DAY 2 IN PHOTOS

DAY 2 RECAP

On our second day in Warsaw we learned about Polish culture and history.

In the morning we spent two hours in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.  It covered over a thousand years of history in a vast number of interactive exhibits.  I think we all agreed that we could have spent more time at the museum as we were needed to rush through even with two hours.

After lunch we had some free time.  Thomas was recruited by Fr. Kuba to participate in a WYD interview.  Some others of us explored the observation terrace at the Palace of Culture and Science.  From 30 floors up, the palace offered stunning views of the city below.

In the evening we joined a diocesan-wide concert in Pilsudski Square.  This was the first time we have met other pilgrims from around the world.  We also bumped into Ms. Chiu, who taught a number of our pilgrims at SFX elementary.

After the concert, we grabbed a snack from McDonald's, and headed back home to sleep.

- Photos from today
- Video from today

DAY 1 IN PHOTOS

DAY 1 RECAP

We made it from Vancouver to Warsaw with no delays or lost luggage!  We were received by our Days in the Diocese (DID) parish: St. Andrew Bobola.  We met other groups from St. Mary's, Chilliwack, and a group from Aruba who will be doing DID with us.

We met our host families and they took us to their home where we had some rest after our 13-hour flight.  We returned to the parish for dinner (what we call lunch).  After dinner, one of the volunteers took us to see the old city (edit: Liz posted some photos).

We returned to the parish and had a rest before Mass.  Our hosts then brought us home for supper.

Tomorrow is culture and history day.  We are looking forward to it.

Maps and public transportation of Kraków

I love maps and public transportation. 😄  At World Youth Day, we'll likely be taking the public transport and walking around to get to the different events in Kraków.  Here are some resources that may be useful.

Kraków City WYD Site

The City of Kraków has a site with the traffic management plans, special transit service, and pedestrian area maps, among other information.  The Polish version of the same website is actually a lot more comprehensive and detailed, but you'll need to run it through a translator.  I've merged some of the useful links below:

Downloadable PDF Map

Found on the Polish version of the website, this downloadable map pretty much encompasses all the places relevant to WYD.  Hopefully we get a copy of this in print.

Pedestrian Traffic

I think the most relevant one for us pilgrims will be the pedestrian traffic maps, especially on the way to the vigil.  In some other site they mentioned that pilgrims will be designated a route to walk so that the traffic volume can be balanced among the different routes and so that pilgrims will reach their designated area most efficiently.  I suppose we will get that specific route when we arrive, but these maps offer an outline of the routes available.

The page has three maps.  The first one is for the Błonia Park, the second is for the Divine Mercy Sanctuary area, and the third one is towards the vigil site.  Legend:

• Orange - full road closure for pedestrian traffic
• Pink - half road closure for pedestrian traffic; vehicles on the other half of the lanes
• Green - pedestrian traffic on sidewalks only

Special Transit Lines

In addition to the regular transit lines, the city is operating special transit lines (Polish version) in order to move WYD crowds to the main events.  These lines operate every 3-5 minutes during the daytime.  The following maps outline the routing of the special lines.

• Special Lines July 26-29
• Special Lines July 30-31

Pilgrim's Guide to Kraków

This may be the additional book they were talking about in the pilgrim kit video.  The guide book contains a nice overview map of the Kraków city centre including the tram and bus lines and stops.  However, it doesn't show the line numbers themselves, so it is not really as useful for figuring out where lines go.  It also would have been nice to have more streets labelled.

Public Transport Network Map

This is a huge map, containing all the bus and tram routes in Kraków and its suburbs, including what they call "agglomeration routes" (we'd call them "suburban routes").  The nice thing about this one is that it shows the line numbers on the map.  Unfortunately, the map is not mobile friendly.

For rail fans, they also have a track diagram for the tram network. 🤓

Public Transport Schedules

The schedules for tram and bus lines can be found on this site.  You will need to know the stop name in order to use the site effectively.  Fortunately, you can figure this out on the Public Transport Network Map above.

Public Transport Trip Planner

For getting directions from one place to another place, this is an awesome trip planner system—probably the best one for any city I've come across so far.  There's also a mobile version.  It's also available for Warsaw (and for Warsaw on mobile).

One Week!

It's hard to believe we're flying out to Poland in just under a week. The past year has been packed full of preparation, prayer, formation, fundraising, and everything of the sort and I think through it all we've all gotten to know each other so much better and care for each other as our pilgrimage approaches.

One of the biggest things I've been personally doing to prepare for the journey is reading Jason Evert's "Saint John Paul the Great: His Five Loves". It's an incredible book detailing the life of JPII from his beginnings all the way to the end of his life. In addition, Jason Evert talks about JPII's five loves: young people, human love, the Blessed Sacrament, the Virgin Mary, and the Cross. It's a very endearing book and really helped me get to know this truly beloved Pope and modern Saint of the Church. After reading this, I have become increasingly excited about visiting his home and the area that he would have lived, worked, and eventually pastored his people. 

Jason Evert's book, His Five Loves

I am absolutely thrilled to be going to Poland: not only because it's a place I've never been, but because of the holiness that radiates from it. Numerous saints have walked those grounds and the world has never been the same because of that. I know that this trip is going to be one filled with grace and blessings and opportunities to grow. With that in mind, I am not placing any expectations as I know that everything I experience and receive will be a blessing in itself - so I'm open to just going and seeing it all!

Totus Tuus

ONE MORE WEEK?! It is so close. Last week I decided to finally get started on my "pilgrimage" scrapbook. Going through the pictures from WYD 2011 in Spain brough me so much joy and often I found myself just smiling while staring at the pictures. I look forward to finishing the other half of the album with memories from Poland when I return. I had a couple of thoughts that I reflected on a lot as I created these pages...guess it's sharing time! :P

Aside from the beautiful sights to see, the delcious food, the magnificant architecture, and the lovely people I met, I had a tremendous "ah-ha!" moment on this piligrimage in Madrid.

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It was during the day of the vigil mass. Majoirty of the journey was on foot in massive crowds under the beaming sun. There were several moments of "WHY", "UGH", and "I WANT TO STOP". I can still picture the exact uphill street that we were walking on after we had left the vigil site. As I felt the sweat drip from my head and my legs burning with each step, I suddenly had this eye-opening, real feeling that Jesus carried the ultimate cross for me. Of course I always knew this but I think this was the moment where it went from my head to my heart. It was humbling. It was powerful. It was Jesus. The struggles I was going through during that walk was nothing compared to the pain and suffering of Jesus. When I face struggles now, large or small, I think back to this moment and remind myeslf that Jesus will never give me a challenge that I cannot overcome. I will be holding these thoughts close as I am sure there will be "UGH" moments on our journey in Poland.

Top left picture is the previous night when we attempted to go to the vigil site but we got hit with a big rain storm and decided to head back. You can't really tell, but even in a storm with an inverted umbrella our faces are glowing with joy <3 

The second thing I kept thinking about was "Totus Tuus". I first came across it while reading 33 Day to Morning Glory. In the chapter about Saint John Paul II, I came across "Totus Tuus" for the first time. Well fun fact, it wasn't actually the first time...I just didn't realize it. You can't see it but in the bottome right picture where I am posing with JPII's statue...beaneath his feet are the words!! Like I JUST noticed those words there now...whoa... Oh btw, "Totus Tuus" was JPII's motto and it means "Totally Yours" in Latin. I just felt so connected to these words. Maybe because it's in Latin, and the sound of Latin is o0o0o0. Maybe it's because it was JPII's motto and JPII was super awesome. Whatever it is, the words resonated in my heart. I pray that on the upcoming journey to Poland, that I keep these words close to my heart and allow God to do his thing. For Him to open my mind, heart, and soul to recieve whatever He has in store for me because at the end of the day Lord, I am totus tuus.

After writing this post I am starting to feel it ya'll...it's going to be amazing and I am so excited to be on this trip with such an amazing group of people. I'm not as involved at SFX as I use to be but when I am around you all, it feels like home. Oh, remember...6am. At airport. Tuesday. We got dis. 

Much love,

Liz (Li :P)