Yesterday morning we took a train from Warsaw Central Station to Krakow. Poland has an excellent network of trains to all of its major cities. Every sign in the station was in both Polish and English, so it was easy to purchase tickets and find the correct platform. You can also purchase a EuroRail pass or tickets from home or a U.S. travel agent. Unfortunately, the train was 30 minutes late arriving in Warsaw, but the 3 hour ride to Krakow was comfortable and pleasant.
We were met at the platform in Krakow by our cousin, Krystyna, and her husband, Leszek. They took us to their apartment for a delicious dinner of pierogi and stuffed cabbage. Smaczne! Delicious! Although the main purpose of this trip is for Robert to meet the family and tour Poland, a genealogist just can't stop updating the family tree, and this was a perfect opportunity to add the information about Krystyna's first great-grandchildren both born within the last 18 months. I will vouch that she looks too young to be a great-grandmother. Later, we checked into our hotel, and were excited to find that we have a panoramic view of the Wisla river (Vistula) and Wawel hill.
Today we took a tour of Krakow. I hesitate to call it a bus tour. Although there were only seven of us in the group, we boarded a huge bus. It took us first to Kazimierz, the Jewish neighborhood of Krakow. Its a brief stop because the tourist area of Kazimierz is much smaller than the entire neighborhood. But it is very interesting as it contains the first synagogue built in Krakow, a small Jewish cemetary, and the childhood home of Helena Rubenstein. The bus then took us to Wawel hill, and that was the last we saw of the bus for the next two and a half hours! The rest was a walking tour.
On Wawel hill, we toured the cathedral and rooms in the royal castle. The Polish kings are buried in Wawel Cathedral, along with other Polish saints, poets, authors, and politicians. The most recent were the late Polish president, Kaczynski, and his wife, were died in the Smolensk tragedgy. Krakow was the second capital of Poland (Gniezno was the first), but even when the capital was moved to Warsaw, the kings maintained a residence in Wawel. The tour of the royal castle was comprehensive, but the tour of the cathedral was too brief. So, we have it on the list to go back and do our own tour of the cathedral.
We then walked to the Old Town (Stare Miasto). Along the route, the guide spoke of the history of Krakow. Along with famous buildings, she pointed out the more famous churches, but I noticed there were many more churches that she didn't mention! Of course, we toured the most famous church, St. Mary's, affectionately called Mariacki. Above the altar is the renowned 5-panel altarpiece created by Wit Stosz in the 13th century. After the tour, we waited outside the cathedral to hear the traditional hourly playing of the Hejnal. When the Tatars were about to attack Krakow, the nightwatchman saw them coming. To warn the king and citizens of Krakow, he signaled them with a trumpet from the watchtower of Mariacki. He was struck in the throat by an arrow, which is recalled by the sudden end of the tune.
This is where the official tour ended, but we spent a couple more hours at the Market Square (Rynek) in Old Town. In the center of Market Square is Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), which has been a market place for several centuries. Of course today it is full of shops selling traditional Polish souvenirs of woodcarvings, weavings, crystal, lots and lots of amber, as well as less expensive souvenirs. Inside Cloth Hall are stalls, and outside are shops. The best souvenir shop is not inside Cloth Hall, but in a shop on the outside corner of Cloth Hall. It contains high quality souvenirs, handcrafts and artwork. Almost all of the handcrafts and artwork are attributed to named artists and the town where the artist lives. This is the place I would recommend if you want to take home a small szopka (traditional paper nativity), wicinianki (hand-cut paper designs), weavings, glass paintings, or Christmas ornaments. The Market Square is bordered by many, many restaurants, bookstores and banks. One special shop is the Wawel Chocolate shop. Wawel Chocolate is the brand name of what I think is the best chocolate in the world!
Old Town was brimming with bookstores, and young adults, becaus it is also the location of Jagiellonian University, the second oldest university in Europe. School starts this week; the reason that I know that is because a friend, Agnieszka, is starting her first year as a math major! Best of luck!
Again we asked the tour guide for recommendations for dinner. She mentioned that many of the restaurants in Market Square feature dishes from the middle ages in Krakow, trying to appeal to tourists. She gave us the names of a couple of more traditional, and less expensive, Polish restaurants that are in streets just off Market Square.
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