Departing from Kraków

This morning we will load up and depart from the beautiful snowy city of Kraków. Yesterday started with a City Tour up to 13th century Wawel Castle, then walking down into the main square with its magnificent open market.

During our driving tour, we passed by the Enamelware factory run by Oskar Schindler (as seen in the movie “Schindler’s List.” It is very near our hotel, which is located in the historic Jewish ghetto of Kraków. Just two blocks from our hotel is the “Empty Chairs” memorial created by Roman Polanski to commemorate the deportation and subsequent elimination of so many thousands of Jews by the Nazis.

In the evening, we played at St. Katherine’s Church in Kraków. This 14th century church is another return engagement for GWO (we played here four years ago) and we were heartily welcomed back by Jacek, the organist there. There is so much history behind this church, including a flood in the 16th century, two earthquakes, and a devastating fire several centuries ago. But we had a warm reception from a very enthusiastic audience, and once again the student musicians communicated so well through their music, reaffirming the strong connections such sharing of cultural expressions enables. We look forward to our next concert in Kety, after our visit to Auschwitz tomorrow.