Kościuszko and Me

My wife and I have been taking one longer journey away from Warsaw every month. It would have been ideal if Kościuszko could have joined us on these adventures, but to date there was always some consideration that has affected those plans. In the case of Torún, the hotel wouldn’t take him ( see the post ). When we went to Kazimierz Dolny, the roads were simply not suitable for Kościuszko ( see the post ). This month our plan was to travel by rail to Kraków. The roads there would allow for a beautiful ride along the Vistula, but the journey by train meant Kościuszko would be hanging upside down from what were essentially meat hooks in another railroad car, defenseless, alone and separated from us. None of us felt comfortable with this option, so once again, Kościuszko stayed at home. Kraków is a remarkable destination. It was the historic capital of Poland until 1596, and is, perhaps, the most visited city in Poland. Kraków's Old Town and the castle above it were among the first U...

The Royal Route, Our Route. Dear Readers! The remarkable weather here continues and we decided that a trip into the city was appropriate for our next adventure. Since we live very close to Wilanów Palace (it is just across a field behind the house) we would follow the historic  Royal Route (Trakt Królewski) from the palace north to its end at the Royal Castle in Old Town square. Afterwards, we would drop down the escarpment, then make our way back along the river, as in our previous Warszawa Centrum mission. It was forecast to be warm later in the day, but our 7:00 AM start guaranteed that our experience would actually be quite chilly. Long sleeves would be necessary. About a month ago, a dear, former student of mine sent me the first page of a reading she was assigned for one of her university classes.  The thesis of the chapter was: a city cannot be a work of art . Without seeing the entire chapter (the full context), I can't comment on the author's arguments, even t...

It's been a week since Kościuszko and I were out on the open road. We cycled indoors on our VR trainer three days this past week (in France, Belgium and the Netherlands), but there's nothing like being outside. Moreover, I've been waiting for this particular ride for some weeks. We are going with friend Wiktor K. to the village of Czersk, which is about 30 km south of here. As you will see from this post, Czersk is an interesting little place, especially for historians, archaeologists, and linguists. If you don't like these subjects, well, it's a beautiful ride too, so keep reading. 
 The first historical mention of Czersk is, oddly enough, in a chronicle (yearly report) called the Laurentian Codex compiled by a monk in what is now Northern Russia back in 1377.  The Laurentian Codex is a collection of earlier chronicles and is a comprehensive document that gives us insight into the history of the Eastern Slavs. This collection also includes the still much older ...

Dear Kościuszko, To be honest, I was upset that you wouldn't join us in Kazimierz Dolny, but after getting here it turns out that you were right on all three counts: (1) There are no other road bikes--you would have been lonely, (2) the streets themselves are largely rough-hewn cobbles--you would no doubt have cracked a rim or broken a spoke, and (3) this weekend is the Chocolate Festival (Festiwal Czekolady)--something in which you have expressed no interest whatsoever. In southern Poland on the western slope of Barania Góra (Ram Mountain) two little streams--the Czarna Wisełka (Black Little Vistula) and the Biała Wisełka (White Little Vistula)--gently flow down the mountain westward. They eventually merge near the base of the mountain and then turn generally northwards, their combined strength now referred to as the Wisła (Vistula) river. The Vistula, inexorably flowing, eventually leaves the mountains and enters a 70-kilometer-long (44 miles) gorge referred to as the Małop...