Poland- Spring 2011

I spent two months this past March and April in Poland, traveling to some very interesting places, full of history and some surprising wildlife.  Our journeys took us to places such as the 14th century Teutonic Castle at Ketrzyn (photo below PBW1101), the Swieta Lipka Basilica with the current building dating back to the 1600s (photos PLS1119-23),  Europe's largest medieval Castle at Malbork, and Warsaw, where during World War II, over 80% of the city was destroyed.  Warsaw was rebuilt, often in the exact way as before the war.  The city rose from the ashes as the phoenix of legend did, and so Warsaw is some times referred to as the city of the phoenix.  Warsaw can be viewed below in several different images but most noticeably PLS1101-12.  But Warsaw also provided some wildlife opportunities too.  Lazienki Park, designed in the 17th century, covers over 180 acres near Warsaw's city center and is home to European red squirrels, hedgehogs, mandarin ducks, pheasants, and numerous other bird species.  Some of the images were taken as we stopped at places along the way to our main destinations, such as Treblinka.  Treblinka (photo PLS1125-6) was the site of  a terrible death camp where over 800,000 people were murdered during World War II.  The camp was dismantled before the Allied forces arrived and today, the site contains memorials such as the reconstructed train depot and the thousands of stones that cover the site.  One of my goals for this trip was to photograph the European red squirrel, which was the purpose of my trip to Lazienki Park.  But I also saw cranes, a red fox, and plenty of deer; fallow, red, and roe.  I was able to photograph the fallow deer on this trip, along with a few bird species including the famous white stork.  Poland is home to over 52,000 nesting pairs of white stork, over 25% of the world's population.  Their huge nests are evident throughout the country.  With so much to see and photograph, I'm not sure I can ever have enough time in Poland. And of course, our trip to Malbork Castle was extremely interesting.  Malbork was the capital of the Teutonic Knights before they were defeated by the Poles in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.   I hope you enjoy these galleries!

Scenics

Black and White

Wildlife

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