Krakow

After our first full – well, unbroken – night's sleep since arriving in Europe, spent in a great hostel with comfy beds, we set out to explore Krakow. On arrival I knew very little about Poland and even less about Krakow, so today I learned a lot.

In search of breakfast we headed towards the main town square, found yummy hot drinks, and kept wandering. We strolled through the Cloth Marketplace that was originally the center of trade in Krakow in the15th century. Then we were off to check out the logistics of traveling to Auschwitz, about 70 km outside of Krakow. Since it was approaching 11:00 and we still hadn’t eaten, we headed for lunch at this great little pizza place on the Square that Krissy had scoped out on an earlier trip. It was wonderful. With full tummies we were off – we thought – for Auschwitz. But we missed the bus so we rearranged our plans. Emrys and I purchased our bus tickets to go out there tomorrow.

After the dissolution of Plan A, we went to Plan B: the Royal Way walking tour that winds through the historic district of the city. Armed with Krissy’s hero Rick Steves as our tour guide we started at the Barbican where you can see where the original guard tower (and dungeon) connected with the city wall. Then we wound through cobblestone streets, saw makeshift art galleries, street merchants and local flavors. From there we arrived back on the Main Market Square and toured through St. Mary’s Basilica , the grounds of Wawel Castle, down to the Dragon’s Den, on a golf cart tour through the Jewish Quarter and then back to scout dinner. After two strikes of “what, you don’t have a reservation?” we ended up at an Indian restaurant and enjoyed a lovely dinner – family style.

There are so many details that could be included but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves (to be posted soon). The architecture and antiquity of the buildings amazes me. Standing in churches that have been places of worship for hundreds of years is humbling. Walking through town squares full of street performers is exhilarating. And all day of touring is exhausting! So I’m going to sign off for now.
~sjt