The first thing to note is that when we entered the LOT Polish airplane in Prague ABBA was belting out over the speakers. Yep, a little "Take a Chance on Me" to get one in the mood, not the best omen though. However, I was already liking this Polish expedition. Upon landing we got another ABBA rendition and I couldn't help but leave the plane with a smile on my face and a bounce in my dance step. ;) (The plane to Krakow had music but nothing like ABBA, a bitter disappointment).
Then, the airport in Warsaw. Calm. Quiet. Serene. A scene I very much wasn't used to. (Side note: Prague's airport was also very quiet, with scrumptious restaurants and tasty waiters). And, I'm not sure what's going on in Poland but let's just say that the men to women ratio was definitely working in our favour. Yep, I knew I was going to like my time in Poland. ;)
Big game boards in Prague's airport
Waiting on the runway and then saw this :o
Definitely not in a rush, please and thank you
What?! First time I've seen this. LOVE Polish airlines.
Krakow....here we come!
People waiting their turn to get into the aisle and off the plane.
Had to take a picture because I haven't encountered this in my travels yet.
B had arranged for the accommodation place to pick us up from the airport which was great considering the time of night we arrived at. Sometimes it's not as convenient or timely to make your way through the public transport system later at night in unknown places so this was a nice perk. Plus it was the first time B had her name on a placard for an airport pick up and so she was a little excited about that lol (I'm still waiting for that to happen for me). Upon arriving at the hotel we were further grateful for this ride as we would never have found this place on our own. There was no outstanding sign for the place and the hotel itself was actually tucked in behind a few buildings reachable only through a tiny tunnel and three locked, need to be buzzed in, entries later. As obscure as the location was, the hotel (and I use that word loosely) was quaint - an older building, I'd say was an apartment complex in its time, with a slanted, creaky wooden staircase, thin, noise enhancing wooden floors and some very interesting decor. Kind of reminded me of the Victorian times. All in all one could say that if you want an adventure, then this is the place for you. ;)
Twin beds are the norm in many European establishments
The salt mine was quite an exquisite thing to see. It reminded me of the Lewis and Clark caverns tour my family took in Montana a few years ago. We got to delve deep into the Earth to explore the wonderings that man created meters below the surface, that still exist today, and view the magic of earth and salt. It was quite an informative tour, and my first one with a headset, and was really interesting to get the perspective of what life of the miners would have been like. And I got the ultimate souvenir as one of the guides pulled a chunk of salt off the wall for me (and some children lol).
Main park
Heading down many, many, many stairs
Pullies to get work done
One of many sculptures in the mine
Standing on the tracks used to move salt
Stalagnites and salt
Chapel; weddings can be held here
We look a little exhausted.
Salt pool. No swimming, just floating
Holding the place up
Yummy salt walls ;)
No trips for tourists here anymore; boat capsized
once years ago and a man drowned
After a delicious lunch of meat pierogies (YES! I was back in a land of good food once again) and Polish beer we headed back to the center of Krakow and made our way to the Wawel Royal Castle. This was an exquisite area that houses the palace, courtyard, sacred ground with an area considered good for the chakra (that's now blocked so wall rubbing and chakra embodying cannot continue too closely), and buildings that now contain museums, with famous artwork such as the Lady with the Ermine. Wawel Cathedral is considered the Westminster Abbey of the east.
Yum! How I've missed you.
Oh Starbucks. You were 0 for 2 this time.
And someone thought their name was secure ;) (lol not I that's for sure)
Love the parks here.
Wawel Castle
Passing the gates
Only so many tickets are sold throughout the day.
This board counts down how many tickets are left
for the various areas of the castle grounds.
Church. A mish-mash of different architectural styles and pieces
(it had been added onto throughout the years)
Chakra spot. Black from all the people rubbing to be in the 'exact' spot.
Cathedral (other side)
Remnants of a building
A view of the Vistula River
Names of those who contributed to the restoration of Wawel
Next we headed down to the Main Market Square. This was a bustling place complete with tourist trap souvenir stands, break dancers, horse & carriage rides and a firefighter-turned-bugler who plays atop St. Mary's Church. There's quite the history behind the song played (click link to read more).
Some churches along the walk
Main Market Square
Man playing the water glasses on the street
St Mary's Church.
Bugler plays in top left tower.
St Mary's Church
After meandering through the square we headed to the Cloth Hall, traditionally where merchants sold their cloth (literal translation here) but now where there are merchants of all sorts selling their wares, like a one stop shopping center, It was here that our eyes gleamed with the amber jewellery known to Krakow. Pulling ourselves and our wallets away after browsing each and every stand, we ended up at a lovely little restaurant for supper, Marmeloda. For the first time in 10 months I got to experience once again one of my all-time favourite foods: cabbage rolls! And they sure didn't disappoint. How I love Poland!
Cloth Hall
Cabbage Rolls! SO scrumptious!
Square at night.
Back at the 'hotel' we hoped for a quiet relaxing night before our tour the next day only to realize that wasn't going to happen. As per our luck, we ended up below a group of people who, from what we could tell, like to run around, shout and rearrange furniture at all hours of the night. Unfortunately, my roommates couldn't sleep because of it (I could since the night before I was up listening to them and so now I'd hit pure exhaustion) and our front desk clerk got a wonderful visit at 1:30am from our room. Needless to say we were very appreciative of his promptness in going up there immediately to tell them to knock it off. I'd still like to know exactly what they were up to up there. Or maybe not. :s
The next day we took a tour of Auschwitz and Birkenau work/concentration camps. Going here had always interested me as I had read much literature about the camps from a young age when I first picked up The Diary of Anne Frank, on into my adult years when I'd read excerpts and young adult fiction about the trials and tribulations of those who endured the camps. It was eye opening and awing to be in a place only heard about and where so much unnecessary tragedy took place. I can say that it was numbing to see some of the history that has been maintained to enlighten individuals of what occurred, what was endured and the suffering that happened. It was also very surreal to be there amidst the sun and green grass, oxymorons of life in a cruel place. I really appreciated our tour guide as she had a vast amount of knowledge and delivered it to us in such a respectful, sombre way that definitely paid homage to the site and both its victims and survivors.
Note:
I wrestled long and hard about sharing pictures of Auschwitz and Birkenau with my readers. Up to this point pictures I've posted have been to show the landscape, proudly share the views I've had and to inform you of the various sights and places I've been to. But this is different. This excursion, if that's even the right word to use, was to learn, to see and to hear about a topic that holds so many terrible memories, images and stories. Now whether to share what I've seen, well I'm leaving that in your hands. For many people they would never have gone here, and right fully so, and many who went had a very hard time with everything they saw. Now in saying that, I found it very difficult to stand in a place where so much destruction took place, yet what I gleaned from the experience can never be taken away from me. And I found it interesting, in a heartbreaking way. So, I leave you with two slideshows that you may choose to view or not. The choice is up to you. If you'd like to see images of the camps, you may do and if not, fair enough, completely understandable. I just wanted to be as respectful to my readers as possible considering the topic and standpoints.
Auschwitz
 |
Birkenau
 |
Once we returned to Krakow, we needed a little 'pick-me-up'. We enjoyed lunch at Pod Wawel where our meal, I enjoyed a sour cabbage soup, was brought to a close with a free traditional cherry vodka shot. One thing I have to say about alot of the restaurants in Krakow is that the servers wear traditional garb and it's neat to see the different styles of dress.
On the streets of Krakow. Not sure what the bottom one is saying.
Children wielding lollipops cross here?
Not sure about my pose, or my face in this pic lol
The next day was our sadly our last in Krakow. We spent the morning at Schindler's Factory (yes, that which the movie was based on) and again indulging ourselves in the vast history that Krakow encompasses. Coming from a country still so 'new' it's very interesting to be in places where their history goes back hundreds of years, and is so powerful, tragic, and uplifting.
Germans replaced the Polish street signs with their own
over the course of Krakow's occupation
Letters from children in the ghetto
People Schindler helped inadvertently save
Before going to the airport we stopped at the mall and did a little shopping. Luckily our cute, lawyer student driver was back to escort us to the airport. Did I mention how friendly and helpful the people in Krakow are? Even when we were trying to figure out how to buy a tram ticket a lady stopped and asked us if we needed help, without us even looking around like lost, wild cats. Yep, I believe if you want to see a beautiful place steeped with history and friendly people then Krakow is the place for you. How I wish to return to Poland!
Square outside our accommodations
**Some photos courtesy B. McLaren.
No comments:
Post a Comment