sfahey2020

[sfahey2020]

Krakow, Poland

Hey everyone. I know I wrote previously that there would be an update featuring Yellow Jackets + friends travels before we left for Poland. Well, looks like we’re just gonna jump straight into our excursion to Poland.

We stayed in Krakow for 3 days and had the opportunity to visit all sorts of historical locations and sites. Some locations we visited I did not take photos. These include the Wieliczka Salt Mine (too dark but spectacular) and Auschwitz II-Birkenau (taking photos I feel would have distracted me from the solemn reality of the experience.)

The first picture is of us once we arrived at our hostel.

Below is a picture of own Will Branham sporting a Georgia Tech T-shirt with St. Mary's Basilica in the distance. St. Mary's Basilica is a 14th (technically 13th) century Polish-gothic architecture church built in Krakow’s main square.

The next two pictures are of our first real adventure in Poland. We explored the old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, in Krakow. The location our guide is pointing to was featured in Schindler’s List (as evidenced by the framed picture from the film).

Here is a picture of Krakow’s main square. You can see the basilica on the right with the market on the left and a monument to the poet Adam Mickiewicz in the center-left.

Lastly, here is a photo of Wawel Castle, one of the most famous buildings in Krakow. The castle is enormous and is a hodgepodge of different architectural styles from the medieval, renaissance and baroque period. Like St. Mary's Basilica, Wawel Castle dates back to the 13th and 14th centuries.

That’s it for now! There will be at least one more update, as we just returned from a weekend in Tallinn, Estonia!

[sfahey2020]

Vilnius, Lithuania (part 2 of 2)

After our tour of Vilnius, we left for the Lithuanian countryside.  It rained a little bit while we were here, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the sights and scenery of the Lithuanian countryside! 

First up was a tour of more ornate churches with brilliant architecture.  Pictured below is the Trakai Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary which dates back to 1409.

After our brief visit to the Trakai Basilica, we arrived at Trakai Castle, one of the most iconic locations in all of Lithuania (the front cover of a travel book on Lithuania I own has the castle right on the cover!) Trakai Island Castle dates back to the 14th century and sits in the middle of Lake Galve. Pictured next is the outer walls of the island castle with us students entering through the main gate. 

The castle was one of the most important strategic centers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a historical state that covered much of Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine up-to and until 1795. After it fell into disrepair he castle was eventually began reconstruction in the 19th century and was completed in 1961.

After touring the castle, we spent the final hour of our adventure in Lithuania eating Piroshki with soup in a traditionally Karaim setting. Karaim refers to Crimean Karaites, members of Karaite Judaism in Central and Eastern Europe.

That’s it for now! Expect at least 1 more batch of photos of Latvia before the GT LBAT and Spring Track crew takes off for Krakow, Poland this month. After all, today is Jāņi, one of the biggest holidays in Latvia. Expect some pictures of flower crowns and art nouveau next time! 

[sfahey2020]

Vilnius, Lithuania (part 2 of 2)

After our tour of Vilnius we left for the Lithuanian countryside. First up was a tour of more ornate churches with brilliant architecture.  Pictured below is the Trakai Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary which dates back to 1409.

After our brief visit to the Trakai Basilica, we arrived at Trakai Castle, one of the most iconic locations in all of Lithuania (the front cover of a travel book on Lithuania I own has the castle right on the cover!) Trackai Island Castle dates back to the 14th century and sits in the middle of Lake Galve. Pictured next is the outer walls of the island castle with us students entering through the main gate.

The castle was one of the most important strategic centers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, a historical state that covered much of Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine up-to and until 1795. After it fell into disrepair he castle was eventually began reconstruction in the 19th century and was completed in 1961.

After touring the castle, we spent the final hour of our adventure in Lithuania eating Piroshki with soup in a traditionally Karaim setting. Karaim refers to Crimean Karaites, members of Karaite Judaism in Central and Eastern Europe.

That’s it for now! Expect at least 1 more batch of photos of Latvia before the GT LBAT and Spring Track crew takes off for Krakow, Poland this month.

Best! - Sean

[sfahey2020]

Vilnius, Lithuania (part 1)

Hi everyone. Back with another set of travel photos from our Georgia Tech LBAT Russia and European adventure! While half the Georgia Tech LBAT squad was kickin’ it in Saint Petersburg, the rest of us were exploring Vilnius, Lithuania and taking a weekend break from our intensive Russian classes.

Our first day in Vilnius was spent touring Old Town. Vilnius’ old town is similar to Riga’s in that both included a mixture of architectural styles (from Baroque to Romanesque and even a few Gothic buildings). However, Vilnius is far hillier thus ensuring we got a full leg work out.

Constructed in 1783, this huge building is the Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius, a Roman Catholic cathedral. We went inside and, can confirm, this place was huge with some incredible works of art! 

Here is another picture from the heart of Vilnus’ old town. To the right is a fine example of a baroque-style arch.

Later that afternoon we climbed to the top of Gediminas' Tower, the remnants of an old 15th century castle that sits atop a hill in the heart of Vilnius’ old town.  Gediminas’ Tower is pictured here above the National Museum of Lithuania and a monument to King Mindaugas, Lithuania’s first Grand Duke and only Christian King.

At the top of the hill we took advantage of the golden hour by taking some instagram-worthy pictures. After we had the luxury of enjoying a beautiful sunset view complete with hot air balloons and the Vilnius city skyline in the distance.

I’ll be back later this week with part 2 of our trip to Lithuania where we left the city to visit Trakai.