Krakow, Poland

“You know, seeing the world straight doesn’t make you smarter or better. It might just make you worse and more complacent about things.” ― Alex Rosenberg, The Girl from Krakow

One of our trips this semester in Prague is sponsored by our abroad company, CEA! (I would definitely recommend looking into this program if you want to study abroad)

The weekend excursion was to Krakow, Poland! The first two days would be spent in the city, followed by a day visiting Auschwitz. That will be a separate post, since it will include very different content. I think it should be mandatory for every student studying abroad in Europe to visit the concentration camps, and I think it is great that CEA organized this trip for its students. There were about 80 students that went from the program, and we divided up in groups for travel convenience.

This is quite obviously the happier of the two posts in this series.

After just spending the weekend prior in Wroclaw, Poland (AKA the magical city of Gnomes) we were looking forward to visiting another city in Poland. This was one country I had always assumed I would visit abroad, because I think it is important to go to the camps. However, I was not expecting such incredible cities full of art and life. Poland gets the wildcard win for this trip.

Krakow has a very similar city layout to Prague or Wroclaw. There is a definite city square, with a huge town hall. The square is sprinkled with colored buildings.

Horse carriages lined up for blocks for those wanting a romantic ride through the city

One thing our tour guide pointed out were these stones throughout the city. Can you guess what they were used for?

Torches.

Before electricity, people used to walk around at night with torches to light their paths. They wouldn't bring these inside homes or buildings, so would extinguish them in the holes in the stones outside!

We headed over to Wawel castle. Built in the 1300s by King Casimir III the Great, this castle is now home to the Polish President, and a national museum.

There is a Polish legend that Wawel castle is built over a dragon's lair. According to legend, Krakus, a brave Polish prince, slaid the evil dragon and saved his people! Krakus then built the city and his palace over the slain dragon's lair. Because of this story, dragons are hugely symbolic in Krakow. The street leading up to the castle is named, ulica smocza, which translates as "Dragon Street". There is even a dragon statue at the base of the castle that breathes fire every few minutes!

Artwork for sale inside the castle walls. I wanted to buy the entire wall.

On the walk back from the castle, our group split up for lunch. Since the end of the castle tour let us our near the Vistula River, a few of us headed off to find somewhere to eat on the water. We ended up finding a floating restaurant, and got drinks and food on the roof!

Sunshine and smoothies!

We didn't realize that this river was over 2 miles from our hotel. By the time we got our check, we had 20 minutes to run back to the hotel to continue our tour. We somehow pulled it off, but were pretty sweaty when we got there. Totally worth the views! On the run back I took this picture of a willow tree near the river banks. How beautiful!

Polish markets

Continued on our tour over to St. Mary's Basilica. Built in the 14th century, this gothic Roman Catholic church is best known for its painted star ceiling.

I looked up the entire time I was inside the basillica. How could you not?

Brittney is obsessed with monks, and found one inside. Dreams do come true!!

We ended our tour going to the Jewish Ghetto in Krakow.

Of Krakow's Jewish Population of 65,000, they were all either sent to concentration camps or escaped. The Jews originally composed 25% of the population in Krakow. Now there are estimated to be less than 100 active Jews who live in the city. It would be devastating to live in an area where so many people were killed for having the same beliefs as you.

Our tour guide told us some horrifying stories of when the Nazis first invaded Krakow. They went inside a Jewish Orphanage and threw the children out of the window. They would choose groups of people and shoot them in the street. It was a truly horrific time.

We visited Schindler's factory, and it was incredible to be in the area he saved 1000s of Jewish lives. He was truly a hero.

If you haven't seen the movie, Schindler is a rich man who joins the Nazi party for political reasons. He is sent Jewish People to work in his factory for cheap labor. When he realizes what the Nazis are doing to the Jews, he uses all of his money to save and protect the Jews in his factory, ending the movie penniless and saving over 1000 people. Directed by Steven Spielburg, he didn't take a penny of salary after Schindler's model of sacrifice. Based on a true story, it gives a glimpse of hope during the Holocaust.

Pictures of the people he saved

The first Jewish restaurant in the city. Closed during communism, it was reopened and is now an important Jewish site in the city. When Steven Spielburg was filming Schindler's List in Krakow, he stayed in the upstairs of this restaurant. His office can be visited as a museum.

Scenes from Schindler's List shot in the Jewish Ghetto of Krakow. Below you can see the same staircase from the movie.

The movie brought money back to Krakow, and parts of the ghetto were renovated. Our guide told us that as a child, he was warned to never visit the ghetto. It was completely destroyed, and devastating to walk through. With fans of the movie coming to visit the scene locations in Krakow, it brought revenue back to the ghetto and many shops and restaurants were built.

Ending at the Jewish Ghetto, hearing the terrifying stories got us in the mindset for Auschwitz the next morning.