Poland below. Got my luggage without difficulty and then headed to the bankomat. They weren't there. Walked back to a cafe where I often go and asked, Gdzie bankomat. The staff pointed to a new location. Got some money for the day trip I was taking the next day, and then walked across the street to the hotel. Took my luggage, the big bag weighing 21K, because of special things I was asked to bring to Poland by the Global Volunteers office, to a hotel luggage cart, and then checked in.

Went downstairs again for a bite to eat.

Got the tomato soup and asked what ice cream was available. When chocolate chip was offered, I said yes, but much to my delight after this trip, it turned out to be chocolate, chocolate chip. Went up to my room and crashed out until 1:30 or so. Looked at my e-mail on my phone and found a new offer from Delta -- I will get a refund for the whole flight from MSP to Amsterdam, but I surely do hope I get mile credits for flying the route 1.5 times!!

Left a wake up call for 6 AM since I had to be ready for a day trip I had organized while thinking on Tuesday night I would have good sleep in Amsterdam and another good sleep on Wednesday night in Warsaw. Missed out a night there, but I did make it to breakfast, and had a great day trip. But that's a whole another story.