Another busy day. It’s serious business trying to get yourself around to everything you want to get yourself to, and still capture the ambiance and take time to smell the roses.
As an aside, being and old woman sucks, in almost every single way except that Poland gives you a little reason (in the schema of things very little when you think of the monetary value) to feel joyful. You don’t have to pay on public transport. This isn’t just about the money, it’s about not having to think about tickets and being able to hop on and off a tram at will. One tick as I set off for far flung places today and had to work out the tram system.
Then there is the bit about being an old lady traveling alone, again, not always what you’d want but again with an up- side. It was the same yesterday. They have this limited number of places thing and timed tickets. So there are usually single tickets available because hardly anyone travels alone. So I’ve been able to walk straight in whereas if I’d been with someone I would have had to fill in hours before I could get entry. This happened yesterday ar Wawal Castle and again today at Schindler’s Factory….that was a great feeling.
As I said, these places were a bit further away so after having a coffee (another joyous thing today was finding a fantastic coffee shop near my apartment) I jumped (well pulled myself actually)onto a tram to go over the river and down to the Podgorze District. As above, I went straight into Schindler’s Factory and was immersed for the next 2.5 hours in the horror of the German occupation and the indescribable tragedy of the Polish Jew. It is almost impossible to imagine although these museums are stunning and bring it to life in a very confronting way. The Nazi’s came so close to ‘achieving’ total genocide.
I walked from there back to The Pharmacy Under The Eagle. Like Schindler, Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a non- jew, was heroic in the assistance he gave to the people of the Ghetto. I’ve always known about the horrors of Nazi occupation but I don’t know, somehow the plight of the Polish Jews has never been front and centre so I’m learning a lot.
Then I went back over the river to the Jewish area. LPG recommended a good restaurant here so I decided (for the first time) to have a proper main meal for lunch. I ditched my soup staple and had boiled beef with horseradish sauce…delicious. All this was also a way of walking around the Jewish Quarter and absorbing it. I then went to the Galicia Jewish Museum which followed the same theme of course but with the use of brilliant photography told a very moving story, not only of destruction but also regeneration. Very moving.
Next to Szeroka St/Square which is the heart of the Jewish Quarter and full of cafes and bars. So, although it was getting late, I stopped for a glass of wine and desert. A band started up playing Jewish music so I stayed on enjoying the atmosphere for a while. Then back on a tram and home. Tired but satisfied that I’d seen what I set out to see.
Tomorrow it’s off to the Salt Mine. I’m a bit nervous about that. Just hope I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew!!!