Well, we changed our plans a bit and instead of
jostling along on the train for 17 hours or so, we decided to book a flight to Frankfurt
and stay another night in Krakow. Can you say good decision?
So, we're in
yet another cyber cafe, jotting down a few notes with our last impressions and wondering
how one holds onto the magic of an adventure abroad when returning to bills from BCTel and
BCHydro, of making career choices, of having to do laundry, of new cases and the rain.
Actually, with regard to the latter, Krakow's been helpful -- cold and rainy most days in
an apparent attempt to help with reentry into the Wet Coast lifestyle.
Food. Lots of it. We found a wonderful "Delikatessy" on the main square
that's open till nine and every night we stop by so that RGK can choose the gooeyiest,
puffiest, creamiest pastry. With five nights of pastry noshing behind us, he still hasn't
worked his way through the vast variety available. 
My favourite
discovery has been the bagel wagon (my apologies to the Poles for not learning the Polish
word for these yummy breads). Every twenty feet or so, there's a wagon, glass fronted and
guarded diligently by a man or woman in 20 layers of clothing and always a white lab coat.
Inside, bagels -- some with sesame seeds, some with poppy seeds, some with a twist, some
without. At 50 or 60 groszny, or 25 to 30 cents, they are a steal. Bready and chewy and
just what you need to refuel when you're walking around.
Actually, street food is big here. Not only are there bagel wagons, but sausage stands,
little booths with fruits and cigarettes, and one of our favourite authentic Polish treats
-- shawarma (what's often flogged in the Greek spots as gyros). And, it's delicious stuff.
On the theme of authentic Polish delicacies, let's talk about lard. In a
carry over from many years ago (many, many years ago) when there must have been some
perceived nutritional value to pork fat or maybe it was just survival, a natural
combustible material ingested to cope with winter's scarcity. Whatever. But, in the
restaurants we've been in the last two nights, as you sit down, you are brought a bread
board with a couple honking slices of rye bread, a pot of cream cheese with 
chives
and a pot of lard with cracklings in it. Yup, pure pork fat. Being the adventurous
gourmand that I am, I ventured a nibble and slurped down my mulled wine aggressively to
wash away the flavour. Needless to say, RGK, whose maternal grandmother was from just
outside Warsaw, has taken to rediscovering the food of his forbears with a passion.
Krakow has a
number of well-regarded museums -- in keeping to our theme of exploring the streets, we've
managed to visit only one. Although small, it contained ancient relics (Egyptian, Roman,
Etruscan, Greek) through to renaissance paintings and decorative arts. A diverse selection
but in a way you appreciate it more because the smaller scale allows you a close look
without being overwhelmed by a warehouse type atmosphere that you get in some of the
world's largest museums. Featured here was an oil by Leonardo Da Vinci entitled
"Woman with Ermine". It's a painting of ... a woman with an ermine. Actually, it
is an exquisite work and a marvelous opportunity to see the original.
But, all in life is not beauty. And, having come all this way, we felt that it was
important to commemorate the victims of WWII and took a tour yesterday to visit Auschwitz
and Birkenau, the largest concentration camp built by the Nazis. The camps were in
operation from 1940 through to 1945 and some 1.5 million people perished there. It was the
right thing to do, to visit, to remember. 
But, it is so hard to imagine that there could be such cruelty, such
degradation, such inhumanity, such crimes perpetuated in the name of some ideal or other.
Today, the cries of agony are muted under the tramping feet of visitors from around the
world. And, with dozens of tour buses in the parking lot, it's hard to appreciate the
tragedy of what happened fifty years ago.
Reema
email Reema at rfaris@saraphina.com
