Poland Day Three: A Beautiful Morning Walk , And A Then A Visit To Some Of Krakow Unpleasant Past

As is often the case, I did not sleep well my first night in Poland. Jet lag is real and it takes a few days to adjust to the new time change. This, however, didn’t stop me from waking up at dawn to begin discovering more of the history and beauty of Krakow. 

It was a cool morning, but there was sunshine as I began my walk along the tree lined planty the park created on the former moat that surrounded the old town of Krakow. .  

Most of the trees had young green leaves and there were many birds singing in the branches above my head. It was a beautiful  Spring morning on which to explore a new city and country. 

It was Monday morning and there were already a lot of folks walking, running and biking  on the paths of  planty. And the trams, buses and taxis were busy too. 

I once again walked to Wawel Castle and it’s massive walls atop a hill overlooking the Vistula River.  I climbed the ancient cobblestone steps and again spent some time at the Castle admiring the view of the river below. 

I roamed the Castle grounds for a bit and then walked  down to the banks of Vistula River. 

I had read about the legend of the dragon that lived under the hill on which the Castle was built and had to see it and the the sculpture of the dragon nearby. Here is a link to some more photographs of my visit to Wawel Castle. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/poland-photographs-april-2017/nggallery/poland-april-2017/Poland-Day-Three-Wawel-Castle-morning-April-10-2017

I continued my hike on the other side of the planty and made my way to Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in the world. 

I walked amid the old buildings of the university thinking about the many famous people who studied here since it’s founding in the 14th century, including Nicolas Copernicus. I wondered if he stood in the same place I did and what his thoughts were if he did. 

The area was filled with monuments, statutes and testimonials to the many great men who studies and thought here. 

I was getting hungry so I headed back to my hotel, once again visiting the famous Main Market Square. Here is a link to some more photographs from my morning walk in old town Krakow. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/poland-photographs-april-2017/nggallery/poland-april-2017/Poland-Day-Three-Krakow-Monday-morning-hike-April-10-2017-

The breakfast at Hotel Grodek was delicious and included a variety of traditional polish smoked and pickled meats and fish. After eating I decided to try the public transportation of Krakow and visit the Podgorze district across the Vistula River. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t read the guidebooks very well. I knew the area was referred to as the “Jewish Ghetto” but not much more than that. After a little difficulty at the ticket machine, they were only in Polish, I got a ticket and boarded a tram. 

I wasn’t sure of my  stop and when I  exited the tram I had no idea where I was. And no one spoke English. So I explored the area, and is often the case, found  an interesting old cemetery. I love cemeteries  so I considered myself lucky. I explored to old graves for a bit and decided I had better try and find out where I was. 

As I left I knew it had to be a Jewish neighborhood when I found this monument outside the Christian cemetery. 

I began to walk back along the tram tracks when I finally found someone who could understand a bit of English and I learned I had gone a few stops too far. I decided to walk back through the mixed residential and commercial neighborhood to my destination.

 And that destination was the factory made famous by Oskar Schindler during the NAZI occupation and the horrors it brought to Poland, Krakow and this area which was turned into an internment  camp know as the “Jewish Ghetto”.

I knew I would be returning to visit the  factory when my sister and niece arrived in Poland in a few days ,. It is  now a museum dedicated to showing the  horrific and inhuman treatment the Jewish population of Krakow  was subjected during the NAZI Occupation. So I sat along the factory and recalled the events of the movie and the actions this man took to save the lives of his Jewish workers. And I also reflected on the countless lives that would be lost, murdered the most horrible ways,  as a result of the policy of hatred carried on by the NAZI party in Germany.  It was the worst of times  in the long history of Krakow. Here is a link to some more photographs from my morning visit to the Podgorze. https://keepyoureyespeeled.net/poland-photographs-april-2017/nggallery/poland-april-2017/Poland-day-Three-Krakow-Podgorze-visit-April-10-2017-

“Thou shalt not be a victim, thou shalt not be a perpetrator, but, above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.”
― Yehuda Bauer