DAY 9 - AUSCHWITZ & BIRKENAU

Arriving in Krakow for our post trip extension, we decided to, right after a quick tour of the city, take the tour of Auschwitz. We knew it would be a heartbreaking experience, but felt it was something everyone should see - so that history doesn't repeat itself.

Rather try to write my impressions I think the best explanation is the information sign at the entrance.

Above the main gate is this sign in German, Work Will Set You Free - however that was not the case at all, unless it was the freedom that comes with death.

The building, constructed from brick taken from demolished homes in the area, were lined up in typical German orderly fashion. Besides barracks there was a "hospital" where Mendelin, the Nazi doctor performed his experiments and sterilizations, the Gestapo headquarters where prisoners were interrogated and tortured, and other equally notorious activities took place, now with walls covered with photographs, many too horrible to copy.

This photo showed the camp where citizens of Warsaw during the "uprising" were held before being deported to Auschwitz.

There were room filled with huge cases filled with objects taken from prisoners, such as braces, canes and artificial limbs.

And separate cases for shoes, shown here for men, eyeglasses, combs, brushes, mugs, etc. etc.

This wall, know as the "Killing Wall" is kept partially cover with flowers to hide the bullet holes and blood stains left from the executions.

This was a typical barracks where prisoners awaited their final solution - eight or more to one mattress.

The yard had warning signs before the gate and guard houses.

The first commandant of Auschwitz, SS_Obersturmbannfuher Rudolf Hoss, who was tried and sentenced to death after the war by the Polish Supreme National Tribunal, was hung here on April 16th 1947.

There were crematoria where bodies were burned

In the years 194-45, the Nazis deported at least 1,300.000 people to Auschwitz. 1,100,000 of these people died, approximately 90% of the victims were Jews. The SS murdered the majority of them in the gas chambers. I was thankful when I was again outside the fence.

The brick entrance to Birkenau was impressive with the railroad track running beneath the tower. The track ran the considerable length of the camp, which was 8 times larger than Auschwitz.

There remained one car, in which the prisoners were herded like cattle.

At the end of the long track were the remains of the crematoriums, which the Germans blew u p to try to hide their activities.

In some of the remaining buildings the "beds" were still visible.

But most of the area was now destroyed with only chimneys remaining.

One can only guess what happened in this building with many chimneys.

But several of these structures remained.

They housed this structure which served as communal toilets.

And the only means of washing.

DAY 10 - KRAKOW

Our introduction to Krakow was a short walking tour of the old town, followed by a carriage ride to our 4 star hotel Amadeus, a block or so off of the main square.

Our initial stop was at this statue which commerated the victorious battle against the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald in 1410. The statue was unveiled by its donor the eminent pianist and composer, Paderewski to celebrate the 500 year anniversary of the event. In 1939 the Nazis destroyed the momument. The present statue is a reconstruction made in 1976.

The Barbican, a masterpiece of medieval defensive art was built in 1498-99 in the foreground of the Brama Florianska (St Florian's Gate) built in 1307. This gate was the main and most closely guarded gate to the city. This Krakow Barbican is one of the 3 remaining "Round Bastions" in Europe, but the others are no match for its beauty, perfection of construction and size.

Just before the gate these 3 musicians in native dress entertained the visitors.

On either side of the gate some of the original wall remains along with their towers.

Where there was once a moat filled with water outside the wall, there is now a walking path surrounded by greenery, called the Planty Gardens.

And occasionally there are ponds with beautiful flowers and a fountain.

Florianska Street dates back to the Middle Ages and has always been the main trading route into the city. It lied on the route of merchant caravans traveling to marketplaces from distant foreign cities. The street is lined with heavily decorated burghers' houses, now housing shops, cafes and restaurants.

We end in the Cracovian Rynek (Market Square) a vast open area, one of the biggest squares in Europe and the heart of the city. At the one end is St. Mary's Basilica with its two towers built by brothers. Legend tells that the older one finished his higher tower first. Fearing that his younger brother's tower might outgrow his own he killed his rival. The 2nd tower remained unfinished and the evil brother, tormented by his conscience, confessed his crime and jumped to his death from the church belfry.

The middle of the square is taken up by Cloth Hall (filled with shops and Museums above, and the huge tower which stand nearby.

At the other end of Rynek is the St. Adalbert and the mail coach.

While we were there we were treated to these sights, and more. Little girls coming from their 1st Communion,

An actor with his sword and attentive audience,

Colorful carts with Polish items to sell,

Horse and carriage rides,

A fireman's parade of vintage equipment,

And a Parade of costumed firemen.

DAY 11 - KRAKOW 2

On our 2nd full, and last day in Krakow we decided to start with a golf cart tour of Kazimierz, the Jewish section.

Corpus Christi Church in Krakow is a fine Gothic church dating from the mid-1300s. It is an impressive brick church with a rich interior with several side chapels. Notable features include a high altar from 1634, the superb choir stalls of 1629, and an interesting mid-18th-century pulpit shaped like a boat.

A Romanesque church originally stood on this elevated site, located on the Vistula embankment south of Wawel Hill. It was here in 1079 that Bishop Stanislaw (or Stanislaus; 1072–1079) was beheaded and dismembered by order of King Bolesław.

Stanislaw was Poland's first saint and one of the patron saints of the entire nation. Dating to the 13th century, the annual procession honoring the saint is one of the oldest ceremonies in the nation and it draws up to 40,000 from the castle where he is now buried to this church where he was originally interred.

In Wolnica Square, part of the former market square of Kazimierz, stands the Town Hall which was erected in the 15th century.

The Temple Synagogue, built in 1860-62 was founded by Krakow's reformed Jews and hosted services for non-Orthodox Jews in the city. It was badly damaged by the Nazis during World War II, who used it as a magazine.

The Old Synagogue, which presently works as a museum of Jewish Culture.

Schindler's Factory. Oskar Schindler was an ethnic German industrialist who is credited with saving over 1100 Jews by employing them in his factories, bribing and paying off the SS and risking his own life to save them from extermination.

Photos of some of the Jews he saved.

Concordia Square was the place where Jews had to assemble before being transported to the death camps. The memorial includes 33 large empty chairs and 37 smaller chairs located at the tram stop, and marks on the pavement which shows where the walls of the former Ghetto were located.

The Royal Castle at Wawel on Wawel Hill has had a long and varied history. People lived on the hill 50,000 years ago, in the Paleolithic age where a settlement bustled with trade, crafts and farming. Eventually the rulers took up residence on the hill and in the early 16th century King Sigismund I the Old, brought in foreign artists to refurbish the castle into a splendid Renaissance palace. Over the years fires, invasions and neglect destroyed much of its beauty. In 1921 the Polish Parliament passed a resolution which gave Wawel official status as the residence of the President of Poland, but after the ravages of WWII the castle became a National Museum.

Taking the "back route" to the castle we saw children's tours organizing near the city wall.

We walked along this road and beneath the old castle gate.

A view of the Vistula River from Castle Wall.

The Wawel Cathedral used to be the coronation place of the Polish Monarchs.

In the large center courtyard parts of the Old Castle foundation can be seen in the Garden. And excavations have begun in other parts of the grounds.

There are other ways to tour Krakow, Segway Tours enjoyed here by Russ and Susan.

And of course there are Rent-A-Bikes.

While walking near the market square our last full day in Krakow I enjoyed these colorfully dressed Street Musicians. We had a delicious dinner outside at the famous 700 year old Wierzyney Restaurant,

Where the following night we enjoyed a superb Chopin Concert. No better way to end a wonderful trip to Poland.