Zakopane

16th December

The lady in Tourist Information had suggested Zakopane as a day trip. Zakopane, known as the winter capital of Poland, is a ski resort in the Tatra Mountains, 100 km south of Krakow. The 2½ hour coach trip took us through stunning winter scenery, and a very picturesque town which had experienced a heavy snowfall.

Explored the town and took the funicular cable train to the top of the ridge at Gubalowka Hill above the town, with classic snow scenes and viewsof the Tatra Mountains .

Old City

In the afternoon, we covered most of the old city.

Walking the Jewish Heritage Trail

15th December

Maintaining the Jewish theme, we took a 3 hour guided walk of Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter and ghetto of Krakow, where 68,000 Jewish people had lived before the War. Isobel our guide was excellent, and explained the main historical sites, culminating in the memorial square of chairs, where 1,000 people had been massacred on a single day, and Oscar Schindlers factory. Schindler, a German, managed to save a 1000 jewish people, by employing them in his pots and pans factory (basis of the film Schindler’s List).

Birkenau Concentration Camp

Having missed the bus to Birkenau, a huge concentration camp near Oswiecim, with its railway “station terminus” for the hundreds of thousands of Jews from all over Europe, who also perished in the 2 main gas chambers at Birkenau. The 175 hectare site included several hundred chimneys which had heated the wooded sheds (designed for stabling 52 horses), each of which housed 400 people.

Caught the bus back to Auschwitz to get the bus back to Krakow, with the numerous shocking images and memories from the trip..

Auschwitz

14th December

We awoke to a covering of snow, and walked to the bus station to catch the minibus to Oswiecim, where the Auschwitz museum is located, 60 kilometers west of Krakow. The fare is only 7 zloty (£1.40) for an hour and half trip, with the toilet charge at the bus station being a disproportionate 2 zloty (40p).

There was only a light covering of snow at Auschwitz . We decided not to take a guided tour, and armed with the local guide leaflet, explored the main museum blocks. Exhibits included collections of the belongings of jewish victims who perished at Auschwitz….tens of thousands of suitcases, spectacles, artificial limbs, and a 7 ton mountain of human hair.

Visit Salt Mine

13th December

Weather cold but bright and sunny, and we caught a minibus to the Wieliczka Salt Mine about 35 minutes west of Krakow. We descended about 300 feet by wooden steps to a labrynth of and tunnels, with chapels, statues and caverns carved out of the salt. We covered the 3 upper levels down to 400 feet, and there were apparently a further 6 levels below that.

Explored the district briefly before catching the minibus back to town and the old town square in the sun….the only really nice day. We explored the grounds of the Wawel Royal Castle overlooking the River Vistula at the end of the afternoon after it was closed, so unable to see inside the Castle or church.

Birthday in Krakow

12th December

An early start to my 61st birthday @ 4.30 am, in order to catch the 7.25 flight to Krakow in Poland. J gave me an MP3 player as a present at the airport, to give me something to play with on the flight……I’d not anticipated having an MP3 player in my lifetime.

Uneventful 2 hour flight to a grey and cold Krakow (0° C), and caught the bus into town to the bus station. Walked through a huge modern Mall (The Galleries), where one could have been anywhere in the world. Quite a long walk to the Royal Hotel just outside the Old City near the Wawel Royal Castle , and settled in.

After lunch of a delicious local soup, we spent the afternoon and early evening exploring the Main Square (Rynek Glówny) and the Christmas markets, sampling the gluwein, sold from large barrels housing a person, dispensing the hot mulled wine. Listened to children singing carols on a stage in the Main Square. We enjoyed my birthday meal in one of the many restaurants located in the cellars around the main square.