Day 6: April 17 - Kraków

The bus station in Kraków is brand new, and right behind the rail station. It shows all the departures on a big lighted board just like an airport. I was suprised at how many there were; they go to all parts of the country. Most regional destinations are best served by bus rather than rail.

The ride was through the outer city/suburbs, followed by some pretty countryside. Overall, the total time is just over an hour. The buses are run by PKS which is the national carrier. They are very comfortable, although roads are a little bit rough. The guidebooks seemed to indicate that their destination in Oświęcim (ohsh-VEENCH-im; the Polish name of the town after which the camp was named in German) would be kind of down the road, but it seems they go right into the parking area of the camp itself.
There is a building with historical information, pictures, and visitors services right at the entrance to the camp. I decided to watch the film, so bought a ticket. It was about a half hour away, so I walked outside just to see the camp.

Auschwitz seemed very pretty at first; it was very hard to get a feel for what went on at this camp because of its aesthetics combined with the weather today. As it wasn't originally built as a concentration camp, it makes a little more sense why it seemed this way.

The film was pretty gruesome as indicated; however it is imperative to see (footage is similar to other documentaries about the Holocaust) in order to gain perspective of the place.

The multiple barracks buildings have been made into several sets of displays, with each building dedicated to one aspect of the camp. One major set involves prisoner arrival, treatment, daily life, and so on. Another set of barracks is dedicated to various ethnic and other groups targeted by the Nazis. It was chilling to see the quarters of those prisoners who had 'special' privelege, by way of mistreating their fellow countrymen or others just like themselves.

It was very crowded at Aushwitz, but everyone was respectfu; Even those posing for pictures (kind of tasteless in my opinion) did not smile or goof around.

From my reading, the second Auschwitz camp, called Birkenau, told a more awful story. It is about two miles from Auschwitz I.

Most people arrive to Auschwitz by private transport, either charter/tour bus or even by taxi. Public transit is limited to the buses. Transport between the two camps is by an shuttle , running once in each direction per hour. It is also possible to walk, which I did.

The walk is well-marked, although without the signs you'd have no idea where you were headed. You walk up what appears to be a highway onramp, but the road is a normal two-lane road. I

Soon, Birkenau comes into view. Its scale, even from a distance, obviously far surpasses that of Auschwitz I. The railroad tracks lead to its entrance and into the camp; they are lined with cards left by families of victims. This was where mass exterminations took place; a 'doctor' would point hundreds or thousands of people a day into the gas chambers as they arrived, packed in boxcars.

There were barracks, or remains of barracks, stretching for what appeared to be hundreds of meters on one direction, and nearly half a mile in the other, from the 'front' to the 'back' of the camp. Most had fallen or were destroyed; all that was left were the two chimneys and the concrete duct running between them. Those that remained were open, and many contained bunks. It is hard to imagine that nearly a thousand people could be crammed into one of these buildings. In the picture, the bunk at right had three levels; each level held at least three people.

At the far end of the camp is a memorial with plaques -- in all different languages spoken by prisoners -- indicating the purpose of the camp and the memorial.

I walked the long, straight path (with railroad tracks down the center) back to the entrance of the camp, and caught the shuttle bus back to Auschwitz I, where the PKS bus was just getting ready to haed back to Kraków.

In town, I visited St. Mary's Cathedral on the square. It is Gothic and pretty, with its starry blue ceiling. There is an entrance for worshippers, and a constant stream of people come in and out. The other entrance is for tourists, and charges a small fee of about a dollar.

Then I went to lunch. By the hotel was a restaurant called Polskie Smacki. It was recommended by the hotel as well as Rick Steves as a good milk bar (bar mleczny). These were established as subsidized cafeterias by the Soviets, serving basic food for very cheap prices. The "milk" part seems to be derived from their serving dairy as a protein source.

There are many milk bars in the city and around Poland. I couldn't tell if it was an actual milk bar (it did not have "bar mleczny" in the window as the others I saw did), but the ordering process is the same. Also, they had an English menu on the reverse side of the Polish menu. The workers were also younger, and most younger Poles -- including these -- spoke some English, although I didn't really need it here.

The process is, you go up to the bar where there are some foods on display as well as the menu. It's a pretty limited menu, with a few meat cutlets, a few pierogis (or "Polish ravioli" as the English version said -- an appropriate description), some soups, and vegetables, including a 'salad bar' which was a mixture of various help-yourself vegetables.

After placing your order, you get soups immediately. For the rest, they give you a receipt and write a number on it. You sit down, and then an LED sign lights up and BEEP-BEEP-BEEP (i.e. very loudly) announces the dish that's ready. You walk up to the bar and just grab what looks like your food.

My first 'milk bar' experience was very good! The food is tasty, not gruel like I expected. Today I ordered a chicken cutlet and mashed potatoes. It was hot and fresh. I will definitely go back tomorrow and try some more.

As night fell, I wandered around the streets of the old town, soaking up the beautiful evening and visiting a few more churches around the main square. I also checked my e-mail and made some phone calls.

The first internet cafe I went to in Kraków had a first: an old lady working the desk. Or as Rick Steves would say, "a monolingual grouch". Most internet cafes hire young people, and they happen to speak English and are generally cheery. This one was kind of argumentative because I couldn't say much besides "Internet, please" in Polish. She blabbered something and finally indicated just to sit down anywhere.

The second cafe did have a younger staff, and VoIP phones. I got a card with about 20 or 25 minutes for $3.

Afterwards, I wached some performers on the square. I went back a couple times to a guy (Ronen, according to his CD) who played guitar and played English Pop Songs (REM, Oasis, the Beatles/John Lennon, Led Zeppelin.....).

The neatest part wasn't that I understood the song. It was that his audience, a growing number of people throughout the evening, were young locals. They all talked with Ronen in English, and sang along with him...messing up in all the same places that we do. I got to thinking: this generation is the first of many in Poland that probably has not known the type of suffering that had plagued the country for so many years, either by the Nazis or the Soviets, or any of the partitions and battles that have divided the country in centuries past. And here they are, living in a relative prosperity...as the world becomes smaller. The universal language of music bridged the gap between them and the performer...and the tourists who stood around to watch. So, I thought, what does this mean for the future? Will they be starting wars? Or will they take their lessons from the past and make Poland a peaceful model of democracy?

See a video of the music.

Every hour on the hour, the hejnał mariacki is played from the tower by St. Mary's (it technically is not part of St. Mary's, but was a municipal watchtower). The legend was that the bugler was playing this call during a Tatar invastion. Partway through, his throat was pierced by an invader's arrow, and of course the tune ended abruptly. Even today, the tune suddenly stops right in the middle. It is played once out of each side of the tower, so if you think you missed it, just wait because it may start again.

See a video of the hejnał mariacki; it is sideways because I held the camera wrong, but you can still hear the tune.

Tomorrow will be the historic Wawel castle, and Nowa Huta.