Krakow - Day 1

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Our motorcoach arrived in Krakow at 6:00 p.m. Upon crossing the Vistula, a dramatic entry was made into Krakow, with Wawel Castle to the left and the Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel to the right. The coach headed straight for our hotel, the Holiday Inn Kraków City Centre. (No ordinary Holiday Inn, the building had once been the Pareński Palace, a 19th century mansion.) The hotel was within walking distance of the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and its centerpiece, the Rynek Główny. The tour group had a date with dinner and an accompanying Polish folkloric show.

Passing though the Small Market Square (Mały Rynek) the group entered the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny). Off to one side was our destination for dinner, Restauracja Tradycyja. Dinner in the restaurant's basement included a Polish folkloric show performed by LajkFolk. The ensemble included four musicians and three dancers. They danced the Krakowiak and other folk dances. They certainly appeared to enjoy performing for our group. Of course, I bought one of their CDs.

After dinner, the Market Square was illuminated. It was a magical sight with the Cloth Hall, St. Mary's Basilica and the old town hall tower all lit up. Everyone passed some time here before returning to the hotel.

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Photos

Wawel Royal Castle
Wawel Royal Castle - Zamek Królewski na Wawelu. Built in 1502-1536 for Zygmunt I.
Historic Centre of Kraków. UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1978.
"The Schloss (Zamek Kr6lewski), on the broad Wawel hill at the S.W. end of the old town, was founded in the 14th cent, by Ladislaus Lokietek, and restored by Casimir the Great and Sigismund I. (after 1500), but later conflagrations and other injuries have left only a number of large separate buildings, dating chiefly from the time of Sigismund I and his son Sigismund Augustus, and converted in 1846 into a barrack and hospital".--Baedeker 1900. DSC_0397p1

Cloister On The Rock
"Cloister On The Rock";. Bazylika św. Michała Archanioła i św. Stanisława na Skałce - Basilica of St. Michael Archangel and St. Stanisława and the Pauline Monastery (Skałka). In the Kazimierz district. The Paulists arrived in Kraków in 1472. The Baroque church of St. Michael and St. Stanislaus was built in 1733-1751 according to the plans of the architect Antoni Müntzer, changed a few years later by Antonio Solari, who redesigned the facade of the building and interior design. Ulica Skałeczna 15.
Historic Centre of Kraków. UNESCO World Heritage site. Inscribed in 1978.DSC_0361p1

Ratuszowa (Old Town Hall)
Ratuszowa (Old Town Hall). Adaptive reuse as a restaurant. Rynek Główny 1.
Historic Centre of Kraków. UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1978.
"...a Gothic tower of the 15th cent., the only relic of a town-
hall taken down in 1820..."--Baedeker 1900
IMG_5445

Kościół Mariacki
Kościół Mariacki - St. Mary's Church at night. Begun in 1355, the taller tower was completed in 1478 and the lower in 1592. Polish Gothic style. "On every hour, a trumpet signal—called the Hejnał mariacki—is played from the top of the taller of Saint Mary's two towers". Rynek Główny.
Historic Centre of Kraków. UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1978.
"On the W. side are two towers; that to the N., with a modern cap surrounded by 16 pointed turrets, is 265 ft. high ".--Baedeker 1911. IMG_5468p1

Sukiennice
Sukiennice - Cloth Hall at night. Rynek Główny.
Historic Centre of Kraków. UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1978.
"The large building nearly opposite, in the centre of the Ring-Platz, is the Tuchhaus (Pol Sukiennice), or cloth-hall, begun in the 14th cent, under Casimir the Great, altered by Mosca of Padua in the 16th cent., and largely rebuilt in 1876-79. On the ground-floor is a vaulted corridor with numerous shops and stalls".--Baedeker 1900. IMG_5441

Sukiennice
Sukiennice - Cloth Hall at night. Rynek Główny.
Historic Centre of Kraków. UNESCO World Heritage site inscribed in 1978.
"The large building nearly opposite, in the centre of the Ring-Platz, is the Tuchhaus (Pol. Sukiennice), or cloth-hall, begun in the 14th cent, under Casimir the Great, altered by Mosca of Padua in the 16th cent., and largely rebuilt in 1876-79. On the ground-floor is a vaulted corridor with numerous shops and stalls".--Baedeker 1900. DSC_0392

Mały Rynek
Krakow: Mały Rynek at night. The Small Market square.
Historic Centre of Kraków. UNESCO World Heritage site. Inscribed in 1978.
IMG_5440

Kamienica Pinocińska
Kamienica Pinocińska, now Restauracja Tradycyja and Słodki Wierzynek.. The former a Polish and Italian restaurant on Krakow's market square. Rynek Główny 15-16. IMG_5443p1

LajkFolk Musicians
Restauracja Tradycyja. LajkFolk Polish folkloric show musicians. IMG_5454

LajkFolk Dancers
LajkFolk Polish folkloric show at Restauracja Tradycyja. DSC_0365p1

LajkFolk Dancers
LajkFolk Polish folkloric show at Restauracja Tradycyja. DSC_0366p1

LajkFolk Dancers
LajkFolk Polish folkloric show at Restauracja Tradycyja. DSC_0370p2

LajkFolk Dancers
LajkFolk Polish folkloric show at Restauracja Tradycyja. DSC_0371p1

LajkFolk Dancers
LajkFolk Polish folkloric show at Restauracja Tradycyja. DSC_0373

LajkFolk Dancers
LajkFolk Polish folkloric show at Restauracja Tradycyja. DSC_0374

LajkFolk Dancers
LajkFolk Polish folkloric show at Restauracja Tradycyja. DSC_0375

Żurek
Żurek, Polish sour rye soup. Served at Restauracja Tradycyja. IMG_5448p1

Pierogi
Pierogi served at Restauracja Tradycyja. IMG_5450p1

Veal Escalopes
Veal escalopes with Parma ham and sage served with spinach gnocchi served at Restauracja Tradycyja. IMG_5463p1

National Archives in Krakow
Archiwum Narodowe w Krakowie. Formerly a tenant house. Sienna 16. IMG_5474p1

Holiday Inn Kraków City Centre
Holiday Inn Kraków City Centre. Originally the Pareński Palace. The lobby shopping arcade and central guest rooms are a repurposing of the Pareński Palace. A new addition has been built around the older building to accommodate modern guest rooms. Ulica Wielopole 4. DSC_0741

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Krakow
I really want to go to Poland and you are tempting me to go soon.