[GG] Krakow

Our flight was about two hours and we arrived Krakow just before midnight. Thankfully our hotel had arranged for a taxi for us, who took us first to an ATM & then onto Hotel Benefis. The hotel was a small 3-star which offerd us a bedroom with a queen size bed & a living room with a sofa sleeper. Accommodations were not fancy, but clean & very well located. We were about two cobblestoned blocks from the river from which we could see the Wawel Castle.

Everything was within walking distance. Someone we met told us that Krakow is called the “other Paris”. I am not sure about that, but I am sure that it is very charming, almost magical with a large castle built on a hill next to the Wisla (pronounced Veesh-waa) River (aka Vistula River) which meandered through town. The old Jewish quarter is known as Kazimieriz with synogogues, cemetaries, bakeries, and lots of little restaurants. Kazimierz is named after Kazimierz the Great, the 14^th century ruler that brought prosperity and growth to Poland.

The Old Town & Main Market Square is very charming, surrounded by little shops & outdoor restaurants. In the center of the square is a tower, all that is left of the 14^th century Town Hall. At the base of the tower is a large, black, hollow metal sculpture of a head wrapped in cloth, laying sideways as tho' decapitation had taken place and the head left behind. The bunny chooses a Kodak moment here. The Main Market is alive with flower stalls, fruit & vegetable stands, and a parade of people.

More churches, with beautiful Gothic architecture, amazing stained glass and carvings – all with a long history start to blend. Obviously it's time for dinner. Bee found a quaint upstairs restaurant on a quieter back street where we have mussels, roasted potatoes (looked like french fries to us), pasta with broccoli & walnuts, snow pea soup with Parmesan cheese & a vegetable dish. All that & a glass of wine about $40.

Stuffed & happy, we resumed our walk and came upon the Dragon Festival & Kid's Day with street fair & food vendors at the foot of the castle. What's a girl to do when she's already full, but comes across some new, exotic food? Eat some more. Find room somewhere. Hollow leg, don't fail me now! Cee had a grilled bacon sandwich on homemade, fresh rye bread. The bacon was cut in long fat strips from what looked like pork loin. The bread was so good that Cee made a special trip to a specific bakery in the Jewish section to buy ½ a loaf to eat on our travels.

One afternoon we visited the Wawel Castle, a big rectangular, many roomed palace with beautiful and old tapestries & paintings and Wawel Cathedral – Poland's Westminster Abbey. The castle is in the midst of a restoration project & when complete, may be worth revisiting. We spent an hour or so at the castle then walked down the hill & found an outdoor takeout sort of restaurant – an open air grill with a young, sweaty fellow cooking up sauerkraut, polish sausage, & blood pudding. Put that together with a shot of cherry vodka & you've got lunch! Polish sausage was typically 8 PLN or about $3...yes, we had them more than once. During our lunch a sudden thunder, lightning & rain storm occurred but it was over within 30 minutes. Days are getting warmer overall.

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Saturday we took a tour of the salt mines. With an English speaking guide who could have worked as an SS guard, vee valked behint her down da stairs to almost 400 meters below ground, always adhering to her admonishment to “holt zee door”. We were sure she uttered “macht schnell” more than once. At any rate within the mines are beautiful sculptures – mostly religious – of carved salt. Most of these were done in the 1800 & early 1900's by salt miners with too much time on their hands. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site which is unique & worth seeing once. It's also a little pricey with an almost $20/person entrance fee. Tours from Krakow are about $45/person. By taking the bus we're saving about $60 overall & the local transportation is good, frequent & cheap – so why not.

That evening we were startled from our room but the sounds of what initially we thought were firecrackers, soon realizing it was fireworks. We quickly walked the 2 blocks to the river to find hundreds, maybe thousands of people watching a dragon-balloon “fight” over the water, accompanied with lazer lights, fireworks, and music. This was the highlight of the Kid's Day/Dragon Day festival. Due to the crowd of people it was difficult to see everything, but we could see all the amazing fireworks which went on for almost an hour. It was dazzling. Kid's apparently design & make these large dragon balloons, parade them through the old town, have an afternoon festival & then that evening the balloons are loaded onto barges in the river where they engage in their fight. If we had been able to read the Polish signs we would have been aware of the itinerary & could have made sure we were in the right spot at the right time. As it was, we were thankful that our hotel was so conveniently located & that we were able to experience what we could. Very Disney-like & the kids were mesmerized.

Yesterday we visited Auschwitz & Birkenau. It was an all day, very sobering trip to the most famous concentration camps, which were responsible for the death of approximately 1.5 million Jews, gypsies, & other targeted groups. It was not as graphic as the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC, but because this was the site & not just pictures of or a recreation of , the whole experience became more real. As Bee said, as she walked she realized that prisoners had walked the same steps & looked at the same trees as she was experiencing. There is no real way to describe what we saw other than to reiterate the obvious: the living conditions at the camp were appalling and so poor it is a wonder than any survived. The weather participated in the mood with thunder, lightning & occasional drizzle. And it remained hot & humid. The theme song from "Schlinder's List" and many images from that movie played through my head while visiting Auschwitz & Birkenau. Neither Bee nor Cee & especially not the MFB have seen the movie. We'll try to download it & watch it sometime during our travels.

And speaking of chocolate (since we're no longer speaking of Irish Coffees)...one evening we had the hunger for chocolate & found a quaint chocolate shop that served chocolates paired with wine, a variety of desserts, and hot chocolate. Of course we each ordered something different & then shared. Bee had hot chocolate with raspberry, Cee had hot chocolate with cardamon, and I had wine paired with pralines. Very, very good. The hot chocolate was thick & dark, almost like a melted candy bar.
... a Kodak moment preserved.