Stroll in Salwator
After visiting Edinburgh Vaults and Greyfriars Kirkyard time came to take a flight to Kraków. It has been more than two years since my last visit and the first time I was to see this city in the month of May since I left Poland in 2005. I stayed with my ex neighbour in Salwator where I grew up. I started my walk by visiting Salwator cemetery to leave some flowers and candles on my grandparents grave.
The graveyard is very colourful, full of trees and flowers. In addition to people it's visited by squirrels, many different birds and in the evening you might hear an owl or two. It grew in size since I was a child and you can tell because the extension has no trees and newer graves. Some notable personalities are buried there, my favourite being Stanisław Lem. He was a famous Polish Si-fi author known internationally for his book Solaris. My grandmother knew him back in her day.
To get to the cemetery you need to stroll along Washington Avenue surrounded by tall trees forming a green canopy above your head. The dominant species is the horse chestnut which blooms in May giving the place especially pretty look.
As I walked down the alley a couple of jays kept me company chasing each other from one tree to the next. I appreciated their noisy calls in an otherwise quiet space.
Salwator is full of beautiful villas and churches. It lies on the edge of the city close to Sowiniec Forest (Owl Forest) with its two historic mounds. I stopped in a beer garden beside Church of the Holy Saviour. It felt amazing to sip a beer looking at this pretty church knowing that it stands build on top of ancient Slavic temple. The atmosphere of sacredness still fills this space and the church itself is open for a public mass only once every two weeks.
As I sipped my beer in what used to be my backyard I enjoyed the view of the church and a gorgeous bunch of forget-me-nots and greater celandine growing beside my feet. It felt really good to reconnect to the magick of this unique district and remind myself that it is still here. I felt, in a poetic sort of way, that the flowers were a message from the spirit of the land reminding me to remember it.
