Monday, November 7, 2011

Beautiful Krakow, Poland


Krakow, Poland is a beautiful city located on the Western border of Poland near to the Austrian border.  It is an old city rich in history.  It has been a center of commerce and trade for hundreds of years - dating back to the 10th century.  It has also been a city of conflict, seized by multiple countries including Russia and Austria.  Poland regained Krakow for its own after World War I.  The people of Krakow, in particular the Jewish population, were ravaged at the hands of the Nazi Party in World War II, but the city buildings themselves were not terribly damaged. And so, the city has a beautiful Old Town section with a cathedral and many charming buildings with a lot of character.

Ken, Angela and I vacationed here for a week during our fall break.  We stayed at a lovely hotel on the northern most part of Old Town.  Old Town(Stare Miasto) is surrounded by a park called Planty with sidewalks.  The Old Town section at one point had also been surrounded by a brick wall.  Our hotel was just inside the remaining part of the wall and gate.  In the center of the Old Town is the Rynek Glowny (Grand Square) where a central building called Cloth Hall now houses stall after stall of tourist wares and goods.





We spent a lot of time wandering around the streets of Old Town, window shopping and enjoying the different polish foods like breads, kielbasa, kebabs, and hot beer (not my favorite).  Krakow is immensely more western than Kiev and we were able to do some shopping for items we had been unable to find in Kiev.

We played the tourist role most of the week.  The high points of that included tours at Auschwitz and Berkinau, Schindler's Factory, and the Wieliczka Salt Mines.

Auschwitz and Berkinau - perhaps two of the most horrifying places on earth.  Millions of people were slaughtered in these killing camps during the reign of the Nazis in the late 1930s and early 1940s.  I know that genocide continues in countries around the world, and it is tragic that humanity has not yet learned its lesson.  I've included photos below which I will let tell their own stories with only a few comments along the way.  Auschwitz was initially a military camp so there are barrack-looking buildings.  Much larger in size, Berkinau was a purpose built camp - it's purpose to house and murder Jews, gypsies, political and military prisoners.

Auschwitz:
The infamous "Work Makes You Free" sign



Empty cans of the poison used to gas the Jews and other prisoners.

Photos of children in the camp

The execution wall for those who were "secretly" executed by gun.

The crematorium.  At one point they were killing so many people that the crematorium couldn't handle it.  So, they just piled the bodies up outside and burned them all together.


Berkinau is about 3 km away from Auschwitz.  We took a bus transport and continued with our guided tour.  It had started to rain while we were at Auschwitz and the weather became much colder, windier, and wetter as our tour progressed.  Completely fitting.
 In the center of the photo is the "selection" car.  Guests to Berkinau were directed to the left side or right side of the facility.  The right side was a quick trip to the gas chamber and the left the slower route where they worked you to death first.

Prisoners were given 30 seconds to use the toilet twice a day.  These are the toilets.  Since they only received approximately 300 calories of food per day, many suffered from chronic bowel issues.  Can you imagine?

 The Nazis used the architectural plans for horse stalls for the bunk areas for the prisoners.  Note the slanted beds.  Men and women (separate housing) would sleep across the beds up to 10 per level or 30 per bunk bed.


Gas chamber at the back of Berkinau.  There were four such gas chambers and the Nazis blew them up as the Russians entered - to hide the evidence.


 Another example of a bunk.

 The selection car


We got a better picture of Krakow in the 1940s when we visited Schindler's Factory Museum.  Here we learned about the Polish population and the Jews living in Krakow.  If you haven't had a chance to watch Schindler's List, I suggest you do so.
 Ken and John Thompson modeling their new hats in the Jewish Quarter.



 Renamed Town Square

Brainwashed.

We did a few other touristy type things like go to some very cool salt mines, visit the Wawal Castle, and ride in a carriage.
 Angela hanging out with Capernicus at the university he attended in Krakow.

 Our traveling friends - Jenny and John Thompson and Jessica and Keegan (taking the photo) Tosser.  This was a great restaurant - animal furs on the benches and excellent mulled wine.  A relaxing environment that allowed us to reflect on the darker side of humanity after our visit to Auschwitz and Berkinau.

 Krakow architects have had over the years a certain whimsical style.

 Very classic Krakow building/church.

 Salt statues carved by miners.  This particular salt mine, Wieliczka, was active until 8 years ago.  We traveled 165 m underground through a variety of tunnels and chambers.  There were several very large chambers where nowadays people get married, have conferences, and throw Christmas parties.  The miners created these incredible salt carvings as well as wood carvings from wood soaked in salt.  There are even salt chandeliers.







 Our carriage ride

 Cupcake heaven!  I know these types of shops are springing up all over the US, but we didn't expect to find one in Eastern Europe.  Delicious!

 Wawal Castle.


 The interior courtyard area of the castle.  It looks like a small village.


 Outer wall

Our hotel was nice and served an exceptional Polish breakfast each morning.  I looked forward to trying some of the dishes including creamed herring.



We are now back to work.  Only six more weeks until Christmas break!

Next blog:  more about life in Kiev!