Flight went well, though ended with a bit rough landing in a thunderstorm in Warsaw, and some minor inconveniences.

On my connecting flight from Warsaw to Krakow, I read Maus by Art Spiegelman (graphic novel) — a condensed version of Spiegelman’s father’s life as a Jewish businessman during the war. Maybe I should have chosen different reading material, but I found it fitting as I begin my journey. The man to my left seemed slighted by the cover, perhaps due to the large Nazi swastika, or perhaps he knew of its content. But its was a fascinating book, especially considering the various character depictions Spiegelman draws upon (pun obviously intended…) in his drawings of everyone his father mentions. 

To clarify: Maus portrays every character as a different animal, defining people based on ethnicity (Jews as mice, Poles as pigs, Germans as cats). With this inevitably comes the stereotypic associations of these animals — think of why Spiegelman would choose pigs as the animal the Poles will be represented by. I don’t know the answer to that question: Spiegelman himself admitted in the book that he struggled with how to represent various different groups of people. 

However, my thoughts went as follows: swine were non-kosher animals — forbidden animals to the Jewish people in Old Testament law — thereby being something the Jewish people could not become part of. I find the cat and mouse arrangement Spiegelman chose to be very fitting to the situation of many Jews throughout the war — there was no safe place, either from the cats or from the traps set by others. Often even their hideouts, or ‘mouse holes,’ were compromised.

We explored the Old Town of Krakow a bit today, with our Jagiellonian University friend, Michal. Aside from our heavy fatigue, this was a wonderful first day. The traditional food is wonderful. The city itself is fantastic. And remarkably clean. There’s almost no garbage or dust, even considering the tourist masses. Speaking more to the charm of the city itself, the historic nature of the city is remarkably blended with modernity, the public transit is easy to navigate, and even gardens and green space are readily available within a short walk.   Hopefully I will be able to give more insight than of its aesthetic appeal as I experience the city over the coming week, especially as pertaining to the nature of this trip. 

I did also attend a wonderful Chopin piano concert this evening with a few others in the Krakow Chopin Gallery. This concert was performed by internationally renowned and  award-winning, Polish pianist, Witold Wilczek. This was also a fabulous way to unwind and to enjoy an introduction to the history and culture of Poland in a very posh and sophisticated manner. (We even were served a glass of white wine — which, if I may note, was simply awful. Blegh.) Regardless of refreshments, the concert was worth attending. The pianist had over an hour and fifteen minutes of Chopin memorized. He did not miss a single note. Exhausted, but pleased with our experiences thus far, we arrived back at our dorm rooms.