KRAKOW – 12th to 16th Oct.

Ah! The difference between western and eastern European rail travel! The western trains are smooth and fast whilst the eastern trains are slow and clunky. Suffice to say that it was a real eye-opener to us, especially when we found out that our rail pass did NOT cover Poland!!! I guess I should have read the small print a bit more carefully. No real problem though as we were able to buy the ticket for the Polish sector from the rail conductor. The total for ‘in and out’ Polish sectors was just shy of $360 so no real disaster there.

Katowice station, where we had to change trains was interesting. They don’t have escalators and the lift was out of action so it was fun lugging our luggage down and up stairs. This was especially frustrating when the platform number does not correspond to the line number and no-one speaks English to help out. All Julie got from the information desk was “I don’t have time for this!” Anyway, we got to Krakow eventually and Wow! What a difference to Prague.

To begin with there is much less commercialisation here in Krakow. Sure, one can find a Mc Donald’s and a Starbucks but it’s not full in your face. 

Our hotel was in the Jewish Quarter and almost ‘lost’ in narrow streets and cobbled lanes. Its’ ‘resident’ population is more like the Leederville or Subiaco crowd and there are no large stores or supermarkets to contend with.

The area is however quite haunting with plenty of past memories shrouding its’ history and beauty. We were able to visit the Jewish Ghetto area.......

and even got to see the remnants of the wall designated to keeping the Jews inside the ghetto.  

We also got the opportunity to take a tour of Schindlers’ factory; puts the whole story of the movie 'Schindlers List' in a different light!

On day 2 of our stay we had a trip planned to take a guided tour of Auschwitz and Birkeneau camps; the main purpose of our coming to Krakow in the first place. This tour just blew me away;

I guess I’ll never be the same again. It doesn’t matter how much one reads about the holocaust – the scale and enormity of the crime only becomes apparent when one is there to see it for real! It disturbed me greatly and really screwed with my sleep that night. I won’t preach on about it; I’ll just let these few pictures tell the story and leave it there.

We had some great meals in our hotel area, mainly in the Jewish Quarter because it was so damn nice and the environment was so pleasant. It’s very ‘arty-farty’............

...............and there are numerous buskers and street vendors trying their luck. I’m not usually one to be sucked in by these guys; I know full well that when one listens to the CD at home it rarely matches up to the sound heard ‘on the street’. However, this guy playing the violin really did have a hauntingly beautiful sound and I just had to buy his CD. Hopefully it will be as good at home and when I’m ‘out of holiday mode’ as it was on the street.

We spent another day visiting Wawel Castle, high on the hill overlooking Krakow city. The views are tremendous and the history fascinating. 

The Seigfried cathedral and bell tower were absolutely exquisite but unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos in the cathedral itself. 

We were allowed photos in the Bell Tower and from there the views over Krakow were awesome.

Overall a far superior visit that that of Prague. Tomorrow we have a 10 hour train ride to Berlin. Back to the more modern world. Talk to you all soon.

Michael + Julie