From Schindler’s Factory to the Christmas Market in Krakow

Having spent two full days in Wroclaw, Poland, it was time to continue our journey to our fourth and final destination, Krakow, Poland. Krakow’s significance in World War II protected it from some of the bombings and destruction of other cities. We would understand that better when we visited Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory. Krakow also has a Christmas Market, a prime reason for our visit.

We traveled to Krakow by train. We had worked out all the details ahead of time for leaving so that went off fine. One thing I couldn’t understand was the numbering of the seats. We had seats 82 and 88, but they were together. Across from us was something like 85 and 87. It all seemed very random. This train had a lot of stops. The stops weren’t long, but people were getting on and off throughout our journey.

Our biggest challenge came after our arrival at the train station in Krakow. Because we were to fly out of Krakow at 6:00 am on Saturday, we had decided to get a hotel near the airport. However, figuring out which train to take to the airport was a bit of a challenge, but we were able to get to our hotel mid-afternoon.

I had developed a sore throat and was feeling tired. Silvette had been fighting a cold for a few days. Based on that we decided to stay at the hotel and not go back into town. In fact we went to bed quite early.

The next day we were up and trying to get into town by 10:00 as we had tickets to visit the Schindler Museum at 10:30. When we planned our trip, we had debated if we wanted to visit Aushwitz, a popular place to visit from Krakow. We decided against it and instead made sure to see Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory. That in itself tuned out to be pretty intense. We entered the museum before 10:30 and were surprised when we walked out at 1:15. I don’t think we have ever been in a museum that long.

The museum was not quite what I expected. it really wasn’t so much about Schindler as it was about Krakow during World War II. There was a lot of detail and a lot of information. After a while it became overwhelming trying to understand everything.

Toward the beginning of the exhibit, they showed a movie in which people talked about their experience working with Schindler in his factory, and what they did. Later there was a room which seemed to be his office area and provided information about Schindler and his wife. A large space filled with products from his business took up part of the room. That was about it in terms of learning about Oskar Schindler himself.

The rest of the museum led visitors through a timeline of the war experience in Krakow. At the beginning a large round structure filled the room. People sat around it and looked through an eye piece to see old photos of this time. From there a hallway led to information about the fall of Krakow to the German Army. It then went through the various experiences people had. Initially it focused on how Germany took control of the country and divided it up. While the war was still going on in other places, the German government made Krakow the center of their government in Poland.

One of the interesting aspects I learned was that the Germans wanted to establish a German only part of town. They opposed not just the Jewish people; they also opposed the Polish people who they saw as of lesser ability. They shut down the educational institutions because they didn’t want to educate the Polish people. It turns out the Polish Pope was in Krakow as a young man during this time, and he went to an underground seminary to train for the priesthood.

To tell all of this and other stories, the museum has a vast collections of photos and even some videos which they show. Many photos have notes attached to them so the reading is pretty intense. Moving through the museum is along fairly narrow hallways, but the hallways also have photos. Some are blown up large. The variety of displays helps keep visitors engaged.

Of course one of the major evils of the German occupation was the way they treated the Jews. They rounded up the Jews and put them in a certain community. They fenced off the community from the rest of the city. Jews could not leave this area unless they had permission. If they tried, they might be shot on the spot. The Germans claimed the Jews were dirty and spread diseases which is why they needed to be separated. The Jews developed their own community and according to the museum notes lived their lives believing they had nothing to lose. Eventually the Germans sent the Jews to concentration camps, and they destroyed the area where they had lived. The evil of this is overwhelming.

The German occupation of Poland eventually came to an end with the Soviet occupation. In fact in the last room that comment is made that the German oppression would be replaced with more oppression. For all of that, it is interesting to see the Polish people today live out their lives much like those of other free nations around the world.

After our time in the Schindler museum, we needed to relax so we headed to our favorite spot, Starbucks. The Starbucks was very crowded, but a kind couple offered us seats, and we stayed there for longer than we expected. So long that it was dark by the time we left. (The sun set around 3:45) Not only was it dark, but it was also foggy so visibility wasn’t that great.

It was time to cheer up with some Christmas market observations. Two markets were in or near the main town square. Neither were particularly large. Both had the food and products we have come to expect. The food had a little more variety here. Some food vendors were offering a wide variety of choices, more than just sausages and mulled wine. The products for sale were varied as well. While we saw some of the same products like decorated cookies and wood carvings, we saw some other unique items as well. Amber jewelry is a popular item here which we had not seen anywhere else. Enamel wooden ware was also a common item.

One unique experience here was the opportunity to ride in a horse drawn carriage. We did not take advantage of that, but it looked like a fun experience.

Besides the booths of the Christmas markets, there were stores that seemed a permanent fixture in the square in a long hallway. Here one could find lots of amber as well as a number of religious types of statues and items for sale.

Standing in the plaza and overshadowing all is St. Mary’s Church. Because it was dark and foggy, my attempts to take a photo of the church had minimal success. However, for a small fee we were able to go inside the church, and that was a different experience. This is a very unique church interior. It felt quite dark. However there was a lot of gold gilding around. The ceiling was painted blue with stars. They were very high, but the actual size of the church didn’t feel that large.

The most interesting part of the church was the chancel; it was very ornate. Along both sides of this area were two rows of seats. I presume it is for the choir or for the members of the Franciscans. Above those were gilded frescoes. The story portrayed was not always clear. I was also unsure of the story of all the golden figures at the front of the church. There were too many to determine. This church was certainly one of the more unique churches I have visited.

After visiting the church we found something to eat at a restaurant along the edge of the town square. We then walked back to the train stop to get back to our hotel.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Europe before returning home. Check back next week to see what we discovered.