IHS in Krakow

Onward!  We left Warsaw by bus on Thursday morning.  The trip began with the Canadians playing music that led to a big jam session.  We stopped for gas and snacks, and then it was movie time for the next part of the trip.  We watched The Pianist, a movie about Wladislaw Szpilman, a Jewish pianist in WWII Warsaw.  We watched as he survived the ghetto, as his family was taken from the Umschlagplatz we had visited, as he hid in an apartment during the ghetto uprising of '43 and again in the Warsaw uprising of '44.  We saw him taking shelter in the hospital, one of only a few buildings to survive and which we had walked past the previous day on our tour (parts of the movie were actually filmed in those streets).  The movie brought to life all of the pieces we had seen, and though it is dark, students commented that they appreciated it.

We stopped briefly at a rest area, then headed to our hotel in Krakow, the city of dragons. This time we were right by old town--a short walk took us to the city walls and then on to the main square in Old Town Krakow (another UNESCO site).  We didn't linger, though--we passed on through to the south side of old town and to Wawel Hill and the impressive castle overlooking the Vistula.  This castle was in use 250 years before Columbus and was no longer in use by 1600.  It was impressive to say the least.  We had an hour or so to explore the castle and surrounding area, and we enjoyed that, though apparently we couldn't get in because of a funeral.  But the grounds and courtyard were impressive nonetheless, and a few of us grabbed a hot chocolate at the cafe up there.

Kendra, Hailey, Justice at Old Town Square, meeting the carriage horses, and avoiding the wind

At Wawel Castle

 Then it was off to dinner, which involved a walk through the old Jewish quarter.  I realized I had left my wallet at the cafe, but our guide Viki called the castle and learned that it was in the security offices.  So after dinner the group returned to the hotel while I went back to the castle to retrieve my wallet. This turned out to be ironically fortuitous, as the place is closed at night.  However, I got buzzed in and took the opportunity to snap a few photos of the castle at night, something tourists don't get to see.

While we had the opportunity to go to the (HUGE) mall across the street, our students were tired and mostly opted for in-room facials, Polish soccer on TV, and sleep.  Can't say I blame them!

This morning we did something a bit different.  While the Canadian group did a more formal walking tour of the Jewish quarter, we broke off and headed across the road to the Rakowicki Cemetery.  This place is interesting and beautiful in its own right, but we were particularly interested in finding the grave of Wislawa Szymborska, one of the poets we study senior year.  Our five seniors, who have already studied Szymborska's works, were particularly interested, and our underclassmen enjoyed learning from the others about the poet.  Then it was off to meet the group.  As we had to go clear across town, we decided to try the streetcars.  The cemetery porter was somewhat helpful, but he spoke NO English.  It took a few tries to get a group ticket as the machine kept spitting the coins back out at me, but in the end and with a lot of laughs we managed it.  Gus and I even successfully navigated the system without a single wrong turn, and we passed the Canadians on foot just before getting off, allowing us to meet up with them easily.

The seniors "meet" Szymborska

At the cemetery

Aaron, Sarah, Justice, and Kaela navigate the trams

Our destination was the Schindler factory.  Students learned about Schindler and how he used his factory to save the lives of over 1,000 Jews of Krakow.  The factory itself is gone, but the office building remains.  The museum began with life in Krakow in the summer of 1939, just before the invasion, and showed us what life was like in the days of Nazi occupation.  We learned about daily life in various stages of the war, both for the Jews of the city and their non-Jewish neighbors.  We saw both a mock up (used for the movie) and the actual offices of Oskar Schindler, saw how those in the city hid both arms and Jews, saw original source material, learned about the ghetto pharmacist Tadeusz Pankiewicz, and sat in a railway station listening to the news of about the bombing of Poland.   It was an incredibly experiential museum that took the entire group from the free days of the 1930s to the arrival of the Red Army and the beginning of the USSR's influence.

The museum ended with the Room of Choices, a round room with inscriptions describing the choices people made and their impact--giving a loaf of bread to a neighbor, laughing as a beard was cut off a Jewish rabbi, etc.  It was a powerful ending to remind us that we can each make choices every day, and each of those choices has an impact on the human beings around us.  Gus and I are grateful every day that we teach at IHS, where our students learn these values, but more significantly, they come with these values already a part of their consciousness.  We have no doubt that each of these students would have their deeds listed in the white book of the museum rather than the black one.

In the mock train station listening to the news of the invasion of Poland

This jarring replica helped us understand what life was like in occupied Poland

Schindler's office (the map is original)

No flash allowed, so a bit blurry, but students learned about the Katyn massacre

Room of Choices

In which book are your deeds?  Interactive display with real stories of choices people made

After this thought provoking visit, hunger became the main focus.  We took advantage of our group ticket and took the tram back into Old Town, where we had free time for the afternoon.  We split into pairs and small groups to have lunch and explore.  Some of us opted for carriage rides, while others went shopping in the big market in the center of the square.  Naps in the sunshine, visits to the cathedral, hot chocolate in the cafes, gelato and a stroll back to Wawel Hill, The house of John Paul II, and an exploration of the park were part of the day as everyone got a chance to see and explore at their own pace.  We met back up for dinner, which was vegetable soup and pierogi (Polish dumplings).  Since dinner was just off the square, we got to walk through it after dark.  The whole place has a different feel and look, and it is stunning.

Our fearless leader takes a nap in the square

Trying gelato

Our group (a bit fuzzy) by the clock that says IHS

Alex and Kendra try pierogi

We have an early morning and a long day tomorrow, both physically and emotionally--tomorrow we head to Auschwitz before we drive to Prague.  Expect the next blog post from there!