Thursday, October 18th
On Thursday morning we toured Krakow’s Jewish community, Kazimierz. Although the district was home to almost 70,000 at its peak, it is now home to only about 300. Our first stop there was the tiny New Synagogue, which was undergoing extensive restoration work. After a brief stop inside, we headed outside to see the cemetery, the walls of which are made of old tombstones.
As our tour guide explained, the symbols on tombstones reveal things about the person buried under them. The broken branch she’s showing us here, for example, means that the person died when he or she was young.
Moving on, we visited one of the most important graves in the cemetery, that of the 16th-century Rabbi Moses Isserles. When he died, his followers admired him so much that his tombstone was inscribed with the phrase, “From Moses to Moses, no one came as Moses.”
Our next stop was just down the street, in front of the Old Synagogue. The square where we were standing is just one of several locations in Kazimierz where scenes for the movie Schindler’s List were filmed.
With as sunny as it was, Gena had a perfect excuse to look stylish in her shades.
Guided through Kazimierz’s alleys, we eventually reached another picturesque location where Schindler’s List was filmed.
Chavonn, Kelsey, and Bettina ascended the stairs there to get a better view.
We then proceeded to Tempel Synagogue, the last stop on our tour. Far more ornate than either the Old or New Synagogue, this synagogue was home to a much more progressive congregation, which wanted to do things like let men and women worship together.
For lunch, we took some time to enjoy a local favorite named zapiekanki.
After an hour, though, we walked to the building that was once Oskar Schindler’s factory, which we had become familiar with while watching Schindler’s List as a group before catching our train to Krakow on Tuesday night. Once there, we were able to walk through the World War II museum that now occupies the building at our own pace.
Friday, October 19th
The next morning, a handful of us dared to rent bicycles and venture outside of Krakow’s center.
While picking our bikes, we had such options as Sunshine, Rainbow, Vladimir, and No Hands to choose from.
Regardless of which bike each of us picked, though, it was a beautiful day for a bike ride. To see a video featuring a couple of short segments from the ride, click here.
Most of us turned around and headed back to the center after about an hour on our bikes. When we made it to the river, it was time for some group pictures. Pictured here are Michael, Chris, myself, and Marcos.
Here are Austen, Megan, and Jenny.
Meanwhile, Bettina and Ken were still on the outskirts of Krakow. When Bettina’s bike ended up with a flat, Ken rode back to the center with only one tire.