Our first Sunday in Poznan and our trip to Krakow!

This is our first Sunday in the Branch in Poznan and Ross was just sustained as the Branch President of this little Branch. President and Sister Nielson came over from Warsaw for this and for interviewing the missionaries. Sister Leppanen, Sister McAdams, Sister Nielson, President Nielson, Elder PLumb and Elder Buckner are pictured above.

Ruben Torke pictured below really got the POznan Branch going and began the scouting process for a new location for the Branch. He served with Ross and I in the mission office before he went to Poznan and came from his home in Germany to see all those members in the Branch and Ross sustained as the Branch pres. Ross is standing next to Natalie who joined the church on her own, with her parent's permission. They support her and come to the meetings with her.

S. Leppanen with Anna Bannatyne, who is from the states, and Natalie who are our only Young Women and Marta Antkowiak, one of our two YSA's.

Elder Torke is hugging JOla Zmvosinska who was baptized in July and now teaches our Institute. She's great and solid in the Gospel. Bro. Bannatyne is in the background. Unfortunatly, the Bannatynes are going back to the states in December.

This was our Relief Society on Sunday. Sister Bannantyne is next to me, our Relief Society President is next to her,Malgorzata Pietrzykowska, Jola, and S. Mc Adams

Ross and I had a chance to go to Krakow for a couple of days and nights. We got there Wednesday afternoon and wondered down to their Rynek (Old town) which is supposed to be the prettiest Rynek in Poland. Krakow didn't get destroyed during the war as the Germans used it for their troops. It was a beautiful Fall day and this Rynek was huge with many resturants, shops and artists selling their wares.

The big building is beautiful and you can enter from eeither side. It is like a huge bazaar with a multitude of shops. The fascinating thing is underneath though. It is called the Cloth factory. It was discovered by archeologists and is now a museum. It is a cloth factory dating back to the 1100's. We were not allowed to take pictures. bummer!!




I'm standing at the entrance of the cloth factory.

This was a wonderful little resturant recommended by our hotel, the Qubus. The bread and desseerts weerre to die for and the rest of the meal was wonderful. It was actually downstairs in the cellar of a very old building within walking distance of our hotel.

Thursday morning, we got on a tour bus and rode about an hour away to the Salt Mine Wieliczka. It was fascinating. The mining started in the 1100's and was actually still mined until the middle 90's. During the centuries it developed into an extensive underground city. It goes as deep as over a 1,000 feet deep. My pictures don't do it justice. If you google it, you will see more amazing pictures and information. I did have to make one stop before going in.

This is the entrance to the Salt Mine. Wonderful smelling wood was used to reinforce sides and top of the mine throughout. Once we got past the entrance we went down 400 steps into the mine.
















On our way down the steps we saw white (what looked like cauliflour on the ceilings, which was salt.

This potrays one of the thousands of tunnels and how the salt was carried out to the surface.

In the beginning, hundreds of years ago, the only tools were shovels, picks and all done by hand.
















Horses were used in the mine for certain things and they lived in the mine all their lives. they were very well taken care of but never saw the light of day. The air is extremely healthy and the horses actually lived longer than the horses above ground. The air is so healthy that people with breathing problems would come into the mine for certain periods of time to get relief.

This is one of the huge rooms that were literally mined out by hand. The chandeliers are made of salt crystals and there are carvings on the sides of the cavern that were made by the miners who worked there.

The tiles on the floor are made of salt and handmade.

The steel you see on the wall is actually an elevator that carries you up several level

This is another cavern that salt was mined from. Now concerts and speeches are given here. Again, the chandeliers are made of salt crystals. Mass is also held here every Sunday.


















After a busy day at the Salt mines we walked back to the little resturant, Maccoroons, for another delicious meal. The bridge in the distance is a cool walking bridge that takes you over the Wistula river near Old Town.

Friday we got on another tour bus and went to Auschwitz and Birkenau Memorial and Museum. The pictures don't even begin to describe what it was really like. There was not much conversation or lightheartedness in the group during the tour. This picture is not in order and is a photo of the prisoner barracks. This is the most well known place of genocide in the world. The Nazis killed about 1.5 million people there,mainly Jews as well as Poles, Gypsies, and Russian POWs. This photos are not in order for some reason, probably my ineptness is at fault.

When we went through this barrack, it made me think of Ann Frank and other experiences I have read about. The bunks all had six people in each bunk, the top was the best in winter for warmth. The bottom was the coldest and the new people orr the weakest had those bunks.

This was the common latrine. There were no showers and no heat or a place to wash.

At Birkenau the people were taken off he trains and seperated with men in one direction and women and children in another and told that after their showers they would be reunited with their families and have a warm meal. They were taken stright to the gas chambers.

this room and 2 more were filled with shoes taken from the prisoners, with 2 more rooms filled with glasses that they had worn. another was filled with luggage, hair products and on and on.

These were some of the gas cylindars that were used.

These are 2 of several crematoriums.

You think these don't look too bad until you walk in and realize that even though it was a coolish day the insides are all cement, walls, beds, floors etc and it is freezing in there. these two story buildings had torture areas, cells with no air as they sealed tight and solitary dark small cells so small you had to stand, no room to even sit.

This is where the trains dumped off the prisoners sometimes twice a day. That is the entrance to Birkenau. There are so many pictures I could have taken but it was harder as time went on to do so as the whole experience was so grim and heart wrenching that finally very few people were taking pictures. I'm glad we went to see this historic, terrible memorial. I wish all peiople had this chance to see what happens when one nation tries to wipe out the existance of a culture of people, and a nation of Jews along with Poles were treated as less than human. I could never go back to see it again.