Welcome to Krakow, Poland. 

Slowacki Theater

First few days – My trip started with one of those airline nightmares. My plane left Washington 90 minutes late. I hope I misunderstood the pilot but it sure sounded like he said the delay was because someone in first class had lost his phone and they were looking for it. As you may guess, that meant I got to Munich 90 minutes late. And there because I am not from a Schengen country, I had to go through border control twice, huge huge lines. And before I even made it to the end of the second line, I got a text saying that the gate on my plane was closing. I missed it by about 15 minutes. This led to a lot of wandering around trying to find the Lufthansa service center. There were about  40 people waiting there, but I finally got the last flight to Krakow for the night. It was a center seat, but I didn’t care. It was only an hour flight.

As many of you know, I sing in two choirs.  The  next morning I took off on my own — A block from my hotel, I went to a church that was hosting amateur choir’s from Finland, Norway, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and several other countries  They all sang A cappella!! Hope the video snippet plays

Later, I continued to explore on my own. Our hotel is in a terrific location. It is walking distance to  the old town and the Jewish quarter.  The only non-horrible thing I’ve heard about Hitler is that he didn’t bomb Krakow. He used it as his headquarters for Poland. So unlike Warsaw that was demolished, Krakow’s medieval architecture remains intact. 

Later, I visited the Old Synagogue. These days it is a museum.  

That evening, I met with our pre-trip group. Our guide took us on a tour around the neighborhood. It is hopping! —

Not only with tourists, but it appears to be a very hip, punk, Bohemian kind of place and here’s what was really hard for me to get through my head. This area was the Jewish quarter. But of course there are no Jews living here now.

These people are enjoying a night out in this courtyard. The photo above this one shows apartments where Jewish families lived. The diners are eating in the former gathering courtyard of the Jewish families. 

This graffiti covered building was a synagogue. 

First official tour day. 

We started our day with a tour in old town.

This may look like a sculpture, but it’s actually a 3-D map for blind people to understand what the area looks like.

Eventually we walked to Ghetto Square. Thi

Was the spot where Jews came with all their belongings which they left there. The chair sculptures symbolized their belongings. 

This one took my breath away.  In the Jewish tradition, when you visit a grave, you put a stone on the headstone. Of course, there were no graves with headstones for these people. Hence, stones on the chairs. 

Then we visited the Schindler Museum. It’s very popular and we had tickets so we could skip the line.  The museum is in the former administrative building for the factory. The museum isn’t just about the Schindler and the Jews, but there are displays about the Nazi occupation of Poland, and life for Poles. 

A few more scenes from old town. 

Then we had free time and I went to the Galicia Jewish Museum. The first room featured Jewish papercuts that I always admire. 

There was a large photo gallery documenting former Jewish life in Poland. 

Last wooden synagogue 

Found this restaurant on my way back to the hotel and wondered if the non-English speakers got the joke. 

Day 2

Today we went to Auschwitz and Aushchwitz Birkenheau. A few photos. First Auschwitz. 

Then we took a short drive to Auschwitz Birkenau. Our Polish Museum guide told us that her uncle had been killed here. He wasn’t Jewish but they forced young Poles into forced labor. He couldn’t stand working underground in a mine and ran away but they caught him and put him in an underground room where they starved people. When the Nazis came they forced the Poles out and tore down their houses. Her uncle lost his house but after the war he got his land back and rebuilt the house.