Czestochowa

Second day in Krakow I made a day trip to Czestochowa. Two and a half hours by train, and 20 minutes walk, and I was at Jasne Gora, the Church and Carmel grounds. The basillica is beautiful, but the chapel is what people come to see on pilgrimages. I arrived just 30 minutes before they were to reveal the famous painting of Matka Boza of Czestochowa. The revealing was accompanied by trumpets and a rolling dim. Many people shuffled on their knees in reverence around, back, and behind the small chapel altar where the painting is housed. It's hard to tell from te pictures, but the painting's dress was adorned completely in gold, silver, and jewels. It's very moving to finally see something that is such a part of your cultural history.



The sunset on the train back wasn't bad either.