Poland’s Second City Is First Choice for the Young
The New York Times
By Denny Lee
TO find Pauza, an artsy pub in the medieval heart of Krakow, slip past the rowdy British lads at the greasy kebab stands, step over the inebriated young woman splayed on the shiny cobblestones, and wait. A clique of trendy young Poles will clear a path to a soot-stained building on Ulica Florianska; follow them up a dark stairwell and open the unmarked wooden door.
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Eastern Europe's Party Place
The New York Times
By Scott Norvell
Krakow is like two cities. It is quiet and reserved by day. But by night its basements are crammed with overheated night owls shaking off their stoicism. Jazz oozes from the dark corners of alleys of the Stare Miasto, the Old Town, and cabaret echoes through its Gothic cellars. Smoky cafes are full of brooding patrons, and the walls of Kazimierz, one of Europe's major centers of Jewish culture until World War II, are plastered with flyers promising live muzyka and poetry readings. If Prague was the coolest city in Eastern Europe during the 1990's, then Krakow is well on its way to capturing the title this decade.
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A German Pope Confronts The Nazi Past at Auschwitz
The New York Times
By Ian Fisher
DISPLAYING FIRST 50 OF 1247 WORDS -Pope Benedict XVI prayed on Sunday at the cells and crematories of the concentration camp complex here, on a visit he called ''particularly difficult and troubling for a Christian, for a pope from Germany.'' ''Words fail,'' said Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger in Bavaria in 1927.
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In Poland, Pope Speaks of Quick Sainthood for John Paul II
The New York Times
By Ian Fisher
DISPLAYING FIRST 50 OF 834 WORDS - ''I am still alive,'' Pope John Paul II, then 79 and ill already for years, mused on his last trip to his hometown in 1999. On Saturday, his successor, Benedict XVI, suggested again that Poland's favorite son would live on as a saint, telling pilgrims at a shrine that...
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Stanislaw Lem, 84, Author Of Science Fiction Classics
The New York Times
By Ben Sisario
Stanislaw Lem, a Polish science-fiction writer who, in novels like ''Solaris'' and ''His Master's Voice,'' contemplated man's place in the universe in sardonic and sometimes bleak terms, died yesterday in Krakow, Poland.
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Watching Over Poland's Ghosts, in a Spirit of Renewal
The New York Times
By Richard Bernstein
Krakow, is the ornate, ancient and adorable former capital whose past the Poles and millions of tourists are striving, almost with desperation, to remember.
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Montana to Krakow, Getaways Without a Big Price Tag
The New York Times
By Amy Gunderson
"Krakow is fantastic" said Ms. Poe, who is traveling to Poland this winter with her family. "It's one of the most beautifully preserved cities and is not on the beaten track yet. Krakow will be like Prague in a few years." For kids, Ms. Poe recommends a visit to the medieval Wieliczka Salt Mine, where there are guided tours of the underground labyrinth of caverns, lakes, centuries-old carvings and even several chapels carved out of the salt.
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Take the train instead of a plane
Guardian Unlimited
By Mark Smith
Krakow survived the war unscathed and now boasts one of Europe's best-preserved old towns, a worthy rival to Prague. At its heart is the Rynek Glowny, Europe's largest medieval square, surrounded by restaurants, cafes and shops. At the northeastern corner is the Basilica of St Mary - listen for the trumpet call played from its tower every hour. The call ceases mid-note, a tribute to the 13th-century watchman shot through the neck by a Tartar arrow as he sounded the alarm. The highlight of any visit is Wawel castle and cathedral overlooking the river Vistula, which now house impressive art collections.
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At Auschwitz, Pope Invokes a 'Heartfelt Cry'
The Washington Post
By Craig Whitlock
OSWIECIM, Poland, May 28 -- Pope Benedict XVI, a conscripted member of the Hitler Youth and the German army as a teenager, walked through the gate of the death camp at Auschwitz on Sunday and somberly confronted the sites where his countrymen killed an estimated 1.5 million people, the vast majority of them Jews.
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Pope, in Poland, Honors John Paul
WWII Memories Weigh Heavily on German-Born Benedict's 4-Day Trip
The Washington Post
By Craig Whitlock
Benedict's itinerary for his four-day visit includes visits to Krakow, the southern city where John Paul served as archbishop for more than a dozen years, and the nearby town of Wadowice, where the Polish pope was born.
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New films from Steven Spielberg and Roman Polanski
Economist.com
CATCH Me If You Can by Steven Spielberg has struck fans as a welcome change from Auschwitz (Schindler's List), D-Day (Saving Private Ryan) and a matched set of future dystopias dreamed up by Stanley Kubrick (AI) and Philip K. Dick (Minority Report).
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Pope Benedict's Auschwitz Prayer
Time
By Jeff Israely
In many ways Pope Benedict XVI's entire trip to Poland has been a chance to pay homage to the Polish pope. He spoke in the central Warsaw square where John Paul II encouraged his countrymen to maintain their faith in the face of the Communist regime. He visited his predecessor's hometown and gave hope to those who want to see John Paul be made a saint as soon as possible. And he drew a million-strong crowd Sunday morning in Krakow, the former diocese of Archbishop Karol Wojtyla, for an open-air mass. All along, he received rave reviews from the devout Polish people.
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A New Pope in Poland
Time
By Jeff Israely
Rarely has a translator's voice said so much. For more than a quarter-century, papal trips to Poland had been ringing homecomings for its history-moving native son. The man born Karol Wojtyla in a small town outside of Krakow gave some of his most influential and intimate speeches on eight trips as Pope John Paul II to his beloved motherland.
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