Christine in Krakow, Poland

What's the best way to keep pigeons off a statue?  Have it breath fire.  Seriously.  I loved Dragon statue under Wawel Castle Grounds.

The Wawel Cathedral was first started in the 12th century.  And they added on.  There is 14th century gothic, 17th century Baroque, 16th century Renaissance, and 18th and 19th century Neoclassical.  You are not allowed to take pictures inside.  The Polish redid an area and it is now the Chapel of the Blessed John Paul II.  They hope to one day have the former Pope buried there.  I wouldn't bet on that though.  His statue is outside the Cathedral.

The castle is modeled after Florence.  Something about the inner courtyard of the castle is off.

Figure it out?  Look closer.

The wall on the one side is fake.  Look at the windows.  You can see the "outside."  This is to make it appear proportionate.

The Main Market Square is bustling.  Lots of people everywhere.  Tons of outside cafes.  Jazz performers played at one place.  And St. Mary's Church.  The inside is beautiful.  Very bright with sky blues and red paints.  A church has stood on that spot for 800 years.  And the gothic alterpiece is for Mary.  Cloth Hall is also on the Market Square.  You can buy any souvenirs you want there.   (Practicing my evening picture taking.)

This picture was taken early in the morning.

Pope John Paul II was originally from Krakow.  He was archbishop at St. Francis Basilica.  They marked his favorite pew.  The church has amazing stain glass windows.   The Basilica building is not that impressive.  When he visited Krakow he stayed across the street from this Basilica.  The Polish love Pope John Paul II.  There are pictures of him everywhere.  The Polish are very catholic.  There are 32 churches in Old Town alone.  

The Polish own a Leonardo da Vinci painting:  Lady with an Ermine.  No pictures of this.  But google for an image.  It is considered one of his best surviving pieces.  No restoration or changes done to it.  I looked at it for a while.  I noticed that da Vinci can not paint hands very well.  Her hands are huge.  See, even the greats have room for improvement.  

The best thing about Poland?  Hands down--Pierogies.  I went to a Milk Bar.  Back in the Communist era, the Soviets thought everyone should be able to have a good meal.  So they subsidized Milk Bars.  Well, the one I loved still looks like 1950!  Even the workers had that about them.  But the pierogies were amazing.  I ate the plate full of cheese ones on the first day.  And went back for the meat pierogies on the last day.  Both days I sampled the Borscht Ukrainian soup (beet soup with vegetables).

If you are interested, you can read about the Holocaust part of my trip after the jump.  But I'll keep it brief.  The visit to Auschwitz is more something you experience then I can adequately explain on a blog.

Christine


Though I haven't actually watched the movie, I toured Schindler's Factory, as I have great interest in WWII.  The museum describes living in Krakow during WWII.  The Polish tried, but were no match for the German Army.  And the French and British did not come to their rescue, even though they were allies.  The museum discusses how, after the invasion, the Jews had to move across the river to the Ghetto.  This is where they built the factories.  It was said they sabotaged the armaments, as 60 to 80 percent were unusable.  The Jews received rations.  Then those were cut.  Then the Nazis expelled 55,000 Jews (from 70,000) from the city.  Some ended up at forced labor camps.  Some they just shot.  Others at Auschwitz. 

Ghetto Heros Square is in the then-Ghetto part of Krakow.  There, empty chairs represent those who were killed by the Nazis.  The square was under construction, and many chairs were missing, hence the photo of a couple and not more.

Auschwitz-Birkenau was chosen as the location for the largest concentration camp because Krakow was centrally located.  At Auschwitz I, Jews were forced to work and barely fed.  What's worse, is they knew that other Jewish people were being killed in gas chambers.  But what could they do?  The gas chambers could kill many more people than the incarcerator could be used for.  So the Germans had the Jews build Kirkenau, which is near there.  There were 5 gas chambers and incarcerators there (though the Germans dynamited most before the Russians arrived-some Jews managed to destroy one a couple months before that).  The majority of people were killed right after they arrived.  The monument says that the Germans killed 1.5 million people (though there are other estimates).  This includes 200,000 children.  We really only know the history because the survivors explained what happened.  The people were brought in the trains.  The tracks literally went right into Birkenau.  They thought they were being relocated and had their valuables with them.  The Germans didn't want a panic, so they told the people they would shower (which seemed reasonable, as they hadn't in days, being in the train cars).  And the gas chambers were designed to look like showers.  The ones not killed were slave labor for about 2 months.  There were 3 levels for sleeping in each block and they slept 5 to 8 in each bunk.  There were 700 in each block.  They were worked to death.  It didn't matter though.  More Jews arrived all the time.

Auschwitz has  exhibits with suitcases, pots and pans, eye glasses, shoes, hair brushes, and hair.  The amount is overwhelming, and the exhibits show just a small portion.

Right after the war, the Polish government decided to turn the areas into museums so that we never forget.

http://en.auschwitz.org/h/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=6