Wandering through Krakow

Given our train mishap and our pre-booked tours, we didn't have a lot of time in Krakow but we made the most of it.

On Sunday, after putting my mother onto a bus to the salt mines, I did a whirlwind walk through the old town and abbreviated stroll along the Planty.


I was enchanted by the Emaus tree - a structure with colourful wooden birds perched upon it. The tradition dates back to a pre-Christian belief that the souls of those who die return as birds that shelter in the trees around us. It also symbolizes the return of life each spring.


I also stumbled across a statue of astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, the first to argue that the earth orbited the sun.

The next morning, we took a tram to see the Ghetto Memorial. Heavy with symbolism, there are 48 chairs in the square each of which represent 1,000 individuals who were deported from Krakow to extermination campa between 1941 and 1943.


From there we walked to Oskar Schindler's Emalia enamel works which is now one of the beat museums describing Krakow's wartime history. Unfortunately, despite arriving only 10 minutes after it opened, we found ourselves at the end of a long line.


After a half hour, we reached the corner of the building. In another half hour we were still far from the door and no longer had enough time before our train to wait. It will have to be added to a future trip.

Instead, we made our way to a bridge over the Vistula and walked across to Kazmierez which had been the heart of Jewish Krakow before 1939.



We stopped for a break and enjoyed some apple pie before heading to shop featuring locally made ceramics. I may have selected more items than I have room for in my luggage, but that is a problem for later!



The time had come to bid farewell yo Krakow, and we hustled to the hotel to collect our luggage and make our way to the Glowny. Up next - Warsaw!






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