Some shots from Krakow (Cracow) Poland, November 2006.  Very interesting place, with a well restored historic downtown.  They  are working on the infrastructure like crazy, but still has quite a ways to go to recover from years of neglect under the communist regime.

We arrived in the late afternoon at the airport, with hopes of catching the "high speed train" to the City.  The 200 meters from the arrivals hall turned out to be closer to 1/2 mile down a dark, deserted lane towards a distant light.  On the one side of the lane was an abandoned farmhouse, and on the right was a forest (was November, so no leaves).  I could practically hear the warewolves howling!  In any event, we made it to the train station, which was a platform without frills.  No ticket booth, no nada.  Luckily there were other tourists there, likewise waiting.  We boarded the train without tickets, but there were three conductors, dressed in highly decorated uniforms--hats, brass buttons, the works.  Each passenger was issued a handwritten receipt for the 4 zloty ride into Krakow.  The high speed turned out to be about 25 mph on a less than level track.  We finally arrived at Central Station, an ancient, jumble of a building just outside walled portion of the city.  The train pulled up to the platform, opened the doors and all the locals piled out.  For the tourists it was a bit more confusing--the platform was a good two feet above the floor level of the train.  An angst filled British tourist looked at me forlornly and said "I really wasn't expecting this".  My travelling companion just said "Welcome to Poland!" 

We struggled out with our suitcases etc and I was expecting the worst. 

To my great surprise, Krakow was a delight.  Filled to the brim with exceptionally attractive people, who were polite but aloof.  The city is well known as the crown jewel of Poland and rightly so.  The center city is well scrubbed, but still with atmosphere.  There is none of the poverty so prevalent only a few years ago.  We had a very nice time and ventured about town, to the Wawel, the historic Jewish quarter, etc.  Outside the center city it is a bit less glamorous, of course, but still interesting.  The Jewish quarter is being gentrified slowly but surely.  Some of the buildings are in a great state of disrepair, but I think that it is very temporary. Did I mention that the food was sensational?  And CHEAP.  Plus, no tipping allowed.

We also took a day trip to Auschwitz.  Very sobering experience, on such a huge scale as to be mind boggling.  How so much energy and expense could have been spent on such an evil cause is beyond my comprehension.  The hatred for the Jewish, gypsy and homosexual community was so intense and unyielding.  A lesson sadly not learned well enough.  In Auschwitz millions of human beings were exterminated without so much as a shrug of the shoulders. The first portion of the concentration camp did not look as ominous as I had imagined, but Birkenau was devastating.  The sheer size of the facility made the greatest impact on me. 

The countryside between Krakow and Oswiecem (Auschwitz) reminded me quite a bit of Eastern Ohio/West Virginia/West Pennsylvania.  Lots of hills with coal mines, pottery factories and glass works.  There were lots of McMansions, and quite a few 1/2 built.  There was also more poverty than I had seen elsewhere in Europe.  Not destitute, but poor. 

So, on with the photos:

 

The Barbicon, a gate on the town walls in Krakow and view towards a beautiful square

 

 

A tower on the town walls

 

 

Street Scene

 

 

Market Square

 

 

The Cloth Hall on Market Square

 

 

Another square in the Old Town

 

 

The Opera House

 

 

Looking up at the Wawel

 

 

The Cathedral in the Wawel

 

 

Inside the palace courtyard

 

 

Seminary in Krakow

 

 

The infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" entrance to Auschwitz #1

 

 

Auschwitz Birkenau, entrance gate from half way down the unloading area

 

 

Auschwitz Birkenau, ruins of old camp

 

 

Back in Krakow, city park encircling the Old Town

 

 

Hope you enjoyed.  Next up Vienna and Budapest.  Someday may even take some pictures of San Francisco.....

nice

nice set.  i have heard krakow is fantastic from numerous people.  I want to goooooo!

I think Krakow might be my favorite city in Europe.  It is a beautiful city that was mostly undamaged by War II so it's histoic buildings are intact.  It is also much cheaper than western European cities and a little of the beaten path of the standard Western European circuit that most American take so it's not overrun with tourists.  Krakow is also home to one of the oldest universities in European so it has kind of a european college vibe.  It is also home to the coolest jazz club I've ever stepped foot in  8-) 

Beautiful old city.

 

I have mixed feelings about whether I would want to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. I think I'd have to really psych myself into the right frame of mind beforehand. Otherwise, being there with some knowledge of the history of the place would be emotionally very disturbing to me.

Great shots!

thx for those. very beautiful. my impression was the place was destroyed and filled with soviet block apts. i'm glad to be shown differently!

 

my old neighbor used to talk about liberating aushwitz/birkenau among other ww2 stories. worst things he saw in the whole war. on a brighter note, after going to paris one time we asked him where he stayed when they liberated paris. he looked at us like morons and said, "where did we stay? we stayed anywhere we freakin wanted to stay! i stayed at the f#%@in ritz!" that was funny.

 

If you're planning a trip to Europe and do want to see the unspoiled portion, Eastern Europe is the place to go.  Actually Krakow was chosen only for its closeness to Auschwitz.  My traveling companion had relatives who lost their lives there in WWII.  For him it was especially difficult.  My primary impression was a sense of unreality; most looked very manicured and museum like.  The housing for the prisoners in Auschwitz #1 was spartan, but not deplorable.  The instruments of torture were frightening, but again due to age etc seemed almost like a movie set.  It was at Birkenau that the reality hit us in the face like a sledge hammer. There are reconstructed barracks, and one can see the horror and deplorable conditions the prisoners had to endure.  Looking at the actual wooden barracks (converted horse stables) was more than some could bear.  Just thinking of it now, I get teary eyed. 

On a lighter note, the Jewish community of Krakow is now thriving.  The Catholic church holds enormous sway in Poland, but I didn't get the feeling of anti-semitism I was expecting.  Krakow in general seems to be quite hip.  As PRidge flyer said, the student popluation is huge and gives the city a real vitality. 

We also tought some of the local kids how to properly pronounce some of the swear words they were using.  I told one: It sounds like muth-er, not moth-er.  They loved that!

 

This looks like a very cool city, and I have read a lot of good things about the highly educated population and atmosphere.  This also seems to be heating up for offshoring as companies look for redundancy outside of India, Malaysia etc.  I know my company currently has this on their radar, and I am hoping for a chance to visit.

I have mixed feelings about whether I would want to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau. I think I'd have to really psych myself into the right frame of mind beforehand. Otherwise, being there with some knowledge of the history of the place would be emotionally very disturbing to me.

I have visited Auschwitz & Birkenau as well and I would have to say that of all the places I have visited, the day spent at those two camps (particularly Birkenau) has left a much deeper impression and longer lasting impression on me than I had ever anticipated.  While these are sites of unimaginable horror and atrocity, they are also also important sites in the history of mankind; particularly important for people my age that we not alive then and have only read about the Holocaust in history texts.  Regardless of your feelings, if you ever have the chance to go, you would not regret doing so.  It is a very somber and introspective experience, but I left also feeling that I was able to pay my respects to all those who had passed through those gates. 

Such beautiful, open public squares.

 

The Auschwitz pics weren't quite so beautiful, but very interesting.  Thanks.