Krakow, Poland\'s biggest tourist destination

From music breaking out in the streets to the deathly silence at Auschwitz, Krakow's enigma lies in both, its glorious present and horrific past. After two shots of zubrowka (the famous bison vodka), I was able to put in words why Krakow is Poland's biggest tourist drawcard. The 1,000-year-old city may lack the glitz and glamour of Warsaw, Paris and Milan but if you stay in Krakow for a day, you will wish you had stayed for a week. If you stay for a week, you wish you had stayed for a fortnight. Sitting at a sidewalk cafe in Rynek Glowny, the largest and most beautiful medieval market square in Europe, my partner and me slip 40 zlotys in the palms of our waiter and ask him to fetch another drink. A teenage accordionist warms up the evening chill with Mozart and Vivaldi. As mellifluous strains of Chopin's Fantaisie and Fortune fill the air, a jazz trio breaks into an impromptu Mas que nada at the street corner, within minutes you have tourists and locals shaking a leg. The music stops and everybody is back to their usual business - the locals run about their daily chores, while tourists haggle over trinkets and souvenirs. The 14th century St Mary's Church and its uneven towers, the medieval houses, the cobblestone streets and clip-clop of horse-drawn carriages only add to this unrehearsed medley. Even as the traditional watering holes and neon-lit McDonald's and Hard Rock Cafe jostle for space, history seems to be stacked in every little nook and corner of the old town. The bugle call from the highest tower of the church, which reassures everyone that all is well, is actually an incomplete tune. This commemorates the memory of a 13-century trumpeter who died trying to rouse the defences as a Tartar arrow pierced his throat and he fell from the tower. As the sun set on the market square, we bought a big pretzel from an old woman and pedalled our bikes across the Wawel Castle and Pilsudski Bridge to reach Kazimierz district, where Polish Jews were forced to live in a ghetto by the Nazis in 1941. Those who have seen Steven Spielberg's movie Schindler's List will recognise the spots in this Jewish quarter, which houses Oskar Schindler's factory till date. Exhausted with all the cycling and walking, we decided to have an early dinner and get back to our B&B joint at Salvator before Cinderella hour. SALTY WONDERS After a good night's sleep, the next day we climbed down 350 steps at the Wieliczka salt mine to see the marvels of human hands. From chandeliers to altarpieces, from high ceilings to the ornate floorings, the miners hewed every inch of salt to create the 2,000 chambers and corridors. The mine has been active for the past 700 years. You can take it with a pinch of salt, but the mine forms an underground township with churches, lakes, restaurants, a ballroom and passages across the 300-km stretch. HITLER'S FINAL SOLUTION Even after spending three days of sightseeing in Krakow, I was not sure I wanted to visit the monument of mass murder at Oswiecim (original name of Auschwitz town). However, my doubts were laid to rest by our B&B housekeeper, who said, "You will see many museums and churches in the world but there is only one Auschwitz." The 90-minute bus ride from Krakow to Oswiecim is dotted with quaint villages, countryside cottages and pine woods. The dread sets in when the serpentine railway tracks emerge and an eerie silence engulfs the bus. The autumn leaves rustle as I stand below the infamous wrought-iron Arbeit Macht Frei (Work Makes You Free) arch that greeted millions of helpless Jews who were herded here to die. Like the heroine of an ancient Greek tragedy, our guide tells us details of Adolf Hitler's "Final Solution" as she guides us through the electric fence, torture cells, brick blocks and gas chambers. At block no 6, she looked each one of us in the eye and said, "Now, I no speak. Also, no photos." We entered a huge hall and saw mounds of battered suitcases, shoes, toothbrushes, combs and toys behind massive glass windows. But for me the most moving exhibit was the one of human hair. As if on cue, some women touch their own locks and burst into tears. An estimated 1.5 to 2 million people, particularly Jews died here. This was Hitler's Auschwitz - the biggest death camp in the world. LEST YOU FORGET THEM For all the terror and morbidity of Auschwitz, its twin camp, Birkenau, is worse. Every day, approximately 24,000 people were exterminated in the gas chambers here during World War II. I still remember the words of our guide at the end of the genocide tour. "Remember the lessons of Auschwitz. Even today, there is ethnic cleansing in the world. It has happened before, it may happen again." The silence in the bus on our way back was unnerving. I leaned my head on my partner's shoulder and settled in for the long journey home. THINGS TO KNOW - All leading airlines have flights from Mumbai to Krakow via Munich/ Frankfurt airport. - Although it is in the European Union, Poland is cheaper than any other tourist destination in Europe. - The best way to explore Poland is through trams, trains and bicycles