Salt mines and Schindler's Factory - last day in Krakow

Fourteen members of our tour group visited the salt mines at Wieliczka. The place had been recommended by a friend of mine. Wikipedia has a good description, so I give the site credit for these words:

The Wieliczka Salt Mine (Polish: Kopalnia soli Wieliczka), located in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland, lies within the Kraków metropolitan area. The mine, built in the 13th century, produced table salt continuously until 2007, as one of the world's oldest salt mines still in operation.   

The mine's attractions include dozens of statues and four chapels that have been carved out of the rock salt by the miners. The oldest sculptures are augmented by the new carvings by contemporary artists. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually.^[1]

The Wieliczka salt mine reaches a depth of 327 metres (1,073 ft) and is over 287 kilometres (178 mi) long. The rock salt is naturally grey in various shades, resembling unpolished granite rather than the white or crystalline look that many visitors may expect. During World War II, the shafts were used by the occupying Germans as an ad-hoc facility for various war-related industries. The mine features an underground lake; and the new exhibits on the history of salt mining, as well as a 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) touring route (less than 2% of the length of the mine's passages).

We descended 350 steps into the mine. Everything is well lit and structurally well supported, so I felt safe.

Descending the stairs was easy but the next day my quads and calves were very sore.

In the afternoon our group took a tour of the Schindler Factory. The movie "Schindler's List" memorialized the story of Oskar Schindler, who hired 1,200 Jews to work in his Krakow factory and protected them. The factory was converted to a museum several years ago, and it's a powerful representation of the history of Krakow before and during the war. Many images, touch screens, sounds, creaky floors, voices. It was kind of an immersion experience; I felt like I was there, at that time and in that place. An absolute must-see in Krakow. 

At historyplace.com, I found additional information:

In 1939, Oskar Schindler set up a business in an old enamel works factory in Poland, employing Jews from the Krakow Ghetto as cheap labor. As the Nazis intensified persecution of the Jews, Schindler increasingly feared for the safety of his workers. He managed to convince the Nazis his factory and thus his Jews were vital to the German war effort and prevented their deportation to the death camps of the East. Following the liquidation of the Krakow Ghetto in March of 1943, his workers were relocated to Plaszow concentration camp, a forced labor center under the brutal command of Kommandant Amon Goeth. Schindler helped his workers to survive their confinement at Plaszow by befriending and bribing Goeth. Toward the end of 1944, Goeth was ordered to liquidate Plaszow. Schindler saved nearly 1200 Jews from certain death by convincing Goeth to allow him to relocate them to Brunnlitz, Schindler's hometown, where they were eventually liberated by the Soviets. Following the war, Schindler stayed in contact with the Jews and travelled each year to Israel to be honored by them.

As usual, I was through the museum in about an hour; Art emerged two hours after me. Neither of us took any photos inside the museum; its layout of vertical screens and labyrinth of walks made picture taking impossible.

On our way back to the hotel we stepped into a sidewalk restaurant, where I had one of the finest meals of my life: chicken breast in a bed of green lentils, pureed carrots and cauliflower. Delicious!

So far, so good. Knock on wood.

We've been in Eastern Europe for a week now and so far Art and I are both healthy. Several of our travel companions have been afflicted with travelers' ailments. I am drinking bottled water here in Krakow - though not anywhere else, so far. We're eating foods we've never experienced before - all of them quite good - and our energy levels remain good. So far!

Yesterday our group took a walking tour of Krakow. I stayed in our hotel room, resting my feet and catching up on emails and writing a blog post and reading a description of what the group was seeing. I find every five days or so I need a morning or afternoon off - not only not touring, but alone. Works for me. The rest of the day we wandered.

 The view from our room

Just around the corner

Mr.Photogenic

Clip clop

The Main Square at night

Auschwitz and Birkenau

I was looking forward to visiting these two camps in Poland and I'm glad I went. Both have been established as memorials to the millions of Jews and others who were killed by the Nazis in World War II. Walking through the narrow corridors of Auschwitz and seeing the grim reminders of the dead were memorable.

We heard about the overloaded trains arriving at Birkenau. The healthy men were selected to live a little longer than the women, children and old men who walked immediately to the gas chambers they were led to believe were showers after their long and crowded journey from all over Europe. We stood in the very spot at Birkenau where the selection process took place. We walked through the gas chamber and the crematorium.

My husband Art took these photos at Auschwitz. Those Jews killed thought they were simply being relocated when they got on the trains. They brought their most essential items from home. When the camp was liberated at the end of the war, the soldiers found the items.

Eyeglasses

Shoes of children

Clothing

Medical devices

Household goods

Luggage

One of my distant relatives?

Shoes of adults

Personal sundries

The "black wall". Prisoners considered enemies faced this wall and were shot in the head. The smaller wall was erected so the brick wall behind it would not be damaged by bullet holes. The shooting was done by SS officers and the bodies were removed by Jewish prisoners.

Auschwitz had been a military barracks prior to being a camp for prisoners. Birkenau, however, was built specifically as a death camp as the number of prisoners exceeded the capacity of Auschwitz.

Birkenau layout

Memorial plaque

The long walk to the crematorium, alongside prisoners' housing

 Remnants of housing

Sleeping structures for female prisoners -four to a pallet

I have some thoughts.

• The number of people killed - Jews and otherwise - was enormous. But human beings have done terrible things to each other throughout history; the massacres during the Holocaust are not unique. I especially remember My Lai, in Vietnam. Art and I visited there in 2005. The number of people massacred by American soldiers is much smaller, but the memorial there is powerful and unforgettable. Here are three photos of that place.

• The memorials at both Auschwitz and Birkenau are clean. Was that the case when they were full of death?

• Visitors to the camps yesterday toured in groups of about 30. Everyone wore a headset to listen to their guide. So the memorials were quiet places except for the voices of the guides. Were they quiet when they were full of prisoners and the dying?

• Art took many photos, but none of the gas chamber and crematorium ovens. I wanted to ask why but I didn't.

• The prisoners arrived at Auschwitz and Birkenau by railroad car. People undoubtedly knew what was going on. How many said anything? If I know of a wrong that's happening and I don't say anything - out of fear or disinterest - am I participating in some way?

• As we were walking to the bus, we were surrounded by teenagers wearing white shirts. They were visiting from Israel. One of our travel companions, Tom, commented that they are an "f*** you" to the Nazis - two generations later, the Jews survive.

On the road to Pustevny - a history lesson

Our group traveled by bus today from Prague (largest city in the Czech Republic) to Pustevny (tiny place on the top of a mountain). It was 92 degrees yesterday in Prague. Today it is 52 and foggy in Pustevny. I love it! Most of the drive was through country that looks a lot like where we live, in the Pacific Northwest.

During the time of communism in Czechoslovakia there was a baby boom. To accommodate the growing population apartments were built. They were gray. Once communism was no longer the system, many of the buildings were painted.

During our drive, Katarina talked about the history of this area. It's over a thousand years of conquerors, brief periods of independence, then more invasions. The Nazis took over before World War II, and after the war Communism was put in place. It finally ended in 1989 with the Velvet Revolution. Katarina's parents are about my age; they were involved in the protests of the 1960s that culminated in the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw nations in 1968. I remember the events since the 60s only vaguely. You know, the "behind the Iron Curtain" stuff. 

Some of our group took a walk from our hotel. These are Art's shots:

During dinner we were entertained by a troupe of Czech musicians and dancers.

And here's our room for the night. Mind your head, Art!

Our travel group tours in Prague

We've found good, inexpensive places to eat! Here's lunch from yesterday, at a pho place a couple of blocks from our hotel.

We've walked nine miles since yesterday afternoon with our Rick Steves travel group. Yesterday we explored Old Town and today we took the subway and a tram to visit New Town across the river. I took all kinds of pictures but most did not turn out because of the crowds. I'll post a few here anyway.

The first four were taken last night. After a walking tour through our neighborhood and Prague's colorful Old Town Square, we continued to the Josefov neighborhood and learned about the rich heritage and enduring troubles of Prague's Jews.  The group walked across the Charles Bridge to a restaurant in New Town. It's a memorable place, the bridge: street musicians; prostrate beggars; entwined couples; and statues. Plus tourist and locals enjoying the hot summer night.

In spite of the crowds, we felt completely safe. Our guide Katerina Svobododa told us that there are no dangerous neighborhoods, but to be careful of pickpockets.

Today we took public transportation (the metro subway and tram) to the Prague Castle. Originally used by kings, the complex has been expanded over the centuries in varying architectural styles. It is now used by the Czech president.

I admit I am already "all churched out."

This activity was a real temptation but we successfully resisted it.

We rode Segways several years ago in downtown Seattle. They're easy to ride, and fun. Not sure how it would all work out on cobblestones, though. Art says, "Probably better than thin-soled shoes."

And here is today's lunch. Art ordered a salad with shrimp and I had ricotta-stuffed ravioli.

Prague is a beautiful, interesting, historical city. I commented to Katarina that when I was younger, "Eastern Europe" was behind the Iron Curtain and I didn't know much about it. Like "darkest Africa" - it was there, but out of sight. We're lucky to be seeing it now.