Polish Venue
Day 1 Official Ceremony
On the first day there was the official ceremony to welcome schools of the five countries. Students council president and his deputy greeted the guests. The school headteacher (Mrs. Lidia Szafrańska) gave a speech in which she wished all the participants of the prosect a wonderful time during their stay in Poland. There was a short concert of songs performed by students.
Day 1
24th February is a very important day for our partners from Estonia as they celebrate Estonian Independence Day. We listened to the Estonian Νational Αnthem and congratulated the team on their special day A Polish pupil showed us his presentation about Estonia and later on we ate a cake. In the place which served as a cafeteria there were some pictures of Estonian towns.
Monument presentations
DAY 1. After the official part, the students presented their monuments.
Day 2 - Visiting Cracow
On Tuesday the project participants visited the former capital of Poland - Cracow. They saw the Wawel castle and the old town which is on the UNESCO Heritage List. They saw the most important sights which are considered must-sees e.g. Cloth Hall, the Town Hall Tower, St. Mary's Church, town walls. They also heard the legends of the Wawel Dragon, St. Mary's Trumpet Call and the Tale of two brothers.
They had the possibility to try 'obwarzanek' - the traditional pretzel from Cracow and they had 'pierogi' (Polish dumplings) for lunch
Day 2 - Visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine
In the afternoon everybody visited the world-famous salt mine in Wieliczka which has been included in the UNESCO Heritage List. We visited the mine with a guide who told us about the origins of the mine (Legend of St. Kinga) as well as important information about salt and its use. We saw beautiful monuments made of salt by the miners and the most beautiful chamber - St. Kinga's Chapel
Day 3. Decoupage Workshops
In the morning students and teachers took part in decoupage . They made pictures using the technique decoupage - which is about glueing a piece of napkin onto a wooden surface. Three teachers from the Polish school took over the presentation and support of the teams during the creation of the decoupage.
Day 3. 90th Birthday Celebration of Zespol Szkol
Zespol Szkol Ogolnoksztalcacych celebrating its 90th birthday. Βoth students and teachers from the schools participating in the project created a huge birthday card which is going to be a part of an exhibition held during the official celebrations in April.
Day 4 - Queen Louise Adit
In the afternoon the project participants visited Queen Louise Adit in Zabrze. We walked in the original 19th-century mine workings and then we went on a 1100 metre boat-ride underground. We could admire calciferous infiltration which are normally seen in caves and living plants grow 40 metres under the groud. During this tour the visitors learnt about the dangers which 19th-century miners had to face and met the legendary creatures like “Skarbek” (“The Treasurer”) and “Utopek”
Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Gory
On Friday afternoon the project participants visited historic Silver Mine in Tarnowskie Góry which is also included in the UNESCO Heritage List. The main mineral excavated here was so-called galena which is lead ore. In the middle of 16th century Tarnowskie Góry was the biggest in this part of Europe producer of galena. It is thought that the exported lead had an influence on the development of the international trade and the silver was exported to China which needed it to make coins.
Day 4 - Auschwitz-Birkenau
On Thursday the whole group visited German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau which was established in 1940 and which was the largest of Nazi German concentration and extermination centres. More than 1 million people lost their lives there. We must learn about the history of this place so that his history will never be repeated and mankind will never commit a similar crime again. The place is included on the UNESCO Heritage List.
The Bread Museum
In the afternoon, the participants went to Bytom to learn about bread (how it is made, why it is important etc.) which is deeply rooted in the Silesian and Polish culture. There they could also make their own bread which they ate after the visit. Everybody learnt about some machines and devices which were used in homes in order to prepare food.
At the end of the trip - we all had the possiblity to enter an old 19th-century classroom and learn about how school utensils have been changing.
Town Museum in Zabrze
After lunch the guests had a short walk around Zabrze and they visited the Town Museum in Zabrze. In one of its buildings, Cafe Silesia, a worker of the museum - historian Piotr Hnatyszyn- gave a lecture on history of Zabrze.
Nobel Winners
At the Polish venue, the groups of children presented a Nobel Price winner from their native country.
If the country doesn’t have any person who won this prize, the children presented a person who is really important in their culture, literature or science. The children learnt about important personalities who worked hard and were dedicated to their work and who can be role models for all of us.
DAY 5 Traditional Games
On the last day of the venue all schools presented traditional games from their country. Then students and teachers played and had fun playing the traditional games of each country.
Day 5 Traditional Dances (NEO)
On the last day of the venue everybody involved in the project had the chance to learn and dance the traditional dances from Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Portugal and Romania.
School Decorations
Traditional Food
During the whole stay teachers and students had the possiblity to try Polish traditional food like beetroot soup, pierogi (dumplings), sour rye soup. They ate the traditional Polish Sunday dinner - chicken soup and pork chops with potatoes and saland and a traditional Silesian dish - 'rolady' (filling made of sausage, bacon, pickled gherkings wraped in beef meat).
Everybody also tried typical carnival food: 'pączki' (Polish doughnuts) and 'faworki'.
On the last day everybody tried traditional sweets and treats eaten in the countries participating in the project.
