Kraków

Kraków.  I love that Blogger corrects the name with the proper accent.  I never got beyond saying it as Kra-cow though, even though it's actually pronounced Kra'-koov.  And for sure I will never forget this city because of what I learned there.

When I was looking up things to do in Kraków, one of the top rated sites to visit was Oskar Schindler's metalwork factory.  A few years ago, I had caught the movie Schindler's List on tv edited (seeing as it's rated R, and I don't watch rated R movies), and it was profoundly moving.  I had offered to download it for John so that he too could watch it in preparation for us going to Kraków.  We didn't have time to start doing so until midnight of the evening we arrived in Kraków...and it's a three hour movie.  So, we stayed up, jet lag and all, until 3 a.m.

We all had imagined that the factory would focus mostly on Schindler and the Jews that he employed (and consequently saved from the Nazis).  However, something that I'm learning about Poland, and about the Poles themselves, is that they hold onto the past.  They talk about it (even when teaching me how to make pierogies) and they remember it.  The history of Poland and its persecution are part of their daily conversations.  I'm reminded of people who can't see the beauty in their present lives because they're so busy looking for the ugly in their childhoods, and I don't understand that, but it is what it is.

Schindler's factory was a monumental museum dedicated mostly to the persecution Poland faced during World War II.  The story was told throughout room after room.  There were pictures and momentos and stories and videos.  And while it's good to honor those who were killed, it was hard to get through all of those rooms.  Honestly, if John and I hadn't known the story of Schindler, we wouldn't have gotten it from the museum.  Knowing it, we did understand the significance of the room with the metal pots, and the names on the wall, and the importance of Schindler being associated with the Nazi party himself.  It was very moving to go through that building, but it was also very sad.

This was really the only room dedicated to Oskar Schindler and his efforts to save his workers.

The pots that were made by Schindler's Jews.  He made millions off of their labor.

In fact, it was a relief to head into town, although in my mind, everything in Poland feels a bit like a fake.  Everything, and I mean every building, every road, every home, has been rebuilt since WWII (since the entire country was decimated by both the Nazis and the Russians).  The buildings are meant to look ancient, but we all know that they are less than 100 years old.  Regardless, they are still beautiful.

I had signed us up for a "Free Walking Tour" at 2 p.m., but we had a few minutes before it started.  Ethan actually took us through a park where he had street contacted as a missionary.  While he never served in Kraków, he had done a split there.  I thought it would be fun to reenact what it had been like, seeing as we were right there, and there were people everywhere.  He had hardly started into talking to John (and I had hardly snapped a picture) when I had to have him stop.  I was hit in the face with how difficult his mission must have actually been.  There were people everywhere in the park, and there were all kinds of people peddling their messages (or flyers)...but it was obvious that nobody was listening.  Not to the Hari Krishnas, not to the strip clubs, and certainly not to the missionaries.  And to think that the missionaries would stand out there for eight hours a day, trying to get somebody to listen.  It just broke my heart for Ethan then, and for the missionaries now.

So, this post is sounding rather depressing, isn't it?

The "Free Walking Tour" had promised that no more than seven people would be on a tour, but with World Youth Days, we had close to 40 people on our tour.  And guess what the first 30 minutes of the tour was?  A history of Poland, beginning in 962 A.D.  And I wasn't surprised to hear the triumphal notes in our tour guide's voice when she mentioned the first time Poland was a free and independent country.  And the most telling moment of the tour?  She took us in front of the first McDonald's in Kraków, and told us of the momentous event it was when McDonald's opened in Kraków after communism fell, and the people of Kraków dressed up in their finest and stood in line for hours just to buy a hamburger.  That's how much democracy meant to them.

We stuck with her for an hour or so, but we needed lunch.  And one goal that John and I have had for many years of our marriage?  We like to visit Hard Rock Cafes when we travel.  It's nice to get a good old American meal after eating foreign food for days, and John likes the rock 'n roll :-). This Hard Rock was right on the main square, and the tables were on the second floor overlooking the square.  It was really beautiful.  Glo didn't miss taking advantage of the view either, and promptly pulled out her sketch pad and began drawing the church.

I actually like her drawing more than my photograph of the place ;-)

The cymbals on the ceiling were pretty darn cool.

Baby had a good time, hanging out with Poppie on the table at Hard Rock.  He had her doing all kinds of fun things to the music, seeing as he had requested a Rush playlist.  She didn't last long though once she had had lunch.  

We had a few minutes to shop on the square.  We bought the usual tokens of our visits--magnets, playing cards, and a picture.  However, we had to move because we had tickets for a 6 o'clock tour of the Wieliczka Salt Mine.