Klezmer and more

Horror and Hope

Today was a day for Jewish horror and hope and culture. First was our trip to Auschwitz, which is in a separate posting. We then returned to the hotel, rested, recovered and were ready for some culture. Upon the recommendation of our hotel, we bought tickets for a Klezmer concert at the Isaak synagogue. The package included dinner at the Olive Tree restaurant, which happens to be next door and is also Kosher.

Culture

The concert was excellent. The band consisted of four pieces, an Accordion (with buttons instead of a keyboard), a percussionist (who also played the box he sits on as an instrument), an excellent violin player and a bass player. The Name of the group is Nazzar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L-BCKnkKn8I bought the CD. The synagogue was destroyed by the Nazis, and used for various purposes. After the Communists fell, it was returned to use as a Synagogue and is currently being renovated and operated by Orthodox Jews in the Kazimierz section of  Krakow.

Dinner at the Olive Tree, is not like dinner at the Olive Garden. It is the only Kosher restaurant in Krakow (maybe even in all of Poland). When we came in, the entire restaurant was set up with bread, coke, starters etc. There were two unset tables, and we were seated in one of them. After we ordered (lamb, beef loin, soups, and desert), a few people who appeared Orthodox started arriving. Within 10 minutes, the entire restaurant was filled (approximately 60 people). All were obviously familiar and comfortable with each other. It ends up that it was a tour group from Israel. They were all Orthodox, and were speaking Hebrew. We felt like we were interlopers at a party. Our dinners were good, the Yemen chicken soup that I ordered was fantastic. It had spices I never tasted before. The rest of the meal was OK. After that we walked around the square, and headed back to the hotel. It was a long and tiring day.
Dan