Day 21: About Poland and Poland

The whole of Poland is a construction site - the whole of Poland? No, that's an exaggeration. But it is impressive how many roads are being built or expanded (but that's also necessary...), how many cycle paths have been or are being built in the big cities, how many Poles are working on their houses or building a new one. In the cities, the sound of the electric hammer drill is a familiar recurring feature.

The lack of food and (mind-expanding) drinks seems to be a trauma (from socialist times?), but fortunately there is Zabka, a chain of small shops in towns and villages that provide certain basic needs, open 7 days a week from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.: snacks, beer, wine, but also hygiene products.

Stores like Alkohol24 or Shot-market are even more focused.

The average Pole is not particularly communicative. In trams, the usual picture prevails today: people stare at their mobile phones, there is little communication; a free seat (narrow) is taken up by people with wider buttocks simply by sitting down, without even looking at the neighbors concerned. In this respect, as a German, you don't have to get used to it.

Cycling is clearly not a national sport among our Polish neighbors. The bikes are usually small, have a low entry (we call this a "granny bike") and the Poles move so fast on them that running is no longer worthwhile. The younger generation, however, is increasingly using gravel and racing bikes. There is a certain dynamism in inner-city traffic. You can travel much faster by bike in big cities than by car or tram.

And the circle closes - we have found him. Who am I talking about? Of course, Augustus the Strong, the Elector of Saxony, who played a key role in shaping Dresden into the "Florence on the Elbe" and who absolutely wanted to be king, then became king of Poland through clever arrangements and is buried in the crypt at Wawel, although not completely intact, because the people of Dresden claim that his heart rests in an amphora in the crypt under the court church.

And there was a bit of sun too, and when you're out and about in sandals...

And - despite all the modernity, which could hardly make any difference to western cities - there is one difference to Germany, for example: people pray a lot. During our walks through the old town of Krakow, we discovered at least 8 churches in which the Lord is worshipped in the Eucharist ("only" during the day?). If you come to Krakow, look for the chapel on the large market square, for example.