Goodbye Zakopane - Hello Krakow

Some things are just too good to be true. I think the city of Krakow is one on them. What a fabulous city it is to shop, explore, enjoy art, sculpture, food and people. The energy is so different here than in Warsaw. Everyone appears more relaxed and at peace with the world.

We made our retreat from Zakopane in good order this morning. It is another nice day and we are all in good spirits. We made it out of the parking lot at 8:30 AM and headed out of town searching all the while for a petrol station as the gauge was anxiously buzzing warnings. Traffic was heavy and we literally crawled along hoping we would find gas before we died at the side of the road. Aneta assured us we had plenty of petrol and she was correct, as always. We all jumped out of the van and took advantage of the opportunity to visit the WC and load up on snacks for the long trip to Krakow.

Fot: On the wall of the musuem

We are on a schedule today with a guide reserved at 1 PM at the Schindler's Factory Museum in Krakow. Aneta's goal is to get us there in time to buy our tickets, go eat lunch and be back for our tour by the appointed hour. Traffic is fairly cooperative today and we breeze along at a pretty good clip. Everyone is still nursing a throat thing or a head cold thing or a cough so we are all pretty quiet on this journey. Soon the traffic comes to a standstill and Aneta announces that we are on the outskirts of Krakow. It takes us another full hour to arrive at the neighborhood of the Schindler's Factory and museum. We find a good parking spot and head straight to the museum. Aneta buys our tickets and immediately guides us out of the building into the glaring sunlight for a "short walk" to the restaurant where we will have our lunch. We are burning daylight, so to speak, and barely have an hour to make the walk, order, eat and return to the museum. As with most things Aneta, the walk is neither short nor quick and we work up quite an appetite making the trek to Wezoraj i Dzis ("Yesterday and Today"). As soon as we order Aneta bolts from the restaurant, having decided that the only hope we have of making our guided tour is if she goes for the van and picks us up and drives us back to the museum. She really hates to give up her great free parking spot but she sucks it up and goes anyway. We all settle in to our absolutely delicious meals. I ordered veal meatballs in a special sauce that were served with mashed potatoes, swimming in butter. The meat was exceptional and the cream sauce with carrots and onions was delicious. Everyone seems happy with their choices today and we finish eating in record time. Aneta arrives back in time to inhale her plate of perogi. We hustle out of 'Yesterday and Today' and walk a short block to where the van is parked. Aneta delivers us to the museum with orders to tell the guide to start without her and she will catch up with us. We go inside and locate our guide who would have been happy to start without Aneta but our group of travelers have grown very attached to Aneta and no one wanted to begin without her! After a 10 minutes delay Aneta pops through the door looking surprised to see us all standing there waiting for her. She exchanges a few pleasantries with the guide and we we are off on what turned out to be one of the most remarkable experiences of our entire trip - at least from my point of view.

Fot: In the Oscar Schindler Museum, Aneta

Fran and I had both been to the Schindler Factory on our visit here in 2007 but this was truly an experience - not a visit. Three years in the making this museum is remarkable in the way it has captured what it was like for Jewish people living in Krakow during the war. Oscar Schindler certainly did a great service to many of the people but, as this exhibit explains, he wasn't the only hero of that time. I was so moved by what we saw, heard and experienced, that by the time we reached the last room, with walls papered with copies of hand-written notes and messages people were sending to one another about their lives and loved ones, that I literally dissolved in tears. This was an emotionally wrenching experience for me and most of the rest of our group were very, very quiet upon leaving the exhibit hall. I purchased a small enamelware cup with the name of the enamel works stamped on the side. I am not much of a one for touristy type mementos but this seemed appropriate somehow and I really wanted something to put in my home to remind me of the terrible suffering human beings have been able to inflict on other human beings over the course of history. This particular moment in history is more than overwhelming it is unfathomable.

The tour lasted two hours and then we were off to visit old town Krakow. This was the first sighting of this beautiful city for most of our group and I think everyone had the same reaction. Wow! The main square in Krakow is unlike any other in Europe as far as I am concerned. The shopping is fantastic - not touristy at all. The goods are of excellent quality and very upscale shops rest comfortably with more moderately priced shops tucked into every nook and cranny around the large two-part square and along every street and avenue leading into the square. The square is divided by a beautiful building that is low and long and houses a hundred or so vendors of hand made and exclusive merchandise from around Poland at very reasonable prices.

Our walk from the car park to the square was rather long and we had been on our feet most of the day already. Annie and Laurie and I took a breather and rested on a bench in a beautiful park before making our way up to the square. Annie waited at a sidewalk cafe while I went inside the vendor mall. I came out with a stunning new handbag, handmade in Lodz (Woo jz - phonetically speaking). The bag is all leather, very nicely made and features several shades of purple and lavender details on a basic black cross shoulder bag. When I showed Annie and Laurie, who had rejoined Annie after a photo journey walk around the square, they both decided they wanted one too! They each went inside and bought a similar bag, although each is unique and slightly different from the other. Annie's is shades of black and grey, Laurie's is shades of camel and tan. Before we left the cafe Mary had joined us and she also wanted one of the bags. She waited until the next day to acquire hers, however. But all in all four of us went home with these beautiful bags, either for ourselves or as gifts for loved ones. One of the things that made the bags so appealing was the price - just $53 American. A remarkable price for an all leather bag of such exceptional style and quality.

By this time everyone had found our little haven at the sidewalk cafe and were gathered around the table en mass. We ordered wine, soft drinks, Perrier, beer and hot chocolate according to our individual preferences and relaxed in the waning light as we watched people enjoying life in the town square. There weren't many tourists by this late in the season so we saw a lot of young families rolling prams through the square taking in the pleasant evening as families everywhere might be inclined to do.

Aneta went for the van and told us to walk to the end of the street to meet her. We waited a bit before leaving on our slow wander to the meeting point. We gathered across from Wawel Castle and waited for our car and driver to arrive. We were whisked away to a wonderful meal in a delightfully luxurious castle in the nearby town of Niepolomice where we were housed in the castle by the same name.

Checking into our rooms in this newly restored castle museum was really quite a joy filled experience. The rooms were lovely and very nicely appointed. Everything was very clean and the toilet paper was of an entirely different standard! This proved my contention that they do have soft TP in Poland - it is just that it isn't used in public restrooms and some lodging establishments! We were all looking forward to getting a good nights sleep in this quiet and peaceful castle in the countryside. Dinner was served in a lower level dining room off the kitchen. The portion sizes were incredible. No one among us was able to come close to eating all that was put before us in this feast fit for a king - perhaps a very, very hungry king at that!

Aneta and I are sharing a castle chamber tonight that has two separate bedrooms with a nice heavy door that closes between. Aneta gasped when she saw our lodgings. "A desk!," she exclaims with pure joy. She has been confirming tours, arranging meals and restaurants and managing other details of the trip on her laptop while sitting on her bed. A desk just seems too good to be true! For Annie and me the fact that there is an elevator in the castle is a godsend. We are so tired of schlepping suitcases and ourselves up and down flights of stairs. So a satisfied, tired and weary group of travelers retire for the night in our castle chambers, happy to have a good feather bed to sink into.

Krakow continues tomorrow.

Linda