Historic Krakow

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Geo: 50.0553, 19.9274

I spent the day touring the beautiful and very welcoming city of Krakow. As Polish history is not something I know much about, I thought I would start with some background on the area. According to one of my guidebooks, Krakow had it's first settlement back around 50,000 BC, but the first written record of its name dates to 966. Krakow was once the capital of Poland and contains the historic Wawel Royal Castle, the site of the coronations and burials of the Polish kings. Today, Warsaw is the capital and there are no kings, however Krakow remains one of the most visited cities in Poland due to its historical significance. In 1939, the Nazi's invaded Poland and began their occupation of Krakow. The large Jewish population was eventually forced into the Krakow Ghetto, which was then liquidated in 1943 with almost all remaining residents being killed on site or sent to a labor camp or to Auschwitz. The Jewish population today is only about 200 strong. Krakow was liberated in 1945 by the Soviet Army and was under the Communist regime until 1989. And for those up on their Catholic Popes, archbishop Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II in 1978, and therefore there are tons of sites linked to him. Poland has been a member of the EU since 2004 and continues to use it's own currency, which is pretty cheap. Today I spent a total of $32.51, which includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, a 24 hour tram pass, entrance to two museums, a bottle of water, some snacks and a hand carved mini Nativity scene for my collection. I don't think I have been anywhere else where so little gets you so much! So, how did I spend my day?

I started off my morning by walking through the Florianska Gate, which is the only remaining gate from back when the city was surrounded by a moat and series of medieval fortifications. What was once the moat is today a green park called the Planty. I was worried as I had not seen anyone with a camera on my walk towards the Old Town, but then I saw a group of Asian tourists and felt much better! Right inside the gate, you will find a Coffee Heaven, which would be a Starbucks back home, but a Starbucks with fresh squeezed orange juice! I had a Chocolate Twist (basically a croissant but in a twist instead of a crescent or rectangle) and a very large glass of delicious orange juice.

Continuing along what is known as The Royal Route (the path of coronation for the kings of old) I quickly came to the main Market Square. This is a large square (obviously) surrounded by colorful buildings, a few churches and dominated in the center by the Cloth Hall. I started by walking around the outside of St. Mary's Basilica. This church contains a large wooden altar, the largest of it's kind in Europe, and is the main point of interest for tourists. I was there before it was open for viewing, however you can enter the church itself for prayer only. So I went in and sat for awhile listening to a mass in Polish (I don't know any Polish so I have no clue what was going on) and marveling at the beautiful architecture and art work inside.

Back outside, I briefly walked through the Cloth Hall. This has been the site of markets since the mid 1200s and today contains numerous stalls with vendors selling all sorts of Polish souvenirs. I was again too early to check them out, but I came back later in the afternoon and found one vendor who was selling hand carved wooden nativity scenes. As I still am not used to how cheap the Zloty really is, I got the smallest one for 20 zl, which I now realize is only $5.38, but it's cute and a great gift for myself.

As I continued along, I enjoyed looking in the shop windows at the various foods and goods for sale. The street I was on did have vehicle traffic, but most people wandered onto the street at any given time and the vehicles seem to give them the right of way. I past a few more churches and peeked inside one of them. No cameras allowed! Finally, I turned a corner and ahead loomed Wawel Hill. This is the site of the Royal Castle and Cathedral, which is surrounded by a large wall and looks out over the Wisla River. There are tickets for each portion of the complex, with tours of castle rooms and the Cathedral and crypts, but I just walked around outside for free. Lots and lots of school groups and tour groups all over the grounds so it is best to get there early or plan for lots of noise. There was a refreshment stand and a restaurant as well as large gift shop. After looking at the castle and cathedral, I headed out along the wall and walked down to the river via the Dragon's Den. Now this is really a cave that was formed 12 million years ago in the hill, but the legend has it that a dragon lived there. I did not see any real dragons, but there is a large statue right outside the cave that supposedly breathes fire, even though I never saw it do so.

It was getting pretty warm and I kind of wanted lunch so I decided to hop on a tram and head across the Wisla to visit one of the newest branches of the National Museum, Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory. We have Steven Spielberg to thank for this site being preserved and turned into a permanent museum as he filmed the majority of Schindler's List on site and made it known around the world. The museum today has a permanent exhibit detailing life in Krakow from 1939-1945 through a series of themed rooms, one of which is the original office of Oskar Schindler which managed to survive in tact after the war ended. Schindler was responsible for saving the lives of over 1000 Jews who were employed at his factory. A short distance away is the site of the former labor camp, Podgorze, which was overseen by Amon Goeth, who is so chillingly portrayed by Ralph Fiennes in the movie. I was not able to visit the site, but I hear it is worth it if you can find it. I planned on visiting the Jewish area of Kazimierz next, however a giant clap of thunder as I exited the museum changed my plans. I barely made it back to the tram station before it started pouring. My tiny travel umbrella wasn't much good and so I decided to head back to the Market Square to try and stay dry.

I never got lunch at the museum, which worked out in my favor as I visited Bar Mleczny, a Milk Bar leftover from the communism days. Milk Bars were, and still are, cafeteria style eateries where people could get a hearty meal for very little money. I got the Pierogi Ruskie, which was a plate full of pierogi stuffed with cottage cheese and topped with grilled onions. It was delicious and only cost me $2.56! Glad I waited until I got back to the square to eat something!

I ended up going back to St. Mary's and buying the ticket to get a closer look at the wooden altar. Again, lots of tour groups so I couldn't get as close as I wanted but I was able to sneak some pictures. I also enjoyed sitting by a fountain in the square watching the pigeons and kids chasing the pigeons and listening to all the different languages being spoken. After a brief stop back in the room to change shoes (I wore sandals today because it was hot and they were not the right shoes to wear) I headed back out to get some dinner. This time it was not raining so I took the tram back to Kazimierz to get a famous zapiekanki in Plac Nowy. That's basically a french bread pizza with lots of different topping options. I had the basic which had cheese and mushrooms on it. Then you had a choice of sauce and I picked garlic. The thing was huge, 37 centimeters, and I could not eat it all but it was delicious. All the synagogues were closed by then so I was not able to see any of the famous Jewish sites.

Poland was on my travel list for one reason, but I am so glad I got to spend a day wandering the city of Krakow as it is really a wonderful place to visit! I walked 8.3 miles, my feet hurt (very wrong pair of shoes for the first day) and I am tired but full of good food and great memories.

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Photos

Breakfast
Fresh squeezed juice!

Lunch
Filling, delicious and cheap!

Dinner
Holy Cow! Who could eat an entire one of these!

Comments

[maryandmarty]

What a perfect first day! I admire your ambition, but I too find that the best thing to do for jet lag is to walk. (And eat of course!) Also, it is exciting to discover fascinating and beautiful things that you never had any idea you were
looking for. Auntie M

[MOM]

I would find it interesting to go to a church service of any kind being done in a different language. You don't have to understand anything to appreciate the sentiment. And I am glad you are finding things to eat. I would like any of the
items you had....they sound delicious!!

[Anne]

We had the same experience dealing with Mexican pesos. Maybe even more misleading because they use the same symbol as the US dollar! I always feel guilty buying so many souvenirs and gifts for myself because they sound so expensive! Then I
get home and think "Why didn't I buy more?"