| |
The World's Best Kept Secret, Krakow and Zakapane,
Poland - A Site Inspection
As a former flight attendant, I've visited all European
countries except Albania and Poland. Poland is Europe's 5th largest
country. Aside for Lech Walesa, Copernicus, the Pope and a decade of
Polish jokes I never understood, I knew nothing of this land. However,
my interest peaked because it will soon be hot on the tourist trail and
because my Chicago husband's family is from here. He accompanied me with
a sense of delight in discovering his roots. I went to become educated
and enriched by something new. We flew from Atlanta via JFK and Warsaw
to Krakow for a mere 4 days. No rest for the weary with a head spinning
itinerary. I prefer to visit cities in the off season to mingle with the
locals. It provides a more authentic and intimate atmosphere.
On airport arrival, we're cheerfully greeted by Pavel
who will be our driver throughout. He holds a welcome sign “ Suza
Davis”. I say, “Hi, I'm Suzy from Atlanta.” I chuckled when he
responded, “Yes, downstairs of USA.” We checked into Hotel Amadeus, a
16th century posh inn in the heart throb of town center. Prince Charles
once bedded in our room, I'm told. We set out to hunt for dinner. The
illuminated Old Town was stunning and filled with so many young people,
it made me feel elderly. 150,000 students reside in this university
town. Krakow is Europe's premier party scene where they stay out until
the birds sing. This historic district holds highest concentration of
bars and restaurants in the world. We suddenly discovered Pierogi
Garden, home of the freshest Polish dumplings. They were stuffed with
sauerkraut, lamb, beef, berries, chocolate and even peanut butter. There
were 6 types of soups, all with beets which I abhor. After a dozen
dumplings, I had a melted ewe's milk cheese pancake which was beyond
delicious.
 Poland
experienced countless invasions throughout its history. After being
ravaged by the Germans and then the Russians, it finally achieved
independence in 1989 with the collapse of Soviet communism. Krakow was
wired for destruction near the end of WWII by the Germans. They planned
to blow it up once the Russians took over, fortunately the war ended
hours before the plan was carried out. Today it remains one of the few
cities remaining in its original form. With a population now of 780,000,
it has morphed into a trendy international capital. Vibrant and modern
yet somehow retains its traditional culture with regal architecture. It
is in Krakow where one finds the spirit of the new Poland.
On day 2, we were greeted by Anna who was strikingly
beautiful. We began in the web of cobbled streets in Old Town that was
meant for walking. It was a maze of museums, chapels, galleries, cafes
and hole in the wall pubs. Even in winter there was entertainment with
street dancers, mimes, accordion players and on one corner, I watched a
knight in armor break-dancing. We entered Market Square, Europe's
largest medieval square where little has changed since 1257. It is
crowned by the Bell Tower where a bugler plays at the top of the hour.
It drives the residents crazy at night. A must see is Cloth Hall where
fishmongers, cloth merchants and bakers have sold their wares since the
14th century. Now it's a fabulous arcade of handicraft stalls. We walked
to the well preserved Jewish Quarter which is now edgy with artistic
character. Poland once held Europe's largest concentration of Jews at
3.5 million. Poland's kings during the middle ages noted they were being
expelled elsewhere and invited them in to augment the economy. Here they
thrived until the holocaust and forced communism after WWII. There are
now only 180 left. We viewed the ghettos where Spielberg's famed movie
was filmed and looked across the river to see Schindler's factory.
 Rick
Steves writes that one must visit a milk bar here. Anna escorts us to
one of these government subsidized cafes for the working class. They are
a holdover from Poland's communist past. Everything is astonishingly
cheap. I ordered a bowl of homemade soup and cheesecake for $2. We then
visited Wawel Castle, a 12th century masterpiece and defining icon of
the city's pride. There were no queues as we walked its corridors of
history. This was the residence of kings for 500 years. Anna explains
its legend of the fire breathing dragon named Snok here who ate virgins
for breakfast. This was bolstered by the discovery of strange large
bones in the 1400's. (The bones are actually whale bones as this area on
Europe was once under water eons ago.) The dragon thus became the symbol
of the city and is omnipresent in souvenir shops. Anna then nudges us
inside various beautiful churches, for me always as boring as paint by
numbers, however they were exquisite. I ask if there are any Protestants
here. She replies, “Yes, maybe one.”
The afternoon was spent on restaurant and hotel inspections. I loved the
formal greetings and it's always educational. I learn about local
cuisine and accommodations in the best location for the best price. All
hotels were fully booked. Jews and Catholics visit year round on
religious pilgrimages or come for roots tours. Krakow was recently rated
in the top 10 European destinations. I now see why. Americans continue
to rave over Prague which I now find passé with inflated prices and
lower standards of service. It's become as expensive as Rome.
Eventually, Krakow may do the same once Poland converts to the Euro in
2012. For now one can splurge with affordable prices. Europeans flock
here for 50-70% savings. Germans and Danes in particular come for dental
and optometry needs. Medical tourism including plastic surgery is
booming. I met an Austrian flight attendant who fly's in monthly for spa
treatments at half cost.
At night we dined at Wierzynek Restaurant, the world’s
oldest that has served princes to tourists since 1364. It was delicious
peasant cuisine (organic) of wild boar, roast ribs and heaping mounds of
potatoes. I ask them to teach me some Polish, a Slavic language that is
as impossible as a mouthful of alphabet soup. The word toilet has 5
syllables.
 On
the third day, we awoke to a gray, cold and wet day which gave us the
appropriate ambiance for what we would see. Pavel drove us 60 miles to
Auschwitz. We were greeted by Yuri, our brilliant personal guide whose
sole passion was to enlighten us on the unthinkable tragedies that took
place here from 1940-45. I once visited Dachau, but this was the largest
of concentration camps. This death factory killed 1.4 million people of
27 nationalities. Most were Jews. The others were gypsies, Soviets,
Poles, gays, political dissidents and more. We entered the gate reading,
“Work will set you free.” Inside was a powerful reminder as we viewed
the crematoriums, starvation cells, kilos of hair, endless eye glasses
and a pond still gray from ashes 60 years ago. Most sobering to me was
the children's section. It held a sea of tiny shoes, dolls and
meticulous German documentation of 230,000 little ones who suffered and
died here.
We were driven to the extended camp of Birkenau Auschwitz II), with its
wooden barracks built to house 100,000 but eventually held 200,000+.
Together alone in silence, the three of us walked a half mile to see the
gas chambers and memorial monument. At the end of our tour, Yuri said
goodbye to us with this profound statement, “I've guided several
holocaust survivors who visited here like tourists. They told me at the
end that I have not presented 1% of how bad it really was.” This was the
most emotional touching site my eyes ever beheld.
 Late
afternoon we visited the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine. This mysterious and
vast underground city 3 miles long has extracted salt for 800 years. The
World Heritage Site draws a million visitors per year and it looks as
though they all arrived today. Our guide Justina seemed to have an
obsession with salt, but it was merely the love of her job as guide. She
said to follow her down 836 steps which was a better work out than a
Stairmaster. Caves bore me, but this site will remain etched in my mind
forever. Imagine underground chapels, ornate sculptures, chandleries and
life size figures carved entirely from salt or a restaurant and a post
office 380' below street level. It was spectacular. For centuries miners
and horses spent their lives here. They remained healthy in this rich
micro-climate. It has to do with magnesium ions, whatever those are?
Today people come to the healing chambers of the treatment complex for
isolation in natural air purity.
Day 4. I continually search the globe for unique things or places to
present to fellow travelers. Today I found it in Zakapane. For years
now, a friend of mine insisted I visit this mountain resort with the
funny name I could never remember. We drove to the pure air of the Tatra
Mountains with Eva, our expert guide that day. She said this adventure
destination of 60,000 residents swells to 200,000 nearly year round. In
summer they come for mineral spas and Alpine hiking. In winter they come
to ski. That week Zakapane hosted the International Ski Jumping
Competition.
Here was a charming town of artists and Gόrake, an ethnic group of
mountain highlanders. These wandering shepherds trace back to the 15th
century. They love to dress in their colorful clothes for tourists. They
live on cheese or anything smothered in cheese. We visited a cheese
market the size of Switzerland. As far as my eyes could see, there were
sheep and goat cheeses artistically sculpted into every shape
conceivable. We also toured the Aqua Park with an Olympic sized mineral
hot spring mineral pool and rode cable cars high into the mountains for
breathtaking scenery.
 It
was a most productive and enjoyable day tour. I found a local tour
company that arranges fun activities for groups such as horse sledding
through the forest, dog sledding and the new “white snow rafting” in
rubber rafts sloshing toboggan-style down the mountain. At the huge
outdoor market with countless ethnic stalls, I purchased a striking
leather and fur coat for $260 that fashionably looked 6 times its price.
There’s so much I didn’t get to see on this short visit.
On my next return, I’ll do the new “Crazy Communism Tour.” Outside
Krakow is Nowa Huta, once a severe socialist suburb of forced
industrialization. Massive steelworks factories overtook the rich farm
land. Doctor and professors were sent here to work. Miles of concrete
tenement blocks were erected to house them. On touryou can discover
experience firsthand Stalin’s gift to Krakow by riding in a classic East
German Trabant car out to Nowa Huta. A dinner of salted bread, pickles
and vodka is included, followed by dancing at a retro 70’s era disco.
Under the yoke of communism, the Poles refused to give
up their religion. Stalin said, “Implementing communism here is like
saddling a bull.” Faced against such a determined spirit in the people,
he gave up. I’m amazed at all the obstacles this stoic country has
overcome.
If you've “been there and bought the t-shirt” of London, Paris, Madrid
or Athens, I encourage you to visit undiscovered parts of Europe. Krakow
is destined to become the next Prague. It oozes with history, friendly
faces, hearty cuisine, and it won't break your pocketbook. If you can
visit the new Poland, please don't tell anyone about Zakapane, one of
the world's best kept secrets.
 |
|
 |
|
Fur & Leather Coat
Bargains! Zakapane |
|
Zakapane
|
 |
|
 |
|
The streets of Krakow |
|
Zakapane
|
|
|
