Today we started by going to the Jewish Synagogue.  The oldest is now a museum and the next oldest is an active synagogue being renovated.  We stood in the women’s gallery and looked into the area closest to the Torah where the men worship.  Behind the Synagogue is the ancient cemetery.  The Nazis destroyed the cemetery by naming the Jews dismantle the headstones to be used for building materials or to pave roads.  There are even bullet holes in some of the headstones because the Nazis used them for target practice.  Today, the broken headstones that were recovered make up the mosaic of the cemetery walls.  Many ancient Rabbis are buried here.

Next, we moved to the Ghetto.  The Ghetto square has many empty chairs in metal as a memorial to,the Jews who were taken from the Ghetto to the death camps.  Right on the corner is the famous Pharmacy depicted in the Movie, Schindler’s List.  From the Ghetto, we went to Schindler’s factory  that is now a museum.  After an excellent tour of the factory, we went to the main Market Square of Kraków.  Had lunch of a typical Polish sour soup with sausages and potatoes served in a large bread bowl.  It was excellent.  We then had a tour of the Cathedral which is very beautiful.  The square is attached to a second square with lots of activity: shops, restaurants, artists, kiosks selling souvenirs, children playing.  There is a bronze statue of a man standing on a bronze suitcase with a horn in his hands.  I was admiring the statue she the thing moved!  I about fainted.  It was a real person!  The children loved him.  After they got over the fright!  Then we moved on thru a lovely park area to the castle.  At that point I had to leave with a couple on our tour who were as hot and tired as I was.  We walked along the beautiful River back to the hotel.  I took a cool shower and slept for about three hours.  It was really hot today, but expected to be cooler tomorrow.  

This evening, we went to a typical Jewish restaurant.  It had at one time been a bath house for the women called a Mikva.  The food was wonderful…a,pickled purple cabbage as a salad, then roast goose and a potato and onion kugel.  I had never had goose, but it was very tender and good.  We had Apple crisp for dessert like the dessert at almost every meal we have had.  The reason is….Poland is Europe’s largest Apple producer and used to sell 70% to the Russians.  When the Russians quit buying, the Poles had to find another market…which they did, but they still eat a lot of apples locally.  We had a klezmer band that played during dinner and they were good.  As we left for the hotel it was pouring rain…hope it cools the temperature way down!  I’m in bed now and keep hearing booming thunder.  Good night all.