Brian Sees the Pope

On the last weekend of May, Pope Benedict XVI came to Poland to “walk in the footsteps” of Pope John Paul II. After spending a day in Warsaw, he arrived in Krakow on Friday evening. At about 8 p.m. I was walking through the main market square and I noticed all of the people waiting for the Pope’s motorcade to pass by. Not being able to understand the local media I did not know what time he was scheduled to arrive so I just waited. It was interesting to observe the crowd as they waited for him. It was a quiet and reserved crowd, or maybe the better word would be reverent. No one was yelling, and not much loud talking either. Cell phone chatter was to a minimum. But at 9:30, when the motorcade came down Grodzka Street, they erupted into cheers and waved thousands of their yellow and white Papal flags. And as luck would have it, or was it divine intervention, the Pope and his entourage passed by my spot 2 times. Of course, he was in his Popemobile, or as they say in Europe, “papamobile”. And there was a large phalanx of security and media vehicles. So around the square he went once, waiving like you’ve seen all Popes waive. Although I had a good view, it was interesting to watch the reply on TV the next day. I saw the replay on the monitor of the television studio that had been erected on the square. I was able to watch a local anchorwoman lead the news program while reporters cut in from different parts of the city. I did see far more on the replay than I did on Friday night. But it did not matter because Sunday was the big day.

On Sunday I attended Mass with the Pope. My closest million friends and I assembled on the Blonia (think Central Park in NYC) for the 2 ½ hour Mass. If you have ever seen images of Cracovians assembled for prior Papal visits, or on the evening that John Paul II died, then you saw them on the Blonia. Free tickets were available from the churches around town so I picked up 3 of them so that Ken Daniels and Kate Dailey, two other ex-patriots, could also attend.

We met at Kate’s apartment at 7:30 a.m. and proceeded to walk to the Blonia. No map was needed as everyone just followed the crush of people doing the same. In fact, there were so many people that we just walked in the streets, much to the chagrin of the drivers. When we arrived at the park we realized that we were at the opposite end from where our assigned section was. To give you an idea of the layout, the park was cut into pie-shaped sectors and everyone had a ticket for one of them. The problem was that we had to get from 3 o’clock on the dial to 10 o’clock. So we decided to take the straightest path but were turned back after awhile because we were not allowed to pass through sector “E” to get to “A”. So we backtracked and made it to one of the half-moon roads that bisected the pie shapes. Then we hit a major roadblock. The security force was linking arms to close off the path because they wanted to get a security vehicle through. But you know what a crowd does when it can’t go any further. It continues to press against the obstacle because the people in the back do not know what is going on at the front. (Do you remember that infamous Who concert in Cincinnati on December 3rd, 1979?) At about this time I had flashbacks to my second, and last, New Years Eve in Times Square and the plate glass window of the Burger King that I almost went through. (Now you know why it was my last.) But back to the crowd. At about this time the guards opened up a path to allow us to exit the main path so we walked to the back and eventually made it to the entrance to our sector. But there were so many people standing in it that we decided to walk further back to get a spot of grass to sit on. We wound up in an uncrowded area with a good view of the large TV screens and the altar to the left of us. All of that and we still had 20 minutes to spare until the 9:30 Mass.

The Mass itself was full of pomp, pageantry and reverence for God. There was a very large symphony orchestra that performed some beautiful music. There were introductions of the President of Poland and other dignitaries and words of thanks for people who made the event possible.

The Pope made his opening prayer in Polish but did the remainder of speaking in Italian. His homily was translated into Polish as he spoke. Then came Holy Communion. During the Eucharistic Prayer, hundreds of priests and altar boys (no girls) spread out among the masses and prepared to give communion. Then towards the end of communion, I saw people leaving in droves and thought that they were trying to beat the crowds out of the park. But they weren’t, they were flocking to the fence line to get in position to see the Pope pass by one more time.

As the Mass ended we made a fast walk for the road out of the park and back to the center of town. After a couple of detours we finally made it to a good lunch spot where we sat and watched the people go by hoping the crowds would die down by the time we finished. But they did not. It is hard to imagine a continuous stream of people for more than hour. The largest crowds I remember of late have been the ones for the Beale Street Music Festival each May. But at only 50,000 people it was more like a gathering than a crowd.

As I write this I am digesting the experiences of the weekend. Here I am 5,163 miles away from home and I have the opportunity to see the Pope and hear him celebrate Mass. His tour to Poland was billed as “his following in the footsteps of John Paul II”. But Pope Benedict was not the only one following in someone’s footsteps. You see, in 1964-65, New York City hosted the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadow Park. (If you saw “Men in Black” you saw the fairgrounds that had been used.) I remember attending the fair but years later my mother told me that the night after we went; she and my dad went back to attend the Mass that Pope Paul VI celebrated. So 40 plus years later I have walked in the footsteps of my parents.

For those who are interested, what follows is the itinerary of Pope Benedict’s visit to Poland:

The Vatican release of the May 25-28, 2006, apostolic trip to Poland, was made public April 26, and includes papal visits to: Warsaw; Czestochowa, the site of shrine of the Black Madonna; Krakow; Wadowice, the birthplace of Pope John Paul II; Kalwaria Zebrzydowska; and the former Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.

Friday, May 26. Benedict XVI will celebrate morning Mass in Warsaw's Pilsudski Square. In the afternoon, he will travel by helicopter to Czestochowa where he will visit the Shrine of the Virgin of Jasna Gora and meet with religious, seminarians and representatives from Catholic movements and institutes of consecrated life. He will then travel to Krakow where he will spend the night in the archbishop's place.

- Saturday, May 27. The pope will celebrate a private Mass in the archbishop's palace in Krakow before traveling to Wadowice, where he will visit the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and the house in which John Paul II was born, and later meet local inhabitants in the town's Rynek Square. He will then visit the shrine of the Virgin of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and upon his return to Krakow, visit the shrine of Divine Mercy and Wawel Cathedral, and, meet with young people in the city's Blonia Park.

- Sunday, May 28. Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass in Blondie Park, and pray the “Regina Coeli,” before traveling to the former concentration camp and the center for dialogue and prayer at Auschwitz and participating in a prayer meeting in memory of victims in the former concentration camp of Birkenau.

Photos:
#1 - During Mass. #2 - People watching from Kosciusko Mound. #3 - The Papa Mobile as the Pope arrived for Mass. #4 - Looking out over the sea of people estimated to be between 1 and 1 1/2 million people.

Dinner with Three Ambassadors from Africa

On April 8th I was invited to a dinner by my friend and Polish colleague, Ewa. It was a dinner that was the culmination of the business meeting for the Zimbabwean Students Association in Poland, as well as on the occasion of a Zimbabwean National Holiday. Just like you are wondering now, I wondered why there was this association in Krakow. The Zimbabwean Students Association in Poland links together African students from Zimbabwe who are living in Poland while attending the university on a scholarship. One of its aims is to popularize African culture in the Polish academic environment.

Now, how I came to attend this function. Ewa had been invited to this dinner by her friend Tapiwa (Errol) Muzawazi who was the president of this association. She had met him a year earlier when he was attempting to break the Guinness record for longest public speech. (He went on to do it at 88 hours.) The dinner took place in the local pub attached to the Jegellonian University dormitory in Krakow. (Think a college rathskeller but only nicer.) We arrived soon after the end of the meeting part of the program and in time for dinner. Upon entering the room we were greeted by Tapiwa who invited us to sit at the dais. What an honor it was as the table had an assortment of special guests. Sitting across from me were the ambassadors to Poland for Zimbabwe, South Africa and Angola. Each was there, from Warsaw and other cities, at the invitation of the Association. After the introductions we were invited to an adjoining room to sample a traditional Zimbabwean meal. Included, in the buffet, was rice, a side dish like mashed potatoes, beef stew, chicken wings, bean salad, meatballs, and a few items that I have forgotten. All in all some very tasty food that was not much different from anything else I have eaten.

After dinner the lights were turned down and the DJ began playing some great dance music and the audience got into it.

Overall it was yet another unique Polish experience for me and one that I will not soon forget.

What a Small World – Parts 2 and 3

Part 2: In August of last year I was staying at the Radisson SAS in Krakow. One morning while leaving breakfast I saw 4 high school aged men speaking English. Since my mother tongue is a minority here I stopped to ask if they were from New York. One replied “yes”. So I said “Long Island?” and he replied “Mineola”. So I said Chaminade High School?” and they all said “yes”. It seems that my Alma Mata had their yearly trip through Europe and they just happened to be staying at my hotel. All 142 of them from Chaminade and Bishop Kellenberg high schools. They were on their way to the World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany and were staying in Krakow for 3 nights. I told them that I had graduated in 1978 and they were astounded to be hearing that so many miles away from Long Island. We parted company and I went off to work. When I returned that evening more of them were milling about so I went looking for Father James Williams, S.M., the president of Chaminade. It seems that he was aware of my encounter earlier that morning and was interested in meeting me. He invited me to dinner but I declined for a previous engagement. (I regret not rearranging my schedule.) After speaking w/ Father James I took the elevator up to my floor where I ran into Father Keenan, who was at Chaminade when I was. After some talking I went to my room to call my sister Bettianne to tell her the story. I also spoke to her husband Peter Carioscia, Jr. This is where it gets better. He told me that he had spent one week that summer w/ a Chaminade student who was on the trip. So I went back down to find Andrew L. and learned that he was in his room. I then called him to introduce myself. He must have thought I was a stalker or something as he was tongue-tied. After a minute of conversation we hung up and went our separate ways. Once again, if this doesn’t prove that the world is getting smaller………

Part 3: In March I was sitting in the Rynek Glowny (the main market square) writing post cards. It was a bright, sunny day and many people were out and about. I noticed one person looking for a place to sit down and realized that he had been at Mass w/ me earlier that day. I offered him the seat next to me and moved to make some room. I told him that I recognized him from church and we started talking. He introduced himself as Charles Ranado working for the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. He was working in Warsaw for 2 weeks and came to Krakow for the weekend. We exchanged stories for a bit then I told him why I was here. He smiled as I said International Paper so I knew something was up. He went on to tell me that he had worked four summers in the Hudson River Mill in Corinth, New York. He also had a grandfather who was a member of the papermakers' union and another who was in management at the mill. We talked a while longer about the papermaking industry and then we parted ways. Yet one more small world story.













(The Cloth Hall in the Rynek Glowny.)

















(The old City Hall tower in the Rynek Glowny.)

Holiday in Praha

(Looking at Praha Castle from the center of town.)

Most of us grew up hearing and saying “Czechoslovakia” But in 1993 the Velvet Revolution allowed for the peaceful dissolution of this country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In effect, this returned them to an earlier set of independent countries.

In April, Toni and I went to Praha (how the Czechs spell Prague) for 3 days and what follows is my travelogue.


(One of the oldest buildings in Praha.)

The first mistake we made was to drive a car. When deciding how to get there I was told that it was only 6 hours away by car or 9 hours on the overnight train. But since I had the company pool car at my disposal, I saw this as a good way to go. Hey, we Americans always think of the car first. Well, living here as long as I have, I should have known that this was not the ideal way of getting to Praha. But I plotted the directions on Via Michelein.com, verified them w/ a local and off we went.

Well, we left an hour later than planned. Next, we stopped for gas and fluids which burned another 20 minutes. (BTW, it took $60.00 to fill up the Opel Omega. And I did this twice.) Once we made it out of Krakow we started to hit the construction sites. It was like driving on Highway 63 towards Hardy, Arkansas. You see, a lot of EU money is pouring into the new EU countries and Poland and the Czech Republic are major beneficiaries of it. So every few miles, or so it seemed, we had to slow down, or in two cases stop dead for 5 minutes. In one of those cases they were felling the trees that lined the two-lane country road which required them to stop the traffic as they yelled “timber” (or its equivalent in Czech). (On our trip home we counted 13 spots where we had to slow down for construction.)

After all of that we made it to the border crossing which looked like a highway toll station. We presented our passports, had them stamped, and on we went.


(A canal in Praha.)

The Czech countryside is full of pastures w/ small hills in the background. It seems like they grow lots of hay as the fields are full of haystack frames. As we traveled we continued to pass through construction zones that required us to reduce our speed from 150 to 60………kilometers per hour. That’s 99 miles per hour. Can you say zoom, zoom? And there were people passing me!!!!! There is a maximum speed limit in Poland of 130 K.P.H. but there did not seem to be one in the Czech Republic. But I can see the questions forming in your minds. No, I did not try to determine the top speed of the Opel as it was the company car after all. But the car handled really well. In fact, it seemed to hunker down and stick to the road at those speeds. (They do know how to build them over here. The Opel was originally a German built car but GM bought them a long time ago. The Omega is considered a large car here but it is a little smaller than a Ford Taurus.) But back to the drive. The highway to Praha was recently built and looked like it could have been lifted from any new interstate in the States. They seemed to be putting the finishing touches on it which caused the slowdowns. With all of that behind us we finally arrived at our hotel at 5:30 p.m., 9 hours after beginning. After checking in I went on a 45 minute hunt for a parking spot. After much frustration I found a garage under a department store and walked the 10 minutes back to the hotel. (Two days for $65.00. Ouch.)


(The Astonomical Clock. Over 500 years old but mostly rebuilt after WWII.)

After all of that we had a well-deserved drink while we planned our next day. Since we were using Rick Steves’ book Best of Eastern Europe 2006 we took him up on a tour company to use and booked the 8 a.m. Good Morning Praha tour. Although it was an early rise, the delight was that it was just Toni, Me and Ewa our guide. The added bonus was that the other tour groups were not out and about yet which made for a very quite and enjoyable morning. The tour consisted of the Jewish Quarter, a tram ride up to the Prague Castle, a kawa (coffee) in a local café, a walk across the Charles Bridge, several churches and numerous other sites. After almost 4 hours Ewa left us in the old town area which allowed us to go out on our own.


(Looking at Praha Castle from the Charles Bridge.)

Praha itself is a beautiful city founded in the 9th century which makes it older than Krakow. It is located in central Bohemia an area known for its lead crystal and art glass and has 1.2 million inhabitants. It does not have one main square like Krakow but has several distinct centers worth exploring. So that’s what we did. Six hours later we decided to café hop to try different Czech piva (beer). (There is some very good pilsner style beer here. And at 80 cents per half liter how can you have just one.) Sometime after 8 p.m. we went to an authentic Czech restaurant recommended by Rick Steves. It was housed in an old building outside of the main tourist zone and augmented by an old guitar player who was really good. After dinner we returned to our room tired and full of food and memories.


(In the Praha Castle courtyard. Fountain is over 500 years old.)

Overall, the trip was very good and Praha is a great city to visit. It owes its mystique to its history, the beauty of the buildings, the food and the beer. Although we would have liked an additional day in Praha, both Toni and I were looking forward to returning to Krakow, which to us is a better and more magical city.


(Brian as a work of art.)