If the old city of Cracow is bursting with life, the old city of Warsaw, rebuilt from scratch after its total destruction by the Nazis and filled with tourists on a quest for souvenirs, is an unreal souvenir in itself, seemingly detached from the rest of the city. Modern Warsaw absorbs you into its dynamic whirlpool as well as into its vestiges of martyrdom and heroism from WW II.
Beautiful old Cracow is commercialized; so filled with business that it seems to be one big display window. The entire old city has been surprisingly renovated. For those who remember the difference between past and present, old Cracow in losing its melancholical poverty has also lost some of its poetry, its romanticism, its continuity with its past. In one word, Cracow has joined the modern world. But those who don’t know the difference still discover a Cracow of magical incomparable beauty and mystery.
Cracow’s mediaeval Jewish neighborhood is in ruins. Some houses seem to have been hit by an earthquake. It’s clear that only the destitute want to inhabit this area, emptied of its Jews. The streets keep the Jewish names; Izaak St., Rabi Maizels St… We went to the Jewish restaurant recreated in the old style. The food was good and probably more or less authentic. Still the owners who wanted to affirm the Jewish presence, only succeeded in creating a mausoleum. The walls exude sadness, scream of ghosts. It’s Pompeii.
#29 Poland Again, excerpt, December 1997