Trip to Poznan, Poland - Pt 3

On this day we took a venture outside of Poznan to the village of Kornik, where Kornik Castle lies.

It was very nice. The floors were magnificently puzzles of different types of wood. The furniture and architecture was great. The grounds were beautiful. In a few weeks, they'll be even more gorgeous as the azaleas and rhododendrums and all sorts of flowers come out in bloom. We saw a few white bell shaped flowers poking their heads through the snow.

Here is a picture of the grounds from inside the castle. I thought this would be a great shot because this window was aligned with the main path, some snow was still on the ground, and the glass of the window is old and wavy. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Click on the image for a larger view if you're interested.

Here's a picture of the family standing on that same path with the castle in the back ground.

On the next day, we went to the cathedral. It is the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. This is at least the 3rd version of the cathedral on this site over the ages. The first dates back to the year 968. The first King of Poland, Mieszko I, and another king just a few generations later, Bolesław I, are both buried here as well as several other historical characters. The crypt and an area that shows ruins and former foundations from the prior churches are open for viewing below this cathedral.

Here are the front doors. They tell the story of Peter. Sunni was having a home school moment and pointing out the story of Jesus walking on water and Peter attempting to walk out to him for our oldest. He identified the story and characters. What a genius!

Inside:

One of the painted domes. This isn't the main dome but from one of the side rooms of the cathedral. I liked the artistic style of the characters on this one, though. They're definitely different than the traditional painting style from that time.

I also liked the icons of the saints/apostles on this archway.

Here is the massive pipe organ in the back. There is a public chamber music event on Sunday, but that is the day we leave unfortunately. I'm sure it'll be beautiful. We heard the one in Westminster Abby of London played several years back. It was awesome. This one looks to be bigger.

Here is the back of the cathedral with all it's spires from across a bridge.

That afternoon we visited a park. Here's Seth and Gran swinging.

And E climbing to the crow's nest of the "ship"

This is one of the friends my parents know. Her name is Helka. She is thinking about going into modeling, if that wasn't obvious. The boys adore her, as you can see on Seth's face. She loves them too and brought them some toys to borrow from her niece during our visit. The picture is inside of the flat my parents (and we) are staying in.

Sunni and I had a date one evening. It was to the Opera House. We saw the Marriage of Figaro. It was good - great singers and live orchestra. The opera was in Polish as opposed to Italian, but it didn't matter since I don't understand either. It was fun.

Yesterday we visited the Old Zoo downtown. Here's a photo op with the grandparents.

Seth watching the Alpaca.

A walking street with shops downtown. We bought a few things here, including a Poznan team futbol jersey for me.

Anyone like the Beatles?

The other end of the street with a great statue. There are several statues around the city.

And a nice stop for a banana split and a cappucino. Afternoon coffee and snacks in cafes has been a nice tradition for this trip.

We have one more day of touring and then we head home. It's been a great trip.