Our little jaunt was a five day trip to Poland's second city, which was cut to four days after long delays (due to freezing fog) at the airport. Krakow is a beautiful city with lots of places to explore and with so many stories to tell. However, the weather whilst we were there (rain, fog and finally snow) wasn't great for photographs (and it probably didn't help that I'm still getting acquainted with the new camera) and only a few of those I did take are worthy of sharing.
Christmas market in the medieval square in the old town.
Wawel cathedral, the venue for the coronations of Polish monarchs and where, as a priest, Pope John Paul 11 delivered his first mass in 1946.
Part of the castle on Wawel hill.
A recently opened (just this year) museum is the one at the site of Oskar Schindler's factory.
Housed in the enamel factory's admin block, the museum's well put together exhibits, including one of Schindler's office, tell the story of Krakow, and everyday life for its inhabitants, from the early 1900's to the final weeks of the Nazi occupation and the arrival of the Red Army.
For all sorts of reasons, I wasn't convinced that our trip should include that most horrifying and tragic part of Krakow's history - the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Since 1947 the entire site has been designated a memorial to the estimated 1.2 million victims, a museum and historical document, and, after much deliberation, we did visit.
There are no photographs. There are no words.