Krakow and the Nazi's Final Solution

The Final Solution (A Krakow short break) I recently had the privilege of travelling to Krakow for a long weekend. It is something that I have had on my mind for a long time, as something I wanted to do, but never quite got round to it! It is a very simple and easy destination to get to. You can fly from Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted with flights at most times of the day. We flew out of Gatwick and back into Stansted to get the most of the day of arrival and of departure. Upon arrival, its so simple to get into the city. The airport has its own station, and within 20 minutes of gliding through the Polish countryside, we arrived at Krakow Glowny train station, just outside the old town. We stayed in serviced apartments just off the main square. The accommodation was quiet, clean, well equipped and modern.. Arriving just in time for lunch, we were braced for a simple, potato based menu. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Every style of food, from pizza to Thai, Indian to Chinese was available. All reasonably priced. I can thoroughly recommend the local beer as well. I’d recommend getting a guided tour of the city. That way you can see the old town, Jewish quarter and the ghetto in comfort, and warmth (important in autumn and winter). The city feels modern and clean, and very welcoming. The Jewish quarter is well worth seeing (although no longer has the truly Jewish vibe I suspect it had pre war), as is the ghetto with its haunting square of chairs. On our first full day, we held our breath and took a half day tour to Auschwitz Birkenau. The journey is around 2 hours by bus to the notorious concentration camp. They play a video of the horrors to await you, which is sobering enough. It is a destination I think everyone should visit at some point in the lives, to remind yourself of the terrors that human beings can do to each other. We saw Auschwitz main camp, and the horrors of the human hair and glasses mountains, not to mention the suitcase pile, clothes and other remnants of peoples lives. Guides use small microphones that broadcast to individual headphones, so the place is earily quiet despite being packed with visitors. Once done there, we drive another 5 minutes to Birkenau, which is where the notorious cattle trains took poor (mainly )Jewish deportees on their last journey. The experience of both camps was truly sobering, but the guide was incredible in bringing the horror to life for us all. I am not ashamed to say that I was truly moved to tears. I was glad for the return journey to recover my composure. On day 2, we visited the mountain resort of Zakopane as a light relief to the day before. Again, 2 hours from Krakow, and much more of an alpine feel. Lots of market stalls to visit, cable cars to ride and views to be seen…..very interesting day trip. I would recommend at least 3 nights in Krakow (4 nights if you want to visit the salt mines), and more if you enjoy just wandering around the city. There is so much history to explore. ’d also suggest watching Schindler's list and Sophie’s choice to emmerse yourself in Polish history. Go to Krakow, as part of your experience of life.