Lizzy's travel journal
Hello and welcome to my travel journal! This summer, I'm traveling to Warsaw, Krakow, and Wrocław in Poland to learn about documentary photography and Jewish history. This is my first time leaving the United States so I'm excited for the new experience. This semester ended my third year at IUSB where I study graphic design—focusing mostly on page layouts and illustration. I live on a farm in a small town called Knox, Indiana, where I work part-time at the local high school's graphic arts department. I teach a small group of students about design and several different printing processes to make products for the school corporation. Before going to IUSB, I attended Purdue University North West where I earned a Bachelor's of Science in biology with a concentration in ecology and evolution and a minor in chemistry. I decided to continue my education in graphic design in 2022 so I could pursue a career in creativity. In the future I'd love to work on layouts for textbooks or infographics so I could incorporate both of my degrees into my work.
1. Home
This trip will be the first time I've left the United States and while I'm excited for the new experience, I don't think I could be more nervous. Regardless of my anxiety, I'm sure that this trip will be great. This year has been really difficult and I think an adventure might be something I need. As an artist, I'm always looking for new inspirations, whether it's the art, the wildlife, the architecture, the history, or even just experiences we have along the way. I think that's what I'm really looking forward to the most. I'm hoping that with all the things that we'll see, I can be presented with new ideas and perspectives that will help me move forward both as an artist and just as a person, too. I love history, art, and archaeology so I'm really excited to visit all the historical sites and museums to learn about the Polish and Jewish culture. But I would be lying if I said that I wasn't also really excited to try the food! I've heard that it's great and I'm willing to try anything. As weird as it might sound, I actually really want to see what different things they have at their McDonald's and Starbucks!
Knox, Indiana
May 17th, 2025
2. Arrival
The long flight to Germany was one of the things that worried me the most about this trip, but it wasn't really as bad as I thought that it would be. After the first few hours, they gave us lunch (which was also better than I expected but still just airplane food). I wasn't able to sleep on the plane so by the time I went to sleep I had been awake for 32 hours! We landed in Germany early in the morning and then flew from Munich to Warsaw where we got to our hotel and then walked around the city for a little while. I was expecting all the buildings to look old and medieval but I learned later that this part of the city is relatively new and was built during the communist era of Poland. It's been interesting to compare the communist architectural style with the gothic/baroque buildings in the older part of the city.
Flight from Chicago, Illinois to Munich, Germany
May 17th, 2025
Air Lufthansa Sign
Munich, Germany
May 19th, 2025
Apartment Buildings
Warsaw, Poland
May 19th, 2025
3. the Contemporary & the Historic
On our second day in Warsaw, we were taken around the city by a tour guide. In the morning, he showed us some of the monuments around the city and talked about the Warsaw ghetto, the Holocaust, and the Warsaw uprising. Later in the afternoon, he showed us some of the most important places in Old Town.
Our tour guide explained that most of Warsaw, especially the ghetto, was completely destroyed by the Germans during the war. One of the most striking places that the guide showed us was a street between two buildings—one was a school house where Jews were held before being deported and the other was the old Gestapo headquarters. The wall I pictured used to connect these two buildings and partitioned the soon-to-be-departed Jews from the rest of the ghetto.
Not far from the wall was the Umschagplatz, where once stood the train station that the Warsaw Jews were deported from and sent to the Treblinka death camp.
We also visited a memorial to the Jewish resistance fighters. What I found the most moving about the monument is that the hill it sits on was made from the rubble of the destroyed buildings of the ghetto.
Throughout our tour, it was fascinating to see these historical monuments commemorating such terrible tragedies among green parks and modern apartment buildings. It was also interesting to see the different "eras" of the city so clearly. In Old Town, you could see the town's medieval to pre-WWII architecture. Everything was brightly-colored and decorated. Then, where Warsaw was rebuilt during the communist period, the buildings were very square and gray and uniform. And there were modern buildings scattered throughout. I thought a lot about how the constant reminders of history affected the people that lived in the city or if they didn't really think much of it at all.
Ruins of a Ghetto Wall
Warsaw, Poland
May 20th, 2025
Umschlagplatz Memorial
Warsaw, Poland
May 20th, 2025
Umschlagplatz Memorial with Modern Buildings in Background
Warsaw, Poland
May 20th, 2025
Anielewicz Bunker Memorial
Warsaw, Poland
May 20th, 2025
4. the Arteries of the CIty
For Warsaw's "arteries" I think of both the Vistula river and the tram system that runs through the city. While learning about the city and its history, the Vistula river was always brought up as an important trade route, which is why a lot of Poland's major cities were built along it. The picture below was taken from the Warsaw University rooftop garden.
Throughout the trip, we've been using the tram system multiple times a day to get around the city. They're constantly flowing through Warsaw and it seems that a lot of the people here depend on them. And now that we've finally figured it out, we're leaving for Krakow!
Warsaw Tram
Warsaw, Poland
May 22nd, 2025
View of the Vistula River from the
Warsaw University Rooftop Garden
Warsaw, Poland
May 22nd, 2025
5. Green spaces
Warsaw has so many parks and greenery, which makes the city seems so much smaller and quieter than it really is. During our tour of the city, we learned that a lot of Warsaw (especially the former ghetto) was completely destroyed during WWII and that these green spaces were added during the reconstruction. It's interesting to think that these places where nature and wildlife is allowed to take back over the space was created out of so much death and tragedy. Adding these calm and reflective areas really was a great way to rebuild the city.
On Saturday morning we walked through the Łazienki Park. There were winding stone paths through wooded areas, a beautiful Japanese garden, and a Chopin monument where I watched this duck for way too long.
Saxon Garden
Warsaw, Poland
May 20th, 2025
6. Train Stations
On Monday, we left Warsaw and took a train to Krakow. I've only ridden a train once before and it was only to Chicago so I was interested to see what it was like. The train was much more comfortable than the planes that we traveled here. We've only spend time in the busiest tourist areas of Poland so I really enjoyed seeing the hills and cottage houses of the countryside.
Train from Warsaw to Krakow (Photo by Samantha Jurkovic)
Warsaw, Poland
May 23rd, 2025
7. Historical Architecture of Krakow
Both the buildings in Warsaw and Krakow have such beautifully decorated facades that are full of color, gold accents, carved doors, and sculpture. Compared to Warsaw, I think Krakow’s buildings are more pastel in color and are a little more diverse in style. Warsaw’s buildings seem to be either medieval, communist style, or modern, but Krakow includes a lot of renaissance, baroque, and gothic along with the modern buildings, which is probably a result of how damaged each city was during WWII.
At the beginning of the tour we saw on of my favorite buildings, the Singing Frog House. We also walked around the center square with St. Mary's Basilica in the center. The guide explained the reason the church isn't parallel with the rest of the buildings is because it's older than the square—the first version built around the 13th century.
We also saw Wawel Castle, which sits on a hill over the market square. It surprised me, because when I think of a castle, I expected gray stone and everything looking consistent. But this palace was mostly made of brick and you could see clear additions throughout the centuries that varied in building material and architectural style.
Street in Krakow
Krakow, Poland
May 23rd, 2025
Wawel Castle
Krakow, Poland
May 24th, 2025
8. free time
There were so many things to see and do in Kraków and it was a much busier city than Warsaw was. Before the trip, I had a list of different Polish foods that I wanted to try during the trip and I found most of them in Kraków. We had zapiekanki in Kazimierz, obwarzanek, and hot chocolate in a little cafe. We also went to the McDonald's near the old town square just to see how it would compare to the ones at home.
On our first day, after the city tour, our guide told us we could find a great view of Kraków at Kopiec Krakusa, which is a mound on top of a hill a little outside of the city center. I was really hesitant to do more walking, but I decided I might as well see everything that I can while I'm here. It was a much longer hike than I realized and all of us were exhausted, but the view was worth it. I didn't know anything about the mound at the time, but I recently read that it's a prehistoric mound that is thought to be the grave of the city's legendary founder, King Krakus.
On Sunday, we went on a river boat tour of the city. The tour took us to see Wawel castle and some other important areas along the river and told the history of the city. To be honest, it was such a beautiful day, there was a nice breeze, and the sights were so pretty, that I didn't pay much attention to the narration...But I did hear the narrator talk about the same legendary founder, who he called Prince Krak—a name I found to be quite hilarious.
McDonald's in Krakow
Krakow, Poland
May 25th, 2025
9. comparisons
All of these cities have been so nice to visit. There's so much beautiful architecture and appreciation for the arts in general. Each city had a center square with shops, restaurants, and vendor booths where you could get souvenirs, crafts, and street food, which is something I'll definitely miss. It's like a little festival every day!
We've done a lot of walking around the cities on this trip, and I've really enjoyed people-watching, but I especially love seeing all of the dogs. There's so many of them here! It's surprising to see how welcoming businesses are to dogs. Some of them have bowls of food and water out and I've seen some restaurant menus with sections just for dogs.
They also all have ZABKAS! Throughout this whole trip, I've been stopping at the Zakba convenience store for all of my snacks (and cups of ice). It seems like they're on every block. They're everywhere! And they're almost all the same so it's a nice constant in all the new things.
Town Square
Wrocław, Poland
May 29th, 2025
10. Time
I've really enjoyed walking around Wrocław's town square after sunset. All of the lights and projections around the buildings, statues, and fountains give the place a fairy tale quality.
On Wednesday, some of the group went to the conference league final football game at the Tarczyński Arena. The huge stadium was a stark contrast to the old buildings and the art in the market square.
On Friday, we visited a historic Jewish cemetery. Throughout the trip, we've learned about how a lot of Jewish cemeteries in Poland were destroyed and if they were rebuilt, the markers are not in their original places, so I was surprised to see this one mostly undisturbed. However, we did see some tombstones that were broken or filled with bullet holes from WWII. The first thing I noticed though was how overgrown the grounds were, but as we kept walking, I started to appreciate the peacefulness that the trees, ferns, and wildflowers brough to the cemetery.
Market Square
Wrocław, Poland
May 29th, 2025
11. community
This trip has been great, and I couldn't have asked for a better group. It's been really easy to get along with everyone and enjoy our experiences together. No one ever hesitated to offer help when it was needed or watch out for each other. Even when our tours and events were over, we often stayed together to explore the cities some more or just to go out to dinners.
Our last dinner together at Świdnicka Cellar
Wrocław, Poland
May 30th, 2025
12. reflection
What an amazing two weeks and a great experience! Poland was so much more than I expected. The whole trip was an emotional roller coaster to say the least. Learning about Polish and Jewish history could be really taxing at times, learning about all of the destruction and suffering that happened during WWII. But we also learned how they rebuilt their cities that are filled with beautiful art and architecture.
I've really enjoyed every day of this trip, and I'd love to keep traveling and seeing new things in the future. But for now, I'm excited to go home and see my family and continue my work. Goodbye, Poland! I hope I'll see you again someday!
Departure
Wrocław, Poland
June 1st, 2025
THANK YOU!
Thank you for following me along the way! I hope you enjoyed it! :)
