Częstochowa

During my stay with Magda I found out that my postcrossing friends are organising a meet-up in Częstochowa. When Martina called me to join, I run at full speed. Martina is another top Polish postcrosser. To see some of her postcards you can have a look at her blog.

When I arrived to Częstochowa, I started with a visit to the Tourist Information. They gave me a nice map of the city.

I quickly found out there that the most important tourist attraction in town is the Pauline monastery of Jasna Góra, which is the home of the Black Madonna painting. Every year, millions of pilgrims from all over the world come to Częstochowa to see the painting. The monastery is located on a hill and you can reach it by a nice lane.

The monastery of Jasna Gora played an important role in the Polish defense during the Swedish invasion of mid-17th century called the Deluge. The Sweds did not manage to conquer the monastery which was considered by many Poles as a divine sign that they are able to fight the invaders back.

When you approach the hill, you can see a cannon commemorating these days.

By the way, have I mentioned that we had lots of snow that day?

Finally, my postcrossing friends arrived. It was great to meet them again.

As it was freezing cold, we looked for a nice place to do the most important thing – write postcards!

You can find many nice postcards in Częstochowa – most of them related to Jasna Gora and the pilgrims (these two say “Greetings from the Pilgrimage”).

Being a real gentleman, I helped of course two nice ladies with their postcards.

All this writing made me a bit tired so I took a closer look at what was standing on the tables...

... the ladies allowed me to get a try.

It was good. I think. Hard to say with the headache I have now. Luckily Martina was nice to carry me back home. She even found me a nice furry pillow. And it makes nice sounds too. Mrrrr…