Item From the Past: Oświęcim, Poland

October 24, 1994. Auschwitz II-Birkenau, with the main gate off in the distance.

Items From the Past: Central Europe, November 1994

November was a fine month to be in Central Europe, at least in the immediate post-communist years. It wasn't any colder than in the Midwest and various places that would be awash with visitors in summer were a lot quieter, and probably somewhat cheaper.

Toward the beginning of the month, we were in southern Poland. Near Krakow is the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The "Underground Salt Cathedral of Poland" is a place of gray salt walls, sculptures and other artwork made of salt, and a considerable history in providing a formerly very valuable commodity. This exterior shot hardly does the place justice, but then again my snapshot from inside would do it even less justice.

This is a fall scene from Prague: the Old Jewish Cemetery, a burial ground from the 15th to the 18th centuries. It amazed me that this place survived the Nazis, but it did, and contains thousands of stones and countless other burial sites, including that of Rabbi Loew. The picture isn't his headstone, but of someone else whose identity can be known to readers of Hebrew.

Finally, here's an image from Vienna, that storied imperial capital with no more empire to preside over. We were fortunate indeed to be there for the annual Autohochhaltend Sängerfest. Choirs from all over Austria come to sing while cars were lifted in artful ways. I'd say there's no other festival quite like it anywhere. I managed to get a pic of some car-lifting, but unfortunately none of the singers.

A Groszy Day

Went downtown today to see a man about an airport. An airport that hasn’t been built yet, in a faraway state -- and yet someday I might be writing about, along with related developments, because there are always related developments, since airports are economic engines of our age with few parallels. Interesting where the paths of self-employment might be leading. More as it happens (months from now, probably).

Clear and warm, today was just right for walking from Union Station to Michigan Avenue, and later back. Funny, I didn’t feel like I’d been away from the Loop for long, though the last time I was downtown was about two months ago. It has the same pace and rhythms as always, though a few shops had closed, and a few others had opened—the usual retail churn.

Just off Michigan Ave. south of the Chicago River, there’s now a “Chicago Tourist Office,” which offers information, a Hot Tix location, and an area for exhibits. Today it had a history of candymaking in Chicago, a timeline across the wall illustrated by photos, ads and old packaging. One full-page magazine ad, from a boy’s magazine of the 1920s, claimed that (I’m paraphrasing) Baby Ruths were no candy for wimps, but “fit for two-fisted men.” I enjoy old ads as much as Lileks, I think. Wish I’d thought of making books out of them.

Another Chicago touch of the day: I bought one thing, and in my change I got a 20 groszy piece, which is one-fifth of a zloty, the currency of Poland, at least until they’re suckered into the euro. There’s a lot of back-and-forth between Chicago and Poland, so that isn’t as strange as it might sound. The coin is the same diameter and color as a dime, and dated 1998.

Between 1994, when we were there, and 1998, the country must have redenominated its money. There were no coins in circulation in Poland 11 years ago, only notes, and if I remember right, it was about 10,000 zloty to the dollar. The only “smaller” currency we encountered on our long trip that year was the rupiah of Indonesia, at about 20,000 to the dollar.