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Alla inlägg den 30 juni 2018

Av EvaLena Hallgren - 30 juni 2018 07:19

Two days and no updates? but to Moms defense not much has happened except yesterday when we spent the entire day walking around Krakow. (again me riding) We have been quite cozy resting in Lucy and waiting for the rain to stop. Mom got her hair done and decided she wanted a little more color on her eyebrows. They are so light they are hardly noticeable so a little brown would look good. She did get color but it'll be some getting used to. Mom says it looks like 2 black caterpillars hanging out on top of her eyes.

 

It's been raining all night but in the morning it looked like we'll have a sunny day, so we went into the city of Krakow which is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. The city dates back to the 7th century, and has traditionally been one of the leading centers of Polish academic, cultural and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs.


After the invasion of Poland by the Nazi Regime at the start of World War II, it became the capital of Germany's General government.

It's an amazing city so much to see, but at the same time, many buildings look quite rundown. There are churches, synagogs, and castles everywhere you turn, and no way will Mom remember the names of them all.


The main square of the Old Town is, located at the center of the city. It dates back to the 13th century, and at 3.79 ha is one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe.

There were millions of pigeons and I didn't like the kids catching them to throw them up in the air. Sure they have wings, but why?

     

 


The Kraków Cloth Hall dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Old Town. In the background is the Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven  which is a Brick Gothic church




 



This is town hall tower and what this hollow face is all about we have no idea, but it's kind of creepy looking especially

since many people crawl inside to peer out of the eyes and take pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

Tired of walking we went for an electric car tour which took us around to many different parts of town, and the Krakow Ghetto was one of the 5. The Jewish Ghetto created by the Nazis in the new General Government territory during World War II. It was established for the purpose of exploitation, terror, and persecution of local Polish Jews, as well as the staging area for separating the "able workers" from those who would later be deemed unworthy of life. The Ghetto was liquidated between June 1942 and March 1943, with most of its inhabitants sent to their deaths at Belcez extermination camp as well as Plazow slave labour camp, and Auschwitz concentration camp, 60 kilometres (37mi) rail distance.

   


Before the ghetto was established, 3,000 Jews lived in the area that would become the ghetto. The largest amount in the ghetto was 20,000 in an 18 block area. We also visited the Schindler factory and this restaurant we were told was Spielberg favorite when he was here filming his movie Schindlers list.

 

This is Jan Karskient  (24 June 1914– 13 July 2000)  he was a Polish World War II resistance movement soldier, and later a professor at Georgetown University.

 

Kraków’s most prominent evidence of its ghetto is this 12-meter stretch of the original ghetto wall. In 1983, a commemorative plaque was raised, which reads in Hebrew and Polish: “Here they lived, suffered and died at the hands of the German torturers. From here they began their final journey to the death camps.”

 


Because there were 68,000 Jews of Kraków killed, the Empty Chair Monument has 68 chairs to represent the 68,000 Jews executed here when the ghetto was liquidated................Mom got an. eerie feeling again especially seeing the small children chairs.

 

somebody had covered one in crochet ..............

 

 

maybe these ladies did? Mom bought a small handmade doilies for a friend at home.  

 

This must be something like our pretzels stands in NY. I'm not sure they're any good since I noticed most crumbling them to share with the pigeons.

 

 

 

we continued our walk to Wawel Cathedral and the castle. At the entrance, a funny man was playing the accordion and there was a sign with "no dogs" which Mom pretended not seeing.

 

 

The place is so huge it's impossible to get a picture of it all.

   

Hanging next to the cathedral’s entrance are the “real” bones of Smok Waweleski, the local dragon. They are chained together in a random jumble, hanging high above the main doors. Before the city was founded Smok was said to live in a cave under one of Wawel’s rolling hills. Smok was of the classic maiden-devouring ilk and the local people even had to put out a fresh young woman each month to quell his appetite. According to legend, he was finally killed by a local hero (or a local apprentice depending on the version), who fed Smok a lamb laced with sulfur. This made the beast so thirsty that he drank water from the river until he exploded.

As delightful as it would be if the remains were truly mythological, the bones are actually thought to be fossilized whale bones or mammoth bones. Regardless of their true origin, they have been there for centuries and are credited with magical powers. 

Mom noticed the three crowns which are a national emblem of Sweden, and thanks to Google, sure enough, the Swedes was there in 1500, 

 

 




 

 

 


  

 

 

 

 



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