I arrived in Krakow in the late morning and checked into the Deco Hostel. As I didn't have much time to spare, I asked the receptionist if there were any tours that I could take that afternoon to either the Wieliczka Salt Mine or Auschwitz. There was a tour leaving for the Salt Mine at 1:00. Perfect! I had a few hours to kill so she recommended that I go to the Old City Market, a 10-15 minute walk. She handed me a map and away I went in search of food and adventure.
The thing to remember about Krakow is it was not bombed in the war. The Germans had their largest concentration camps nearby, hence they had lots of soldiers in Krakow and they did not want to bomb their own troops. The Allies did not want to bomb it because there were prisoners there and they did not want to bomb those they were fighting for. As a result, Krakow still has many (if not most) of its original buildings that date back to the 10th century, when Poland was a power-house nation.
In the Old Market I found Polish sausages - my Mom's are better :-) St. Mary's Basillica was adjacent the square. I was just in time to hear the bugler whose tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city. I tried on a few occasions to go into the church to see the famous wooden alterpiece carved by Veit Stoss around 1489, but there was always a function going on and I could not enter.
Cloth Hall was in the middle of the square. Aguably, the world's oldes shopping mall has been in business for 700 years, Poland was at the center of some impressive trade routes. Today it is still a bustling center that sells tourist items, albeit, some very expensive tourist items, has an art gallery and in the basement its newly completed underground museum. In 2005 a 5 year excavation project began in the Market Square when it was discovered that an ancient market was buried under the new. Today, you can go into the museum and walk over plexiglass walks and see some of these ancient relics, as well as watch videos that dramatize the history of Poland. Truly a must see!
Town Hall Tower is in the opposite corner of the market from St. Mary's. It was once part of a larger structure and now stands for tourists to climb to get a better view or to offer shady relief to have a snack or drink in one of the many outdoor restaurants and eateries.
The remaining square is occupied by restaurants and shops, old and new.
I took a quick tour of Old Poland and Kazimierz (the Jewish section) in a modern tuktuk. I knew I had only a short time to spend in Krakow, but already knew I was going to come back one day, so I wanted a quick overview to grasp the highlights to explore further at a future time. I was whisked here and there while the driver / guide gave me a fast history lesson. I found out later that this same tour can be arranged as an all day walking tour. I recommend that rather than riding. The history of the Kazimierz is long and complex and I really did not do it any justice by zipping through it.
There are numerous synagogues, each with their own story. There is the Corpus Christi Church. There is the Jewish Market, which at one time was the hub of Kazimierz, but today is somewhat of a run down eyesore that turns into a pub crawlling area at night.
But the main history is that of the Jewish Ghettos of WWII. It is hard to imagine the small apartments that look so smart and tranquil with their window boxes of flowers and cobble stone streets once housed up to 1000 per building. There is a remnant of the ghetto wall, that was shaped like a Jewish tombstone, with a memorial plaque. Schindler's Factory still stands, a museum now, with photos of some of the people he saved in the windows. The Chair Monument, that has huge steel chairs solomely sitting in a vast space where Jews were deported - each chair depicting 1000 people, sits just down the street from the only pharmacy allowed in the ghetto by the nazis, where the Polish Catholic owner often gave free medicine and often helped Jews escape. There is a small section of Kazimierz that has kept the original shops and their appropriate signs. Speilberg used this section in his movie "Schindler's List".
I will definitely go back and do the walking tour. I feel I missed the heart and soul of this beautiful historical place.
After my whirl wind city tour, I hurried back to the hostel in order to catch my shuttle to Wieleczka Salt Mine. The mine, built in the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation. It reaches a depth of 327 metres (1,073 ft) and is over 300 kilometres (190 mi) long, thankfully we only toured about 2 Km. The mine's attractions include dozens of statues, three chapels and an entire cathedral that has been carved out of the rock salt by the miners and more recently contemporary artists. Even the chandeliers are made of salt!!
The air is so fresh in the salt mine. There is even a pulmonary rehabilitation center 135 meters underground. The negatively ionized salt helps respiratory system.
There is a legend associated with the Wieliczka mine. A Hungarian Princess, Kinga, was about to be married to the Prince of Krakow. As part of her dowry, she asked her father for a lump of salt, since salt was prizeworthy in Poland. Her father took her to a salt mine in Maramures. She threw her engagement ring from Bolesław in one of the shafts before leaving for Poland. On arriving in Kraków, she asked the miners to dig a deep pit until they come upon a rock. The people found a lump of salt in there and when split it in two, discovered the princess's ring. Kinga had thus become the patron saint of salt miners in and around the capital.
The next day I went to Auschwitz and Birkenau. The barbed wire entrance at Auschwitz lets you know that something is off with this tranquil looking place. The neat 'streets' and brick 'houses' give the illusion that this is a sleepy little village. It seems weird to see ominous barbed wire fences surruonding it. The houses are now museums that contain documents, photos and artifacts of the Jews who were interned, tortured and died here. The energy in these lovely buildings still resonate with the horrors they contained.
Birkenau had a different feeling from the moment the bus pulled up. The railroad tracks disappear under a tower that is flanked with barbed wire fences. You can see the 'houses' that look more like stables, which held people treated like animals. The railroad tracks end abruptly within the compound with a lone boxcar commemorating the thousands of men, women and children whose lives ended as abruptly.
At the far end of Birkenau is the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial. A sober reminder to mankind to never let such atrocities ever happen again.
I will not go into detail how these places impacted me. One can research on this subject for months. It was a place that called me to witness and feel. It must be walked and seen to be truly understood. The guide was a Polish lady who made the history come alive with such compassion and detail that she truly honored all who were interned there.
Back in Krakow I saw the fire breathing dragon near Wawel Castle, with children crawling all over it, waiting for it to spew its flames. The statue is sited in front of one of the limestone caves scattered over the hill. The dragon, Smok Wawelski, was a mystical beast which supposedly terrorised the local community, eating their sheep and local virgins, before being heroically slain by Krakus, a Polish prince, who legend relates founded the city of Kraków and built his palace above the slain dragon's lair. Hence, Wawel Castle high on its hill where the royalty could look upon its subjects below. Between the Castle and the main square is a little street that boasts having a residence where Pope John Paul II once lived.
I went to Poland in search of my citizenship. I came away with a total love for my ancestral homeland. Now I just need to learn the language again.....
