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If I say so myself,
we managed the jet lag superbly, sleeping like babies to get up Saturday morning to bright sunshine, a simple breakfast and an exploratory stroll back into the old town. By 10 a.m. people had already began to converge on the the main square in this city of 800,000. Unlike the capital city of Warsaw, it was unscathed by the bombing of World War 11.
Beautiful architecture abounded. Sitting outdoors at
Castor Coffee Club having
capucinno and pretzels was a cool way to begin the day as the sweet sound of a trumpet filled the air from above us. As a tradition, a beautiful melody is played from the top of the nearby St. Mary's church steeple, four times every hour as if the king of ancient times was still around to hear it from the palace two blocks away. The main square here was named Adolf Hitler Plaza during the occupation.
Walking along, we suddenly emerged into an even larger section where an obviously big event was being prepared for. A large stage, a cordoned off VIP area and practising youngsters presented clues of what to expect that evening. Quick inquiries revealed that handicapped children
from across the country were to sing with many of
Poland's top stars as a way of encouraging a belief in their own potential. TV cameras were everywhere.
Cafes, bars and restaurants of all varieties, lined the entire area as families, friends and visitors mingled, occupying the hundreds of tables surrounding the central square, reputedly the largest in Europe. Wandering along we visited
Wawel Castle overlooking the
Wisla River, which meandered its gentle way across Krakow. Finally we returned to our apartment just ten minutes walk away, to shower and prepare for a
Chopin recital later that evening by
Anna Bocza, a winner of international piano and chamber music competitions.
That evening the concert lived up to our expectations as the artiste filled the room with favourite Frédéric Chopin pieces. All were great. As we sipped white wine we thoroughly enjoyed such famous titles as
Walse E - minor opus 64 No. 2 and Etude G flat - major opus No. 5 which will be familiar to many of my music loving friends. It was simply enthralling to immerse ourselves in the great composer's work so beautifully executed, as his portraits looked down from the walls in
seeming approval. It just doesn't get any better, or can it?
With so much variety of choice in restaurants it was diffucult to decide but we finally settled on
Coscina Chata, tucked away in a less crowded side street. As a starter we had
black pudding (in France "boudin") which, although prepared differently to the Caribbean style, was very tasty and enjoyable. Our main couse was delicate pan fried trout. The excellent ambience, great food and our superb waitress ,
Paulina, made for a very special evening capped off at the end by conversations with another guest,
Alexandra, a pretty blond young lady, as we all left together and wandered into the now fully swinging concert nearby. She was German of Hungarian heritage, her parents having fled Communist tyranny for a new life in the west. It was a stimulating and interesting interlude.
Nobody in the square seemed to want to leave and neither did we, but eventually returning "home" and we slid into slumber a little after midnight, knowing that we faced an emotionally difficult day ahead - a visit to the Nazi concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, an hour or so drive away.
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Anthea
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Hi Roger and Jeanette, thanks for sharing, it all looks wonderful , enjoy yourselves