The Real Schindler's List

A long and tiring day today - not to mention quite emotional.  Tom and I were up, showered and away from our hotel at 8.30 a.m. and walked the mile or so into the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz which had, originally, been a separate town from Krakow and had housed 80,000 Jews who had been encouraged to settle in Poland by an ancient Polish king.  Before 1939 this had been a thriving Jewish community.  I had breakfast in the Pl. Nowy overlooking the old Kosher slaughter house and market which is now populated by cafes and flower sellers.  I had a croque monsieur with eggs, ham and spinach and a cup of coffee on the kerbside - Tom declined.  We were met by our guide, Ewa, at the Hotel Kazimierz at 10 a.m. on the dot.  We were joined by two other English families and set off on our two hour walk of discovery through the Jewish Quarter, visiting a synagogue and Jewish Cemetery and several locations where the film "Schindler's List" was shot.  We were  also taken to the site of the former ghetto on the south side of the River Vistula and finally to the station were thousands of Jews began their final train journey to Auschwitz and Belzec.  A foot tunnel we walked through has the name "Auschwitz" cut into its roof and when the sun shines the name is projected onto the wall of the tunnel.  We finished the tour at Schindler's Factory which is now a large and detailed museum to commemorate the awful events in Krakow during the Nazi occupation.  Very sobering.  It was very hot again when we left the museum and we walked back to our hotel along the banks of the Vistula - through some lovely parkland. Tom decided the stay in the hotel this afternoon whilst I caught a tram to visit the former Gestapo HQ at Dom Slaski (or 2 Pomorska) a dreaded word in Krakow during the occupation.  I visited the terrible cells were inmates had scribbled their last words before beating and execution.  I was struck by the number of scribblings which clearly showed no loss of Christian Faith.  The museum next door was equally sombre with such exhibits as the striped uniform of a former Auschwitz inmate.  This evening, on a lighter note, Tom and I visited and ate at a wonderful trattoria along from Wawal Hill and had a fantastic meal with wine all for 100 PLZ. Tom was in an expansive and cheerful mood and this evening will be one I shall remember and treasure for a long time.  Big day tomorrow, with our trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau.