Holy Kraków

We woke up this morning with a bit of an emotional hangover after our exposure to an unimaginable glimpse of pure evil.  Today we took it a lot easier.  Part of of our mind was made up by Wawel Castle being closed.  

We taxied out to Schindler's Factory which has been converted to one of the best Musuems anywhere.  Lots of English, lots of hands-on and as real a look as you could get of Kraków leading up to and during the Nazi occupation.   Insightful and tastefully done.

Heading back into town we stopped at the Ghetto Heroes' Square, a bleak but moving memorial to the 68,000 people who were deported from the (Kazimierz) Jewish district, consisting of 68 empty chairs.

If you don't have plans to ever visit Kraków you might have a different thought.   This is an energetic, friendly, entertaining city that quickly gets under your skin.   Judy has fallen in love with the elaborately decorated horse-drawn landaus.

Kraków in the Middle Ages was known as "Small Rome" for its many churches.  Today, there are 142 churches and monasteries within the city limits and 32 in the Old Town alone.  It is not unusual to see cassock priests on the streets and nuns are plentiful.  Our visit to Kraków has made us realize what a small and weird world we live in.   You can sit in one of the oldest town squares in Europe and watch them film a Bollywood music video.  You can dine in a cowboy and Indian themed outdoor restaurant while being serenaded by a tight jazz band with a wailing female vocalist singing "Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho" in Polish.