Krakow Poland

I don't think I would want to visit the death camps, so distressing to recall all that suffering. I cannot begin to imagine what (in-) humans can do to one another. The 'like' is for your Christmas experience.

By God's mercy, this was before my time - Auschwitz. The sight of the 'railway' makes my stomach turn. I still have family there, but I'm glad to be in New York. The horses and marketplace are on point! Did you like the food Amy? I heard it was really good.

I have just come back from Krakow myself, what a beautiful city and lovely to see all those old buildings and architecture which have not been spoilt with modernisation, did you know that the square in Krakow is the largest in Europe, the market was fantastic but so busy, I had one of those jumbo sausage baguettes looked lovely and tasted great until I realised there was a largish chunk of glass in it, thought my crown had come out, the concentration camps were so sad but to be there you don’t realise how huge they are, our guides grandfather was a child survivor of Auschwitch.

That experience will stay with you always Amy, so very much to think about and never be able to understand.
At least it was softened by the atmosphere of the beautiful Christmas market. Did you bring home some pretty decorations?

You are brave to go to Auschwitz Amy. I don't think I could handle that. No. I hope the nightmares stop soon. x

Well done Amy for braving the concentration camps ... nothing like seeing them for real to bring the horror home. Glad you were able to enjoy some light relief in the market. I hope you can shut the experience away now, and (like the rest of us) appreciate the luck we have to enjoy our homes and families, and peace and freedom.

Btw, Schindler’s List is a very good book.

Quite a place Amy, another world :-(

I didn't think I would be able to handle the camps but we were told we shouldn't miss it off our agenda, you can't begin to comprehend the feeling of utter hopelessness those poor souls must have felt ..
The food was delicious Paul we didn't eat English at all , and rounded it off with shots of Vodka :o)
We might have been on the same plane Julian I couldn't put all my photos on you're right the buildings are beautiful The castle , The Cloth hall etc. Oh NO that was bad getting a piece of glass in your food I hope it didn't cut you I only ate a couple of those little goats cheeses wrapped in bacon off the market our grandson probably did he was eating his way round ,we ate in the restaurants ,I had an Uncle who was an interpreter in the Nuremberg trials ...
Chris i bought some lovely little nutcracker men decorations to hang on my Christmas tree also a beautiful bowl with a smaller bowl inside it ...
I'm never going to forget the horror of things happening there Karen I read letters from the prisoners before being taken out to their deaths I can't get them out of my head ..
I have the film Sheila but not the book we did buy 'The Girl in The Red Coat' from a little Jewish book shop
Yes Dawn never to be forgotten ..

You certainly had a trip to remember and thanks for sharing. My eldest girl did this trip last year and like you has memories that will linger for ever.

We have some lovely tree decorations from there.

So glad you had a lovely time with your family,Amy,and although the sad moments are hard to imagine, it's something to remind us never to forget those lost souls..:o(
I would have loved to have seen the Museum dedicated to that wonderful man.
That horse and carriage,looks wonderful to have had a ride in ,and your hotel looks lovely too..all those different foods to try,plus the Vodka..anyone would think you were on holiday ! Lol x

Thanks Sbg I'm glad your eldest daughter enjoyed her trip and she brought back some nice decorations , did she go on a tram ? I loved the trams my daughter had a fit when we told her we jumped on a tram to meet them in the square we were squashed in like sardines ,we didn't pay anything I'm not sure if we should have done .
It was a brilliant family break Sandra we had no problems sleeping after the Vodka Lol Its back to normal now I have loads to do to get ready for Christmas they are all coming here plus our granddaughter is coming from New York so lots to look forward to x

My parents visited Auschwitz while on a tour of Poland. They found it very upsetting as you did also, Amy. It reminds us of how evil people can be towards others. We need to remember.
I know a couple of Polish people through my job, I’ve learned a lot about their culture and history, which has been invaluable. Must go and visit Poland!
I’m pleased you had a lovely holiday with your family! Your blog was very interesting, especially you relaying your uncle had been a translator at the Nuremberg trials.
Schindler’s List is top of my film list, for how it makes us never forget and remind us how lucky we are today.

I'm glad you found it interesting Kate ,I couldn't put most photos on they were to cruel to show ..we have to remind ourselves there are more good and kind people in the world but never forget atrocities like this in remembrance to those poor people they should never be forgotten .. you must put Poland on your 'to do' list one day ..

I was in Krakow right after the the collapse of the communist regime. The churches were packed with worshipers 24 hours a day at that time and was an amazing thing to see. I was also amazed to see how small Auschwitz was compared to the immensity of Birkenau. Looks like Hitler had big plans on tap. I was unfortunate to see someone revisit Birkenau...why he did that I cannot fathom...it was horrible. Both camps are very quiet deceptively so. One thing a saw at Auschwitz I will never forget. On display there were two large bins of hair. One bin contained hair that was dark. The other bin had hair that appeared to be white. The dark hair in the first bin had bin shorn of the heads of those who were alive. The second bin of white hair had been cut off the heads of those who were murdered in the gas chambers. The hair had the color bleached out of it by the Zyclon-B gas.

Loosestrife we were surprised at the size of Birkenau much bigger than we expected , we also saw the hair and the ovens can you believe they were often put in them alive we walked through the showers I have a photo of the hole in the roof from which the deadly crystals were dropped ,the one thing that haunts me most is that they had to dig their own graves and then their mouths were filled with plaster before being taking on the wagon to keep them quite ,how evil is that .I'm not surprised the churches were packed afterwards ..

A little recollection which I might say is more pleasant...After purchasing a chess set in the indoor market at the Kraków old town square and walking out of the market, I noticed a crowd of people gathered in one of the streets that connected with the square. The name of the street was Florianska street. Out of curiosity I walked over to see what was going on. There was a long line of people on the right hand sidewalk many of whom were standing with both arms outstreched and fingers extended. Adorning those arms and fingers was gold jewelry of all sorts...bracelets, rings, chains... some with semiprecious stones. I had happened upon a black market of gold jewelry with all the purchases done out in the open!...the police paid off to allow this no doubt. Did I take advantage of the fantastic bargains with the prospect of nervously producing gallons of sweat in the customs line? Getting back to my hotel I met another American in the elevator who mentioned that he visited the “salt mine”(a tourist attraction near Kraków) upon asking me how my day went I replied with a smile that I had visited the “gold mine”. These recollections I might add are over thirty years old.

And did you buy something Ls ? .... I wouldn't dare we only took our small cases and our rucksacks , I'm surprised my hubby didn't course a bomb scare at the airport we went off to a restaurant to have a cup of tea and a sandwich before flying home leaving our son in law in charge of the cases when we had finished hubby said "have you got my rucksack " I said " no , did you leave it with N . he said "no ,I had it with me " by that time we were panicking ,he dashed back to the waiting lounge to check ,I waited and then decided to go back to see what was happening ,as I was walking through the crowded restaurant I spied a rucksack by itself on a shelf and thought it looked like his but wasn't sure as they all look alike ,I decided to peep inside with fingers crossed I was dreading someone accusing my of stealing it ,but luck was on my side it was his ,massive relief all round , he had put it on the shelf when he carried the drinks over to us ...
Our daughter and son- in- law and grandson went down the salt mines they were very impressed with it ,they said it was very hot apparently it has to be kept at a certain temperature ..

Amy2 as we say in the USA I am taking the 5th Amendment on that question. As for this day and age perish the thought of doing so. In those days body scanners and routine pat downs did not exist though I narrowly avoided being shot to pieces at a Rome airport and missed being blown to bits when someone lobbed a grenade -which failed to explode-at an outdoor cafe I was sitting at on the Via Venito in Rome. Both of these were terrorist attacks which had to do with grievances against the Vatican as I recollect. Airport passenger inspections stepped up a couple of notches after the twin towers went down on 9/11. Sometimes in my life I have been in the right place at the wrong time.

Oh My goodness someone's been looking after you , I genuinely believe it would be safe to travel anywhere with you, luck is on your side ... our granddaughter was at the top of one of the twin towers the day before they went down ,she sent me a post card that day it arrived after the tragic event ..

Very interesting Amy, although the concentration camp seems an eery place even in the photos.
I'm glad you enjoyed the Christmas market, and the very modern hotel. I haven't got an ipad so it would be no good me going there. I'd never be able to get into the room :D

Lol Hywel.I don't have an Ipad either..shall we go to Tenby instead ?? ha ha.x

Great idea Sandra !! :D x

Amy I think you were extremely brave visiting the camps, I certainly don't think I would have had the courage, my Grandfather was Jewish, I read all about the atrocities many years ago, and that was bad enough.....
I am glad you enjoyed the rest of Poland with your family, I would have enjoyed the markets and the modern hotel!!

Hywel / Sandra I don't have an IPAD either ( I have a computer at home ) the hotel had a pad set up on the dressing table counter you couldn't do anything without it ,the grandly called illuminations was something we never did figure out properly you only had to get out of bed and put your feet on the floor at night time and the bathroom light came on , I'm sure anybody outside seeing our different lights going on and off must have thought we were sending out Morse code messages , full light dim light ,mood light , you name it they had it ... it even had a touch button for when you wanted your room cleaning ... plus TV etc.
Oh Dd It must be awful to think how your ancestors might have lived ,I do hope they survived as a family x

Too many sensors in the hotel room! They probably know how many times the toilet was flushed. I would have probably curled up in the fetal position on the bed a quivering paranoid wreck afraid to make the slightest move:(

It did feel a bit like Big Brother watching you Ls , I dread to think what would happen if the computer sytems go down imagine being trapped in a fire you need the card to open doors and lifts ...

Interesting blog Amy. Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I wouldn't like to visit those camps but it is important that we don't forget. The tree & the horse carriage in the Square looked very pretty. A nice holiday to remember.

Thanks Ff , The ride round in the Horse and carriage will be one of the nicest memories , as you say its important we don't forget the camps for the sake of history ...

I,m going to say something that many of you will not like. I totally believe in the horror of what happened in these camps. We must remember the victims of the holocaust but I have to wonder if we should be forgetting the aftermath of the holocaust on the people of Palestine. Christians and Moslems were ethnically cleansed with the West looking the other way. Today the Israeli government actively encourage more Jews to relocate from countries where their lives are in no danger. They are being offered the chance to live and work in areas recently occupied by Palestinians. I know many Jews do not agree with the policy but while we are all in denial about the situation there is little they can do. Please remember the victims of the holocaust but pray for peace and security for the displaced Palestinians.

My visit to the Auschwits-Birkenow murderous slaughter houses gave me the impression that human kind in general is very capable of this anytime and anywhere. So let’s pray for ALL of those in such horrid situations past, present and future.

I agree Ls everyone fights for their own when it comes down to it ... yes lets pray for them !

I'm sorry that I totally missed this blog at the time you published it, Amy. I suppose Auschwitz/Birkenow have passed from living memory ...or at least nearly so... and it falls to our generation and those who come after us to never allow ourselves the luxury of the complacent assumption that it could never happen again. The little girl in the red coat, if she survived, would be in her late eighties now, I suppose? I've rewatched the movie about Oskar Schlindler, and have read bios of Nicholas Winton and Irena Sendler, lately. Schlindler and Sendler were in Poland, Winton in Czechoslovakia working to save Jewish Polish children from the Nazis. it's my humble opinion that the human life span is too short to allow us to evolve enough in one lifetime... or maybe it's our attention span!... It takes courage to experience Auschwitz, I think. empathy and courage... xo
I suppose you would have to go to Czechoslovakia to see architecture from the pre WWII era... most of Warsaw and Krakow is new, right? Being shut in, I've watched some old movies lately and the latest is "Kafka" starring Jeremy Irons and it was filmed in Cz. the architecture is just fantastic. Would love to see Prague, Warsaw and St.Petersburg... (cruises on the Neva)... I'm thankful for the internet...as I can be a mental traveller. This pandemic thing has grounded the jets and cruise ships have become floating isolation hospitals! So I guess I'm happy to stay home.
Hope Tony is feeling better... T. saw a surgeon and was informed that, surgically, all that can be done for him, has been done. (sub text... suck it up, kid. this is it for the rest of your life.) He takes his life day by day...and he's doing a pretty good job of surviving. so all things considered ...here we sit in the boonies...self isolating and aging. lol. (really, it's not so bad, considering the alternative!)

Walking the streets of Warsaw I found a movie theater that operates 24 hours a day showing the same movie all day and night long. There is no need to pay to see this movie it is free...just walk in sit down and watch it. After the Warsaw Uprising during World War Two which lasted over 60 days even though Hitlers superior officers promised a three day suppression, the incesenced Hitler ordered that Warsaw be totally flattened. As proof, a movie camera was set up on a tripod in the center of the city and swung around 360 degrees. That movie shows Warsaw completely flat with nothing standing and that it the movie shown 24/7 in Warsaw. Today it is our proof of human monsterousnes. Krakow on the other hand was relatively untouched.

I've read 'The Girl in the Red Coat' a holocaaust memoir by Roma Ligocka the little girl ,she was born in Krakow in 1938 , she is 82 and still alive as far as I know , she lives in Munich ,she has worked in film,theatre and opera and received wide praise as a set designer ..a very clever artistic lady but had her demons drink , drugs to sleep she has a son Jakob .. I wonder where he is ..

Tony is feeling much better thank you Lori he is eating well which is a good sign I'm trying to keep to healthy low fat diet but caught him in the fridge with a mouth full of chocolate the other day ,naughty ... I'm sorryto hear Terry has had as much treatment as is possible but hope his quality of life is good ,you sound very positive and are taking each day as it comes , Big Hugs xx

Thanks for that information Loosestrife its always interesting to hear more on the subject ..