Rynek and the mysterious "Underground Tourist Route"

I'm in Krakow right now and loving it even more than the last time I spent a week here. Yesterday, we visited the Rynek (again), which is the largest market square in Europe. I found out what the Cracow-itinerary for the June 17-19 trip is referring to as the "Underground Tourist Route."

Described in more detail here: Rynek Underground review , the Underground Tourist Route refers to a new museum underneath the Cloth Hall at the center of the square. Quite simply, it is one of the best museum experiences I have ever seen. I say this as someone who will quite happily turn off the highway in South Dakota to visit the Corn Palace, or in Aberdeen, Kansas to visit the Greyhound Racing Museum, or drive 4.5 hours on a whim to take my kids to the Cleveland Natural History Museum and Art Museum (don't laugh -- all the Cleveland museums are endowed with monster trusts from the oil barons, etc.).

Not large, the museum under the Rynek is mostly an archeological and ethnographical exploration of Polish culture and history based upon archeological digs under the Cloth Hall that were only completed in 2010. The museum is a technological marvel, including complete explanations of all exhibits in English and numerous interactive touch-screen displays to explore the exhibits more fully. Exhibits include explanations of the archeology underlying the market square (a rich source of material since it included a graveyard (which also includes six vampire burials that are a curious mixture between Baltic and northern European vampire-killing and disposing techniques), markets, trash heaps, and paved structures. There are even a few artifacts from a Mongol raid on Krakow in the 1200s.

The museum is so good it kind of spoiled me for the Ethnographic Museum that my wife and I visited later in the Jewish Quarter. Those exhibits were also excellent, but more in the style of a local museum with placards and occasional explanations in English.

There's an App for that....

I don’t know much about Android apps, so you’re on your own for that. But iTunes has some great Polish language apps for the iPod Touch and iPhone that have already helped me order another beer correctly.

So far, I have found the following four apps really helpful in order of usefulness:

1.     1. 123 Learn Polish – Everyday Polish by RosMedia. I like this app a lot. It has an audio track that will read a list of words in Polish so you know the pronunciation. The audio track is only a single track for about 30 words per subject matter, so finding a particular word is difficult, but it’s still really helpful.

2.    2.  Polish Language Dictionary & Translator by BitKnights LLC – very good basic dictionary that is searchable in both English and Polish.

3.    3.  BidBox Vocabulary Trainer: English – Polish by BidBox. Useful only if you really want to start learning Polish. Very good for basic vocabulary, but if you don’t have pronunciation of the different letters down then it won’t help much.

4.     4. Learn Polish Vocabulary – WordPower by Innovative Language Learning LLC. I like this concept a lot and will be working with it more over the next few days. Basically, it hammers 10 vocabulary words into you per day so that you gradually build a working vocabulary in Polish. Pedagogically, this is a great way to get a foundation from which to learn the language better. Contractually, I had some problems when I attempted to sign up for a subscription to the associated website. Their customer service was cool, though, so I am giving them another chance. When you first start this app, though, it will suggest opening a free account at the associated website. Resist the urge to do so. I’ll be happy to let you look at my account when you get here if you want, but the “$5/month – cancel at any time” subscription offer does not mean what you might think it means.

We will be providing three days worth of Polish language introductory classes. My number one recommendation is that you learn how to pronounce Polish letters before you get here. It’s not as hard as it looks, and except for one exception involving a few consonants preceding the letter “I” it is absolutely regular. And the accent always goes on the second to last syllable.

Arriving at Warszawa Chopin Airport

With apologies for the poor quality of the pictures (I had to take them in a hurry), here is a guide to the Warszawa Chopin Airport arrival areas that you will enter from the baggage claims.  There are two baggage claim areas in the airport, connected to each other. The one that you go to will depend in part on whether you are flying in from an EU / Shengen Agreement country or from outside the EU. If your flight comes from inside the EU, you will probably end up at the large baggage claim area. If you are arriving on an international flight, you will probably end up at the smaller baggage claim area. To get to the smaller baggage claim area, as you come off the escalator / stairs, etc. in baggage claim, go right.

After you get your baggage, you’ll exit the baggage claim area. If you exit from the large baggage claim that you encountered first and look to your right, it will look something like this:

 If you go through the smaller baggage claim area for international arrivals / customs, when you exit you will see this:

And this little coffee shop / diner:

I believe it’s called the Flying Circus, but I’ll check again next Thursday when I’m back in the airport. The easy way to tell if you are in the main arrival area or the smaller arrival area is that the doors out of the airport have blue signs in the main arrival area and reddish signs in the smaller arrival area. It is not a large airport, so if you find yourself in the main arrival area, walk in the direction I’m looking in the first photo, keeping the convenience stores on your right. You’ll come to this sign at the beginning of the corridor connecting the two arrival areas:

Walk through the doors and stay right. You will see this corridor, hopefully slightly less blurry:

At the end of the corridor, it will look like this:

Where that guy is sitting  is one end of a row of truly uncomfortable metal benches/seats. Walk along it to the right and you’ll see the Flying Circus or whatever it is coffee shop.

We will plan to meet you right outside the Flying whatever restaurant / coffee shop pictured above. If no one is there (highly unlikely, but possible), just go in, order a cappucino, and hang out for a little bit. We will find you. If you’re getting really desperate, my cell phone is 48 514 692 188 (dialed in Poland), Dr. Krasnicka’s cell phone is: 48 606 556 228 (dialed from inside Poland), and you can contact our two liasons at: Ewelina Gruszewska:  +48 508 456 368 (dialed in Poland) / Magda Majewska:  +48 692 526 611 (dialed in Poland).

There are two ways to get to Bialystok – bus from the airport and train from downtown. Taxi fares from the airport to downtown run about $25 USD, less if there’s no traffic. The train station is a monstrosity of communist central architectural planning, and the customer service handbook was probably written by Benito Musolini. The train station itself is far more difficult and confusing to navigate than Spain, England, Austria, and even the United States. One of our adjunct professors who just taught in Lodz with me last week described it as a post-apocalyptic vision of Penn Central Station in NYC. Getting on the train involves a mob-rush to extraordinarily narrow doors, a fight for seating and luggage space, and no certainty that you will have a seat at the end of the day. We plan to send you by bus.

Again, you should not need this information at all. Unless you are arriving at an hour when we literally cannot get anyone from Bialystok out to Warsaw or you failed to provide us with your itinerary on this handy form: http://studyabroad.law.msu.edu/poland/contact.php , someone will be at the arrival area to meet you. They will have a sign with your name on it.

DO NOT TALK TO TAXI DRIVERS INSIDE THE AIRPORT TERMINAL. There is a regular taxi stand outside the doors with legitimate taxis or you may go to the taxi kiosk that you can see from the international arrivals baggage claim gate. The policja are very good at keeping the unlicensed cab drivers out of the airport but some inevitably get through.

If you really really need it, the way to get from the international arrival lobby to the bus terminal is to first stop at the ATMs (“bankomats”) that are behind the row of metal chairs at the international arrival baggage claim gate and get some cash. I don’t know what their exchange rate is. I do know that the further you get from the airport, the better the exchange rate – in the airport the Kantors will give you 230 zloty for $100 USD. In Krakow, my wife is getting 275 zloty per $100USD. You will need cash for the bus.

Next, stop at the information kiosk immediately in front of the international arrivals baggage claim gate. They speak English. Ask them to confirm how to get to the bus terminal and to explain to you how to buy a bus ticket to Bialystok. (I will do this myself next Thursday and give you a complete explanation).

To get to the bus terminal, exit by this door:

Looking right immediately, it will look like this:

 Walk down to where the woman is in the picture, turn left and it will look like this:

Walk past the construction that you see there and you will see the bus terminal:

The bus schedule is posted on a stand at the end of the fence.

You want the Podlasie Express bus to Bialystok. We’ll also make arrangements to meet you in Bialystok.

Cell Phones in Poland

After writing this response to one student's email (thanks for the question!) I realized that it might be of interest generally for those who really want a cell phone in Poland.

For a cell phone, first call your cell phone provider and find out if your phone can work in Poland. Ask very carefully and make sure you speak to the international services department -- the national sales person I called first said "of course your phone will work, just let me connect you to the international sales rep who can fill you in on plans and rates." The international sales rep ridiculed the national sales rep and informed me that my phone can't ever work in Poland.

If that fails, and you really want one now, you can rent one for about $100 total for the 4 weeks from www.cellhire.com.  The rates are not very cheap, but you will have a working number and phone in your pocket when you leave the U.S. This is the company the MSU OSA recommended to me.

If that fails, you can buy a pay-as-you-go cell phone once you land in Poland. I'll get recommendations on how best to do this when you arrive.

Ex Post Facto Rules and The Rule of Law

Lon Fuller described the Rule of Law in terms of a series of errors made by a fictitious sovereign, King Rex. The eight failures by which Rex failed to conform to the Rule of Law are:

1. Attempting to decide all disputed matters in his kingdom on an ad hoc basis;
2. Failing to publish laws;
3. Using retroactive rules, principles, and legislation to decide legal disputes;
4. Adopting impossibly complex rules and codes;
5. Adopting rules and codes that imposed contradictory obligations upon citizens, thus rendering conformity with the law impossible.
6. Adopting rules that citizens could not possibly satisfy;
7. Making frequent and substantial changes to the law that interfered with its stability; and
8. Failing to administer the law in conformity with its published text.

Over the weekend, I discovered that my own allegiance to the principles of the Rule of Law only goes so far. My youngest daughter, L, is terrible about keeping track of her stuff and picking up after herself. Upon seeing that L had failed to pick up her plate and glass at the table after lunch, I called her down and informed her that there would be a new rule from now on -- every time she failed to pick up her place at the table, I would fine her $1.00. No problem so far, but then I directed her to bring me a dollar from her bank as a fine for the dishes she had left out before I made the rule.

As a parent, I have no problem with punishments laid down after the fact. (Rules are a different matter and we do our best to keep them to a minimum and to keep them simple and clear).

But as a lawyer and a Rule of Law scholar, I experienced this weird pang of guilt at inventing this new punishment on the spot that L could not have anticipated. State-based law does not distinguish between rules and punishment -- creating an ex post facto rule to render previously permissible conduct impermissible is just as bad as increasing the punishment for particular misconduct after the miscreant has engaged in the misconduct.

On the other hand, L picked up her dishes at the next meal, so I must be doing something right.

Travel Advisory Re: OBL

This was sent as an email but it's also worth posting here.  

       Dear Student:

 

You are receiving this message because our records indicate that you are enrolled in a Michigan State University study abroad programthat begins over the summer. Some of you may be leaving this month, others may not leave until June or July. Regardless, we want to make sure that you are all equally informed. Throughout the summer, please remember to check the OSA Homepage for any updates related to this message. Also, as this is the time of year when flights are delayed or cancelled due to severe thunderstorms, makes sure you review our guidelines regarding severe weather delays.

 

By now you are aware that Osama bin Laden was killed on Sunday in Pakistan by U.S. forces. Shortly following this announcement, the U.S. Department of State issued a Worldwide Travel Alert, which references the possibility of terrorist attacks against Americans or American interests abroad to avenge bin Laden’s death. However, at this time there is no specific, credible information about potential targets in the U.S. or abroad. As a result, no program changes for summer semester are anticipated. The Worldwide Travel Alert is scheduled to expire August 1, 2011.

 

As per our usual procedures when such announcements are made by State Department, we have posted the link to our homepage. Once abroad, we strongly encourage you to avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations that may be cause for anti-American violence. And, for the time being, we also ask that you refrain from congregating in bars, restaurants or other establishments known to be frequented by American citizens.

 

Since OSA registers all study abroad programs with the U.S. Department of State, there is no need for you to complete the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) discussed in the Alert. Instead, we are writing to remind you to take the Alert seriously and once abroad, to follow the security advice of your program leader(s), host institution/organization, or internship provider. It is also very important that throughout the program you stay in regular contact with your loved ones at home, who may experience additional anxiety about your safety due to widespread media reports of the Alert. 

 

Remember that a Travel Alert is not the same as a Travel Warning. Travel Alerts are considered mid-level advisories and are most often issued to describe temporary threats, including potential risks related to elections, major sporting events, civil unrest related to political or economic issues facing the country, outbreaks of widespread disease (such as H1N1), a break-down of infrastructure following a natural disaster, or in this case, a potential terrorist threat. Travel Warnings are the highest level of advisory, noting long-term, systemic, dangerous conditions tied to political, social, economic or environmental conditions.  

 

Should you have any questions or concerns about your safety, please contact your program leaders(s), resident director, or internship supervisor on-site. In an emergency, you may also call our 24/7 hotline at 517-353-3784.

On the Rule of Law, Hobbes, and the Law of Nations

The finals-induced fog has lifted, and I'm back. I'll be uploading a lot of content over the next few days regarding the trip to Krakow, including the itinerary (Leave Friday, June 17, Saturday June 18 in Krakow, including tours of Wawel Castle, the Old Town, and the Jewish Quarter; Sunday morning tour of Auschwitz and return to Bialystok -- 650PLN per person), the trip to Warsaw, updates on housing, etc.

In the meantime, the death of Osama bin Laden provides a teachable moment on the relationship between the rule of law and the law of nations. Despite that the official story on how bin Laden was killed is still changing on a more or less daily basis, critics are already coming forward to complain that the killing was illegal.

Realistically, this claim is absurd on many levels.

Fundamentally, the rule of law is a statement of the relationship between the individual and the state. It represents a consent by the sovereign to restrict the sovereign's activities to those governed by law. For instance, the English Magna Carta represented a compact between the English barons and King John under which King John was forced to promise not to use his sovereign authority in ways that violated the fundamental rights of the barons (and later English (and eventually UK) subjects in general). Likewise, Polish kings were subject to customary law restrictions regarding what they could and could not do vis a vis the Polish nobility. The US and Polish constitutions (I hope the Polish readers of this blog will accept my belated good wishes for Constitution Day) theoretically restricts what the governments may do to control the lives of U.S. and Polish citizens.

But the rule of law cannot apply in every situation. In international relations, for instance, "law" as a restriction on international relations is an absurdity. Nation states have no obligation other than habit or self-interest to respect international customs or agreements. Thomas Hobbes, in fact, described international relations as an example of the state of nature in which all were in a state of war against all.

There is another situation in which, at least according to Hobbesian thought, the rule of law cannot apply in dealings between individuals and the state in which the individual has removed himself or herself from the social compact in which the state is obligated to protect the life of the individual. In this case, the individual has reentered the state of nature as against the state and all members of the state. Similarly, individuals who are not part of the social compact under the sovereign's control are likewise not within the rule of law but rather are subject to the "law" of nations.

In the case of bin Laden, besides that he was a foreign national and therefore already in a state of nature (and an actual state of war) with the US, his mass murder of US non-combatants was the type of act that Hobbes would see as removing a person from the social compact and placing them in a state of nature vis a vis the sovereign. Thus, while international "law" might assert that the killing was illegal because it violated Pakistani sovereignty, the reality is that nation states abide by international law only while it is convenient and in their self interest. In the matter of whether the killing comported with the values of the rule of law, it is difficult to see how bin Laden's death affects those issues at all.

Or maybe not -- can a case be made that the rule of law applies equally between nation states as between individuals and their sovereigns? Discuss.