September 28, 2015

 

 

 

Sunshine!!

 

It’s an early wakeup for us this morning.  We’re leaving tonight so we have to be packed and checked out early.  We’re meeting for breakfast at 8:00 and will be picked up for a bus tour to Auschwitz and Birkenau at 9:00.  Richard and Roz are on the same tour.  They will be staying one more day and then they take a night train to Budapest.

Our driver (Isabella) shows up a few minutes before nine.  She is driving a 15 passenger Mercedes and by the time we are finished with pick-ups there will be about 12 total riders.  It is an hour drive to Auschwitz through the Polish countryside.  Isabella stops to give us a little overview of the day and then puts on a movie describing life in the camps that lasts until we arrive

What can you say about these places?  Interesting?  Morbid?  Brutal?  Emotional?  Informative?  All yes.  Fun? No!  Over a million people were tortured and killed in these two camps.  The Nazis made a decision early on that their goal of extermination of the ‘unworthies’ of the world needed to be streamlined for maximum efficiency and these camps were the result.  Auschwitz was the primary worker camp where those deemed unacceptable to the Nazi ideal were brought to be incarcerated, used, abused and eventually murdered.  Birkenau, about 3 kilometers from Auschwitz, was the ultimate killing machine with gas chambers, crematoriums and mass graves.  At one point there were 90,000 human beings housed in Birkenau awaiting death.

You can find lots of sources to read about these camps and we don’t need to reinvent the history.  Here is a little about the logistics of our day.  When we arrived at Auschwitz we were paired with other groups so that we totaled about 30 in all.  We were given headsets and a receiver to follow along with the commentary of our leader (Joanna????)  The tour of Auschwitz took about 2-1/2 hours through the living facilities, experimental medical areas, torture, hanging and firing squad areas and furnaces.  None of which was a pretty sight.  Our leader was a perfect narrator conveying a sense of despair and hopelessness throughout the tour.

We met again at the van and went to Birkenau for a tour lasting a little over an hour.  Where Auschwitz was mostly preserved, Birkenau was mostly destroyed.  Only the chimneys of many of the barracks and debris from the gas chambers and crematoriums remain.  A couple exceptions are, what were originally stables for army cavalry (52 horses each), now had become housing for hundreds of inmates.

A little before 3:00 we met again at the van for the ride back to Krakow.  It was very quiet, everyone lost in their own thoughts about our day.  We were dropped off at the square and bid farewell to our new friends Richard and Roz.  This is our day (sunny all day by-the-way) for a dinner from the BIG MEAT vendors in the square.  John gets the sauerkraut stew and vegetables, Pat gets the pig knuckle and vegetables and Mary goes only-protein with a kielbasa.  We have been soaking in the aromas of smoked meat ever since we arrived and this was worth it.

We find the last bit of sunshine at a square-side table for a beer and people watching.  Sun makes a world of difference with attitudes and everyone is friendly and ready for fun.  It is a Monday evening and the square is filling once again like the weekend.  We were supposed to contact Jeff and Jacque for one more wine before we left but our phone is deader than a doornail after a day of pictures.  We’ll have to make plans for Napa or Minneapolis.

While there is still a bit of light we make a practice walk (without luggage) to the train depot to make sure we know what will happen later when it’s dark and we’re overloaded.  There is of course a learning curve involved and we feel smart that we made the effort.

We have about an hour to kill so it is one more walk down Florianska street and then on to the Bulldog bar for a last pivo.  We’re spent and ready to move along. A little before 9:00 we return to the hotel for our luggage, a quick email to Jeff apologizing for our disappearance today, and hug for Natalia who compliments us on being good guests.  Thank you very much.

With our new-found knowledge we move directly to the right train platform and grab a seat.  We have reserved a compartment for three on the train and we’ll see how that goes.  There will be a review of all that tomorrow and it may not be pretty.  Another big (sunny) day, our last in Poland.  At least for a while.

What did we learn today? “Time has no power to erase these memories.” A quote from the Russian army photographer who was one of the first to arrive in Auschwitz.

September 27, 2015

 

 

 

SUNSHINE!!!

Hooray, the sun is out.  We feel like going to the square for some sort of dance of celebration.  Breakfast is cheerier this morning.  We again compare notes with Richard and Roz to glean any information that might be helpful.  They went to the Schindler museum yesterday where we are going today and it was jammed.  We better get moving to be there early.

It is a 35 minute walk (mile and a half) to the Schindler Factory Museum which is on the other side of the Jewish Quarter from our hotel.  There is a short line for tickets and we seem to have gotten ahead of most of the tour groups.  The museum itself is not a replica of the original factory nor does it limit itself to the Schindler experience.  It is rather a history of Poland in general and Krakow in particular during the war years.  You follow a corridor which branches off into displays, recordings, films and thousands of photographs from 1938 through 1945.  We started with a 35-minute movie which gave us an overview of those years including interviews with a number of people, both Christians and Jews, who lived in Krakow and worked for Schindler.

Following the route through the museum takes at least a couple hours but you could spend days if you were an historian from this period.  Schindler comes off as a pretty slippery sort.  He was the son of a Czech factory owner and early on he saw his greatest chance for success lied with the Germans and he became an agent for the Nazis dealing with commerce in defeated countries.  When the Germans overran Poland in 1939 Polish factories were recommissioned to provide war materials and Schindler was placed in charge of an enamel factory in Krakow.  They later expanded to the manufacture of fuses for bombs.  Schindler was a thief and a womanizer and an all-around con man who nevertheless took great care of his workers and those close to him.  When the Jewish ghetto in Krakow was all but eliminated, he built barracks for his Jewish workers adjacent to the factory and refused to allow the Gestapo to enter.  He was arrested by everyone at one time or another and he always managed to be forgiven and released and got back to work.  Friends in high places.  He looked the other way when his employees took a few extra pots from the enamel works to sell in the market to make ends meet.  He was doing the same thing to get enough cash to provide meals and reasonable living conditions for his workers.  He seems to be a kindly knave who knew how to game the system and bring along those who are loyal to him.  There was a brief mention of Krakow’s favorite son and WWII resistance participant, the future Pope John Paul II.  He has his own museum and memorial elsewhere in Krakow.

It’s after one when we emerge.  Mary thinks Jewish and then thinks bagels.  There is a place called Bagelmama a few blocks back across the Vistula into the Jewish Quarter.  This Polish Jew is from Illinois and has been here since 2001 running this little business.  John and Pat both have the John McInroe which is a bagel with turkey and all the trimmings.  Mary does the basic with cream cheese.  We chat with a lady from Rhode Island who travels around the world as a member of a walking club.  It is international in scope and they schedule walks in all fifty states as well as dozens of countries.  Interesting for her.

We spent the rest of the afternoon in the Jewish Quarter.  Today begins the Sukkot season and no work is allowed beginning at sundown today through Tuesday.  All of the synagogues are already closed and the vendors in the square are closing up at 2:30.  It appears to be a small but vibrant community where the residents realize that they are carrying on the tradition of Jewish Poles.  Wish we had more time.

After a brief rest-up it is dinner tonight with friends Jeffrey and Jacque Schubert, Californians who are here on a bike tour through southern Poland.  They are bon vivants and who enjoy good food and wine and who are we to argue.  Jacque’s ancestry is Polish and Jeff’s is Belorussian which means their DNA is tingling.  We picked Restaurant Starka in the Jewish quarter many months ago and are anxious to give it a try.  We make a couple wrong turns trying to walk to the Schubert’s hotel but find it a couple minutes late.  We’re still on time for the restaurant and when we walk in it is perfect.  Just the right size with plenty of staff, a great menu and plenty of homemade vodka.

Our server is great fun, the food and drinks are plentiful, the quality is top notch and the prices are Polish high which means U.S. cheap.  We have vodkas all around, beer, 2-bottles of a really good Italian wine, more glasses of wine, bacon wrapped prunes (delicious), John has a Polish sausage soup and Jeff has the potato soup, John has a plum stuffed pork loin (unbelievable), Jeff and Jacque have the pork knuckle, Mary has a stuffed chicken while Pat has the pierogis and she and Mary share both.  There is another round of vodkas at the end of the meal.  Jeff and John split the bill and each pay $55, or about $22 per person for the five of us.  We’re going to move here.  We do some drink-dialing to try to harass Brother Joe in San Diego but he is gone so poor Dana has to take the brunt of it.  Sorry Dana.

We all waddle back past Jeff and Jacque’s hotel and we’re back into old town.  I think we will be done for the evening.  This was a really good day, but most are.

What did we learn today? When faced with adversity individuals can make a difference by doing what they can, even on a small scale.

September 26, 2015

 

 

Krazy About Krakow

Well except of course for the weather.  I am going to make a prediction from the future.  I predict that beginning tomorrow we will have several days of great weather in a row and therefore we will be busy from breakfast until late in the evening. The rest of the prediction is that there will be very little time to keep up with the blog and I will be sitting around 4 days from now wondering how to catch up.  Here’s the decision: I’m going to do a “greatest hits” blog for the next couple days and get this project back into some sort of manageable timeline and try to include only the most important elements that will elude our memories in the future.

So, here’s today.  It is pouring rain and we postpone any activities until lunch.  John sits in the breakfast room with computer work and chatting with host Nalalia while Mary and Pat read and rest.  Natalia is new to the hospitality business but really “gets it.”  Fun conversation.  We also met Richard and Roz, a couple of brits who now live in Melbourne and will be joining us on a tour on Monday.

We tough out the weather to have lunch on the square in an upstairs dining room overlooking the activites in the rain.  After lunch we try once again to be brave with a stroll down Garodska street towards the Wawel Castle but even with umbrellas and rain jackets we have wet cuffs, wet feet and are cold and damp.  No fun.  The square still has plenty of folks milling about because they, like us, are in Krakow for the weekend and are going to be out, no matter what.

We retreat again for a couple hours of warmth and drying.  Our desk ladies have been giving us the official recommendations for places to eat but now that we’re pals with Natalia she comes clean and tells us about Restaurant Szalone, about 3 blocks away from the square on our street.  We are seated in sort of a cave-like basement dining room and our server couldn’t be more pleasant.  We get a bottle of Italian red wine without an argument.  We get our best Placki, pierogis and pasta with drinks and the whole things comes to $38 including the wine for all three of us.  Great food, great service and nice atmosphere for a few dollars—perfect evening.

Yes, we did one more walk around the square.  The Western Europeans are out in force and the 22-year old lads are starting their ritual of getting drunk, loud and obnoxious which will apparently help them find women.  They have also abandoned all of their rain gear so most are soaked which adds to their appeal.  Good luck boys.

Our greatest hits blog for today was really easy.  Eat, wet, dry eat, wet, dry eat, wet, bed.  When you’re here for 70 days you will get some of these but we’ve had enough.  Sunshine and cool for the next few days.

What did we learn today?  The locals really do know where to eat.  The trick is getting them to tell you.

September 25, 2015

 

 

Auf Wiedersehen Berlin

Up and at ‘em for a new adventure this morning.  We have a 5:00 AM wakeup with a quickie breakfast finishing up whatever is left in the house and out the door at 6:30.  We are using Uber for the first time and it is pretty slick.  They use all cabs here which is fine with us since we don’t have to wonder if there will be an Uber driver out and about at this hour.

We’re in plenty of time for our 8:50 flight to Krakow, Poland.  We have arranged a pick-up through our B&B in Krakow and a fellow is there with a nice Citroen for our half hour drive into the Old Town area.  We’re staying at Tango House which has the unusual distinction of being recommended by Rick Steves as well as being highly rated on Tripadvisor.  The building is ancient and the story is that it has a history as a Roman Bathhouse.  Our rooms aren’t ready (expected, it’s only 11:00 AM) but we drop the luggage and get lunch recommendations.

We start with a stroll around the Old Town Square.  The buildings are uniquely historic and the square is packed with easy-up vendors and food stands.  There are pierogis, pork knuckles, little cheese pies and pastries of all sorts.  All the outdoor tables are filled which requires us to find a sit-down restaurant for lunch.  We look at both of the places our hosts told us about and just pick one.  It seems like a lot of food to be eating at lunch but for 27 Zlotis (about 6 bucks) the prices seem fair.

John and Pat both have Buckwheat dishes, Pat’s topped with goulasch and John’s topped with chicken and mushrooms and both are served with red cabbage, cold green cabbage, horseradish and a cheese sauce.  Mary has the goulasch in a bread bowl (she borrows some horseradish from Pat) and we are all overstuffed when we leave.

We shouldn’t have mentioned the sunshine yesterday because it has now jinxed today.  The rain is starting to come down and it looks like it will continue for at least 36 hours.  These soakers are getting a little sickening.  Why doesn’t it just storm and get it over with.  We do wander a bit and visit the Benedictine Basilica.  It’s a real working church with a line for confession. We stay out as long as we can and now it is time to get checked in to our rooms anyway.  The two skinny young girls working the desk haul the biggest of our suitcases up the 56 steps to our rooms.  We’re glad to see them puffing instead of us. There are murals painted on the stairway ceiling, apparently from the Roman bath days.

The rain is discouraging which forces us to our rooms for a couple hours.  After a rest-up we decide to tackle it again despite the continuing wet weather.  We mill around the square and the place is busy with umbrellas, ponchos and just plain wet people.  It is Friday night in Krakow which has become a party destination for western Europeans who can get here with cheap airfare and find 1-euro beers and 5-euro meals. There were a dozen ladies on our plane this morning, all probably somewhere in their 50’s who were coifed and ready for a getaway.  Mary thought it might be a group facelift.  Catty.  Those who made their way here for the fun aren’t going to sit in their rooms, but sooner or later they will find a bar with cheap vodka shots and beers.

There are a couple major stages on opposite sides of the square. It sounds like a cliché but one has a polka band with lots of people bouncing up and down in the rain.  It just feels right like a ukulele feels right in Hawaii or a mariachi band is great in Mexico.  With rain gear and umbrellas it would seem we could be full participants in the fun but the cold and damp works its way into these old bones and it wears us down.

We don’t have a destination in mind for dinner tonight and at this stage we’re not going to be choosy.  We opt for warm and dry.  The restaurants are busy as expected but we snare a table right off the square at Apertif.  Pat has the usual rum & coke while John & Mary splurge with a $25 bottle of wine. John tries to order a $29 French St. Emilian red but our server insists that the cheaper wine is the better wine.  The first taste would indicate otherwise but maybe it needs to breathe.  The server obviously knows where the profits lie.  After further discussions with our server (“of course yes but…) John has the veal knuckle with gnocchi, Pat has a pasta with kielbasa and Mary has baked salmon with a vegetable risotto. All of them pretty darn good but dinners are getting quite expensive here—almost $10 apiece.

After we warm up over dinner we think we are brave enough for more time out but it doesn’t last long.  There is nothing happening on the big stage and our only entertainment is watching at the meat stands for a while.  Better than many other forms of entertainment we have tried.  Back to the room to read 6 pages before falling asleep.  Not much hope for tomorrow either.

What did we learn today? Eating Polish food while activity is being restricted by the weather reverses a lot of diet and exercise.