Krakow...The New Prague?

no riding
(Krakow, Poland)

Highlights: doing laundry, visiting Krakow's Jewish quarter & Wawel Hill, relaxing by the river, dinner at the main square


Florianska Gate (13th Century main city gate, Krakow)

The Barbican (Krakow)

Real or fake statue? (Main Market, Krakow)

New Cemetery (Jewish quarter, Krakow)

Wawel Hill across the River Wisla (Krakow)

Wawel Cathedral (Krakow)

Back at Main Market (Krakow)
Journal: When I visited Prague 15 years ago it was the "it place" to go in Europe, full of energy & passion to go along with a beautiful old city & an amazing town square. I loved it...and Krakow reminds me in many ways of what I liked about Prague. You can walk around for hours (or even days) enjoying the sights, or just stay put at the immense Main Market central square & people watch. Lots of people (locals as well as tourists) were out & about today, enjoying the perfect weather and scenery. After doing my laundry (in another way-too-confusing European washing machine), I took a self-guided walking tour of Krakow's historic Jewish district, had a nice Polish lunch (sour rye soup with egg, and pierogis with mushrooms & sauerkraut), then relaxed along the river for several hours (with a nice view of Wawel Hill, home of a castle & cathedral), followed by a stroll back to the Main Market where I met Joe for a light dinner. Nothing too fancy or expensive today, but a nice relaxing way to spend the last day in Krakow before we head west (by train) tomorrow.

A source of amusement here in Krakow has been the free English language tourist guide which (besides having some very useful information) is full of unintentionally funny text. Here are a few of my favorite passages:

• "Good news. The main railway station is located slap bang in the city center."
• "In Poland, as in most countries, all holidays which are a few days off from work are used to spend as much time as possible out of the city."
• "Try the dozens of kinds of [Polish] mushrooms you never thought were edible."
• "If you drink beer with [breaded pork chops] you will feel very Polish."
• "Some short distance buses may not be as comfortable as you would like."
• "It is not easy to describe the sound of a mountain stream, or the fresh, forest air. Breath deeply and it will clear your head."
• "[In the mountains,] remember to take a bottle of water, extra warm clothing and a bar of chocolate."