Welcome back Salvation ! Glad you've enjoyed the trip. I've been to Poland only once in 1993 as a fly over from my birth place of Lwow (aka Lviv), Ukraine (fmr. USSR), to the United States. Lviv (aka Lwow or Lvov) is a Ukrainian city for many centuries was a Polish (and for a couple Centuries Austro-Hungarian) city and there are many magnificent Catholic cathedrals there too. For your viewing pleasure, taken from the various sites on the Internet.

I haven't been back since--want to visit someday, but I didn't decide when.

However what I was thinking when reading your posts was that it's a shame that Orthodox and Catholics are still can't find a common ground. I am a secular person. My mother is ethnic Russian and nominally she's Orthodox, although she distruts any official religion and does not attend church. My father is Russian/Ukrainian Jew but also non-religios.

Having a Russian/Jewish background growing up in largely eastern Catholic Ukrainian Lviv, but in nominally atheist fmr. USSR (Ukraine was then part of USSR) created a very peculiar background for my philosophical mindset -:)))

Currently, I chose to stay secular and neither practice Christianity, nor Judaism. Nevertheless, I believe that Judaico-Christian civilization is the best that exists in the world with all the wrongs its committed.

I find it's shameful that ex-Christian Europe (with a few welcome exceptions of countries like Poland) is hostile to Israel when Israel is not only a state of small but great Nation of historically viciously persecuted people fighting once again for its survival, but it's also a first line of defense against Islamic Barbarism. I find it's shameful that many officials in Orthodox Church of Russia still view Catholics as enemies although some welcome signs of cooperation on a few important issues facing Christian world today (i.e. "Gay Marriage") is taking place.

Here is a great article by Robert Spencer The Last Day of the World of what happened when Orthodox and Catholics failed to cooperate properly in the past. The end result was the Ottoman Empire took Byzantian Constantinople in May 29, 1453, massacred its Christian inhabitants and turned the magnificent cathedral of Hagia Sofia into a mosque. While I have nothing against modern Turkey and wish it to remain more or less Westernized, Civilized and non-Islamized country, the events of more than 5 centuries ago should serve as a stark warning what happens when Christians fight each other and persecute their elder brothers (in words of John Paul II) Jews instead of standing together against the real barbarism.

Hagia Sofia today

Beautiful pictures. Thank you so much. Do visit Poland -- it is worth it!

I share your thoughts and sentiments about the persecution of Israel and the Catholic Church. These roots are here to stay, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. (See today's Gospel in the Daily Readings thread!)

"However what I was thinking when reading your posts was that it's a shame that Orthodox and Catholics are still can't find a common ground."

I would say that's rather Poles vs. Russians and Serbs vs. Croats in case of Balkans than Orthodox vs. Catholics in general.