Poland Day 6

Ryneck of Krakow

We left for Krakow today at 8:30 in the morning, and after a three-hour drive, arrived at our hotel. As we were told, Krakow is very different from Wroclaw. The city itself is not only bigger but much more urban and has a much higher population. The traffic didn't flow as efficiently and there were fewer people walking in the outer parts of the main square. There is still a lot of public transportation, though I am not sure how it is compared to Wroclaw.

Since today was used as a travel day, we had most of the afternoon to ourselves. After checking into the hotel, we got ready to walk to the main square. The walk was a lot longer than in Wroclaw, roughly a 30 to 35-minute walk to the heart of the square. We stopped at the Jewish District to see where we would be meeting up for our group dinner. The faculty person that walked with us there told us that Krakow was largely undamaged by the war, so most of its buildings and the Jewish District are original, but its the Jewish population that was lost, largely through deportation. Today, there is a Jewish community, but it is much less than before the war. A few of us went into a Jewish bookstore and it was cool because we found a few of the memoirs that were assigned for our class.

Some of the seating to the small cafe

After that, we continued the rest of the way to the Ryneck. There were a lot of shops and street vendors on the streets. There was a local festival or concert going on just outside of the main square, so we were able to listen to live music while walking through the outdoor market. There were a lot of handmade products, as well as some basic tourist souvenirs. We stopped in a pottery store that sold handmade pottery made in another city in Poland, so there were cups, plates, bowls, teapots, etc. Each of the designs was very traditional for Polish pottery/art. After a few hours of walking around, we needed to break for some food. Someone found a really cool cafe tucked in an alley. I got an iced coffee and a veggie bagel sandwich, both of which were very good. After our break, we went back out to make a few final stops before dinner.

One of the main streets of the Jewish District

We walked back to the Jewish District where we were having our group dinner and got there 30 minutes early. There was a live band playing at one of the restaurants, so we decided to sit and order something to drink while we waited. The band sang in Polish, but they were very talented and great to listen to. Once it was time to walk next door to where our group was eating dinner, we met the group and waited for our food to be served. This restaurant served authentic Jewish meals. I got salmon and latkes, and chocolate cake for dessert. We were at dinner for 2 hours, eating our food and enjoying the company. This trip has allowed me to meet people that I hadn't known prior to this class/trip and get to know them on a very different level than most of the campus back home. I am very grateful for the experience. Tomorrow we have a 7-hour tour of Krakow and the site of a demolished concentration camp. Tomorrow and Monday will be a lot different and harder in a very different way than the previous days of the trip.