Unlike Warsaw and other parts of Poland, Krakow was not destroyed during World War ll and is therefore a beautiful city, rivalling most European cities, with most of its old architecture in tact.

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Day 1

Krakow

Afternoon

We arrived and checked into the Metropolitan Hotel Krakow, which is centrally located between the Jewish Quarter and Old Town.

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Our tour guide, Chris Skutela of Private Tours Krakow, took us to visit the Jewish Quarter which was where most of the Jews lived prior to the Nazi's invasion of Poland. The Nazi's forced the Jews to relocate across the river to the Ghetto and most of them were killed once they were deported to the concentration camps.

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The Jewish Quarter is now having somewhat of a revival. We visited some old synagogues, cemeteries and saw where they had the markets. There are many shops and restaurants in this area.

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From there we went to the Old Town and climbed up to the Wawel Castle which was built in the 14th century and consists of a number of buildings surrounding an inner courtyard. 

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We then toured around the Old Town, which is a lively historical district filled with restaurants and nice shops.

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Evening

For dinner we walked into the Jewish Quarter and ate at the Klezmer Restaurant. We sat on the patio and enjoyed typical Polish Jewish cuisine. It was fun.

 

 

Day 2

 

Morning

This morning we drove to Auschwitz-Birkenau to tour the concentration camp. This was a very emotional morning. We toured the preserved gas chambers and memorials. It is so hard to fathom the atrocities that took place here.

 

Tours of Auschwitz can be booked on-line. It is highly recommended to do so in advance as there are a limited number of visitors each day. The booking includes a tour with an educator. We booked a private guide through the museum. She was very knowledgable and compassionate while describing the history of this horrible place.

 

Afternoon

We stopped for lunch in the Jewish Quarter and then continued to the Jewish Ghetto area. 

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We stopped to see the meaningful Empty Chairs Memorial built in the square. This consists of 70 bronze chairs symbolizing loss and absence. As the Ghetto was liquidated of its residents, those who didn't starve to death were sent to concentration camps, their furniture and belongings were thrown into the square. 

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From there, we went to Schindler's Factory Museum. Oskar Schindler's metal factory has been turned into a museum devoted to the war-time experiences in Karkow under the Nazi occupation during World War ll. A large part of the museum is dedicated to Oskar Schindler and the fate of the Jewish workers whom he saved. This is an excellent museum.

 

Our last stop for the day was the Plaszo concentration camp, located in a suburb of Krakow and is also featured in the movie Schindler's List. The concentration camp was built on the grounds of two former Jewish cemeteries. There is nothing left of the concentration camp. It is a big field, with a sparsely wooded area and a large memorial to all the Jewish victims. 

 

Evening

After such an intense day, we decided we needed to lighten things up and we headed to Old Town for a nice dinner at Miod Malina, a Michelin rated restaurant, which serves modern Polish cuisine and some cherry liquor with our dessert!

 

 

Day 3

 

Day trip to Zakopane

Today we had a day of relaxation and nature. Chris took us to Zakopane, a resort town in Southern Poland at the base of the Tatras Mountains. The weather was beautiful and scenery was lush and green. 

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We took a chairlift ride to the bottom of the mountain, walked around the town, saw the typical wooden chalets/houses of the area and even managed to witness a lively wedding ceremony where the bride and groom left the church in a horse-drawn carriage.

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It was a very nice way to spend our last day of the trip.

 

Evening

We had dinner at a nice Polish restaurant in the Old Town called Wesele.

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Day 4

 

Morning

Depart hotel and head home.

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This itinerary was combined with Warsaw itinerary in 2 days.