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!
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!
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