Hardly had the tumble drier stopped tumbling our washing from our Cotswolds holiday, than we needed to get packed for our city break starting on Wednesday to Krakow with Heather and Ewan. We were going there to celebrate Heather’s 60th birthday, and Heather had chosen Krakow because she wanted to go somewhere that she hadn’t been before. We hadn’t been there either so it was new to all of us. Our plane journey from Glasgow to Krakow, courtesy of Ryanair, went smoothly but unfortunately very noisily - a family group of young adults and young children were making an awful racket, milling about in the aisles. When we ran into some turbulence they had to be asked by one of the stewards to sit down at least three times. I know that my own family did not always behave perfectly in planes, but in this case the adults seemed to be actually encouraging the children to shout and run about! We were glad to arrive in Krakow and took a taxi to the excellent Queen’s Hotel to meet up with Heather and Ewan, who had already been there for a couple of days (we were delayed by our Cotswolds trip.) It was great to see them. They took us to the Jewish Quarter which had lots of little courtyards behind the buildings and we had drinks in the Hevre Restaurant which is a former synagogue; it still has fading old frescoes on its walls. We had dinner at the nearby Starka Restaurant. I had already booked it because it was recommended to us by Gosia. I had pierogi, little Polish dumplings stuffed with spinach and cottage cheese. They were absolutely melt in the mouth. I have never tasted them before. Our hotel is really well positioned between the Jewish quarter and the old town, so we can easily walk to one or the other. After a quick nightcap it was time for bed.
The next morning we went on a bus tour to Auschwitz. Like many people, I had my doubts about whether to visit Auschwitz. I felt uncomfortable about treating such a scene of cruelty and tragedy as a tourist destination. And I was concerned about my own reaction when I got there; if I became upset, I didn’t want to put my private feelings on display in front of strangers. In the end, I was glad that I went. I think it’s really important for the events at Auschwitz to be remembered, and by visiting I felt that I was paying my respects to the murdered people. The vast majority of them were Jews, and there were also Polish people, political prisoners, gypsies and more. I didn’t become emotional; I did feel sad but the monstrosity of the place on such a sunny summer’s day seemed so incongruous that I felt strangely detached. I think that my emotion will come the next time that I read a book or see a film about Auschwitz when I relate it to what I saw there; the semi-destroyed gas chambers and crematoria, the barracks, the piles of human hair, spectacles, shoes, suitcases.
Back in Krakow we had a rest before going to the Old Town for dinner. The main square is huge and beautiful, with the large Cloth Hall building in the middle of it and restaurants all round the edges. It was bustling with life; street performers, horses and carriages jingling by, lots of people strolling about, and the outside areas of the restaurants were busy in the warm evening.
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