We had already planned a trip to Iceland in February which was turning out to be quite an expensive vacation even with a group of 6 travelling together. Hence, we decided to stay clear of the Nordics for our next trip, and go for the budget option of Krakow as highlighted by the Rough Guide travel feature instead.
Krakow was no different than many of the European cities that we have visited till date - a town square...a castle...a river flowing close by...beautiful churches...plentiful eateries and bar. Every trip of ours has been special in its own way - Easter weekend in Krakow was special not because of what we had planned to see in the city, but because of what we had planned to see around it.
But, before I get into the details, I have to say that we didn't spend nearly enough time to really explore and absorb the beauty of this magical city...then again, there's always a second time. This trip, for me personally, was to connect to the grim past of what lay around the city.
We flew into Krakow the night of 24th of March with the flight landing at 21:25 pm; and, by the time we made our way into the city and settled into the hotel it was almost half hour to midnight. Needless to say it was freezing cold, but our prior trip to Iceland had helped us attain enough gear for a chilly night. We immediately went out in search for some food and of course drinks - and like most European cities, thoroughly enjoyed the concept of 'last man standing'!
The natural starting point of exploring most European cities is the main town square and Krakow was no different. The Rynek Glowny is the largest medieval square in Europe with the St Mary's Basilica on one side, the Sukiennice (or the cloth hall) in the middle and restaurants and bars creating a border all around.
The next morning, after a scrumptious breakfast at the Sheraton, we got picked up for our day tour. A quick note on the Sheraton breakfast; though it is priced on the steeper side it is definitely worth it, especially when one is booked on an early morning tour. The variety available will suit various palates and the coffee is wonderful!
Before I digress any further, lets get back to the day tour which was booked to visit the Auschwitz Camps and the Wieliczka Salt Mines.
Auschwitz Camps - revisiting the horror
Our tour began by passing the replica (the original was stolen in 2009) of the "Arbeit Mach Frei" sign at the entrance of Auschwitz I. As our tour guide pointed out this was a misdirecting sign for the prisoners, as "Arbeit Mach Frei" literally translates to "Work makes you free" and this was never to be the case for the prisoners.
One of the most heart wrenching exhibit in of the blocks was of the personal effects that were taken from the prisoners - from this exhibit one can see how unaware people were of their upcoming plight carrying anything and everything that they possibly could from nice crockery to basic utensils. There are exhibits of suitcases with names and addresses on them, eyeglasses, crockery, utensils, shoes, prosthetic limbs; but, the worst is the display of a mass of human hair in one big showcase.
After seeing these exhibits there was this gut wrenching numbness that fell upon me. I had read stories and documentaries on the horrors of the Holocaust, but absolutely nothing prepares you for the sights held in these camps. Only 2 things kept running thru my mind for the rest of tour - why would and how could human beings do this to each other?
If I thought this was bad, what came next was worse - there were disturbing explanations of the life at these death camps from the time the prisoners were brought in till their eminent death in the gas chambers, the horrible living conditions, the Wall of Death between block 10 and 11, and the worst of all Cell 22. Cell 22 was divided into 4 cubicles, 90cm by 90cm each, and was used as standing punishments. A prisoner having performed difficult manual labour all day and then condemned to this standing cell all night and then back to work the next morning, for nights on end was unimaginable.
The last part of the Auschwitz I tour was the visit to the gas chamber and crematorium which lie right outside the camp. The crematorium has 2 furnaces on display and the guide mentioned they could have been used to burn around 350 bodies daily. What came next was the most horrifying site I had seen till date - the gas chamber was a mere room with openings in the roof. There is a sign that requests people to maintain respectful silence in this room, hence prior to entering this room, the guide had mentioned that the prisoners were sent into this room with a bar of soap with the notion that they would be taking a shower, but in reality Zyklon B was poured on to them giving them a slow torturous death. The sign needn't be there as there is absolutely nothing that anyone can say inside that room. The first sight of the room just numbed me with absolutely no thoughts remaining in my brain, and then I noticed the nuances of the room - scratches across the walls made by prisoners trying to escape this ghastly death and my vivid imagination kicked in and my brain went to work overtime. This was the time when the numbness was replaced by claustrophobia and nausea. I remember rushing past other tourists out of the block because I just could not breathe in the building anymore.
I turned around and realised the 3 others were no better. We got on the bus and rode in silence all the way to Auschwitz II fearing what other horrors it held, especially knowing that it was purpose built as a mass extermination camp.
Purpose built for mass extermination, Birkenau was very unlike Auschwitz I. As you go past the gates, all you see is an expanse of land with a line of buildings/barracks on the left, remnants of destroyed buildings to your right, and a train track running down the middle into a dead end.
As we walked along the tracks to the platform with the guide explaining things, my vivid imagination came over me once again. Staring at the gate from the platform, I could imagine the trains with carriages full of prisoners passing the main checkpoint at the gate and then pulling up at the platform. Hundreds of prisoners being offloaded and then segregated into groups that was either fit to work or doomed to die. I could imagine the face of Josef Mengele standing and determining the next victims of his inhumane experiments.
There is also a carriage on display near the platform and the guide mentioned that the carriages were actually meant for cattle and can't hold more than 20-25 people standing shoulder to shoulder, but in reality it used to transport close to 200 prisoners all packed like sardines - some, not even surviving the journey.
At the end of the tracks is a sombre monument for victims of Auschwitz with memorial plaques written in languages of all the ethnicities that the prisoners came from.
After the monument, we made our way back up to the gate - first, passing the rubble of the gas chambers and crematorium which had been destroyed by the SS army in order to hide the atrocities that had been performed there. Next, we visited one of the accommodation blocks and the horrors of Auschwitz came back. These couldn't be called 'accommodation' - inside the bleak looking building were rows and rows of bunks, 3 levels in height and each the size of a queen bed. These bunks were made of wooden planks and the lowest level on the ground was nothing but bricks and each bunk was assigned 8 prisoners. Can you imagine 8 people sleeping on a queen size bed with no mattress, no bedding, not even straw? They had nothing warm to wear and barely any heating in the cold Polish winters - some would pass away in their sleep...
Wieliczka Salt Mines
A trip to Krakow should definitely include a trip to the Wieliczka salt mine. From beautifully lighted salt lakes to gorgeous statues sculpted from salt, this underground journey is highly recommended. The tour does entail climbing down 350 steps to reach 135m underground. But, you do go thru a series of hallways, rooms, and wooden beam structures to get halfway to the beautiful underground chapel and reception hall. From there, thru more gorgeous rooms and hallways you make your way to the underground tavern and then thru the long hallway to the miners lift which get you to ground level. The lift journey was interesting and scary considering the lift was nothing but a cage!
By the end of the night, I had managed to taste a minuscule percentage of flavours of Polish Vodka that the bar carried...
We walked on the banks of the Vistula River and then made our way up to Wawel Castle and Cathedral. This is when we realised the flaws of travelling on Easter weekend - the castle was shut and the Cathedral was not open to tourists. We spent some time in the castle grounds going around the various buildings before making our way down.
We went thru the Krakow Cloth hall checking out all the stalls and buying some Amber trinkets.
The next morning was Easter Sunday and we knew we'd really be pushing our luck with sightseeing on the day. We walked around a few more streets but nothing seemed to be open. We finally found a restaurant that was serving lunch and ended up having a really interesting meal!
All in all a great vacation, a heart wrenching trip back in history, and an end with an Indian win - everyone returned back happy!