Planes and Pots

26 May - Day 72

We duplicated 18 May, hence the missing 25 May.

We visited Krawkow Aviation Museum. This museum had exhibits in-doors in hangers and outdoors. It was mainly military planes from WW1 to the late 1980s.

For me the coolest was the Supermarine Spitfire from the Battle of Britain.

The British Sopwith Camel was here too, the most prolific British fighter plane during WW1.

There were a lot of Russian fighter planes from the 50s thru to the 80s, mainly MIGS and Sukovs.

Marcus liked the crop spraying jet plane because it looked funny. Designed by a Russian committee.

After a short break, we walked back to Podgorze, where the Krakow Historical Museum was housed in Schindler's Enamel Factory.

This museum gives a multi-media narrative of the Nazi occupation of Krakow from 1939 to 1945. So Schindlers story formed part of the narrative.

They preserved his work desk and map.

And some of the tin-ware his factory produced.

We also learnt that a lot of scenes in the movie was dramatised (putting it kindly). The list took a year to put together, not over-night as depicted in the movie. To get on the list, you needed connections to or bribes for the people putting the list together. Schindler was not directly involved.

Anyway the narrative stopped abruptly in 1945, when the Russian Red army liberated Krakow from the Germans. I don't think life improved for the Poles after liberation. For example, the Polish army fighting along-side the Russians were promptly arrested and sent the Russian concentration camps after the Germans retreated from Poland.

We walked past Plac Nowy in Kazimierz on the way back to the apartment, where Marcus bought a zapiekinka, a toasted baugette with cheese, pickles and meat. A favourite amongst the young and penniless, or hungry late drinkers.

Back in Krakow old town, the square was filled with stalls selling Polish fast food, so we had our dinner there.