Said “Guten Morgen” to a man from a German motorhome only to discover that he was South African and had hired the van. He had flown over from there to Munich, left his parents at the airport and travelled across Munich to pick up the van. He had then driven the large left-hand drive van (they drive on the left in South Africa) back across the city to collect his parents– he said that it was an experience and he was very glad that it had satellite navigation! His parents are both 80 and are thoroughly enjoying their holiday – you're never to old to start motorhoming! [Note to our parents: Please don't think that we are going to follow his example!]
There is so much to see and do in Krakow that it justified another day. We caught a slightly later bus in and got off the tram earlier in order to head for the Jewish Quarter of Kazimierz. When the Germans invaded they implemented their perverted plan to remove and then exterminate all Jews. Krakow had a particularly large Jewish population and, after a period of persecution, they were evicted from their houses and moved to a ghetto south of the river. Many of the houses were left empty during and after the war and this has lead to Kazimierz being preserved in a time warp, frozen in the 1930's. Many of the buildings have now been restored and renovated but they have been kept true to the period. There are a number of marked trails round the area and we followed some of these, referring to our guidebook for details of the sights. We came across a Jewish bookshop in one of the old synagogues and investigated. It had a huge number of English language books and we decided to buy one each. It took us ages to decide which ones to buy. In the end, Jane bought a small book written by a Krakow Jew who described life before and during the Nazi occupation. He was sent to a concentration camp and managed to survive as, remarkably, did his two brothers. The remainder of his extended family were killed. I chose a larger book that told the story of a Polish Jew who had managed to avoid capture during the whole of the war.
There was a good choice of places to eat and we sat outside the Hotel Rubinstein and had one of the best meals of the Odyssey (apart from the ones that I cook, of course). We had the set three-course meal for 32 zloty (approx £6.50) and when the home-made bread and butter topped with pink peppercorns arrived, we knew that it was going to be good. The beef soup with noodles was light and very tasty but the main course was superb – char-grilled chicken breast in a balsamic sauce served with white and green french beans and potatoes. It was beautifully presented and was so tasty – I enjoyed every mouthful. The desert was an ice cream sundae, which we assumed would just be straight ice cream but when it was served we had cream, sorbet, ice cream and lots of fresh bilberries and raspberries – absolutely gorgeous. Next time that you are in Kazimierz, head for Hotel Rubinstein. An interesting bit of trivia is associated with this hotel, it spreads over two buildings one of which is the house that Helena Rubinstein (entrepreneur and founder of the huge cosmetics company that bears her name) was born in and the other is where Helena Rubinstein said she was born. See the photograph for details.
We crossed the river to take a quick look at the ghetto area where the Nazis moved the Jews. Most of this area has been redeveloped but some original building exists, including the pharmacy where the doctor was the only non-Jew allowed in the ghetto. Dr. Pankiewicz did all he could to help the Jews during this time, not only looking after their medical needs but also providing protection for those trying the evade deportation to the death camps. The small house is now a museum with a thought-provoking exhibition about the life and death of the Jews in the ghetto. We also saw a section of the ghetto wall that still exists. The Nazis forced the Jews to build the wall all around the Ghetto – any Jew found outside the wall without permission was shot.
We discovered that one of the trams that connected with the bus back to the campsite actually ran through this area so we caught one and were soon back with Henrietta. Jane settled down with her new book and read the whole of it before we went to bed! It is a good job that the one I bought is 420 pages – that should take her a little longer.
Photos: The white building in the picture (minus the top two floors that were added recently) was where Helena Rubinstein said that she was born but she was actually born in the house to the right of that (with the umbrellas outside). She explained this later by saying that she felt that her real birth place looked too modest and therefore adopted the grander house next door. Both of these house were still derelict in 2000.; The wailing wall of the Remul'h cemetery built with the fragments of the gravestones smashed by the Nazis; Nuns in step by the Wisla River.
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