Despite waking several times, I DID manage to get a pretty decent sleep. Up at 5 a.m. and made use of the time to sort a few things then set off at 7:00 for breakfast at Bułkę Przez Bibułkę about 15 minutes walk away.
We enjoyed being out early and seeing a different part of the area. The big street our hotel is on does not permit crossing by foot except via a labyrinth of alleys underneath the road which took us across to ulica Nowy Swiat where The Palace of Culture loomed out of the mist; this was a gift from Stalin to the city in the 1950s. I’m not sure what sort of gift this is: it is a typical Soviet-Realist architectural monstrosity, the tallest building in Poland.
Breakfast was down a tiny street off ulica Nowy Swiat and of course I had to have the trademark glass of Prosecco (5 złoty) - worth about $A1.50!! Yummy porridge and fruit; MF had salmon and eggs.
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We aimed to leave the hotel by 9 a.m. to walk to the station for our 9:45 a.m. train to Krakow and even though I thought this had way too much contingency built in, I’m glad we did allow that amount of time as we only had a short time to wait for this high-speed train and it was the usual fight for space for the suitcases.
The train departed on time and arrived on time. We whizzed along the 293 kms in 2.25 hours through green rolling countryside, past small villages, bright yellow fields of canola; the morning shifted from grey and overcast to cloud interspersed with sunshine.
It was a pleasant walk to our (again, very nice) hotel, through pretty parkland past the Barbican, a 15th century fortification which was once connected to the Florian Gate in the city wall by a drawbridge over a moat.
We are blessed with a lovely sunny day, contrary to the forecast rain but there are storms predicted for later so on the advice of the bike rental company, we cancel this afternoon’s planned ride out into the country. We are a bit disappointed as the ‘storms’ don’t amount to much and were very shirt-lived; yes, we would have got wet but we have been in a lot worse. A bunch of woosies!
But the very friendly guys suggest a Plan B which is to visit the castle on Wawel Hill, so we meander off through the Old Town where there is a student festival (Juwenalia) and where there are food stalls from which we try a fried cheese with cranberry sauce followed by a yummy icecream. There is also a great deal of drunkenness and crazy behaviour at this festival at which, according to an ancient and venerable tradition, the students are handed the keys to the city.
It’s a long walk to the castle along what is known as the Royal Way which is the ceremonial route that kings and other celebrities proceeded through Krakow when the city was the capital of Poland. In Kanonicza Street, we pass the house where the future Pope John Paul II lived from 1951 to 1963. We visit the Jesuit baroque church of Saints Peter and Paul (1619). It is all very attractive, as everyone has told us.
The Wawel Castle is where the Polish monarchs took up residence from the 11th century. There are several exhibitions and we chose the State Rooms where the halls and chambers are filled with priceless art, best period furniture and rare ancient objects. The collection of the 16th century monumental Flemish tapestries is exquisite.
By the time we return to the main square (Rynek Glowny), my feet are 'done in' (17739 steps - 14 kms). The festival is well underway with masses of people and we manage to find somewhere to sit and listen to a traditional Polish band playing; many in the crowd spontaneously start dancing, including the young ‘uns!
Finally, the Krakow bugle: in the main square every hour, the refrains of a bugle are heard from the top of the tower of St Mary’s church. According to legend, the melody that is played today honour a bugler that a Tatar warrior killed in 1240. From his tower perch he was the first to notice Tatar troops bearing down on the city. He sounded the alarm but his trumpeting suddenly stopped. A Tatar arrow had pierced his throat. However, the call was enough to galvanize the city’s residents into getting inside the walls and setting their defences. The Tatar assault failed. And since 1927, Polish Radio 1 has transmitted a bugle call at noon daily to all of Poland.
Our room had not been ready when we checked in but now, on returning, we find we have been upgraded to the suite and free breakfast - nice! We also have been given vouchers for a free drink which we take up eagerly (!!) and a quick check on TripAdvisor shows the restaurant attached to the hotel is good so this works out perfectly for our tired feet. It is a lovely evening (despite the drunk Poms at a nearby table...) and we enjoy sitting outside for our yummy potato and cheese pierogi and then retire inside away from the brawlers who have taken to falling around on the ground. The duck with cranberry sauce is yum and I manage to find a glass of Hungarian pinot blend on the menu; MF enjoys his boar stroganoff with a beer.
It is not long before we crash into bed, accompanied by the occasional noise of revelry from outside in the street.
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We are blessed with a lovely sunny day, contrary to the forecast rain but there are storms predicted for later so on the advice of the bike rental company, we cancel this afternoon’s planned ride out into the country. We are a bit disappointed as the ‘storms’ don’t amount to much and were very shirt-lived; yes, we would have got wet but we have been in a lot worse. A bunch of woosies!
The Wawel Castle is where the Polish monarchs took up residence from the 11th century. There are several exhibitions and we chose the State Rooms where the halls and chambers are filled with priceless art, best period furniture and rare ancient objects. The collection of the 16th century monumental Flemish tapestries is exquisite.
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By the time we return to the main square (Rynek Glowny), my feet are 'done in' (17739 steps - 14 kms). The festival is well underway with masses of people and we manage to find somewhere to sit and listen to a traditional Polish band playing; many in the crowd spontaneously start dancing, including the young ‘uns!
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Finally, the Krakow bugle: in the main square every hour, the refrains of a bugle are heard from the top of the tower of St Mary’s church. According to legend, the melody that is played today honour a bugler that a Tatar warrior killed in 1240. From his tower perch he was the first to notice Tatar troops bearing down on the city. He sounded the alarm but his trumpeting suddenly stopped. A Tatar arrow had pierced his throat. However, the call was enough to galvanize the city’s residents into getting inside the walls and setting their defences. The Tatar assault failed. And since 1927, Polish Radio 1 has transmitted a bugle call at noon daily to all of Poland.
Our room had not been ready when we checked in but now, on returning, we find we have been upgraded to the suite and free breakfast - nice! We also have been given vouchers for a free drink which we take up eagerly (!!) and a quick check on TripAdvisor shows the restaurant attached to the hotel is good so this works out perfectly for our tired feet. It is a lovely evening (despite the drunk Poms at a nearby table...) and we enjoy sitting outside for our yummy potato and cheese pierogi and then retire inside away from the brawlers who have taken to falling around on the ground. The duck with cranberry sauce is yum and I manage to find a glass of Hungarian pinot blend on the menu; MF enjoys his boar stroganoff with a beer.
It is not long before we crash into bed, accompanied by the occasional noise of revelry from outside in the street.
Krakow, as you have discivered, is a beautiful city and student town as home to one of the oldest Universities in the World and one of the most revered Medical faculties. Unfortunately it is always full of either drunken Poms or Russians or both.
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