On Monday April 25 I ended my stay in Warsaw and took a train to Krakow, where I spent six days sightseeing. I stayed in a hotel near the train station in the city center. My first walking around was cut short by a torrential downpour, but most other days were sunny and warm. My days in Krakow were the run-up to the beatification of John Paul II on Sunday May 1; he was archbishop of Krakow before becoming pope.
The displays in the central square for the beatification of John Paul II
On my second day Tuesday April 26 I went to the Oskar Schindler factory, of Schindler's List fame, which has been turned into an excellent museum about Krakow during the Second World War.
On my way back, I bumped into Elzbieta Dubis, an archaeological colleague, with whom I had last crossed paths some years ago in Jordan. I vaguely knew she was from Poland, but I had made no effort to track her down. She recognized me immediately as I walked by; I would not have recognized her. It turns out she is a native of Krakow and has been working as an archaeologist in the city for years.
Along the way, I noticed lots of people have put locks on one of the bridges as mementos
That evening I went to the Krakow Opera House for a modern-choreographed ballet performance of Cinderella, set to music by Rossini. The delightfully humorous performance was targeted at children, who made up over half of the audience.
That evening I had dinner with Elzbieta again.
I also took a tour of the historic Collegium Maius building at Jagiellonian University, led by a wise-cracking tour guide, and that afternoon I took a tour bus to the Wieliczka salt mines on the outskirts of the city. Back in Krakow that evening, I hung out until my train left at 10:00 pm to take me on to Bamberg. During my days in Krakow, I also put in a few hours working on my catalogue entries for the Metropolitan Museum exhibition.
The displays in the central square for the beatification of John Paul II
On my second day Tuesday April 26 I went to the Oskar Schindler factory, of Schindler's List fame, which has been turned into an excellent museum about Krakow during the Second World War.
The Oskar Schindler factory
On my way back, I bumped into Elzbieta Dubis, an archaeological colleague, with whom I had last crossed paths some years ago in Jordan. I vaguely knew she was from Poland, but I had made no effort to track her down. She recognized me immediately as I walked by; I would not have recognized her. It turns out she is a native of Krakow and has been working as an archaeologist in the city for years.
Along the way, I noticed lots of people have put locks on one of the bridges as mementos
The locks on the bridge
On my third day, Wednesday April 27, I went on a day-trip to Auschwitz. Back in Krakow that evening, I met Elzbieta for dinner, after which we walked around the Jewish quarter.
On my fourth day, Thursday April 28, I went to the botanical gardens.
The botanical gardens
A glamour wedding shoot at the botanical gardens
That evening I went to the Krakow Opera House for a modern-choreographed ballet performance of Cinderella, set to music by Rossini. The delightfully humorous performance was targeted at children, who made up over half of the audience.
On my fifth day, Friday April 29, I went to the historic Wawel Castle.
The archaeological remains in the Wawel Castle courtyard
I toured the ‘Lost Wawel’ archaeological museum, which had an interesting way of placing the display cases above the archaeological remains.
The displays in the Lost Wawel museum
Afterwards I walked around the Jewish ghetto area.
A surviving portion of the ghetto wall
That evening I had dinner with Elzbieta again.
On my sixth day, Saturday April 30, Elzbieta showed me around the Jagiellonian University campus. She has conducted extensive excavations in the area.
Elzbieta Dubis showing on a scale model of the old city of Krakow where she has excavated
I also took a tour of the historic Collegium Maius building at Jagiellonian University, led by a wise-cracking tour guide, and that afternoon I took a tour bus to the Wieliczka salt mines on the outskirts of the city. Back in Krakow that evening, I hung out until my train left at 10:00 pm to take me on to Bamberg. During my days in Krakow, I also put in a few hours working on my catalogue entries for the Metropolitan Museum exhibition.
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