It's a wanderful life, so it is

During our month in Krakow, we had two regular fixtures.

One was watching the Celtic games in Duffy’s Irish Bar and the other was the Tuesday night quiz at House of Beer, where the questions were tailored towards the audience of millennials from the US and India. Most teams had 6 people and, as a couple, we did okay but the music round and questions about modern things like video games absolutely stumped us. 

In our final week, however, we launched our secret weapon – Niall – and blew the opposition away. I knew we had kids for a reason. Boom! A Sabrina Carpenter song – no problem. Pow! The obscure Guitar Hero connection – nailed it. Bam! The “How many seconds in a year?” tie-breaker – 31.5 million of course. Niall knew loads of answers and, crucially, he had more than a vague knowledge of music and technology over the last 35 years as well as the lyrics of the musical, Rent. First prize drinks vouchers never tasted sweeter. 

When researching things to do in Krakow, I happened upon the “Homefans” site which offers football related experiences. (Disclaimer: This is absolutely not to be confused with any other fans-titled website.)  I asked Mhairi if she wanted to join Niall and me for a Monday-night Wisła Kraków match but, believe it or not, she turned me down. Our host, Filip, was happy to offer either a corporate experience or a more authentic one. We chose the latter, so two hours before kick off, Niall and I were on the steps of a university building drinking beer and vodka with the home fans and hiding our cans from the police. Ah, how the years fell away as I was reliving my youth! 😂  It was a cracking game that ended  2-2 and included a controversial red card.

The Wisła fans were very passionate but I couldn’t tell if the away fans would have been equally as passionate because the police wouldn’t allow any into the ground due to the Wisła fans’ dodgy reputation. Despite that reputation or perhaps one of the causes of it, alcohol is served in the ground and we made the most of that. It was only a short stagger home though as our flat was 15 minutes from the ground.  I felt sorry for poor Mhairi as she had stayed at home instead, eating a dinner of fish fingers and oven chips and watching Armageddon for the billionth time. Who had the better night, eh?

Our trip to the city of Katowice was a day later than we’d planned. Smugly turning up at the train station expecting to be able to get a ticket, we found that all the trains we wanted were fully booked. Instead we travelled on the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, a public holiday when pretty much every public building and shop is shut. Not the best timing. We caught the tail end of mass at the largest cathedral in Poland  which, in a country brimming with churches, that’s quite an accolade. Mhairi has often said to me, “Gerry, size isn’t everything.” and that’s always embarrassed me because I’d never really understood  what she meant. I realise now it refers to cathedrals – doh! And she has an excellent point. After the intricate beauty of Karkow’s smaller churches, this cathedral feels dull despite its exceptional size.

Our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau  was naturally a very sombre one so feel free to skip this bit.

Fortunately, it’s impossible to imagine the horrors that took place here: the sheer scale of industrialised murder is beyond comprehension. I couldn’t help but reflect that we may be walking on human ashes that were used as a base for building roads and in compost for the camp farms. I was standing at the end of a road that started with ordinary folk like ourselves who bought into the idea that some people are less than us because we were looking after our own. Primo Levi said, “It happened, therefore it can happen again…it can happen anywhere.” Once we dehumanise people and allow them to be treated in a way we wouldn’t accept for our own family, the goosesteps start to the rhythm of “Stop the boats” and “Make America Great Again”. 

The Wieliczka Salt Mine tour involves descending 80 flights of stairs to reach 135 metres underground and then a walk of around 3.5 km through a mixture of rock salt sculptures, intricate wooden structures and backlit underground lakes. The highlight is undoubtedly St Kinga’s Chapel, an underground church created by the miners over 70 years. The frescoes and statues have been carved out in stunning detail and even the chandeliers are made from rock crystals. Attending Mass or a concert here must be amazing.

A month seems right for a place like Kraków, an old city with so much in and all around it. It gives enough  time to become a little intuitive about how the geography  and public transport fit together. Enough  time to build some familiarity with the people, the places and the language. I’m not saying it’s home but Karków does feel like a place we’ve lived in and has become a part of us.