Autumn Break, Poland Part 3: Krakow

 

Our final destination, Krakow, where the Old Town is spectacular both day and night.

So too is the castle.  It was pretty dang amazing!

We went to the Old Jewish Quarter 

where we saw the Jewish Ghetto Memorial

and the old Ghetto walls.

We went to the Museum of Pharmacy or Eagle Pharmacy where we learned more about the pharmacist and his workers and how they served as gateway of information for those inside the ghetto.

We also went to the museum at Oskar Schendler's Enamel Factory which was impressive in so many ways, including this display showing how the city was taken over by Nazi Germany.  I had to take a picture because it was so jarring.  You turn a corner and this is in your face.  

We watched Schindler's List before we went to Poland, so Sam would have more context.  It was powerful to see in person, and to learn more to the story than what I remembered from the movie (I know, you don't have to tell me).

After doing our "death tour," we decided we needed something different and the Wielczka Salt Mine was just the answer.

All the statues are created out of salt, even the chandeliers.  I was fascinated to learn they were all created by miners, not professional artists, except this one of Pope John Paul (of course he'd get an appearance).  We also learned the Wielczka Salt Mine is a Unesco Heritage site, so that's cool.  I'm not sure if we loved the mine or our guide more - every single time we stopped she would say in the same deadpan voice, "keep moving."  It was hysterical.  Just trust me.

It rained our last night, which made for a great Insta photo of Sam.

Here's mine.

Our final day we went to the Nowa Huta, "New Steelworks" which was built under Soviet rule as a socialist city that could be replicated around the country.

Here we got to see some Soviet era architecture, bomb shelters, old trams, and eat pierogies.  The weather was perfect for it too -- cloudy and rainy -- just like all the images we saw growing up during the Cold War.  Scott and I got a good chuckle out of that.

My photos really do not do Krakow justice.  It was a beautiful city, hard to visit due to its complex history, but a beautifully old and modern city all at once.