Saturday, 5 July. A “free” day. Why free? Because it is Shabbat. I took the time to wander around the old town of Krakow. It is a charming city with a lot of character.
This being a very Catholic city, there are a ton of churches. I took the time to take a look at a few of them. One of the churches I stopped in was the late pope John Paul II’s old parish from his days as archbishop of Krakow. It is simply stunning. Here is a picture of the nave. And there was one special pew that John Paul liked to pray in. At this spot there is a silver plaque. It is touching.
Another highlight of the walk was an old café called Michael’s Cave. According to the literature, it began in 1895 but respectable folks wouldn’t visit because there was a brothel on the top floors. So Michael invited art students. As we know, art students do not have a lot of money. As a result they were allowed to pay with artwork, including these fabulous puppets.
Finally, the evening ended with the grand finale concert of klezmer music in the Kazamiercz, the old Jewish quarter, to commemorate the 18th annual Jewish Festival in Krakow. Now I have to admit here that I find the whole celebration of culture that has been basically eliminated from the general population two generations ago a bit strange. However, the music was good and the square was packed.
1 comment:
Saul,
I can not express in words how appreciative I am for the blog, your daily stories and the attached comments from various Travelers & Parents.
As Parents we always follow our kids, wherever they go and most times without them being aware of it, in our hearts and worries.
But, here we are following the whole Jewish world, our past history and our future as unique Nation through your trip, using your legs, your eyes and the many stories that we will want to hear when you all come back.
You, the Teachers, the Parents, Tzipy, Manny, Michael and our Kids are fullfiling the command to "Never Forget" and in theme of the words from Seder Pesach - Every Jew should fill as he himself left Egypt and lived the horros of the Holocaust.
Thank you so much for sharing,
Mati (Loni's Dad)
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