108/365: The President's Funeral

108/365: The President's Funeral, originally uploaded by Magic Madzik.

April 18th

After the funeral Mass, both caskets are carried out of the Mariacki church and placed on gun carriages drawn by green army Hummers. These will lead the procession through the city all the way to Wawel Hill where the President and the First Lady will be laid to rest in the crypt under the Silver Bell tower. The names of all those who perished in the plane crash on April 10th 2010 will be carved into the sarcophagus.

Lots of videos documenting the funeral available here. Some 150,000 people showed up to say goodbye (which you can see in my other pictures), and though I was not a supporter of this particular president I found the experience very moving. It transcended politics- it was not about opinions, parties or loyalties, save one: that to our country. This may sound pathetic, but perhaps you had to be in that crowd to understand how pure this coming together of people was. I don't expect this solidarity to last, but for one week at least we all seemed to understand and support each other.