Day 4 - Royal Way & Kazimierz

Krakow with Rick Steves Guidebook

The start to my day was relaxing and neither of us crawled out of bed until 9:30! Now THAT'S being on vacation! 

But wait! What's that doorbell I hear? We aren't expecting visitors.

What looks like a wall phone next to the front door is actually the intercom to answer someone at the downstairs exterior door. There's lots of scratchy noises and no one answers my "Hello". It rings again and I answer. Again I hear lots of scratching and no one there. Then I hear the same sound one floor down at the neighbor's. Now ours rings yet again! This time I hear a faint voice on the other end and tell them I'm coming right down. Still in my nightgown, I hurried to dress and run down the 3 flights of stairs to find an old man speaking to me in Polish and a priest, at the street, wearing his cassock, surplice, and stole while carrying his Bible. I explain that I don't speak Polish and mention America. With that word, the priest says something in Polish and starts to walk to the next house but the old man continues to press me. He points to the old woman's door and says something and I point to myself and point upstairs. He lets himself in, goes up the flight of stairs and opens the old woman's door as he shouts to her. The priest comes up the front stair and, seeing the man enter the apartment, I move aside and say "dzien dobry" (good day) to which he acknowledges and goes up and in. I see the old woman come around the corner in a wheelchair in all her 300+ lb glory and the three of them go into a room behind the front door and close it. I can't lock the outside door as I'm supposed to or they wouldn't be able to get out! So I shut the unlocked door and go upstairs. I'll deal with locking it when we leave later. Wonder what THAT was all about? Perhaps just a regular visit to make sure she was still kicking.

I can't say enough about the great walking guides that Rick Steves provides in his books. They are informative and sometimes downright hilarious in his presentation. "The Hotel Copernicus, on the left, has hosted visitors both famous (Copernicus himself) and infamous (George W. Bush)."

Took the tram to Dworek Glowny station and saw an outdoor 3 on 3 going on so we HAD to check it out.

walked the underground sidewalk to the start of another wonderful day. But first! We found the TI, bought a stamp, and mailed Sophia's birthday card with a Polish stamp for 5 zl or roughly $1.25.

Walked the Royal Way which gets its name from the path that the King used to follow whenever he returned from his journeys. Many cities have their own Royal Way as well. The Barbikan hosts knights in armor with fight scenes once a month. Unfortunately it's NEXT Saturday when we will be in Poznan. Many of the sites have a miniature replica outside to view and ALL of them have Braille inscriptions. I think of Marion, my brother, often.  We walk through the Florian Gate, see the shrine to the Black Madonna of Czestochowa and a young lady playing violin. We tip her and take a photo.

From the Barbikan, we strolled the Florianska Street (Ulica Forianska) noting interesting places as pointed out by Rick and then to St. Mary's Church (Kosciol Mariacki). Across the square, we saw a huge sprinkler shooting into the air and people, mostly children, running through it. We went over to see what it was all about and it is their form of opening the hydrants in a big city to cool off! Well, the kid in me said I HAD to join in!  Besides, it was hot, I was hot, and my clothes and hair would dry quickly afterwards.

We waited for the Trumpeter of Krakow to make his appearance at the top of the Watchtower and enjoyed water glass music while we waited. The trumpeter is actually one of 12 firemen who take 24 hour shifts in the tower and trumpet the short "song" (bejnal) from various windows on each hour. The legend is that the watchman saw the advancing Tatars in 1241 and played to alert the town. Before he could finish the bejnal, he was shot through the throat with an arrow. To this day, the song stops subito (suddenly) partway through. (Thanks, Rick Steves for the info.)

A bride and groom are taking their carriage ride around the square and waving at passersby so we wave back and shout congratulations!

This is a John Paul kind of day. On our walk, we tried to enter St. Francis Basilica which was his home church during his time as archbishop of Krakow.  Unfortunately, a wedding was in progress and the caretaker was manning the entrance to keep visitors out. We might try that one another day. 

Walking down Grodzka Street, we pass the Church of Sts. Peter and Paul where statues of the 11 apostles (minus Judas) stand along with one of Mary Magdalene. Opposite the church is a square named after her. We cross this square and deviate from the Royal Way (just a bit) to go down Kanonicza.

After all, with so many churches, the priests have to live SOMEWHERE! This street has 3 entryways with cardinal hats over them to designate their homes and the only museum dedicated to their favorite son.

And we finally reach Wawel Hill, Castle, and Cathedral. This is the holiest place in Poland for its populace and considered the national mausoleum where rulers and great historical figures rest, including poet Adam Mickiewicz, Tadeusz Kosciuszko (of American Revolution fame) and Fryderyk Chopin. 

Entering Wawel Cathedral, we are reminded that no photos of any kind can be taken here. And as I walk through with Rick's directions, I find myself unconsciously reaching for my camera at one point. It is decorated in the baroque ornate style with marble, gold, and silver, and impressive in every nook and cranny.  King Kazimierz and St. Jadwiga each have a sarcophagus here and a special room with a reliquary monstrance has been devoted to St. John Paul II and holds a relic from him. People enter, pray, and kiss the relic with great devotion. We pass a chapel where a small group is praying during the Eucharistic Adoration and a guard keeps visitors from entering/disturbing.

Leaving the Cathedral, we wander the grounds to find the dragon's den.

Looking down, we catch him breathing fire!  "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."

A rest stop, shopping stop, and we're off to the Jewish District and the Festival. My feet are starting to burn and I'm wanting to sit but there's no place to do that so on we go. Our first stop in the Kazimierz area will be the old cemetery. We find it pretty easily with our Krakow city map but also discover there's no entrance available to us. We take photos through the fence and are directed to Miodowa street entrance. 

Policja are everywhere in groups and pairs. They watch the people, check bags, and have a huge presence.

Entering the festival square, I was amazed!  It's HUGE! I was expecting acoustic and it looks like a rock concert! 

We were able to get a table at the Miodova Restaurant even though we didn't have a reservation. Our hostess was very attentive. When we said we wanted to try ethnic specialties, she brought us a festival menu along with the regular menu and even a taste of the pickled herring as a treat.

With her suggestion, we shared a roasted leg of rabbit main course with sides of (1) white turnip and pear with sour cream sauce, raisins and walnuts top of threesome; (2) stewed spring cabbage with cumin (counter clockwise); and (3) roasted beetroots with nuts and organic honey (right side of photo).  No room for dessert but that's OK. It was a delicious meal.  And don't forget they charge for water (7.50 zl per carafe) and your choices are still or sparkling.  The whole meal, with tip, came to 110 zl which is equivalent to $30 total!  

And now to press our way through the festival crowds.  And it wasn't all that hard. We took lots of photos, danced, and had a great time. 

We caught the 50 tram at 21:00. While checking the schedule, Melodie turned around and poked me!  There were 11 handsome Brits all dressed up in super hero costumes. Come to find out, Mr. Incredible was the groom and on his "last hurrah" before getting married in a month in Cyprus! We took pictures with them as they waited for their own private tram to arrive and went on their way. Such fun happens when you least expect it.

Home by 22:00 and the car gassed up for tomorrow's drive to Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains.