Mountains of Essays, Thanksgiving, and Scandinavia

TL;DR or Quick Summary

Sunrise in Stockholm

• I promise that I don't hate you, life has been super busy (but good) here over the past couple of weeks, so I have not been able to post as much as I would like
• Classes are going well. I have graded all of my classes in some shape or form and can confirm that they are not idiots actually pretty smart. 
• I went to Stockholm, Sweden with several of my Erasmus friends. Stockholm was great, but we were treated to authentic Swedish weather of rain and clouds.
• For Thanksgiving, I traveled back to Warsaw for a fancy Thanksgiving lunch with the Fulbright Fam.
• Finally, I went to Oslo with some Fulbright friends. The weather is Oslo was much more cooperative. 
• Then after two hectic weeks, I will happily be staying in Białystok for the following weekends.

I really do want to post more often. It is not only a good way to keep up with people back home (and the occasional Polish friend/stalker) but it helps me reflect on everything that I have done. So rest assured, I will do my best to continue posting regularly. 

Class Updates

Stockholm at night

Overall, I can feel the stress of the semester starting to affect my students (and me). There has not been an official day off since November 1st and classes do not officially end under December 22nd. Several students have written journal entries about looking forward to Christmas break and there have consistently been a couple of students absent every day. Hopefully we will all make it through until the break!

Once Christmas is over, the end of the semester will come very quickly. The last week of classes is the first week of February (at least if I have interpreted my schedule correctly). So, there will only be a few rapid-fire classes and then it’s all over. As the semester wraps up, I will need to nail down the final project/essays for students and talk to those who haven't been meeting expectations. 

Making friends in Stockholm

2^nd Year Writing

I had my bachelor’s students write their first essay in class. Students were supposed to write about the theme of “The Necklace” and use information from the story to support their claims. Many seemed pretty terrified by the prospect. Some were visibly dismayed when they entered the room and my usually great jokes only received pity laughs. However, once they started writing they seemed to calm down. Some students were very quick writers, going through page after page with ‘legible’ handwriting; others wrote slowly and deliberately, clearly trying to avoid any and all grammatical mistakes. One particularly ambitious student finished halfway through class, triumphantly walked out, and then emailed me one hour later saying he completely misinterpreted the essay.

Over the next week, I graded their essays using plenty of angry red ink. Despite the over use of red ink, most students wrote fairly strong essays. There were common grammatical errors, many misuses of articles, and lots of scratch outs, but everyone wrote coherently. The biggest mistake made was not following the required structure of the essay. Placing the thesis statement in the introduction was a requirement that several students stubbornly resisted, while others did not include enough of their personal commentary.

WWII Monument in Stockholm

Since these were only a draft, I had students peer review others essays, with several specific questions to guide them. Although the students were surprisingly thorough in filling out the comment sheet, very few wanted to give any type of criticism (constructive or otherwise).  

4^th Year Writing

Having graded essays from both my 2^nd year students and my 4^th year students, I can truly appreciate the difference in writing abilities between the classes. While students in the 4^th year class still make mistakes, their writing is noticeably more coherent and their ideas are more connected. 

Content wise, I finished up what is (hopefully) the last lecture on paragraph structure and organization. We discussed what makes a paragraph unified and coherent and how these factors can clarify your writing. While admittedly it was not the most riveting lecture, I think that the students will benefit from the formal discussion. After this, I introduced them to their next essay topic: the effects of a Trump Presidency.

Right after the election, students were eager to hear my thoughts on the election and what it might mean for America and the world. Unfortunately for them, I was more interested in hearing what they thought about the matter. I talked about which demographics voted for Clinton and which voted for Trump, the constitutional powers of the American President, and what Trump could (probably) realistically do as president. I then told them that their assignment was to analyze the Trump effect on a certain geographical area; that area could be the United States, Poland, or the world.

Oslo Fjord ferry 

So far, the essays that I have read have done a good job of remaining fairly objective. Several discussed a potential change in global geopolitics (although they did not use that specific word), some discussed the effects on immigration in US, and a couple discussed the effects on LGTB people. There were more essays that tended towards a negative view of Trump, but several cast his future presidency in a more positive light. I am looking forward to reading about what they think. 

Integrated Skills

You know...just regular things

Two weeks ago, I gave my integrated skills class their first quiz; they all passed with flying colors (clearly I am not being difficult enough). This past week we discussed holiday traditions and vocabulary. Since my students already knew the basic holiday words, I decided to spice things up by going with more fun terms including food comas, stocking stuffers, carving the turkey, and others.

After visually demonstrating what it looks like to fall into a food coma, I asked my students to describe their own holiday traditions. I learned a lot that Christmas traditions run very deep in Poland. The traditional Polish Christmas meal consists of 12 meatless (not counting fish) dishes and often times a plate set aside in case a stranger comes to dinner. I also learned that some of the traditional dishes are rather controversial; some students got into serious discussions about whether some dishes were great or terrible.  

Travel Updates: Becoming Part Scandinavian

Statue park in Oslo

Over these two past weeks, I visited two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Norway. After spending two weekends outside of Białystok, I am definitely looking forward to some rest this upcoming weekend.

Two weekends ago, I visited Stockholm, Sweden with some of my Erasmus friends and this past weekend, I went to Oslo, Norway with Fulbright people. In between there was a really nice Thanksgiving dinner in Warsaw.

Stockholm and the Authentic Swedish Experience

The Stockholm crew: An American, two Greeks and a Serbian

Getting to Stockholm was an adventure in itself. From Białystok, I took a 4 hour bus to the Warsaw budge airport shack, flew to Stockholm, and then had to take another 1.5 hour bus into the city. Our hostel was on the Stockholm Old Town island (which was great for pictures, but not for wallets). Once we got to our hostel, we took a short power nap/WiFi recharge and then headed out in search of some dinner. Although it was only around 7pm, it felt much later because of the high latitude; the sun usually sets around 3:30 in the afternoon. 

The Vasa, a Swedish warship that didn't survive its maiden
voyage

Since we were only in Stockholm for two nights, we needed to make the most of the one full day; unfortunately, the weather was not on our side. It was rainy, cloudy, and cold for most of the day. Our tour guide told us that we were lucky, we were getting the authentic Swedish winter weather experience! 

Not quite convinced that we were lucky, we still went on a walking tour of the city center. Stockholm is made up of multiple islands and was surprisingly walk-able. We saw the parliament building, royal palace, and several monuments. After the tour, we visited the Vasa Museum; a museum built around the Vasa, a Swedish ship that spectacularly sunk on its maiden voyage. In the 1960's, Sweden resurfaced the ship using massive airbags and lots of hard work. They build the museum around the ship and included information about Swedish naval life during the time period. Although I thought it might be too specific, I ended up really enjoying the museum. 

After the museum, we retreated to the safety of our hostel to escape the weather for a bit. Once it stopped raining, we explored at night and saw the city in a different light (pun somewhat intended). Although we were out on a Friday, there were surprisingly few people out. The vibe of Stockholm was distinctly different than any Polish city. After being in Poland for about two months straight, I was surprised how accustomed to Polish culture I had become. The next morning, we had to get off to an early start to make it back to our bus to the airport. 

Fulbright Thanksgiving: Turkey, Applesauce, and Good Company 

Thanksgiving Dinner in Warsaw

Thanksgiving was the first major (American) holiday that I would be missing. Luckily, Fulbright made Thanksgiving dinner a required event. They rented about a large party room at a fancy restaurant. There was plenty of food, drinks, and desserts (probably too many, but let's be honest, is it even Thanksgiving if there isn't too much food?) It was all delicious and certainly helped ease the homesickness during the holiday. 

The turkey was great!

While all the food was good, it was just a little bit off from my typical Thanksgiving food. The stuffing had more veggies than bread, their 'gravy' was actually applesauce, and there was an appalling lack pumpkin pie. However, the turkey was on point and went very well with the cranberry sauce. 

Bastille concert in Warsaw 

Overall, it was a fantastic dinner and a great way to catch up with people that I had not seen in several weeks. The next official Fulbright gathering is not until February, so it will be a while before the entire program is back together. 

That evening, I went to a Bastille concert (the band, not the French building). Although I had only heard a few songs by them, the timing worked out very well and the tickets were on sale. The concert actually took place in an ice rink and had a good number of people. The band was great and really energized the crowd. Afterwards, we met up with other Fulbrighters for some drinks. The next morning I was off to Oslo. 

Oslo featuring Naked Statues, the Opera, and Margaritas   

View of Norway from the plane

Getting to Oslo proved a little rocky, or rather foggy. Upon arrival to the airport, I was greeted with a screen full of canceled and delayed flights. The fog at the airport was so bad that I could only see about 30 feet (~10 meters). Our flight was delayed by about 2 hours (luckily it wasn't canceled!) so we got to play the classic game of stay occupied in the airport. Once we finally landed in Oslo, we were treated to a 2 hour bus ride into the city (these budget airport may not always be the best idea), but it was a beautiful drive. 

Drinks with friends

I think the weather gods were apologizing for the awful weather in Stockholm the week before, because the Oslo weather was absolutely perfect. It was sunny the entire weekend and temperatures were in the low 40's (actually warmer than Poland). Arriving in the city, we walked to our AirBnb and discovered how lucky we were in booking that apartment. Not only did our host have snacks and lit candles waiting for us, there was also a heated floor, fast WiFi, and two (that's right two) Mexican restaurants within walking distance. 

The fabled Margarita

Of course, we had to experience Norwegian Mexican (NorMex?) food for ourselves. The first thing to taste was a margarita, and it passed with flying colors. The chips and guac were good, while the burrito was a solid okay. Overall, it was definitely a good taste of home. 

Like Stockholm, I only had one full day in Oslo; however, the weather was much more cooperative. To start off, we ventured into the Vigeland Sculpture Park, known for its plethora of naked statues in interesting poses. Most statues focused on families (or at least I think they did). There were bears juggling babies, a man fighting off 4 babies, columns of naked bodies, and probably anything else you could imagine. 

After the garden, we quickly toured the Nobel Peace Prize museum while waiting for our ferry to tour the Oslo Fjord. The Peace Prize museum was good and had blurbs on every winner. Out on the ferry, the winds picked up, but because of the sun, it never got too cold. The ferry went around to different islands and let people on and off. It made for some great pictures of the water and city. 

Boat ride around Oslo

On the last island, I ventured off with a friend. We hiked around, found some replica cannons, made a fox friend, and took some pretty epic pictures along the rocky cliff. It was really nice to be able to get in a little bit of nature during this trip. After we got back to land, we were off to the Christmas market. 

Once at the market, we discovered just how many Norwegians were taking advantage of the wonderful weather: the market was packed. Wall to wall people. The atmosphere was very festive, with Christmas music and scents everywhere. Christmas punch, Frankfurt sausages, churros, and other nameless foods were sold out of every other stall. Kids and parents lines up for the merry-go-round and Ferris wheel while leaving poor Santa Claus without any attention. I was fortunate to make it out of the market without buying any of the super warm (and super expensive) socks, sweaters, or hats. 

Oslo Christmas market 

The last event of the evening was a performance a the Oslo Opera. The building was very modern and very open. There was a Christmas forest in the lobby and the bathrooms were practically a work of art. We saw Così fan tutte, which was not my favorite opera, but I still enjoyed the show. Overall it was a fantastic experience. 

I think that I will have to do another trip to Norway. There is definitely more to see than just Oslo!

So that's all for this update. I know it was a long read! I hope to post more regularly from here on out!

Bonus Pictures

               

Snow, Elections, and some more Snow... Oh My!

Before the snow

TD;DR  or Quick Summary 

After the snow 

1. Winter has arrived! Last Wednesday (Nov. 9th) it snowed pretty much all day and all night in Białystok, transforming the city into a Winter Wonderland.
2. Teaching is going well. I observed my mentor teaching a couple of weeks ago and it really gave me some good ideas for my own classroom. 
3. Through various groups and parties, I have made several more friends in Białystok and am really starting to feel more comfortable here. 
4. Yesterday, I traveled with a Fulbrighter and his cousin to a small village. It was a great trip into winter. 

Since my last post focused more on my travels, this post will focus more on teaching. It covers about two weeks worth of classes. At the end of the post, you will find waaaaay too many pictures of snow in Białystok (so be prepared). 

Snow in the park outside my university

Teaching Struggles and Breakthroughs 

Just like every teaching experience that I have ever, there are good days and bad day; these past two weeks have had a little of both. Overall, they were good, but they could have definitely been better. I will start with went well. 

Integrated Skills

I finally observed my mentor teacher and she was fantastic! She was teaching a 2nd year integrated skills class, which included several of my own 2nd year students. They were definitely surprised to see me outside of writing class but didn't run out of the room screaming. During this class they were discussing and practicing phrasal verbs (so verbs like break up, wash up, try on, etc...). My mentor posted several words from last week on the board and called on students for a definition or example. As more and more words were taken off the board, the students were getting more nervous about getting stuck with one of the tough final words. Throughout the rest of the class students conversed, discussed, and answered questions using the phrasal verbs. Observing my mentor teach gave me an idea of what a good integrated skills should look like. 

River in Supraśl, a small town near Białystok

The following day I implemented several of my mentor's strategies in my own classes with great success. While teaching idioms, I had every student write sentences and draw pictures that represented the idiom. So there were many drawings of cats being released from bags, slaps on wrists, and ropes being known. Although my students were hesitant at first, they really got into the activity after a little bit. Next class we will have a quiz over the idioms so we will see how effective the lessons were. I plan to do some review games before hand to hopefully help out the students.

As I will do in all of my classes post-election, I will ask my students about their feelings on President-elect Trump and talk about what powers the American president actually has. So far my conversations and discussions with students have been very interesting and they often focused on different issues than my American friends. But, more on that below!

Orthodox church in Supraśl 

4th Year Writing

On the other side of the spectrum, I feel like I am still figuring out the students and course in my 4th year writing class. Two weeks ago, I returned their first essay. In a fantasy world with perfect students, I would have liked for them to read over my edits and comments and then ask me questions about their essays. However, they all read through the comments and seemed perfectly content; no questions, comments, or even small moments of realizations. Part of me should have expected this lack of response (and in the back of my mind I knew that maybe I should have had more realistic expectations). So after talking about general mistakes and issues with the essays, I ended class a little early. While this certainly wasn't the end of the world, it did make me realize that I still had room to improve in my lesson planning and preparation for the class. I could have done more to facilitate a meaningful conversation about writing strategies and styles.

During my other 4th year writing class, I came prepared with a more structured way to discuss common mistakes. We reviewed an essay that I had written on the same topic and I and them find specific strengths of that essay. While still not perfect, the class was much better structured and I think the students got more out of the class.

Looking out into the wilderness

So far, I have only taught one class writing class post-election. I discussed how the electoral college works, showed them how different demographics in the U.S. voted, and defined the constitutional powers of the president. They had questions and predictions about whether Trump could actually build a wall or prevent certain people from entering the country. They were mildly concerned when I told them that the president has complete control over the American military, including nuclear weapons.

When I asked how a Trump presidency would affect them, nearly all of my student's answers focused on relations with Russia. This focus makes complete sense considering their close proximity to Russia. Many expressed concerns that Russia would begin to exert more influence over Poland and Europe. While none of my students mentioned the rise of a second cold war, many of their comments seems to suggest that might be a possibility. This focused is a significant departure from conversations that I have had with many of my American friends and family.

Their second essay assignment is to elaborate upon this. I asked them to write about the effects of a Trump presidency on the U.S., Poland, or the world. I left it fairly open ended in the hopes that I will get a variety of views. I hope no only will my students take a more objective look at American (and global) politics, but that their views and opinions will help give me a more international perspective on the United States.

2nd Year Writing 

Just a little bit of snow here

I assigned 'The Necklace' short story to my second year writing class. In case you can't remember from your own high school English class, 'The Necklace' is a story about a husband and wife who must work for many years to pay back the cost of a lost necklace. The last line of the story reveals that the original necklace was a fake; therefore the couple had wasted 10 years paying back a cheap piece of jewelry. 

The story is rife with themes from 'be happy with what you have' to 'honesty is the best policy' to (my favorite) 'necklaces are the root of evil.' This week, students will be writing an in class essay about the theme they see in the story. 

More snow covered wilderness

Although the students would prefer to write it at home, I was advised that it will be a more accurate assessment of student skill to have them write it in class. I definitely agree with this advice, although now I must go through the difficult task of deciphering their handwriting. The main component I am looking for in their essay is how they present, justify, and connect their arguments and ideas. While I will be looking at spelling and grammar, I think improving their argumentative writing is my biggest goal. 

So overall, teaching is going well. I am definitely reminded of feelings student teaching back at Crockett HS in Austin. There are good days and less good days, but I feel like I am heading in the right direction.

Now if you have made it this far through the post, you must be interested in seeing more snow pictures. Well, I will not leave you disappointed! 

Let it Snow!

Snow in Białystok

Most of my Polish friends and students have told me that my excitement of seeing snow will soon turn into a bitter hatred of the white fluff that turns into gray melting blobs along the side of the road (well not in those words, but close enough). I believe that once March rolls around I might be ready for spring, but for now I still sometimes catch myself staring at snow covered trees, buildings, and fields. 

For me, seeing this much snow is almost like being in a movie. Texas is know for many things, but snow is not one of them. Every Christmas movie has snow covered towns, snowmen, and warm fireplaces; in Houston, my Christmases have more often involved air conditioning and short sleeves. So for now, I will be taking every advantage of the snow. 

Visiting Supraśl and the Wilderness

Inside the chapel

On Saturday, I took a last minute trip to a nearby town, Supraśl. This village is only about 10 kilometers from Białystok, and was definitely worth the trip. One of my Fulbright friends was in town visiting his family and invited me to go with him and his cousin (both of whom speak fluent Polish). So the three of us headed out to Supraśl.

This region of Poland has the highest concentration of Orthodox Christians and there are several ornate Orthodox churches in the area. After strolling along the river, befriending an excitable dog, and throwing several snowballs we took a tour of one church. The tour was led by an Orthodox monk sporting a Nike jacket and shoes but also wearing a religious gown; it looked suspiciously like Nike was his personal sponsor. He showed us several ornate buildings and gave a quick summary of the 500 year history of this order. 

Orthodox art

After a delicious and filling Polish meal, we headed back to town with one quick detour. We stopped along the road and hiked a short distance; once we broke through the tree cover, we could see all the way across a large basin. It was stunning. 

Snow covered trees as far as the eye could see, clear skies, and a setting sun all combined for a beautiful panorama. It was one of the best vistas I have seen. We spent about 30 minutes exploring and taking silly pictures. I attempted to make a snow angel, but unfortunately, the snow wasn't deep enough. 

As we were leaving, my friend's cousin said,  "We should come back in winter! The view will be even better then!" Clearly she was implying that this was not yet winter. We shall see if I survive. 

Well that's all for this week! Thanks for reading!

Bonus Pictures!

Weekend in Warsaw and Wrocław: Hail, Parties, Dwarves, Candles, and Saints

Getting arty in Warsaw 

TL;DR or Quick Summary

1. Sorry about the late update! I have been traveling this weekend and haven't had a chance to post until now. 
2. Teaching is going well; this past week had some ups and down, but definitely more ups than downs. 
3. This past weekend was a long holiday weekend because of All Saints' Day. My university cancelled classes on Monday and Tuesday. 
4. Over the weekend I traveled to Warsaw to help celebrate some birthdays and then onto Wrocław (for pronunciation, see below) to visit a new city. 
5. Wrocław is beautiful and I would 100% recommend visiting.

This post will primarily be about my travels this weekend. So if you are here for the nitty-gritty teaching details, I am sorry to disappoint. But worry not, I will post soon again about showing my students SNL election debate skits, teaching them about the electoral college system, and some challenges I have encountered. 

Birthdays in Warsaw

Tuesday, November 1 was All Saints’ Day and is one of the most significant holidays for Catholic Poles; it is a national holiday and nearly everything is closed. My university cancelled classes all day on Monday and Tuesday, and in the morning on Wednesday so I had a very long weekend! For the first half, I traveled to Warsaw (again) for a Fulbright Birthday Bash. If only PKP (the Polish national rail) had a frequent rider card…

On top of the university library in Warsaw

It was good to see so many Fulbrighters that I had not seen since the end of orientation. There were at least 18 of us who met up. We had a couple of fancy dinners, finished an escape room game, and went out to some favorite bars. It was a fun but crazy weekend.

All Hail will soon break loose from these clouds

On Saturday, several of us tried to go to the Copernicus Museum for Science (it is one of the highest rated science museums). Unfortunately, everyone else in Warsaw also wanted to go to the museum and we couldn’t get into to it. Instead we decided to go for what we thought was going to be a peaceful walk along the river. All was well until a hail thunderstorm decided to roll in.

Dark clouds over downtown Warsaw 

Within five minutes (no really, five minutes) the weather goes from being relatively calm with some clouds off in the distance to powerful winds, thunder, and hail. We heard thunder, felt the wind, and suddenly were being pelted by (small) hail. Cracking up laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation, we had to walk into the wind to reach the shelter of the Copernicus Museum. Once inside, I shook a layer of ice from my head and slowly recovered from my first hail attack. Sadly, I think this is just the start of winter weather here. 

About an hour later however, the weather cleared up and we were able to see the rest of the storm passing over downtown Warsaw. From the top of the university library, there were some great views of the city and river.

Wrocław

Wrocław town square

On Sunday, I traveled to Wrocław, which is in southwest Poland. The first thing I learned about the city is that it is not pronounced like I would immediately think. Instead of ‘row-claw’ it’s pronounced like ‘wrote-suave’. 

Despite the name difficulty, Wrocław is a very beautiful city. It used to be a German city and still has some German influences in its buildings and architecture.

It was not only a great opportunity to visit somewhere new, but also to catch up with some people I had not seen in several weeks. Throughout our time in Wrocław, we took a walking tour (only to embarrass all Americans when we could not name the most important American author), ate some amazing pączek (donuts), made a 'full' breakfast with ingredients from a Żabka (corner store), and somehow ended up in a city wide Halloween parade! So overall, a pretty uneventful weekend. 

If anyone is planning on visiting Poland (or just coming to see me!!!!) I would highly recommend checking out Wrocław. It is a city with a lot of history and it is not difficult to get to. 

The Dwarves of Wrocław 

Professor Dwarf

Dwarf in Prison

One of Wrocław's many quirks is the small dwarf statues placed throughout the city. There are nearly 400 official dwarfs in Wrocław and each has a different theme. The dwarves originated as a symbol of protest against censorship and oppression and have since come to represent Wrocław. 

There are firefighting dwarves protecting the cathedral that has burned down three times, a dwarf behind bars at the old jail, and a professor dwarf outside a university. According to our tour guide, some of the more popular dwarves has GPS trackers in them to deter theft. 

Right now there is a dwarf dressing competition, so people will knit or buy outfits for a particular dwarf to won the title of best dwarf dresser. I don't think that I have ever been jealous of a 5 inch dwarf scarf before, but I supposed there is a first time for everything. 

Jewish Cemetery in Wrocław

Jewish Cemetery

Another unique aspect of Wrocław is its Jewish cemetery. I was told that it is one of the oldest cemeteries in Poland and it certainly looked it. Although not as dense as other cemeteries, there were still hundreds of graves. 

Trees, bushes, and shrubs had taken over the paths and climbed up many of the tombstone, but it created a peaceful and woodsy feel. While there were several other groups of people wandering the area, it was mostly empty. 

Dates on tombstones ranged from the 1800's to just before the outbreak of World War II. During this time, Wrocław was a German city and as such, most of the people buried here has German names; 

The calm isolation stood in great contrast to the Catholic cemetery I would visit next.

All Saints’ Day

Cemetery on All Saint's Day

On All Saints’ Day, Poles visit the towns where their relatives are buried to pay respect to their family members. At the cemeteries, they clean the graves and place flowers and candles. It is a tradition that I had heard a lot about from different people; I was very interested to see the tradition for myself. 

Candle lit cross at the center of a cemetery 

As we approached the cemetery, we joined fifty or so other people on their way to the cemetery. Some brought flowers and candles, while others were going to pick them up from venders right outside the cemetery.

Inside the cemetery things looked like organized chaos. People were weaving through tombstones, benches, and trees to find their family members. Little kids were running and screaming, only to be promptly shushed by parents. Flowers and candles (not yet lit) adorned nearly every grave. There were overflowing dumpsters with flower wrappings and broken candles that didn’t make it all the way to a grave. While people looked somber and reflective, I did not see any tears.

Later in the afternoon (since the sun now sets around 5pm), we visited another cemetery. Even though it was after dark, there were still hundreds of people present. Immediately upon walking in I was surrounded by a sea of flickering candle light. It was a very sudden change from the street that was lit by electricity.

In the center of the cemetery there were hundreds of candles surrounding a large cross. Every few minutes someone else add a candle. Heat pooled around the area which was noticeable warmer than the rest of the cemetery. There was an incredibly somber and reflective vibe in everyone present. 

Overall, visiting the cemeteries on All Saints’ Day was one of the most unique experiences of my life.  

Bonus Pictures

Breakfast with Friends

Street art in Wrocław

Cathedral Island

View of Wrocław main square

Dwarves working to bring us
ice cream