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Published: December 8th 2014
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Tarnow - the new Krakow. Tarnow - twinned with Blackburn. It could get a little controversial if a side was taken in this observation, so make your own mind up after reading and looking at the photographs. I sold it to the Man in the Middle as the new Krakow. He might have stayed in bed a bit longer had he known the other fact. As it was, we were camped in the rail station at Rzeszow ready for the 8.57 train westwards. It was the princely sum of 17.80 Zloty one way, which is a lot of money if you equate it to beer terms. It better live up to expectations.
The weather was miserable. Low clouds and fog. Drizzle. In truth, there wasn't a great deal to see en route. The distance was roughly the same as Przemsyl to the east, but it took the best part of 2 hours. A couple of sinister looking forests and the provincial centre of Debica are the only things that stick in the mind. There were large sections of track that were single file. The opposite side was being replaced as part of the upgrade of the line to Krakow, that
would shorten journey times between Rzeszow and Krakow to less than 1 hour. The signs with the tell tale EEC badge on gave the game away as to who was paying for the for it all.
We eventually arrived at Tarnow. The rail station showed a similar grandeur to Przemsyl. The decorators had been in recently. There was hardly a throng of people descending from the train. The majority must be carrying on to Krakow. A group of taxis waited patiently. We left them to it and located a sign with Rynek - Old Town Square - on it. First impressions suggested there was no similarity with Blackburn. An imposing Church was the initial landmark on the other side of the park, but we'd agruably reached our limit on churches in Przemsyl. The main commercial street showed signs of prosperity. German franchise clothing shops predominated. An old street car was doing a thriving business as a version of an upmarket coffee shop. It wasn't called Desire. There was no room at the inn. We'd already decided not to go on a drinking mission during daylight hours, so we kept an eye out for another coffee venue. The Man in
the Middle was missing his breakfast fix of cinnamon apple pie at the Hotel Trojka in Przemysl.
Pope John Paul had been a busy boy on his homecoming tour a few years back. A large statue stood outside the Cathedral. He was competing with the good soldier for the most statues in southern Poland. There is a good living it seems in these parts for purveyors of bronze statues. The Man in the Middle forgot we'd given up on churches at this point and headed inside. The door was so heavy, it represented a challenge in it's own right. In the last few days, all the churches seemed to have a permanent service on-going. It was usually standing room only. There was nothing doing on a Thursday morning in Tarnow, so we were in for a look around.
The old square was another impressive view. It wasn't as big as Rzeszow. There was no focal point of a bear as in Przemysl. It was still worth seeing. A series of boards displayed old photographs of Tarnow. The King of Romania has passed through the station in 1937 and he was well represented in the snaps. Our visit passed
without attracting much attention. A number of the others depicted a part of the community that is no longer that well represented in the town. A memorial on Platform 1 at the railway station marks the deportations to Auschwitz. Tarnow had a pre-War Jewish population in excess of 25,000. The square itself is a mix of bars, restaurants and museums. Business was either not booming or they were closed. They had wisely missed out out on following Rzeszow's lead with the Strip Club, but had acquired an Irish bar. The chain pub where we'd seen the alcohol awareness exercise in Przemysl was evident on the corner. The message was perhaps more well received here.
The area next to the square is the old Jewish area. An open space marks the spot where the synagogue was destroyed in 1939. A memorial stands in the middle. You could walk past without reading the information boards on the perimeter wall and be none the wiser. A student was doing a photo shoot. It was all very Tesla girl without the lights. We set off in pursuit of our coffee and apple pie, which is a task more difficult than perhaps it should
be in Tarnow. There was very little activity on the side beyond the square. A small market was in full swing. If we had been looking for a cabbage or a bunch of flowers, we were in luck. We retraced our steps and bumped into Jozef Bem. A Polish National hero of yesteryear, he managed to combine this with also being a Hungarian hero. He is a rival to the former Pope and the Good Soldier in the statue market. A tree was annoying covering part of his face, so a decent photograph was a touch difficult.
The rain began to fall steadily, so the refreshment search became more of a focus. It also spelled the end of the Tarnow visit. Krakow it isn't. Blackburn it isn't. Coffee and apple pie was located. A pint of Thwaites was not!
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