Welcome to Poland!
Day 4: Lunch in Pszczyna
Once
we cross into Poland, we exchange our remaining Czech koruna into Polish
zloty, an activity repeated at each border.
Lunch is in Pszczyna, which George describes as a quiet town (sound
familiar?). Upon arrival, we find the
main square occupied by a Sunday market.
The
church soon ends services, which is confirmation Sunday, and the standing room only congregation flows
into the street for a processional.
Quiet town, George? The town is
charming, the main square picture perfect, and a spacious park occupies a grassy
area behind the church.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau
After a rather large lunch, we continue our
journey to Auschwitz-Birkenau. A somber quiet settles over the bus as we near the camp. As our guide
leads us up and down the gravel lanes, a solemn respect hangs in the air as she describes the brutal life of the prisoners. She speaks
from the heart. Words cannot describe
the visit, and photography is not allowed in the museum. The question will always
remain, how could the soldiers be so cruel to other human beings? Points to remember:
- If
the prisoners didn’t go to the work camp upon arrival, they went straight to
death, resulting in a 90% death rate.
- Do
not forget the non-Jews who died.
- The reason
survivors who don’t want to talk about the concentration camps is that they do not want to talk
about what they did to survive.
Rick Steves' Eastern Europe (2014) guidebook gives the "chilling statistics": "By the end of the war, only 300,000 Polish Jews had survived - less than 10% of the original population... Today only about 10,000 Jews live in all of Poland."
Krakow
Days 5-6: Krakow
Our day starts with the local guide at the town square and we continue on to the
university courtyard where medieval professors lived.
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Welcome to Krakow! After our savory and filling dinner, we take a quick walk to the large, well lit town square and listen to the trumpeter from the watchtower of St. Mary’s Church. According to legend, a watchman saw the enemy approaching during the first Tatar invasion and sounded the alarm, but an arrow pierced his throat before he finished the tune.
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From St. Francis Basilica, we walk to the Wawel
Castle grounds. The entry ramp has an
eye-catching brick wall listing the names of the Poles who donated to the
restoration of the castle.
Once inside the fortress, the chilly air sends us in search of warm drinks, and the best ever cocoa is at the large visitor center: thick, smooth, rich, with lots of real whipped cream. Tip: Consider wandering the castle grounds later in the day if you have free time. The tour groups have finished their morning rush. |
Returning
to the Main Market Square from the castle hill, we enter St. Mary’s Church.
Look up to view the starry,
blue ceiling.
An exterior door near the north end of the Cloth
Hall leads you down a flight of stairs to the Rynek Underground Museum, featuring
interactive displays which walk you through life in medieval times in
Krakow. Remains of early structures were
discovered when excavation began to renovate the Main Market Square. Modern technology, surround-sound effects,
Old Town replicas, and film clips bring to life the history of Krakow in an
extraordinary way. Photography is prohibited.
I want to finish the afternoon with a 2.5 mile walk around Old Town using the Planty, formerly a moat. It has been filled in and planted with trees, turning it into a beautiful perimeter park. However, an arch over Florianska Street distracts me. Passing under the arch, I find a city wall displaying artwork for sale and a photo opportunity - a striking white, stone tower.
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Backtracking to begin my walk, I pass through the Barbican, a fortification built to strengthen weak
sections of the city wall.
Jewish Quarter
We begin our last day in Krakow by walking through Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter). The area is slowly being restored, bringing
in people and businesses. The stark reality of post war and post
communism eras is still evident, but the Jewish culture is being encouraged to
return to the community.
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Kazimierz has its own market square, Plac Nowy, a bit dilapidated, but lively hub of activity during market hours. The focal point is a roundhouse once used as a slaughter house. Now it houses a
butcher shop and the exterior is lined with fast food windows, and trading stalls surround the structure. A favorite food purchased there is langos (zapiekanki in Polish), a Hungarian
fried bread.
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Schindler’s office has been preserved, displaying his desk and a huge map he used to demonstrate Nazi conquests. Across from his desk, partitioning the room is the “Tin-ware Sarcophagus”, commemorating the Jewish workers in the factory.
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Schindler’s Factory Museum is not just about Oskar Schindler’s Factory of Emalia (Enameled Vessels), but describes Krakow during Nazi rule. Affecting the senses of hearing, sight, and smell, visitors are challenged to imagine the fear and uncertainty that the people of that era must have felt. Lighting is dim in most of the exhibits, and flash photography is prohibited. |
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For the return trip to the Main Market Square, five
of us hire one of the "touristy" electric cars. We laugh all the way back to the square at its lack of power on inclines. Back at the square, a few of us browse a market behind St. Mary’s Church, which offers a nice
selection of crafts. We pass on the food booths, and
return to a favorite, the narrow cafeteria on Grodska Street. Terrific food is inexpensive and the
chocolate crepes are divine.