Today is moving day and we were up early to pack; eat the
last of our food for breakfast and carry the luggage down the five flights of
stairs by 10 am. The taxi arrive right
on time for our short ride to the Management Office where we stashed everything
for the day.
By 11 am we were in the Castle again; this time to visit the
Cathedral and the Museum. We used our
tickets that we’d purchased yesterday; purchased Audio Guides, and following
instructions headed towards the Cathedral first. No photos again so it was always a challenge
for everyone to sneak one here and there; when the guards caught us they’d wag
their finger and say, “no photo, no photo”.
Some were using flash so they were really easy for the guards to catch!
The Cathedral was more than just a place of worship; it also
the resting place for the Polish Royalty and famous Polish people. The audio guide was wonderful as we followed
it along the paths of the Polish History.
At one point we were sent up many steps; he said three floors but they
were very tall floors with tall, wooden steps that wound between the rafters of
the bell tower.
When we arrived we were
rewarded with great views of the city and beautiful bells.
We were just in front of two groups being
guided by priests in flowing black robes; not sure what price they’d paid for
the privilege; but maybe they were friends as I remembered the last time I was
in Rome and a priest who was a friend of my daughter’s friend took us on a tour
of St. Peters.
One side note, Poland
has remained very Catholic; the clergy wear the traditional garments and I must
admit it was fun to see a nun riding a bicycle with her habit flowing out
behind her!
I miss that in the USA.
After the bell tower we continued on our two hour visit
listening to stories about Saints and the famous; some were legends and some
were facts. Towards the end of the tour
we went down into another sub floor and found one of the original chapels built
on this site going back centuries. Here
was a very small altar and we discovered it was the altar that Pope John Paul
II used when he said his very first Mass when he was ordained a priest back in
the 1940’s. We find many memorials and
memories of John Paul here in Krakow. He was not born in the city but spent
most of his life here before going to Rome.
From there we walked through the many tombs of the royals and
famous.
One that Jim found interesting
was the tomb of the composer Frederic Chopin.
When we finished the Cathedral we walked next door to the
Archdiocese Office that has been turned into a small Museum. Many historical items and on the top floor
two rooms have been devoted to Pope John Paul II; the same two rooms that he
used when he visited during his final years we were told. The museum only took a short time and by
noon we were out the door for the walk back down the hill to look for a good
deal on a Tour Cart. We’ve been pricing
them since we first arrived; so we had a good idea what we wanted to pay.
A young man named Timothy approached us and we negotiated a
price; he said 300 Zolty, we said too much … we’d been offered cheaper….he said
250 Zolty and we took the price…much better than any other we’d been
offered. We walked three minutes to his
carts where we discovered that it would not be Timothy but Martin who would be
our driver for the next hour.
We were in a small open cart that whizzed in and out of
traffic as Martin kept us entertained with stories about his city. He was extremely knowledgeable about the
historical facts and also full of wonderful stories. Since we’d seen the old town we asked for a
tour of the Jewish Quarter and Schindler’s Factory; no stopping to tour. On the way to the Jewish Quarter he stopped
several times; once at the Church on the Rock where St. Stanislaus is
buried. We had a few minutes to visit
the grounds as he told us the history and also to step into the church. There is a wonderful statue of John Paul on
the grounds that was modeled after a photo of the Pope.
We learned where most of the Jewish Synagogue were. We saw the home of the woman who created an
empire from cosmetics: Helena Rubenstein. We heard the wonderful, and he said very true
story, of a weekend visit by Orthodox Jewish Rabbis that wanted to see
everything but they were only allowed to take one hundred steps each day and
could not ride in a car, bicycle, etc.
Martin said that each driver was given a large liter plastic bottle full
of water; they had to sit on these while driving and the Rabbi’s said that “we
were sailing on water in boats today” and thus they were able to see their life
long dreams in Krakow!
After visiting the streets of the Ghetto where the Nazis
confined thousands of Jews by putting multiple families into single apartments
before they finally sent all of them to concentration camps. Prior to 1940 there were fifty thousand Jews
living in Krakow; now there are approximately five hundred. Their Synagogues are mostly museums. To encourage them to return the city
regularly host special functions to entice them to visit and learn what this
city is all about today. It was the
Polish King who originally invite the Jews to move to Krakow. With them they brought knowledge and skills
that the Polish Peasants didn’t have.
They were the businessmen and teachers that created the Krakow that we
know today.
We visited the “chair memorial” on the edge of the Ghetto
where the Nazis Office has been retained.
They are individual chairs representing the lost population. Very moving.
Then we were off to see the outside of the Oscar Schindler Factory,
made famous by the movie. We’d decided
not to go inside after visiting the Camps but did see the historical site where
thousands of children and adults were saved by one man. But, as Martin pointed out, there were many
people quietly saving people from the camps.
One ran a Pharmacy; that is still there today, where they smuggled
medications to the Ghetto people and also supplies that allowed them to change
their appearance so that they could leave the Ghetto undetected; such as hair
dye.
Soon we were back in the Old Town and said goodbye to
Martin; he was a wonderful guide and earned a nice bonus as a result. We really enjoyed our hour with him. Not sure how you’d find him but if you look
around the Castle for little green carts…ask for Martin…you’ll be well rewarded
for your efforts.
Walked back towards the Management Office with a stop along
the way at a “Milk Restaurant” for a late lunch/early dinner. It was three o’clock by now. Enjoyed both the experience and the
food. Based on restaurants in the Soviet
Times, they offer simple Polish food and are frequented by Polish people and a
few tourists like us.
Stopped at the office to upload some photos of our morning
on Facebook and then we were off to find the Underground Museum in the Market Square. From 2005 to 2010, the Market Square was
excavated and they created a Historical Museum under the Square. The largest museum of this type in Europe (we
read) and extremely interesting. Usually
requires a reservation to enter but we were lucky today and they let us
in. We spent several hours here before
returning to the street.
Our last quest for the day was to manage to get upstairs for
the viewing balcony of the Salt Restaurant.
This time we were allowed, we’d been turned back earlier in the day, and
enjoyed our last moments in Krakow there.
We each enjoyed a delicious dessert and the views before heading back to
the Office before dark. There we spent
our last couple of hours before heading by taxi to the train station.
When we arrived the driver asked “what platform”…we didn’t
know!! He asked other drivers for the
platform to Budapest; they didn’t know.
We got out at Platform 3; there we met Julian and Ivy who were looking
for the train to Prague. We exchanged
names and found that they were from Canada.
We read the boards and discovered that even though they were headed for
Prague and we were going to Budapest; we were leaving on the same train at
10:01 pm. Different cars and during the
night we would each be attached to different trains to our destinations.
Our cabin is very nice; very clean, much different from the
one we arrived on. We have two men for
roommates again; Chris from Romania and Recardo from Chela. Chris didn’t talk to us but the man from
Chela was very nice and talkative.
I woke at 6:30 am and discovered we were again standing
still in a station. I made my way to what had been a very nice bathroom but now
was a clogged mess but at least didn’t smell too bad. Got my computer out and started typing this
blog that I’ll send from Budapest. By 7
am I felt a jolt and soon we were moving again…this time probably with a
Hungarian Engine! Jim and Recardo, slept
on…only Chris and I are awake.
Well…I’ve discovered several things: 1) the
electrical outlet only works when the train is moving and 2) we are two hours
and twenty minutes late…instead of arriving at 8:35 am as scheduled we will be
arriving in Budapest at 11 am. So glad
that I purchased us each two of the packaged Croissants that are sealed and
good for seven days! I’d gotten some in
Prague that made our extended train ride better so hedged my bets and got us
some yesterday before boarding the train.
And so the boys sleep on and I’m sitting in the dark; yes, Chris also
climbed back up to his bunk when the train started again. Jim and I have the lower bunks and I can
actually almost sit up under the middle bunk.
The boys were scheduled for the very top bunks and those had sheets
ready for them so we lowered the middle bunks for luggage rather than try to
put them up over the hallway space. But
at least we’re moving again and I’ve had some food. Also tried the toilette at the other end of
the car where the conductor sits and those are still in VERY GOOD
condition. So nice.
We finally arrived in Budapest at 11:30 am….we’re now in the
hotel and waiting for our Yorba Linda friend Laz who lives in Budapest.
And so another adventure begins. Hope you enjoy the slideshow link below:
