My Trip to Krakow, Poland May 2025

Perogy store

It was hard to believe that I was going to be in Krakow. I have felt like a part of me has always been there. Both my parents were born and grew up there. They would have stayed and that would have been where I was born and grew up. However, World War II occurred, leading to significant changes initiated by the Nazi regime.  My mother had fond memories of Krakow and her life there before the war. She often talked about the joy she had sitting at cafes in the plazas or squares with friends and enjoying life. She participated in ice skating and skiing during the winter, and visited beaches located a few hours away, in the summer. It was a wonderful, fun social life. Being a dress designer, Olga was always beautifully attired and looked attractive; often seen riding around town with her boyfriend on a motorcycle.

We flew on Delta, and it was a wonderful experience. We changed planes in Amsterdam which is a large modern airport.  We took a cab to our hotel about 50 minutes to the middle of the city.  Of course, there were signs for McDonalds and KFC mixed in among some older European style buildings as we drove to where we would stay. The Queen Boutique Hotel is on a lovely tree lined wide boulevard with a modern trolley train that runs through it.   A friend of my cousin who frequently visits Krakow recommended the hotel.   One of our sons had agreed to meet us there to experience this historic visit. He was able to get a room in a good hotel right across the boulevard from us.

Ghetto Wall

Mural on synogogue

Krakow Residence

Trolly on Boulevard

View on the boulevard

restaurant

dinner

I had prepared for this trip by reaching out to a genealogist who lives in Krakow. He was able to get me the exact street address that my mother Olga and father Leo lived at before they were married in Krakow. Our hotel was close to both. We are not only able to see the buildings but go into them as well. They are now youth hostels. We walked inside and up the steps to where they lived looked around the courtyards in the back and felt what it would be like to live there.

We participated in several tours that visited major attractions in town, spent time at coffee shops, and ate at local restaurants as well as at some higher-end establishments nearby.  The food was clearly Eastern European in style including perogy or kreplach in warm welcoming broth. It reminded me of my mother’s and her friends’ delicacies. The weather was cool and somewhat rainy which mixed well with the bittersweet feelings I was having. We visited sites of historical and religious significance.  The guide mentioned and showed us the ghetto where my mother’s family was taken before my father rescued her, saving her from deportation or death in concentration camps.  We visited bookstores and historic buildings and gained insight into some of the significant challenges that occurred in the past.  We saw the pharmacy with a back exit allowing some people to escape the ghetto.  We experienced the despair of the large square where people brought a chair used to wait with their belongings hoping to be saved but then had to leave their things and were taken away to their disastrous fate. Following the war a memorial plaza was created with chairs having a special significance. It is truly haunting.

We had Friday dinner at Krakow’s JCC with about 30 residents.   One of whom, Bernard, age 96, was born in Krakow. He was around 10 when the Nazis arrived, survived, fled to America, returned about 7 years ago. He wants to spend his last years in Krakow.   He wrote about his life and talks about it to various groups. We learned a great deal and felt pleased to experience this very European City and the culture it offers. We saw various historic sites, where Pope John II was as a Cardinal before he presided in the Vatican in Rome. Krakow was an important place to see for many reasons. We appreciated having the experience and memories of being there.