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Published: April 7th 2008
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Arnold is Introduced
This is Emily and our dragon, Arnold. You may have picked up a pattern so far... all of my "excursion" days tend to start a bit earlier than I prefer and this was no exception... we met as a group to walk to breakfast at 7:50 am. Breakfast, I am happy to say, was served in a beautiful restaurant a few blocks from the hostel.
After breakfast, we spent our grey morning walking around the city, seeing all of the tourist-y sites. My friend, Emily, won a plush dragon in the morning's breakfast trivia game. There is lore about the dragon, but I will tell you about that later. The dragon was technically given to Jennie, but I sort of took him over (we call him Arnold) and Jennie gave up and let me have him. Arnold and I were inseparable and he rode in my jacket. We stayed pretty close to the Main Square for the most part. I saw the Basilica of the Ascension of the Holy Virgin Mary, the tourist center, the last bastion of the city (the remainder of a thick wall that once served as protection for the city), and some other interesting places.
The Basilica is especially interesting in its
Old City
This is a passageway that remains from the fortification that once existed around the city. appearance, but also because there is, without fail, a person with a bugle to signal to the people certain times of day. It used to be played as a warning or announcement as well and it is an honor to play the bugle from the tower. It has been played everyday steadily for hundreds of years.
Krakow is also famous for the legendary dragon that supposedly terrorized the city. Like all truly scary dragons, it feasted on the pretty young women of the city. Many knights tried, and failed, to eliminate the dragon. A clever cobbler devised a "sheep" filled with some sort of explosive substance. The dragon ate it, went to the river to drink, and was blown up. The king, Krak, was so grateful to the cobbler that he gave the man his daughter and the city was saved. Arnold is a great-great-great grand-dragon of the monster (but is much friendlier).
About midday, the group went to see Wawel Castle and Cathedral. The rain became much steadier and everyone was anxious to find cover in a cafe or restaurant. Emily, Jennie, and I choose to look around the cathedral (including climbing the stairs to the
Old City
Another fortification from the city... This building used to have a moat! bell tower). It is a beautiful church with several private chapels and exquisite artistry. We were wet (and I was getting irritable) so we found a restaurant to have lunch and dry a bit. Of course, a meal is best with dessert, so afterwards, we decided to seek out one of the cafes recommended for hot chocolate.
(My current roommate, Emma, lived in Krakow for some time and has told me that there is some wonderful hot chocolate. Molly, in Vienna, has also told me that she spent much of her time finding the perfect place for a cup of chocolate happiness. I got recommendations from both of them). We three girls found the cafe and proceeded to eat ourselves silly. We each had a cup of hot chocolate (which, to be clear, is not some packet of powder and water... oh, no, it was so thick you couldn't really drink it, topped with real, hand -whipped cream) as well as FOUR pieces of pie. To be fair, we felt that we couldn't be expected to just pick one kind of pie. We did split them, at least. Ohhhh, it was sooooo good. We stayed in the cafe for a
Friends!
This is Ulrik the Dane! few hours, partly because we simply could not get up! I think the pictures give a good idea of our gluttony. ;-)
Once we could finally rouse ourselves, we went back to the hostel to fully dry and rest for a few hours. Despite my claims that I wouldn't have to eat for the rest of the night, I did eat a full dinner! Several people, including myself, went to a pub after dinner for a few drinks. I didn't stay long , as usual, because I didn't want to be exhausted the next day. Also, the time finally changed for us, so we were to lose an hour of sleep. The day was, I felt, great because I really got to spend time with Jennie and Emily and to experience both tourist activities and just relax in a cafe and get a local feel. I like the city of Krakow a great deal, more so perhaps than some of the others because it is smaller and easy to navigate than, say, Prague.
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