i chanced upon some unbelievably cheap airline tickets, so one
weekend in november i went to poland! i flew into katowice, and promptly
took a bus to krakow. it is a really beautiful and historically rich city! i
was there for only one full day, so i just wandered around. lots of old
churches, and a famous christmas market that was being set up but
unfortunately wasn't open yet. i tagged along with a tour group through
the corridors of the ancient wawel castle, where there are nice views
over krakow. went to kazimerz, the famous historical jewish quarter, and visited
the great synagogue of krakow. krakow was one of the biggest centers of
judaism in europe and indeed the world prior to world war two.
unfortunately a ghetto was created for jews there during the war, and
about 300 000 lost their lives there. auschwitz concentration camp is also
nearby, but as it takes the better part of a day to get to and visit, so
i didn't make it there this time. every jewish high school student in
israel makes a trip to krakow and auschwitz to learn first-hand about
the holocaust. on that topic, i also visited a new museum on the site of
oscar schindler's factory. he was a man who saved over 1000 jews during
the war by employing them undercover in his factory - the famous film
schindler's list tells the story. excellent museum. right beside it is
the kocak, or the museum of modern art in krakow, which i also patronized as
admission is only $2. and i would be remiss not to mention that krakow
has at least 2 amazing shopping malls, where i giddily and frequently purchased starbucks
coffee. it was an excellent weekend!
