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Living History in Krakow
Krakow is a bustling little tourist town, whose old center draws you in and dares you to discover the tales and legends of each ancient alley and building. I don’t think I would have appreciated Krakow so much if I hadn’t happened upon a tour and taken the opportunity to learn about the city.
My guide was an extremely knowledgeable young Polish man, and my tour mates were an older English man and his wife. Together we explored Krakow and learned the fact and fiction behind the town. The town has the sixth oldest university, a magnificent castle with an even more spectacular cathedral, and many more sights that are definitely worth seeing. A church in the center of town square is called St. Mary’s. Every hour to this day, a fireman climbs the 54 meters to the top and blows a trumpet from all four corners of the tower.
Learning about Krakow helped me to gain a foundational knowledge about medieval cities. Why did they have fortresses and city walls, and why was the original layer of the city lower than the ground level today. Basically, it was interesting to me because I was there.
After the tour ended, I wandered the streets of the center, rediscovering the sites and taking more pictures. I went into several churches and eventually wandered back to my hostel. That afternoon, I wandered outside the center to Kazimierz, the oldest and largest Jewish ghetto in Eastern Europe. I was surprised at the overall feel of the neighborhood. There are no Jewish people, or only those who have come after the war to open Jewish restaurants in the district. The neighborhood is quiet. The synagogues are museums and the community center is a museum with the feel of a mausoleum. The cemetery has an admission price, which made me squirm just a bit. Perhaps we should be allowed to mourn and pay respects without paying money? It took me an hour to walk through the neighborhood and I wasn’t sure if I had really seen what one is meant to see. The place was eerie, and this makes sense when I stop and realize what it is. It used to be a neighborhood full of life and everyday happenings of Jewish community. That life was erased. What remains are the stone and mortar reminders of the people who were eradicated in one fell swoop. Perhaps it should be a bit of an unsettling experience to walk through such a neighborhood.
That night I had the chance to talk with my best friend from home, and we processed through life from the internet cafe. I never thought I would be pouring my heart out with a Polish man sitting two feet behind me checking his e-mail. I think European people are less concerned about physical space and even modesty with things like hygiene and bathrooms because they are confined to such close spaces in cities that they get used to sharing space with strangers. Just one more observation from a very young traveler with a lot to learn.
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