June 19
I arrived into Krakow at 6:30am, and this time round I didn’t sleep too well, possibly because I was getting off before the final stop and I didn’t want to oversleep. My first hour was spent trying to get the 8 zloty in coinage needed for the left luggage lockers, since I had several hours before I could check into my Airbnb. I then decided just to start walking in the general direction of the city centre, finding a long stretch of parkland which I kept following, until I found myself in the city’s Jewish Quarter. It felt serene walking through the city and not seeing many people, a contrast to Prague where it often got very busy, especially in the main tourist areas. When the city finally started opening I paid a visit to a butterfly house which also included reptiles and exotic birds.
Top two rows: A selection of sights from an early morning stroll in Krakow.
Bottom row and last image on middle row: Animals from Krakow Butterfly House.
Krakow was another place which left an impression on me, even though all I really knew of it was that Pope John Paul II was the Bishop there, and was born nearby. There are plenty of beautiful historic buildings, and Krakow is also one of the very few places left in Poland with anything like a viable Jewish community, and the city does a lot to celebrate its Jewish heritage, with an annual Jewish Culture Festival later in the month. Also, whilst it’s one of the most popular cities for tourists to visit in Poland, it still wasn’t as busy as Prague.
Top row: Krakow’s historic Jewish cemetery, Communist-era monument.
Middle row: St Mary’s Basilica, monument to a Jewish family at their former home, random mural.
Bottom: Bridge over the Vistula.
June 20
Didn’t do much “sightseeing” this day, since I went to the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum, something I would not count as mere sightseeing. I do not intend to elaborate too much on this blog, nor put up any pictures of things here where you can easily get the gist from Wikipedia. But it was surreal seeing the infamous gate with its “Arbeit Macht Frei” (“Work sets you free”) inscription in blazing sunshine when it’s typically shown in grim black and white images. Also what took me aback is how innocuous most of the surviving buildings where the inmates lived looked if one stripped it of context. I went on a guided tour – the only way you are presently allowed to visit the site at the time of writing, but it helped provide the context one often struggles to find when going around museums and monuments. Anyway, that is all that I have to say on this blog about this.
June 21
I started my final day in Krakow at a cafe which had a launderette attached to it, an amazing concept which should be far more common than it is, which allowed me to have breakfast, wash my sweat-ridden clothes, and update my notes from memory all around the same time. Later on I had a look around the many old churches in the city before exploring the Wawel Royal Castle, with its confusing ticketing system yet still an impressive site, complete with a tower which commanded impressive views of the city. I eventualy came back down via the Dragon’s Lair, a cave which led out to the Vistula and a statue of a dragon, which actually breathes fire, although it was hard to see it in the sunshine. To finish my time in Krakow, I had one final walk along the Vistula before taking one last look at the nightlife – something I will discuss in the next post.
Top row: the Vistula, statue of Pope John Paul II, Wawel Cathedral Museum.
Centre left: Horse and carriage providing rides for tourists.
Bottom row: overlooking the cathedral from the castle green, St Mary’s Basilica again, and the dragon statue.
Top image: Panorama of the Wawel.
Bottom row: Pictures taken from top of the Sandomierska Tower.