Krakow Inspection - Catherine Stephenson

Adaptable Travel’s Educational Travel Consultant, Catherine Stephenson, has just visited Krakow to refresh her knowledge of the visits and to see this beautiful city at Christmas time:

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Day 1 – Arrival - Krakow old town and Jewish meal

On arrival in Krakow, we took the express train into the city centre. It’s very straightforward, with the platform located just outside the airport arrivals area. Most of our groups travel into Krakow with our pre-arranged coach transfers, but a small group with hand luggage only, would be fine to travel by public transport. The express train is very cheap at PLN 17 (approx. £3.30) from the airport to the Krakow main train station and tram journeys in the city are PLN 4 (80p) for 20-minute trip or PLN 6 (£1.20) for 60-minute trip. There are ticket machines in English on the platforms and tickets need to be stamped on the train.

We arrived at the Maksymilian Hotel and checked into our room. We had a very comfortable stay at this 3* hotel which is located just 10-minute walk from the main city square (Rynek Glowny). It’s a small hotel, placed in a beautiful old building dating from 1871, with 47 rooms so only suitable for smaller student groups. Rooms are equipped with air con, TV, safe, free Wi-Fi access and a modern bathroom with a shower and hairdryer. The breakfast room is located on the basement floor with a good selection of cereals, juices, coffee machine, cold buffet and hot food.

After a quick bag drop in our rooms, we met our guide Paulina, arranged by our excellent incoming partner agent in Krakow. We use Paulina for groups wherever possible, so it was great to experience her guiding first hand, both in the old town and later in the Jewish quarter. We walked to the central square and she recommended a restaurant to get a hot lunch before we continued with the guided tour. We enjoyed a delicious warming soup at the Polish Morksie Oko Restaurant. My mushroom soup came in a bowl made from bread which was quite a sight!

All refreshed, our guide showed us the sights of the central square with the beautiful Christmas market, stunning town hall tower, centrally located cloth hall and the striking St Mary’s Basilica. We caught a brief glimpse of the Christmas market lights and Paulina guided us around the main sights of the square.

Town Hall Tower (Wieża Ratuszowa)

Our guide, Paulina, explained this lonely 75 metre Town Hall Tower on the main square was built, as part of the town hall, in 1316 and this building was the seat of the mayor, the city council and courts. The other parts of the town hall were demolished in 1820, and this beautiful tower is the only part still standing. The tower is now a museum and can be visited daily for an admission fee and it’s free to visit on Mondays. We didn’t go inside but Paulina told us the view from the top is very good but there are 110 steps to the top!

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Cloth Hall (Sukiennice)

This beautiful hall is the centre piece of the main city square (Rynek Glowny). It’s the symbol of the city and Paulina explained it’s the oldest ‘commercial centre’. The original hall was built in the 13^th century and was the site of trading in the city. Cloth merchants could only sell their goods at the cloth hall. Today, the ground floor is still full of stalls but rather than cloth, it’s all now souvenirs and jewellery. The first floor, Smatruz, is now an art gallery of Polish painting and can be visited as a branch of the National Museum.

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St. Mary’s Basilica

This striking church has two towers, one taller than the other and stands prominently on the main square. A trumpeter plays a bugle call from the north, south, east and west of the taller tour, every hour, on the hour, 24 hours a day.  We stood to watch this happen and the call ends abruptly each time. This is intentional as legend says that a trumpeter noticed the advancing Tartar army and used his bugle to warn the city and the gates were closed. Despite his heroic actions, halfway through playing, he was hit by an arrow and stopped abruptly, and this is how the call is played to this day. 

We also viewed the inside of the church of this beautiful church. The interior is stunning, particularly the golden Wit Stwosz Alterpiece. Paulina walked us through the church. She explained there’s an entrance fee which needs considering and groups should avoid mass at 10 & 11am on weekdays and additional 12 & 1pm mass on Sundays.

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Old town & Wawel Castle

We left the square and walked south along the cobbled Grodzka street. We passed the beautiful Church of St. Peter and Paul, a great example of early Baroque architecture in Krakow and the twelve apostles stand on columns as part of the beautiful façade. There are classical concerts performed here most nights. We continued walking along this street and passed the current town hall and arrived at the Wawel Castle walls.

It was about 4.30pm when we reached Wawel Hill, and the castle was already illuminated. Unfortunately, our flight had been delayed in the morning due to fog and mist in Krakow, and so we missed our slot for Paulina to guide us around in the inside of the castle. However, from the outside, you can still admire the beautiful building and really get a sense for the scale of the castle. It’s incredibly big with the Wawel Cathedral, Royal Palace, John Paul II Cathedral Museum and State rooms and treasury just some of the places you can visit either guided or unguided inside the castle walls.

Paulina explained that, during the eleventh century, Polish monarchs built this Gothic-style Royal Castle on Wawel hill and throughout the centuries it has been reformed. Important royal family members are buried in the Wawel Cathedral and, although Paulina considers St Mary’s Basilica more beautiful, she said that this cathedral holds more importance and significance.

The castle is situated next to the Vistula River, and we did a full circuit around the walls, including the banks of the river and visited the statue of the Wawel Dragon. Here, the dragon blows fire regularly, every 5 minutes or so. There’s a cave under the castle, the Dragon’s Den, and Polish legend states the famous dragon lived here and terrorised the city of Krakow in the 13^th century until he was killed by King Krakus’s son.

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Evening Jewish Meal and Klezmer Concert

We left our guide at the castle and took the short walk further south and into the Jewish quarter (Kazimierz district). This is a very interesting part of the city and where a large Jewish population lived until the Second World War. An area we knew we would explore further on Day 3.

We headed to the Ariel Restaurant for our planned Jewish evening meal and Klezmer Concert. This restaurant is a beautiful old building with a lot of character. Paulina had previously told us that a scene from Spielberg’s ‘Schindler’s List’ was filmed in this restaurant. On arrival we were directed upstairs for our set meal and concert. We enjoyed a tasty soup for starter, followed by a traditional meal of carp sauteed with onions and mushrooms, potato pancake, salad and a traditional dessert. After our main course, the concert started with Jewish Klezmer music including a clarinet, accordion and keyboard player. Both the clarinet and keyboard player also sang some of the traditional songs. We had joined a party of American tourists, and everyone looked to be really enjoying the meal and music.

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Day 2 – Salt Mines, Christmas market and Polish Aviation Museum

After our hotel breakfast, we met our driver Leon at 8.30am for a transfer to the popular Wieliczka salt mine. The journey takes around 40 minutes, and we arrived in good time to meet our guide at 09.20am. The tour starts from Danilowicz Shaft and ends either in the same place or Regis Schaft.

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Salt Mines

This was the first time I had visited, and it was a definite highlight of the trip. It’s a popular choice for groups who are spending a bit longer in Krakow and would like a lighter cultural visit to balance the difficult Holocaust history with something a bit more light-hearted. We had a great guide Patrycja and were just amazed by the salt labyrinth of beautiful underground chambers, chapels and sculptures carved out of salt.  We understand now why it’s UNESCO World Heritage site and it’s a must stop with over one million visitors per year. Patrycja informed us this visit is a must for Polish school groups and is part of the country’s cultural heritage.

We followed the Tourist Route which lasts 2-3 hours. Patrycja explained that they also offer a route accessible for disabled visitors with lifts and the 800+ steps avoided. They also offer a Minor’s Route for those tourists wanting to turn into novice miners and enter the harsh and less touristy darker area of the mine.

We started the tour and descended approximately 380 steps to level I (64m) to enter the mine. The return to the surface is then by lift from Level III (135m) so you descend some distance during the tour. You can look down the lit staircase and see how far the steps descend, it’s a long way! The tour is very well set up for tourists, with comfortable paths, good ventilation and the mine keeps a steady temperature of 17-18 degrees, so it keeps you warm in the winter and cooler in the summer.

Patrycja explained the history of the Wieliczka miners. Salt was highly treasured, often called white gold and brought much wealth to the region. It was highly desirable for seasoning and food preservation. This mine has produced salt since the 13^th century up until 2007 and is one of the oldest mines in the world.

During the tour, you learn how miners skilfully used primitive tools, rather than machinery, to carve this amazing underground kingdom. There are various salt sculpture and statue displays to show what life was like for the early miners and the dangers they experienced, including the risk of gas explosions. Work horses also lived down in the mine as it was too difficult to transport them in and out each day.

There’s also the legend that underground gnomes get to work at night in the mine and there was a section of carved gnomes working away. The miners told tales of how their tools had moved in the night and the gnomes had been working hard.

The most spectacular sights of the tour are the chambers and chapels. St Kinga’s Chapel is the most famous, with its salt crystal chandeliers and beautiful carvings. It’s a gem in the mine and Patrycja informed us that weddings for up to 400 people can take place here. It is also used for other events, including concerts. Many of the chapels and chambers are used as event spaces including company meetings and celebrations. In fact, the Warszawa Chamber, had just received the Polish president the day before and the conference seats and flags were all still in place!

Before catching the lift back to the entrance, we visited the souvenir shop and walked through the large restaurant. I bought some kitchen rock salt with garlic. As well kitchen salt with spices, they also offered salt-based cosmetics. Groups booking a tour can choose and order a lunch to be served at a selected time in this restaurant. We weren’t hungry enough to eat here but the selection of food looked good. There is also a smaller café and souvenir shop about 1.5hrs into the tour and we had already stopped here for a coffee.

We said our goodbyes and thanks to Patrycja and met driver Leon for our journey back into the city and lunch at the Christmas market.

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Christmas Market

The Christmas market is located on the main square, close to the City Hall Tower. It’s beautifully set against the backdrop of the Cloth Hall with pretty lights and a stage with various musical acts. We enjoyed the mulled wine and the amazing variety of hot soups, cheeses and Pierogi (little filled dumplings). I don’t eat meat but there were also various grilled meats and sausages on offer. The stalls sold many Christmas decorations, toys and souvenirs and I bought a beautiful bauble for the tree. It was an interesting twist on the German Christmas markets I usually visit this time of year.  We had lunch here on Day 2 and went back many times before we flew home!

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Polish Aviation Museum

In the afternoon, we had free time, and my husband was keen to visit the Polish Aviation Museum. It’s just a little out of the city centre but it was very easy to get to on the no. 4 tram from outside our hotel (closed Mondays and there’s an entrance fee on Weds-Sunday). It was interesting and might appeal to some of our history groups. It exhibits the history of Polish aviation with large static displays of many different aircraft, including those from WWII and the Cold War. There’s a large outdoor display, plus many exhibits in hangars and an interactive exhibition in the main museum building. It was worth a visit, particularly as it’s also free of charge on Tuesdays.

We headed back into the city centre and enjoyed an Italian meal at the Pizzeria Cyklop which Paulina recommended. Very tasty food pizzas and pastas in a restaurant just round the corner from St Mary’s Basilica. We should investigate if they will take school group bookings!

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Day 3 – Jewish quarter and ghetto - Galicia Museum and Schindler’s walking tour

After breakfast, we walked south to the Jewish quarter (Kazimierz) to spend more time in this district of the city.

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Galicia Jewish Museum

We walked to the Galicia Jewish Museum for our first visit of the day. We met with Head of the Educational Department at the museum, Katarzyna Suszkiewicz. She guided us around this award-winning museum.

She explained the purpose of the museum is to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust and the Jewish culture of Polish Galicia. It was founded in 2004 by Chris Schwarz, an international photojournalist. He first travelled to Poland in the early eighties and returned after the fall of communism. He was particularly interested in the relics of Jewish life. Chris transformed an empty warehouse into the museum as a home for his photos.

The permanent photo exhibition is called ‘Traces of Memory’. It focuses on contemporary colour photos with section 1 named ‘Jewish Life in Ruins’ including photos of abandoned Jewish cemeteries and ruined synagogues. This section is very moving, a visual of an empty Polish landscape in ruins with around 90% of Poland’s 3.3 million Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

This exhibit also covers Holocaust sites of massacre and destruction, how we remember the past and the revival of Jewish life. The photos are very engaging and provoke many discussion points. For example, there are photos side by side, one focusing on non-Jewish Poles who saved Jews and a second on those who hunted them down. You put yourself in their shoes and ask what you would’ve done. Would you have made the decision to help and hide a Jewish family and risk your own life or would you protect yourself and your family’s life and turn a blind eye or even make Nazi officials aware of their whereabouts.  This main exhibit does end on a more positive note with a section on the Revival of Jewish Life.

We were also shown a new temporary exhibit which focuses on Renia Spiegel’s Diary ‘Poland’s Anne Frank’. Written from January 1939 to July 1942, it’s an invaluable record of the last years of her young life as a Polish Jew before she was murdered in the summer of 1942. The exhibit documents the story of the diary and how Renia’s mother and sister survived and emigrated to the US and how the diary was returned to them in 1950, however it was only translated and first read in 2012. Click here to watch the recent film made by the museum, supported by the US consulate in Krakow.

Katarzyna then showed us through to the educational rooms at the back of the museum. This included the seated meeting room where groups meet with the relative of a Holocaust survivor and we were also shown the workshop area. Katarzyna wanted to stress the many workshops available for school groups. They have an extensive educational programme, with a variety of workshops on offer.

We were also shown a new area which was being built for younger students, including bright colours and interactive games introducing children to Jewish history and the themes of the museum. It was still being decorated and is a great idea to engage younger visitors.

At the end of the tour, our previous city guide Paulina, was waiting for us at the museum café. We set off on the Schindler’s walking tour to include the Jewish quarter, ghetto and Schindler’s factory.

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Schindler’s walking tour

The tour took us through the important sites of Jewish culture, religion and history of the Jewish quarter (Kazimierz), including Remuh Synagogue and Cemetery, kosher restaurants and memorials. We visited a staircase location where Steven Spielberg’s ‘Schindler’s List’ was filmed. Many of the scenes for the ghetto were actually filmed in this larger district.

We then crossed the river, which acted as a natural border between the Jewish quarter and the ghetto. Paulina explained how the Jewish population were herded, with as many possessions as they could carry, from the Kazimierz into the very small Jewish ghetto, part of the Podgorze district of the city. They were imprisoned by high Ghetto walls and forced to live in very cramped and difficult conditions, unaware their fate would soon be the Auschwitz gas chamber. Once we had crossed the river, we arrived at the Plac Bohaterow Getta (Hero’s Square) and a moving memorial of 70 empty chairs. The memorial is left to your interpretation, but Paulina suggests it represents the empty furniture discarded here and in turn the moment human life was treated in very much the same way. She pointed out the Pod Orlem pharmacy in the far corner of the square which operated in the Jewish Ghetto and how the owner, Tadeusz Pankiewicz, saved many Jewish lives.

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Schindler’s Factory Museum

The Schindler’s Factory Museum is located in the office building of the factory, rather than the factory itself. The actual factory building is now the MOCAK (Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow).

Paulina guided us through the important parts of the museum. The main exhibition focuses on Krakow under Nazi Occupation 1939-1945 including the outbreak of war, the city square (renamed Adolf-Hitler Platz), everyday life, the Jewish ghetto, Schindler’s reception desk and office, Schindler’s factory products and follows chronologically through to the entrance of the Red Army, end of WWII and the Gallery of Survivors. It’s an interactive museum with each room carefully laid out, including living conditions in the Jewish Ghetto, Jewish hiding places. It’s a very good documentation of how the city was affected during WWII.

At the end of the museum, we thanked Paulina and said our goodbyes. We walked over to the fragment of the Ghetto Wall which is left as a memorial.

We headed back into the Jewish quarter and headed for a snack at the famous Zapiekanki hole in the wall kiosks at Plac Nowy, the historic round building. This Krakowian street food is very popular and available day and night. The Zapiekanki are long baguettes cut in half and topped with mushrooms, cheese, ketchup and a choice of toppings. They were delicious!

We enjoyed time exploring the Jewish quarter on our own. It’s great to see that it has undergone quite the revival, and the area is now full of restaurants, pubs, cafes and museums. It was a positive end to a day of dark history.

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Day 4 – Auschwitz and Birkenau

We met our driver Leon at 7.40am for the approx. 1.5-hour transfer to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial.  

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Auschwitz I

As we approached the car park at the first camp, Auschwitz I, I could see the entrance area had been redeveloped. I previously visited around 16 years ago and was aware of practical changes to the site to cope with the influx of tourism to the site. The number of visitors to the memorial increased by an approx. 1 million from 2009 to 2019.  A new Visitor Services Centre was opened in June 2023 and is fully accessible for disabled people. This new entrance building now houses a bookshop, restaurant, luggage storage and a new toilet block is situated opposite.

Leon parked in a drop off zone and advised us to check with our guide if he needed to transport us after our tour of the first camp, Auschwitz I, to the second camp, Birkenau, or if we would be taking the regular shuttle busses which run between the two. We saw these busses parked outside the main entrance. We would contact him to make this arrangement if needed, and he advised our groups would use their private coaches, which had transported them from Krakow, to travel between the camps on site.  

We walked in the main entrance and queued to go throughout the airport style security check. You are met by a steward who scans your timed ticket, which includes your passport name, and checks are made against passport ID, you then enter the security check, before meeting your guide for your timed entry. Our partner agent had arranged for own personal guide, and she met us at the information desk and showed us through the turnstile. This was all completely different from my previous visit and, due to the overwhelming demand, groups are advised to arrive 30 minutes before their timed entrance in order to go through these checks in time. Once we entered through the turnstile, we were then taken to a headset collection point, as all guides must use a microphone headset to talk to their group during the tour of Auschwitz I.

We left the visitor centre, and we entered Auschwitz I via a pathed walkway which stretched from the visitor centre to the original entrance and haunting ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ gateway. As we started along the walkway, there are high stone walls and a mass of various sized stones lining the path. Our guide explained that, in Jewish tradition, small stones are left at graves as a mark of respect. As you walk through this high white walled area, names of Auschwitz victims, are recited over a loudspeaker. I found this new approach to the camp very moving. It is very quiet and respectful and a very appropriate entrance to the horrors through the famous gateway.

Inside the Auschwitz I camp, which is surrounded by watch towers, our guide walked us through the various exhibitions in the designated barrack buildings. The first building explained the decision which was made for the ‘Final Solution’, and the plan for this death camp, including models of the gas chambers. Our guide pointed out a map detailing the numbers of Jews which were deported here from various parts of Europe and how Auschwitz was chosen due to this strategic location, central to all the concentration camps in Europe. It was also stressed the Nazis also deported non-Jewish prisoners such as political opponents, Soviet prisoners of war, Sinti and Roma, along with other groups considered enemies of the Third Reich.

In this building, our guide explained how, on arrival by train, having already experienced a terrible journey, prisoners were split into two groups, useful and non-useful. Photos of the non-useful line is just heartbreaking to see many mothers holding children, the elderly, sick and handicapped. Those considered non-useful thought that they were being resettled and had their belongings with them. They had already travelled a potentially long journey in very cramped conditions on the train, were told they were going to have a shower. Instead, they were stripped of their clothes, any possessions, jewellery taken away and taken to the gas chamber. Those prisoners considered useful were given hard labour at the camp, or neighbouring factories, or farms taken over by the SS. They would often die of illness, starvation or from severe beatings or experimentation.

The second building is dedicated to the prisoner’s possessions. This is an incredibly moving part of the exhibition with possessions piled high behind plated glass. These include hair, which was brutally shaved or cut off prisoners’ heads, thousands of pairs of glasses, suitcases, shoes, Jewish prayer shawls, pots & pans, artificial limbs and walking sticks.

On route to the exhibition in the third building, our guide pointed out the building where female prisoners were used as guinea pigs for research on sterilisation. Horrendous experiments were undertaken with no pain relief. In the third building, we were shown the cells where prisoners were kept before execution. These prisoners had shown resistance or helped another to try and escape. Some of the cells were very dark and small and you can only imagine what was going through their mind. We paid our respects at a memorial located in the execution yard outside.

In the final part of the visit to this first camp, we visited one of the many gas chambers across the two camps. Our guide explained how the prisoners thought they were having showers, only for gas to then be released and everyone suffocated within 20 minutes. You then walked through to the furnaces and bodies were stripped of gold teeth, artificial limbs, hair, anything of any value whilst the bodies were incinerated. Sometimes 4 smaller bodies in one furnace at a time. The description is truly horrific.

Our guide also pointed out the execution post where the first commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, was executed for war crimes after WWII. The execution point is located close to the gas chambers.

At this point, we walked back through Auschwitz I towards the entrance gate, we walked past the roll call area where every prisoner was counted at the start and end of each day. They could be stood outside for hours. Our guide also pointed out the hospital but explained conditions here were poor and the spread of disease was rampant.

We headed out of the main entrance and back to the visitor’s centre to hand back the headsets. We walked through the bookshop area and arranged a transfer with Leon to Birkenau. Our guide travelled separately and this 7-minute journey to the second camp, Birkenau, breaks up this general 3.5-hour tour into two parts. 

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Birkenau (Auschwitz II)

We met our guide at the entrance to Birkenau and enter this second camp. This part of the tour is mostly outdoors, and you really get a feel for the conditions the prisoners must have faced. The weather whilst we were in Krakow was a mild 5 degrees, but you feel the area is very exposed and you can only imagine the dreadful conditions.

At this camp, we could see the entrance to this camp which is shown in so many photos. A train line which travelled underneath a watch tower and marked the deported prisoner’s arrival at Auschwitz. As the trains arrived, the SS men would split who they considered to be the useful and non-useful prisoners into two lines.  You could then see the distant haunting image of the gas chamber chimneys where many of the non-useful were sent to be murdered straight away. This was a larger camp, and the majority of victims were murdered here.

Our guide walked us through to the International Monument where the same inscription is detailed on many memorial tablets in various European languages:  For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe.

She then showed us the rubble ruins of the exploded gas chamber. At the end of WWII, when the SS soldiers saw the Soviets were close, they tried to hide the evidence of these chambers by setting off explosives.

Finally, we were shown inside a women’s barrack at Birkenau. The conditions were appalling with 4-6 women sleeping on one wooden shelf bed, 3 shelves per bunk and very limited toilets and wash basins.

Before we left our guide and departed for Krakow, she thanked us for the visit and explained that her grandfather was one of the first to enter Auschwitz on liberation. The sights he saw were unimaginable and it had a long last-lasting effect on him and the family, hence why she guides at the memorial today.

We set off for our journey back to Krakow and a time to reflect on a very emotional morning. Visiting again, it was a very strong reminder of the importance of this sight. The horrific and unimaginable acts that were undertaken here must never be forgotten.

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Milkbar

On our return to the hotel, we gave our thanks to Leon for his help during our visit to both Auschwitz and the Salt Mines. We had a quick rest, and then needed some light relief. We headed back into the city centre to enjoy our last few hours in Krakow.

We headed for a bite to eat at the Milkbar Tomasza. I was curious to try the food at a Milkbar. These bars were very popular in Communist era Poland as they were government subsidised with low-cost traditional cuisine. This Milkbar served delicious food with all day breakfasts and traditional main courses, including the Pierogi (dumplings), savoury and sweet pancakes and soups. 

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St. Florian’s Gate and the Barbican

Along with souvenir shopping at the Christmas market and cloth hall, we also strolled up Florianska Street from St. Mary’s Basilica to the beautiful St. Florian’s Gate and the Barbican. This was a major part of the royal road in Krakow and St Florian’s Gate is the only medieval city gate still standing. It was built in the 14^th century and was connected to the Barbican with watchtowers to defend the city, as part of the northern city walls.

We then headed back to our hotel to pack, ready for our flight home in the morning. On reflection, it was a great experience to go back to Krakow. The city has such a beautiful old town which was wonderful to see at Christmas time and it was also great to visit the stunning salt mines for the first time. On the other hand, it was very interesting, if emotionally challenging, to revisit Auschwitz. It was also the first time I had visited Schindler’s factory and the Jewish ghetto, and Paulina was an excellent guide throughout this area. Only through visiting, can you fully appreciate and shape your understanding of what happened in this very dark period of history.  

Click here for more information on the Krakow trips offered by Adaptable Travel.

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