Last Day!

Friday was our last day in Krakow and our last official day of the dialogue. We started off at the Galicia Jewish Museum, which I really enjoyed. Even though the museum was pretty tiny, I really enjoyed looking and hearing about all of the amazing photographs. The museum was set up into five sections and the exhibits were all photographs. The photographs were like a historical timeline starting with pre-war and ending with how we remember the war. Since I enjoy photography so much, I can probably say this was one of my favorite museums. Pictures speak louder than words. It was also really cool to see the same sights that we saw, but through someone else’s lens.

After the tour, we had a lecture from Professor Gawron who was a professor of Veronica’s when she studied in Poland. I really enjoyed what she had to say and also found it so great that we were able to meet and listen to this professor that Veronica had. After the lecture, Ryan, Jordyn, Theresa, Rachel and Elizabeth and I ran back to the hotel to grab lunch and get ready for our tour of the Wielicka Salt mine. We were picked up at the hotel and taken to the mine for a tour. The tour was so cool! We got to go 180 meter down into the mine. We saw some amazing statues made out of salt as well as an entire chapel equipped with salt crystal chandeliers. I even licked the walls. Overall this was an amazing experience and I’m glad we made the effort to do something on our own.

After we got back, we changed and the whole group headed out to meet Natalie and Veronica. We went and grabbed some food and some drinks as a final goodbye. Unfortunately Veronica is staying in Poland so she won’t be traveling back with us. This was our last night with her so we had to make the most of it. Overall it was a really fun night that we will never forget. Tomorrow is an early morning since we have a nine-hour trip to Berlin.

I can’t believe these five weeks have gone by so quickly. I am so glad I signed up for this trip and I will always remember the amazing experience I had. I couldn’t have asked for two better professors to guide us on this five-week adventure. Natalie and Veronica have been through so much with us and I cannot begin to thank them. They did such a great job with planning and executing this dialogue and I am so fortunate that I was a part of the first official Germany-Poland Dialogue. I have made some amazing friends and will never forget this experience.  

Krakow Day 4

Thursday was one of the days I was really looking forward to in Krakow as we were going to Schindler’s Factory. Having known someone that worked for Schindler, this visit meant even more to me. I have to say I was a little disappointed when we arrived and were informed that the building was not original. However, the museum was built on the original grounds so I guess that was good enough for me. The museum tour was a bit hectic. Since the museum was very narrow and our group was so large, we were having trouble hearing and seeing what she was talking about. The best part for me was when we got to the room with the names. I tried to find the name of the survivor that I knew, but unfortunately couldn’t remember the spelling of his name. Ryan was my cameraman for the day so he took a few pictures in the room.

After the tour we watched a short film where they interviewed survivors. The video was so interesting and it was really great to hear some survivors speak since we were unable to meet with one at Dachau.

After the museum we headed for lunch at an Israeli restaurant. I was feeling a little down since I couldn’t find the name of the survivor I knew. After ordering my hummus and falafel, I did a little research and found the spelling of his name. I turned to Ryan and said that we needed to go back so I could get a picture. He then realized that he had taken a few pictures inside the room with the names. I grabbed the camera and started searching. I clicked on the first picture and zoomed in really close, and there in the top left corner was Simche Birnzweig. It was obviously meant to be and it just made my whole day 100% brighter.

After lunch we walked around and checked out some shops. Our next activity was something I had been dreading for a while. We all met up at the JCC to give short presentations on our visit to Auschwitz. Not only am I really nervous when it comes to public speaking, but I am also not one to talk about feelings. Of course I waited and went last out of 21. My presentation was probably sub par but in all honesty I don’t think I could have done any better. Visiting Auschwitz was such a strange experience and to have to share it with 22 other people was even worse. I understand why we had to do this, but I just wish I could have written my thoughts down instead of sharing them verbally. I am very glad that I was able to visit Auschwitz and maybe one day I will talk about it, but for now it is something that I don’t want to discuss.

After the JCC we headed back to our favorite hole in the wall, self-service polish restaurant. It’s obvious that I ordered golabki and cleaned my plate. After dinner we went back to the hotel and hung out for a few. Some of us went out for a drink and then called it an early night.

Krakow Day 2

Tuesday was our walking tour of Jewish Krakow. We enjoyed a nice buffet breakfast and waited for our tour guide to arrive. Initially I was pretty excited to see the Jewish section of Poland, also know as Kazimierz. After walking around for a few and stopping in an old synagogue, I realized that this area was just a tourist trap. The restaurants that were labeled “Jewish” did not even sell kosher foods. In fact, many of them even had pork on the menu. It was almost insulting to me that they labeled these places as “authentic Jewish Food” when they were just really tourist traps. We continued on and saw some more synagogues and sites. We also saw parts of the Jewish Ghetto and stopped for some Zapiekanki, which is traditional Polish street food (essentially a baguette with cheese and various toppings). I watched Ryan inhale his and decided that was good enough. By hour three the tour was getting tougher. As much as I was enjoying the sights, I was just so exhausted I was having trouble paying attention. We stopped in some museums and visited Plaszow, a Polish concentration camp. Plaszow was much different than the other camps we visited since there was almost nothing left of it. The majority of the camp was overgrown and is now essentially used as a trail for runner and walkers. If there had been no sign, I would have had no idea there was ever a concentration camp there. In the end I was a little disappointed by the tourist feel we got in Kazimierz and did not feel like Judaism was properly portrayed.

 

 

A few of us then hopped on a bus to go grab some dinner. We were delayed a bit as we had a small run in with the ticket officers. Unfortunately we were unable to buy bus tickets before some gentlemen boarded the bus to check tickets. In Poland it is a big crime if you don’t buy and validate a ticket. Needless to say we had a long argument with them and had to find some English/Polish speaking people to help us out. We ended up having to pay a fine (half of what it was supposed to be) and got away with just a warning. We were pretty scared that we were going to be handcuffed and taken to jail, but we definitely got lucky. No more public transportation for me. We needed a little treat after that whole incident so we stopped at a Polish self serve restaurant. Of course I got golobaki and potatoes, which were amazing, and only $4. We headed back to the hotel and stopped for some snacks for our long day tomorrow.

Day 1 in Krakow

Monday we left for Krakow. I won’t lie and say the ride was pleasant. It was 94 degrees out…and the train was not air-conditioned. I have never appreciated air conditioning more in my entire life. After a long difficult walk down an entire train car (I got on the wrong car), I found my seat. The three-hour train ride felt like forever. We finally arrived in Krakow around 2:00. We embarked on a short walk to our hotel. I am pleased to say our hotel not only had air conditioning, but also free wifi! Two things I have started to appreciate more and more. We settled into our rooms and went down to the hotel restaurant for some lunch. I enjoyed a piece of salmon with a salad. After lunch we did some work on our papers and then headed out for the Old Town. Ryan and I walked for a bit and then found a Polish restaurant. We both ordered the golobaki (what did you expect) and they were very tasty. We then set out for a cold refreshing dessert. We grabbed some swiderki and headed back to finish our papers. The Old Town was very beautiful and reminded us a little bit of Nuremberg. Krakow is very different from Warsaw. I really like it here and look forward to exploring more of the city.

Final days in Warsaw

We finished up in Warsaw with a tour and a farewell meal. Before our tour we went to Bar Bambino which is a "Milk Bar". Milk bars are self serve cafeteria type restaurants that serve traditional Polish food. These bars were the only restaurants around during Communist time. I enjoyed some delicious golobaki (big surprise) and they were delicious! After out tour, Ryan and Brett shared a (disgustingly) huge meat plate and finished it. I had to stop eating my salmon as I was getting sick just watching them. The theme to our tour was communism in Poland. Despite the heat, the tour was actually very interesting. We headed back to the hotel to pack up our stuff since we were off to Krakow in the morning.

Day 3

Friday was a busy day. We started the morning off at the Forum for the Dialogue Among Nations. This organization seeks to educate students about Judaism. The lecture lasted about two hours and we had a short break before our next activity. We stopped at a burger place for lunch, bad idea. The burgers were ok, but I felt pretty sick after eating. However, I mustered up some strength for our meeting at the US Embassy. We met with JP Schutte and he spoke to us for about an hour and then opened it up for questions.

After the embassy we had a few hours to kill. We once again hit the gym and then got ready for our Shabbat dinner with ZOOM, a Jewish group in Warsaw. The dinner was a lot different than we were expecting. The members of the group were a lot older and the space was pretty cramped. However, we did have some delicious dinner. After we finished dinner, it started to rain. We made the 25-minute walk home in the rain and by the time we got back we were soaked! We dried off, hung out for a few and called it a day. 

Day 2

Thursday we started our day off with an incredible breakfast buffet. It was so nice to have the all you can eat breakfast buffet back like we had in Munich. I of course stuffed my purse (with snacks for later) and myself until I couldn’t move. After breakfast we headed out to meet our tour guide for a tour through Jewish Warsaw. The tour was very interesting. We got to see some original buildings that survived the war as well as a remaining piece of the ghetto wall. We also stopped in a synagogue that also survived the war.

After our walking tour we had the afternoon off and went to grab some lunch. We walked back to the Old Town and found this small square with outdoor restaurants. The place we picked had Polish food as well as some other cuisines. I settled with a salmon salad that was delish. The best part of the meal was the complimentary cherry vodka shot at the end. 

We headed back to our hotel and hit the gym. The gym at the hotel is so nice we had to take advantage. We finished up at the gym, changed and Ryan and I headed out solo for some dinner. We wandered through the area around our hotel and found a great Polish restaurant (big surprise). I was so happy because they had golabaki (stuffed cabbage), which I have been searching for. Ryan also had a traditional Polish dish called Bigos, which is a stew. After dinner we went to a bar around the corner and had some coffee. We headed home to try and catch up on sleep.