Discovering the Districts

Monday 18th April

Turns out crossing your fingers doesn’t work. Early this morning, as I lay in bed, all I could hear was rain. Tipping its down doesn’t even cover it! Thankfully by the time we were ready to leave the apartment the rain  had stopped and we decided to take a walking tour of the Jewish district. When I say we, I actually mean me. I found a TripAdvisor review that raved about the Free Walking Tours available in Kraków and as it was free Rory had no grounds on which to object. So at 10.30am we set off with 12 other people to explore one of the most famous Jewish districts in the world!

Helena Rubenstien's House

Jewish Graveyard

Tables at a local bar

Love Locks on the bridge

Memorial Sculpture

I’m so glad we decided to take a tour. There is no way we would have seen or learnt as much by walking around on our own and it took all the stress out of finding each place. Ending at Schindler’s Factory  was also really helpful, especially as it was an actual factory and is located in an industrial part of town. We hadn’t realised but you have to book tickets online days or weeks in advance in order to enter the museum. Mondays are free and luckily they managed to fit us in. I had read that the museum is focused more on  Poland during WW2 than it is on Oscar Schindler and while we were walking through his building, the exhibits focused on the build up to war, the occupation and finally the arrival of Soviet forces. Two small rooms were dedicated to Schindler, who most people (myself included), have heard of because of the movie.  One thing our tour guide did say was that Schindler wasn’t the Saint the movie makes him out to be. He suggested that Schindler, who acquired the factory by telling the previous owners that it was now his property, was motivated more by money than morals. Many of the people who made it on to his list had paid to be there. His workers who he cared so deeply about were brought in from the ghetto and worked without pay and when he finally left he had room in his car for his wife and mistresses but not his workers. I’m not entirely sure what to think. I’m sure the film does embellish the story and maybe it paints him in a better light but at the time the penalty  for helping a Jew was a death sentence not only for you but also your whole family. Either way, I think the quote as you enter the building sums it up best – “whoever saves one life, saves the world entire” and I’m very glad that people like Oscars Schindler risked their lives to save the lives of others. It’s also quite interesting to think that he’s the only Nazi Party member to be buried in Jerusalem with the Righteous Among the Nation honour.

Schindler's Desk

From the factory we walked back to town, stocked up on some cupcakes and decided to try the third best restaurant in Krakow. After we ordered  our starters,  duck for Rory and dumplings for me, we were given an extra appetiser of bread and spreads. I was a bit hesitant to try the pork, onion and lard spread but it was even nicer that the soft cheese and sunflower spread! Things only got better when the mains came out. Rory must be watching his figure as he went for salmon but I went for a nice big steak! All in all we got bread and spreads, two starters, two mains and two drinks – all for  £30! I actually couldn’t believe how cheap the meal was. I would have paid double that but naturally I didn’t complain when  they knocked 20% off the bill as we had arrived so early in the day! £24 for one of the best meals on this holiday – yes please!

On the way back to the apartment we stopped off for some ice cream.  On Sunday the queue had been around the block but the clouds had scared the customers off and so we paid just over 50p for what could be the nicest chocolate ice cream I’ve ever had! All the walking and eating had tired us out so we spend the evening relaxing and watching Suits. Today has definitely been interesting. We're starting to delve a little deeper in to the wartime lives of the Polish people and while it was sobering, I'm really glad we made the effort to stop off in Krakow, a beautiful city that has far surpassed any expectations I had!