Written by: Cedric Reese
Hello again everyone! This week was a calm one in preparation for a trip to Prague that I have planned next week! One of the few big things I did this week was visit the old Jewish district of Krakow known as Kazimierz. It was a field trip for my Jewish Communities in Krakow class. First thing we visited was one of the older Orthodox Synagogues. It was small but well decorated. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures which is a shame as there was some very beautiful artwork on the walls which is an oddity among orthodox churches, or so we were told by our professor. Next, we visited the cemetery that was connected to the synagogue. Miraculously, the tombstones survived the war because they had been well hidden. This sadly did not happen very often; most Jewish graveyards were destroyed during the war, so it was nice to see that this one had survived. What was even more amazing was that this graveyard was the resting place of an important 19th century orthodox rabbi. He had had a massive influence on Orthodox theology, and Jewish pilgrims from around the world still come to visit his resting place. It was very humbling and cool to see the graveyard, with its unique and beautiful tombstones.
We continued with our tour by walking around with our professor pointing out various things along the way. Sadly, the weather was pretty bad that day, so we couldn’t linger at any one spot for too long. We eventually arrived at the city’s Jewish history museum, where we took a little break from the rain. The exhibits were mainly photographing a local artist had taken concerning various Jewish landmarks around Poland. The pictures were meant to showcase Jewish life before, during, and after the Holocaust. There were many pictures of decay and ruins all across the country, along with dozens of memorials for massacres and mass graves. I’ll admit it was heartbreaking to see all these images, but I was glad I saw them none the less. For the last part of our tour we went to the WWII ghetto. We stopped at a memorial that commemorated the Jewish partisans that had risen up against the Nazis. The memorial was a set of metal chairs stuck into the ground and all facing the same direction. It could very easily be mistaken for some kind of modern art as the plaque for it was hidden away in a corner. We also walked to see the remnants of the wall that had been built to segregate the ghetto from the rest of the city. It was all a wonderful trip but also a difficult one. Its one thing to read about the Holocaust, but to see its impacts in person was a very depressing experience. By the end of the day, all I wanted to do was lie down and think about something else less tragic.
In brighter news my friends had found an Irish pub, so we decided to get an “authentic” experience and we went to watch a rugby game there! It was the six nations cup, Ireland vs. Scotland. Unfortunately, our bus arrived late, and we missed our tram so arrived at the pub late. By then, the place was jam packed full of people as it was a small place to begin with. My friends and I all had to stand kinda packed into a corner where we could barely see. We watched the first half of the match, but by half time we were all getting hungry. I had hoped that the pub would server some Irish food, but all it served was alcohol. None of us are really drinkers, so we left to go find someplace to eat and sit down. (by the way, Ireland won the match). We found a Polish restaurant with decent prices after about half an hour of looking. I got potato pancakes with beef covered in gravy on top of them, and man they were good! One thing I love about Poland is how cheap food is. Even if you spend 30 zolety on a meal, that still comes out to less than $10 USD! I still try not to eat out all the time, in fact, I’ve been able to really improve my cooking skills, something I could barely do before I left.
One last thing about this week is that I’m noticing my Polish is improving. I can kinda ask and respond in Polish. It’s still difficult for me to understand people when they speak as Polish people talk very fast. My vocabulary is growing every day, so now I’m not nervous anymore about ordering something or venturing out. One problem I noticed with speaking Polish is that, if you do, Polish people will instantly assume your fluent and talk to you as such. It can be a little discouraging to order something in Polish, only for them to ask you a really long question that you have no clue what it means! Hopefully, by the end of my trip, I’ll be able to respond and understand! Well, that does it for this week. Next week I leave for Prague, I’m super excited for it and I can’t wait to write about it. Until then, take care!
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