Post written by Emily Fisher

Day 2 was our first full day in Poland! After the whirlwind of travel day that bled into a full day of touring, it was wonderful to start the day after a full night’s sleep. Our day began hearing about castles and dragons! As we walked up to the castle, we realized we were surrounded by people dressed in traditional garb, military uniforms, and large crowds. It was clear something was going on, and we realized that it was Polish Independence Day! We saw branches of the military lining up for a parade along with families and local groups with banners. Someone was handing out pins, which many members of the group happily took. It was such a fun and unique experience! As this was happening around us we heard about the history of Poland’s kings, and the dragon tooth outside their castle. After narrowly missing being swept into a parade, we stopped by the grave of King Kasimir the Great who established The Jewish district. The Jewish district is named after him – Kazimierz.

I am the descendant of Polish Jews, so this portion of the trip feels personally very significant. While my family were from the country, it was difficult not to imagine the vibrant Jewish life that once was as we walked around Kazimierz, the historic Jewish district. As we walked the streets we learned Jewish history, and saw remnants of Jewish life such as the synagogue turned brewery that we walked through. The contrast between past and present Jewish life is hard to ignore, as we walk streets that feature murals with dreidels on our way to the Jewish cemetery. It’s impossible not to think about what was lost, but also to marvel at what Polish Jews are rebuilding. Which leads us to our return to the Krakow JCC where we had the honor of completing a service project for the food pantry. When the war in Ukraine began, they saw an influx of refugees, which has yet to slow down. We helped to measure out bags of grains that families can take. While it was only an hour, it was definitely a highlight of the trip thus far! It was moving to see how much was a a group can accomplish in such a short amount of time. It also felt significant to be giving to the local community and rallying together as Jews in the diaspora in a post-October 7th world.

After our lunch we visited another uniquely Polish location - the Wieliczka Mines. This active salt mine has some of the most amazing structures and sculptures within it, all constructed of salt! It was a nice piece of local tourism, and refreshing after an emotional morning. We all took turns licking the walls, made of salt, and drinking salt brine that flows through the ground. Following our excursion we returned to the hotel for Havdalah. After many busy days of travel, touring, and being constantly on the move, taking a moment together to simply stop & reflect felt extremely important. It ended our day on a collective feeling of rest, and anticipation as we prepared for our visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau the following day.