Krakow is an old city, with a history, hidden towns and woods around the main city, wooden churches, a salt mine and Oskar Schindler's enamel factory.
It was there we decided to go this day.
We walked through the old town centre, where the markets were setting up, admired the stone walls and tall clock tower with the bugler sounding the hour, noticed the dark, decayed facades of the apartment blocks, meandered through leafy parks, passed the Jewish ghetto area from the war, over the river and to the factory.
It looked like any other factory from the outside. Metal and glass, peaked roofs and concrete. The factory is now a museum; the faces on the deco window smiling - his legacy - faces smiling and happy and they had no numbers underneath them.
The museum documents the holocaust and the war. The inside does not resemble a factory. It is a maze of displays almost like a fun parlour. You cannot look over the factory floor and see the machinery. You cannot see the barracks where they slept. You cannot see the hands at work. You can see pretty windows of displays and relics.
There is a movie to watch and a maze to run. There are seats on which to sit and contemplate. There is a door at the end that lands you on the street near the gate - the original gate to the enamel and munitions factory.
The river is next to the factory with a wide bridge with trams and buses and little city tour carts. The walk is good - about half an hour back to the centre of town.
Today is Saturday and the markets are busy. The Falun Gong are meditating and the young men are marching with flag held high.
Contemplation and protest, a fitting end to a day in Krakow.
It was there we decided to go this day.
We walked through the old town centre, where the markets were setting up, admired the stone walls and tall clock tower with the bugler sounding the hour, noticed the dark, decayed facades of the apartment blocks, meandered through leafy parks, passed the Jewish ghetto area from the war, over the river and to the factory.
It looked like any other factory from the outside. Metal and glass, peaked roofs and concrete. The factory is now a museum; the faces on the deco window smiling - his legacy - faces smiling and happy and they had no numbers underneath them.
The museum documents the holocaust and the war. The inside does not resemble a factory. It is a maze of displays almost like a fun parlour. You cannot look over the factory floor and see the machinery. You cannot see the barracks where they slept. You cannot see the hands at work. You can see pretty windows of displays and relics.
There is a movie to watch and a maze to run. There are seats on which to sit and contemplate. There is a door at the end that lands you on the street near the gate - the original gate to the enamel and munitions factory.
The river is next to the factory with a wide bridge with trams and buses and little city tour carts. The walk is good - about half an hour back to the centre of town.
Today is Saturday and the markets are busy. The Falun Gong are meditating and the young men are marching with flag held high.
Contemplation and protest, a fitting end to a day in Krakow.
I wonder why they were marching?
ReplyDeleteThe flag indicated a political alliance - maybe a workers' party? They were burly young men. No English subtitles to go by...
ReplyDelete