Central Europe Trip, Days Six (cont) & Seven

After visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau we asked if we could drive by the former Jewish Ghetto in Krakow.

Krakow's Podgorze district was the site of the former Jewish Ghetto, and while part of the ghetto wall still remains, until December 2005 there was no monument commemorating the heroes and victims of the ghetto. This memorial was designed by Krakow architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak and funded by Polish film director Roman Polanski. It features 33 large illuminated chairs in the square and 37 smaller chairs standing on the edge of the square and at the tram stops. The chairs represent the furniture and other remnants that were discarded on that very spot by the ghetto's Jews as they were herded into the trains that would often take them to their deaths in Auschwitz and other concentration camps.

Nearby is the site of Oscar Schindler's factory. Oscar Schindler was a German industrialist born in Moravia. He is credited with saving almost 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunitions factories, which were located in what is now Poland and the Czech Republic respectively.
No one knows what Schindler's motives were. He was quoted as saying "I knew the people who worked for me... When you know people, you have to behave towards them like human beings."


We came back to the hotel for dinner and our final sunset view of Krakow from the hotel window! I hope to return someday with Wyatt.

Day seven was a travel day. We traveled by bus from Krakow to Vienna. It was supposed to take 6-7 hours, but because of road closures we spent at least 8, maybe even 9 hours on the road. Not our favorite day, but at least some of the kids caught up on their sleep!

Our bus driver Emi is Hungarian. He was a good driver and did not like when other driver's were reckless or daring. One tried to pass the bus on a windy road and almost ended up in a head-on collision. We learned many choice Hungarian words on the long bus trip.

In the late afternoon we arrived in Vienna, or Wien as it is known in Europe. Vienna is very majestic and by far the largest city in Austria. Nadia oriented us with downtown Vienna on a short walking tour before dinner.

Vienna City Park is a beautiful gathering place for Austrian-natives and tourists and was blooming with roses and other beautiful signs of summer.

We walked to the Vienna Parliment Building designed in Greek revival style. One of the building's most famous features is the later added Athena fountain in front of the main entrance, which is a notable Viennese tourist attraction. Following heavy damage and destruction during the Second World War, most of the interior has been restored to its original splendor.
Many of the other buildings we saw on this walking tour were ones we would see or visit on days 8-10, so I will describe those later.
We walked through the touristy streets to dinner at Weinerwald. The students thought the wiener schnitzel was the best dinner we'd had yet!

On our way back to meet the bus and head to our last hotel we saw these street performers and had to stop to watch. It was a fun way to end the introduction to Vienna!
http://youtu.be/aF8MEhts27c
http://youtu.be/aCwTISV9-Hg

Central Europe Trip, Day Six

Day 6 proved to be a physically and emotionally exhausting day. It started with a local guide, Gregory, who showed us to Wawel (pronounced Vavel, of course) Hill. It was so cool that we could walk there from our hotel even if was all uphill. People have lived on Wawel Hill at the site of the Castle as early as fifty thousand years ago, in the Paleolithic Age. It’s amazing to me!

The castle itself dates back to the 14th century with many updates, fires, wars and revisions.

The Wawel Cathedral has been the main burial site for Polish monarchs since the 14th century.

A popular version of the Wawel-dragon tale takes place in Kraków during the reign of King Krak, the city's legendary founder. Each day the evil dragon would beat a path of destruction across the countryside, killing the civilians, pillaging their homes and devouring their livestock. In many versions of the story, the dragon especially enjoyed eating young maidens, and could only be appeased if the townsfolk left a young girl in front of its cave once a month. The King certainly wanted to put a stop to the dragon, but his bravest knights fell to its fiery breath. In the versions involving the sacrifice of young girls, every girl in the city was eventually sacrificed except one, the King's daughter Wanda. In desperation, the King promised his beautiful daughter's hand in marriage to anyone who could defeat the dragon.

Great warriors from near and far fought for the prize and failed. One day a poor cobbler's apprentice named Skuba accepted the challenge. He stuffed a lamb with sulphur and set it outside the dragon's cave. The dragon ate it and soon became incredibly thirsty. He turned to the Vistula River for relief and drank and drank. But no amount of water could quench his aching stomach, and after swelling up from drinking half the Vistula river, he exploded. Skuba married the King's daughter as promised, and they lived happily ever after. I like a good “happily-ever-after story”! Oh, and here are the actual bones of the dragon hanging by the entrance to the castle...wink, wink!

Pope John Paul II is beloved to the Polish people, as he was born and raised there. There are many, many statues and memorials to him around Krakow.

Our tour guide pointed out these sculptures above the doorways on the Krakow street. Instead of addresses, people would use these kind of decorations as their landmarks. "I'll meet you at the rhino house at five!" I love that!

After lunch in the square, Paul had traditional Polish sausage and I had the most delicious cheese grilled on a skillet and served with cranberry sauce, we had some fun with the various sites in the square including a Polish school class on a field trip.

Then we met our bus driver and left for Auschwitz-Birkenau about an hour away. This was the largest German concentration camp between 1940 and 1945 and is now a Polish-run museum which has welcomed 22 million visitors thus far. It was a somber, horrifying tour, but also quiet and reflective. There is no talking as you walk through the tour, only a tour guide with a microphone and visitors wearing headsets to keep the noise-level minimal. I only share only a few photos from that experience.

The sign reads "Arbeit Macht Frei" or "Work Makes You Free"

I decided not to take photos inside. I felt it was a very sacred place and I was there for my own experience. I would encourage others to take that opportunity if it should ever arise. It was difficult, but important and I am glad I did it. Ironically, it was a beautiful day, with sun and a slight breeze.

I am grateful for my freedom.

Plaques along the memorial (former gas chamber site) in dozens of languages all carry the same message:
"Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe.

Auschwitz-Birkenau 1940-1945"

Central Europe Trip, Day Five

We woke up ready for Day 5, starting with a bus ride to Krakow, Poland. We were excited to find out we were staying in the heart of Old Town Krakow. It's much nicer to stay in town and be able to walk around after dinner and not have to be bussed back and forth.

Krakow dates back to the 7th century and has traditionally been one of the leading centers of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life. It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1596. After checking in to our hotel we went for a walk to the Main Market Square (the largest Medieval square in Europe), got our bearings, and set out to explore.

The tower in the center of the square is the Town Hall Tower. The Tower is the only remaining part of the old Town Hall demolished in 1820 as part of the city plan to open up the Main Square. Its cellars once housed a city prison with a Medieval torture chamber. The students were super interested in THAT fact.

Mr. Plank and a few of the kids went up the tower while I went shopping.

I enjoyed browsing in the Renaissance Sukiennice or old cloth hall where there are local merchants selling their wares. One of the things Poland is famous for is their amber, so it was fun to look at all the amber jewelry. This was a nice way to shop...in the shade with seemingly authentic shop-keepers.

By this point, I was really missing Wyatt, so I enjoyed seeing all the children in Krakow. Wyatt would have loved scaring the pigeons!

One of the main attractions in the square is St. Mary's Basilica It is a brick Gothic church re-built in the 14th century. It is particularly famous for its wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss.
On every hour, a trumpet signal—called the Hejnał mariacki—is played from the top of the taller of St. Mary's two towers. The tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city.

Paul and I walked around looking into the many churches and building we thought looked interesting. This one is St. Florian's Church. Here is a short video clip I took outside just for the ambiance. I enjoyed hearing the clock bells.

http://youtu.be/TSFl-CKTNLA

We stumbled upon the Collegium Witkowski, a Jagiellonian University building erected in 1908-11. The building's style mixes elements of Gothic-revival, Romanesque-revival and Art Nouveau architecture. We walked through this cool tunnel into the Philosopher's garden. A nice spot.


Medieval Kraków was surrounded by a 1.9 mile defensive wall complete with 46 towers and seven main entrances leading through them. Of course, only parts of the wall are still standing, but it is a really cool walk to go around the old town on the path and see parts of the wall and the beautiful garden, statues, and fountains that are there now.

The Kraków barbican is a fortified outpost once connected to the city walls. It is a historic gateway leading into the Old Town. The barbican is one of the few remaining relics of the complex network of fortifications and defensive barriers that once encircled the royal city.

After a long day of travel and taking in the sights we went back to the hotel for dinner and saw this sight from our room. Here is a short video of that sight as well.

http://youtu.be/69VyB7Vo5k0