What would a visit to Poland be without being waved over and then fined for driving on the ‘wrong’ road (taxi road) and having to pay a cash fine on the spot? Good thing we exchanged our euros for Czech ‘Koruna’ and Polish ‘Złoty’ before leaving Paris. The ‘Police’ spoke only Polish (harshly and quickly I may add) and all we knew was he was asking for our documents. We gave him passports, license, and rental papers. He walked away and came back with a 15 euro (equivalent) fine for driving on a road (other cars were also on) that our GPS had told us to turn onto to find parking. How can you argue with an officer when you don’t speak the language and they won’t accept any discussion anyway? So it was…”yes sir, thank you sir”… and we were off again.
We continued to follow the GPS to the parking (1 block away) and then walked into the old centre of Krakow. We had reservations to tour Schindler’s factory and had to pick up our tickets at the Visitor Centre. We had a quick local food sampling at the Christmas market in the square and then headed out to Schindler’s Factory at a near run because we had to be there for 12:20pm and it was a 2 km walk. We could have taken a tram, but most of our zloty had now gone to a policeman and lunch. 🙂 No time to find money and a tram stop to take us to the right area.
Schindler’s Factory had a fantastic Museum about World War 2 organised as a timeline through different rooms, displaying Poland from 1938 – 1945. It was hard to believe the atrocities they suffered from both Russians and Germans at the same time. Schindler’s role was admirable and being in his actual office and building after seeing the movie was a significant connection for us and the kids. Schindler’s List is a must see if you are ever coming to Poland. From there we also saw the remnant’s of the old Jewish wall (4 blocks away) that the Jews were forced to build around the ghetto to confine them to the one area. The German SS ordered that the wall be built in the shape of tombstone heads to remind the Jews of their fate. There is only 12 metres left of the wall and it is very eerie to touch it and be right there where liquidation took place.
We then went back to the car (by tram) and drove out to our Airbnb that was on the outskirts of Krakow. The next day we toured the area some more and walked around the Salt Mine, but did not go down into it even though it sounded fascinating. We did an underground Museum experience about Krakow and enjoyed the Christmas market some more.
The next day we visited the Auschwitz/Birkenau Concentration Camps about 30 minutes from Krakow. It was moving beyond words. We were all very somber after all of the visuals and the reading they provide in the different barracks where the prisoners were kept. Then a long, walk to the crematoriums was powerful and haunting. The cold, rainy weather added to the horrors that we were already trying to understand.
The next day we visited a Modern Art Museum near Schindler’s Factory. It was actually a very refreshing activity because the art is so unique and bizarre, that there was so much to see and talk about. We only took a few photos, but there were some interesting exhibits that really ‘walked the line’. Greg and Brianna were surprisingly captivated – imagine that…
Later that day we took our rental car to the airport and waited there for two hours before flying home (to Paris) at 7:00pm. We did so much more in the evenings in Krakow and had excellent food, including their famous donuts. It was a great place to shop and both Greg and Bri bought some clothes there. Overall, a very relaxing trip to Poland and a comfortable stay at a wonderful Airbnb.
C M G B Overseas 