I woke up to find that my phone hadn’t charged overnight so I quickly plugged it in and started charging it. The phone is my lifeline when I’m out in town. It keeps me from getting lost. 

Breakfast in the hotel was fine. The mail Hotel server asked how I would like my eggs either scrambled or fried. I said scrambled. I had toast with strawberry jam and a banana and scrambled eggs.

Before I left the hotel I decided it would be best to inquire of the hotel staff if I could schedule a tour for the Auschwitz concentration camp and the salt mine. The lady at the desk recommended I should schedule to separate tours rather than doing them both on the same day. Therefore since tomorrow was going to be raining I scheduled the salt mine tour for tomorrow. The Off Woods tour I scheduled for Wednesday. I would need to visit the ATM to get cash as they would need to give it to the tour operator.

Today was free day at the Oscar Schindler Museum. It opened at 10 a.m. And on the way I was going to drop off my laundry at Frania Cafe on the way there.

I failed the laundry place quite easily as I had looked on Google Maps to figure out where exactly it was. I couldn’t determine if it was a cafe or a laundry mat or both. It seemed a little bit too hipster for me to hang out there. I paid the equivalent of 7 dollars for laundry which would mean that they would wash and dry and fold the clothes for me within 3 hours. This was quite a bargain. 

I made it to the Oscar Schindler Museum. There was already a line and people who had purchased tickets beforehand actually got to go first. I finally made it in at 10:15 a.m. I watched a short movie of survivors of the Schindler Factory. It gave a good overview of the story. Actually the Rick Steves book gave been even better description of how Oscar Schindler was able to save around 700 Jews from the concentration camps.

Very little of the museum is dedicated to Oscar Schindler. Instead it examined World War II history from the perspective of Krakow and its citizens with a special concentration on the Jewish plight. It was one of the better museums that I had been too. There was no audio God but none was needed as there were English descriptions on each of the exhibits.

After the museum I decided to walk back the way I came and visit the Jewish quarter. I checked to see if there were any attractions near me and discovered that the Eagle Pharmacy was nearby. In fact it was on the Ghetto Heroes’ Square with the empty chairs. This is much like the Oklahoma City Memorial with empty chairs.

I took several pictures each trying to avoid having a tourist in the photo. It would be great to visit this Square when no one is around. But there always seemed to be a tour group or a couple around taking Glamour Shots of the square. 

I spied a Telepizza nearby and ordered a pepperoni pizza without onions. (I made this mistake in Gdansk and ended up having to pull the onions out of the standard pepperoni pizza).

How ironic was it for me to be eating a pork based product in a square honoring Jewish victims of the Holocaust. On top of that I saw couples posing beside the empty chairs as if it was a glamour shot.

This is one of those things that I despise about traveling in Europe. Sometimes you will see couples striking a pose and in the course making themselves look very foolish. Plus with this empty chair Memorial it seemed obit over the top and sacrilegious to do this kind of thing. On top of that a group of high school or college at aged kids showed up and did what college age kids do that is not seem to care or have any interest in the memorial around them and use the empty chairs as shelves for their book bags.

After eating I found the Eagle Pharmacy but unfortunately they had closed by the time I found it. It was only 11:30 p.m. but they close at 2 p.m. It’s Times Like These when I wish I worked Baker’s hours.

I then decided to try to find some Jewish historical sites in the Jewish quarter. I found the new Jewish cemetery easily even though the Rick Steves book said that it was difficult to find. The new Jewish cemetery is not all that new dating back to the 1800s. Moss and vines covers up many of the headstones. Before I entered a female cemetery worker ran up and asked me if I spoke English. Not sure how to answer her I reluctantly told her yes. As it turns out she just wanted me to wear a yamaka with a bobby pin. Apparently yamakas are required for all men not just Jewish men, at holy Jewish sites. 

I didn’t set out to find other synagogues and the old Jewish cemetery. One of the synagogues I came to was closed. I did find another one however the inner part of the worship area seemed a very sparse. This is the case with many synagogues that I visited as apparently Jews did not decorate their houses of worship the way Catholics decorated theirs. 

I found another Jewish synagogue which was being refurnished. I believe a donation was strongly encouraged however I was able to sneak in with a tour group. Again the inside part of the synagogue was nothing special and therefore I decided that it was not worth visiting any other synagogues as I’m a photographer and prefer more photographic scenes.

I figured now it might be a good time to try to visit it Wawell Hill, which is where the castle and Cathedral are located. I made my way up the hill,  took some photos, and bought my ticket to the Cathedral at the ticket stand. Initially I got the ticket without the audio guide. However when I got into the cathedral I decided to go back and get the audio guide as I would have had no idea what any of this meant.

As collateral for the audio guide they do ask that a form of ID is left. I left my driver’s license. 

The cathedrals dedicated to to well-known Polish figures, one of which was King Wenceslas. 

With the tour I got to go to the top of the cathedral to look out through a fenced-in area of the Old Town. The old town is a bit far away but you can still make out some of the landmarks.

Several polish figures are buried there, including most recently the president of Poland and his wife, victims of the 2010 plane crash in Russia.

After I finished my tour and got my driver’s license back, decided to see if there were any tours available of the castle. I looked around and it looked like all of the Museum’s of the castle were closed. This confirmed my suspicions when I asked the lady at the ticket booth. Apparently they close at 4 p.m.

I decided now would be a good time to go back and get my laundry, take it back to my room, and then go find supper.

After returning to my room with my laundry, which was nice and folded by the way, I decided to go and try to find the old town. My hotel is located within easy walking distance of the Old Town.

In front of St Maria’s Church there appeared to be some hip hop guys show up to do a dance demonstration. At first I thought it might have been a fraternity dare wrong because to be quite honest with you these guys looked quite uncool.

Just like an old cliche the Krakow Hard Rock Cafe is located in the most centralized part of the town beside a well-known landmark. I really thought that Hard Rock Cafes went out in the 90s. But just like the United Colors of Benetton and Tommy Hilfiger, Hard Rock Cafe seem to hang on overseas if only to give American visitors the taste of a decent burger.

I ate a Burger Station which appeared to be a hip burger joint with free wifi. The only problem is that I don’t think I’m as hip as what their preferred clientele would be. Regardless I ordered the standard cheeseburger on the special Italian bun as recommended by the server at the cash register. My burger came drenched in ketchup and mayonnaise so much that I was using tons of napkins. Underneath my napkins on my plate for the plastic disposable gloves which I use to serve food at summer camp. I felt foolish putting on those gloves but somehow it was helping me keep my hands from getting too messy. 

Tomorrow I have a big day. I’ll be going to the Salt Mine. Due to some confusion on my hotel receptionist’s part, she scheduled the wrong day for the salt mine tour. I wanted it scheduled for Tuesday at 9 a.m. but she scheduled it for Wednesday at 9 a.m. Since Tuesday’s weather forecast is showing rain I preferred Tuesday for the mine tour. But by the time she rescheduled it the 9 a.m. slots were filled and I had to settle for a 11:15 a.m. slot. So I guess tomorrow I’ll get up early and head into the old town and try to see some Churches which my open early before being back in my hotel in time to catch the tour at 11:15.

So far Krakow scenes very interesting I should be able to see most of it during my three days left.