Krakow, Galicia

Autumn Sun

Krakow has been many things to me in the two weeks that I've been embraced by its midieval charms.  It has been a place of rest - sleeping in until 9am or later is a luxury that had evaded me for at least a decade.  It has been a place of new understandings - life 20 years after the fall of Communism is something that you can read about in a book, but cannot comprehend until you witness it firsthand.  And finally, it has been a place of self-awareness - with each passing day I get closer to the truth of what brought me here and what I need to accomplish during these precious months that I have away from home.

Tomorrow I move into an apartment in the center of Krakow for one month.  Finally, I can ditch the perpetual state of transience, unpack my suitcase, and pretend that I actually live somewhere.  I spent my first week here at an Airbnb listing in the center of town with a hostess who goes by the name Goga.  Her place was more like a hostel in that there were several rooms occupied by short-term visitors from all over the world all sharing one toilet and shower.  Week 2 I moved to another Airbnb property a bit outside the center in a neighborhood caled Podgorze.  That's where I am now.  I'm in the bedroom of a one-bedroom apartment; the host is sleeping in the living room on the sofa.  In both cases, the hosts have been great about giving me tips for visiting and local insights into Krakow life.

The Old Cemetery @ Remuh Synagoge

The main focus of my explorations so far has been Jewish history, and there is no lack of it here in the heart of Southern Poland, which was once known as Galicia.  Apart from the obvious emotions one would expect from seeing centeries-old synagogues and cemeteries, and more contemporary WWII relics, I cannot help but feel a hollowness among these sites.  I know that they were at one time functional and full of life/death, but today they are only museums and memorials.  With little to no modern day community here, these places feel almost like a movie set.  It is an overwhelming disappointment to feel this way, as I do yearn to feel a stronger emotional connection with these places, names, graves, memorial plaques, etc.  After all, this is the general area where my 2x great grandfather Rosenblum came from, so I imagine that some of my distant relatives experienced a Jewish existence here.

Last Surviving Segment of Ghetto Wall

Since I've bought myself another month here, I haven't hit all the major tourist sites yet.  I'm saving Auschwitz for a cold, damp, grey day more befitting of the place.  I can't say that I'm in a hurry to get there.  I went to the Wielizcka Salt Mine a couple days back, which is about 40 minutes SE of Krakow and is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It has been in operation for 700+ years and its vast labyrinth of tunnels and chambers hundreds of feet below the ground were impressive.  The highlight was the salt cathedral, where even the chandeliers were made of rock salt.  Unfortunately, I didn't snap any photos because I spent so much on the entrance ticket that I couldn't afford to pay an extra $3 for the privelege of operating a camera.  Now THAT'S Jewish heritage for you!

So now it's time to settle in and get a daily routine established.  I can go grocery shopping, entertain guests, hole-up on a dreary day with a good book and a cup of tea, and go to a gym.  I'll also be planning my trip to the Ukraine, which I expect will happen at the end of October, and trying to figure out how the other places (Budapest, Israel, ?) fit into the grand scheme of my travels.  One thing is set in stone already - Istanbul for Christmas, can't wait!

Thanks to those of you who have been prodding me to update the blog.  With Facebook, email, and Skype, I've got a lot of communications going on so it's harder to juggle than I had imagined.  BTW, I have so many photos and cannot share them all here...so they're on Facebook.