This is truly a remarkable city. Miraculously surviving WWII
without too much damage to the old town, this magical little place sits abroad
the Danube with a bustling old town and a quirky, history saturated Jewish
quarter. Surprisingly the Polish food was exceptional. On our first night in
Krakow we embarked on the closest restaurant to the hostel and what a meal we
were in store for. I decided to order the mixed plate of meat only to be
delivered a small farm on a plate. There was every kind of sausage, chop, steak
and other parts of animals that I am still unsure of. Em also ordered a potato
pancake dish that was roughly the size of the Vatican City. Rolling back to the
hostel extremely satisfied we slept uneasy due to the fact we were off to
Auschwitz the next day. Being in Krakow we knew we had to visit this
pointlessly disastrous part of the world’s history. Never have I been to a
bleaker, more harrowing location. The genocide of 11 million Jewish people in
WWII will go down as the greatest crime ever committed in human nature. It is
disgusting and unimaginable to think that one human can do such things to
another. It is experience I would rather forget, but unfortunately I know I
never will.
Figuring we needed to lighten the mood after Auschwitz we
took a walking tour through the Jewish quarter and were shown the film location
for Schlinder’s List. This also lead to our very own vodka crawl as we sampled
a variety bars and the eclectic collection of vodkas available. Highlights
included the hazelnut, quince and lemon flavours.
Poland is somewhere that surprised the hell out of me. The
people were friendly, the food fantastic and the culture still deeply
ingrained. It is somewhere I would happily stumble across again.
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| This was installation created by a local artist in remembrance of the Jewish people that lost their life during that horrific WWII period. |
