Krakow , Polands heart. - Krakow, Poland
Krakow, Poland
It was great to be back Studniska Dolne, and catching up with the washing, and with Gary & Bec and the kids.There was plenty of horse work to be done around the place so Lauren was back into it! Will, Ava and Luke spent hours in the sand in the arena, building castles, farms and race tracks
After a couple of catch up days we looked ahead on the calendar and our fly-home date was looming! We were running out of days and we wanted to see more of Poland. After some research we decided to head to Krakow, about 430km.
Karakow is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland.(pop 750,000) Situated on the Vistula River (Polish: Wisła) in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Poland's second most important city. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965. After the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, Kraków became the capital of Germany's General Government. Poles and Jews were classified as subhumans by the occupiers and were targeted for eventual extermination. The Jewish population of the city was moved into a walled zone known as the Kraków Ghetto, from which they were sent to German extermination camps such as Auschwitz and the
concentration camps like Płaszów.
Developed over many centuries, Kraków provides a showcase setting for many historic styles of architecture. As the city expanded, so too did the architectural achievements of its builders. It is for this reason that the variations in style and urban planning are so easily
recognisable. Built from its nucleus (the city centre) outwards, and having escaped much of the destruction endured by Poland during 20th-century wars, Kraków's many architectural monuments can typically be seen in historical order by simply walking from the city centre out
towards its later districts.
So much history! These few days turned out to be very educational, with so much to see and all so close by in the city.
Tues 13th Aug - Wed 14th Aug 2013 Papas Rest
We booked 2 nights in a self contained apartment called Papa's Rest. Our confirming email had very specific instructions about finding the place. An email we did not read before setting out! After a 5 hour drive (again in the heat without air-con)Tom Tom got us into the city in the vicinity of the address we had. Parking is near impossible in these old cities with very narrow streets! We landed a nose in park but our VW was sticking out a bit so we had to drive up onto the footpath to safely get off the road! Other cars in the street had done the same so we just took their lead! Will & I waited in the car while Lauren & Gregg did laps of the streets trying to find the apartment. After much frustration Lauren called the contact number we had and cried "We are lost!" but the lady was not sympathetic at all."You should have read the email!" Well I guess she was right.
We eventually found the apartment, 3rd floor, no lift, and car parked far away (again half on the footpath), and dragged our bags up the stairs to settle in.It was now late afternoon and we were hungry. As we were self contained we found a shop and bought some things for dinner and brekky and settled in for the night.
Gary had to drive to Zakopane to look at some horses, which is a small snow skiing resort
town100km south of Krakow, so he shared our apartment this night before heading further south.
The next day we decided to walk into the city which,by our map, looked to be 5 blocks from our apartment. Our car park was metered between 8am -10pm, and it cost about 20 zloty for the day, which meant we needed lots of coins to feed it. Another challenge before setting off for the day.Will handled what turned out to be a very long walk to the city very well, and we were in the main market square by about 10 am.Our plan was to head for Wawal Hill, Krakow Castle, the historical heart of this city.The whole place was alive with activity. Buskers,market stalls,music and many beautiful horses and carriages! The architecture was amazing, St Mary's Church with its Gothic towers of different heights and in the centre of the town square, The Cloth Hall, bustling with little trading booths with the interior full of paintings showing Krakow and Polish history. I was going to to need more time in this city!
We headed for Wawy al Hill. Since about 1040 the castle on this hill become the main residence for many Polish Kings or important Dukes.Over 30 coronations of Polish Kings and Queens have taken place in the massive renaissance Cathedral,considered the most honorable burial place in Poland. Will and I did the self guided audio tour of the Cathedral, the royal tombs and crypts, the Sigismund Bell, (yes lots of steps in the belfry) and the Pope John Paul II Cathedral Museum which displayed an incredible array of exhibits that would be the envy of any collection of medieval church art in the world. “Kmita’s Chasuble” of 1503, the masterwork of Gothic embroidery is just one of them. The museum’s other gems include ornate golden monstrances and varied liturgical vessels such as fine chalices and ampullas,
precious ancient crosses, fancy reliquaries, lavish chasubles and other vestments from the 15th century to the 19th century such as copes and miters, plus old paintings and sculptures. Poor Will could not appreciate what we were seeing but I loved it! the Polish are very proud of the fact that in1978,Karol Wojtyła, archbishop of Kraków, was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul II – the first Slavic pope ever, and the first non-Italian pope in 455years.Statistics say that 75% Poles are Roman Catholic. To finish off our tour Will and I walked the Dragons Lair.Tradition connects the beginnings of Krakow with one Prince Krak who rid his people of a dragon devouring both their stock and their virgins. For centuries a large, 200-foot-long natural cavern in the western rocky slope of the Wawel Hill above the Vistula (Wisla) river bank has been known as the monster’s den.In fact, the Dragon’s Lair (Polish ‘Smocza Jama’) is the area’s oldest residence, inhabited by man from the Stone Age through the 16th century. A
bony life-size bronze sculpture of the Krakow Dragon stands on a boulder by the exit of the Dragon's Lair. Children's pet monster since its unveiling in 1972, the sinewy creature is
the creation of Krakow's maverick artist Bronislaw Chromy. The sculpture spurts fire on demand via a SMS message!! Who'd-a-thought!
We had a wonderful time combing every inch of the Royal Castle and met up with Gregg & Lauren for lunch back in Town Square. There was music and buskers and the place was buzzing so many shops to explore! Today happened to be the 2 year anniversary for Gregg & Lauren, and they had shouted themselves some really nice paintings of the Town Square, Cloth Hall and St Marys Cathedral. One painting was of a table at a restaurant near by, under the arches of the beautiful Cloth Hall. We decided to eat at that resturant and take photos of Gregg & Lauren at the same table under the arches! It was a beautiful balmy evening and the restaurant was amazing! We were facing out on the Square and watching the carriages trot by and watched the gorgeous building light up as night fell. Will was able to run around and check out the buskers, and to top it off the jazz piano duo set up right in front of us!!! I was in heaven! What a wonderful evening we had! It would not have been complete without the carriage ride around the city, so after our dinner when the duo had packed up, we all did the "romantic" drive around the City by night! It was awesome! At this late stage we were not going to walk home so we took a taxi and all flopped into bed after a great day!
The next day we got in the car and asked Tom Tom lead us to a world-class attraction, The "Wieliczka" Salt mine, just 10km out of Krakow. Nine centuries (yes that's 900 years!!!) of mining in Wieliczka has produced a labyrinth containing almost 2,400 chambers connected by corridors measuring a total length of 245 km!! It was amazing! Our tourist route started 64 m deep, (lots of stairs...again 800 in total, 380 at the start!) and ended 135 m below the earth surface,(temp 14 deg) with a elevator back to the surface,thankfully! Everything was salt! the floor,the walls to roof...everything.We were allowed to lick the walls (eek) as salt has the germ killing ability (one I did not trust). The tour took 3 hours and again Will was fantasic! His attention was kept and there was lots to see and discover. Underground churches (miners pray for safety) ,huge salt sculptures, a ballroom, restaurant, kids play area , souvenir shop ALL DOWN UNDER! What an amazing day we had!
Thurs 15th Aug - Fri 16th Aug 2013 Grodska 21
With so much to see in Krakow we decided to stay another 2 nights, so overnight we booked another Apartment this time right in the Town Square, Grodzska 21, and just walk to all the action! The only problem was there was no parking anywhere near our new accommodation. So we ended up parking out of the city centre and after feeding the parking meter 48 hours worth of zloty, jumped in a taxi with our luggage and booked into Grodzska 21.
The apartment was small (all in together), but very nicely appointed. Position! Position! Position! Our next excursion was a "Golf Cart Tour", and after much price haggling we were on our way to see the sights of this city with our English speaking guide.The Jewish Quater, Ghettos Square, Schindler's Factory, and Corpus Christi Basilica where there was a service being held. We went in for a few minutes, and I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the enormous Gothic boat-shaped high altar, the choir chanting high in the mezzanine and the ancient pipe organ music echoing in the lofty ceiling that was covered with dramatic baroque paintings. Beautiful! *tears*
Later that day I took myself off the The Schindler's Factory Museum, which was the historical account of Krakow during WW2. It was very interesting although the exhibits had lots & lots of reading which was a bit taxing on my brain after a while, but I did learn a lot! I wish I had paid more attention in history class at school!
The plan for our last day in Krakow was to comb those market shops! Which we did! We also had lunch in an underground restaurant suggested by our tour guide. It was really good, and Lauren scored some nice vegetarian food! Will and I chased every busker and were entertained for ages. I wanted to check out some piano bars I had spotted, so Gregg & Will went to bed early while Lauren and I did the town over! It was fun but not a late night.... I was tired!
We had a great 4 days in Krakow. I really love the place. Meanwhile Gary had phoned us from Zakopane and said that the horse guy he went to see had a B&B in the mountains (very cheap) and it would be well worth a look, so we decided to head the 100 km south and have a look at the Tatra Mountains, and I did read about a gorge that might be worth seeing in some National Park down there.... mmmm, Sounds fun!