Our apartment owner, Jacek, was a bit flustered when we arrived about 45 minutes early, so we agreed to give him another 45 minutes to get the apartment sorted. Our first foray into the uncut diamond of Kazimierz, the old Jewish ghetto in Krakow, Poland now enjoying a renaissance as the Bohemian quarter, gave us a tiny insight into the magical world we'd explore for the next five days.
Wandering down past old synagogues and countless images, statues or plaques of ex-Pope JP2, we made it to the shores of the Vistula, the lifeblood of lower Poland and one of its prettiest features. Wandering back, Cass disturbed some birds (first photo above) in the town hall's square: the look on her face I think sums up our excitement in being in our third wildly different European city on our Christmas break.
We checked out our very slick (and warm!) apartment for a while, got settled, then headed off for some lunch before attacking Wavel Hill and Castle. A vast complex of ancient churches and castles on one of the few outcrops of higher land in the city, it was quite stunning architecturally and ornate in decoration, both inside and outside the many buildings. Cass enquired about concerts, particularly by the Polish maestro, Chopin, but didn't get much joy. We toured the church, but were disappointed to find the Royal rooms in the castle across the square were heavily restricted in terms of visitor numbers and were booked out for some days! JP2 again gazed benevolently upon the masses from yet another bronze likeness, but his ubiquitous presence was starting to creep us out a little!
After this we made our first of many trips to the sights and sounds and experiences associated with the main square, an amazingly expansive space in the centre of Krakow city which has been the hub of the community since medieval times. One night we managed to snare the only tiny table inside a restaurant with a majestic view of the square, with slowly clopping horse teams taking tourists in coaches through the cobbled streets. Hordes of youngies gorged on the most visceral looking platters and strings of mysterious meats, and hot beer and wine was sipped and held in gloved hands while bands played, shoppers browsed and bargained, and traders hawked. A cup of coffee turned into a bottle of wine, then a four course meal: we weren't giving up that spot easily!
Highlights of our days were again guiding ourselves through the city and environs via tram. The system was great and we were able to easily negotiate our way far and wide. We always climb the highest points so made our way up the four bell tower at Wavel and conquered the Krakus mound to score a panoramic view of the city from the far southern reaches. We wandered through back streets and marshes, parks and churches, outdoor memorials and museums and galleries. The Oskar Schindler factory was an outstanding museum dedicated to explaining the fate of the Jews who were detained in the area we were staying, Kazimierz. A young Roman Polanski's notes were on show and more horror from the days of the German invasion and occupation of Poland could be witnessed. Another day trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mines where the floors, walls, frescoes and even the chandeliers are made of salt, was quite overwhelming. The statistics, sheer size and sense of claustrophobia cannot be overstated and I must admit that waiting for the lift to return us to the mine-head was rather unnerving! The endless corridors of salt workings stretching for many criss-crossing kilometres (300 km+!), the vast cavernous spaces continually producing salt stalactites, and the wondrous grand cathedral were ethereal and stunning.
One evening, I took Cass to the Bonerowski Palace to enjoy a concert by celebrated young Polish pianist, Weronika Krówka as she played some classic Chopin amongst others, and her performance was so masterful, deft and nuanced that my darling wife was brought to tears. It was pretty special with a real virtuoso at work, sitting in the front row in a 16th century palace in a gorgeous room overlooking the twinkling lights of the Old Square. Another incredible highlight was to visit and explore the newly opened Rynek Underground museum. The whole square was dug up in 2005 and the archeological discoveries were so highly significant that they expanded their plans for the museum five-fold. It now snakes its way under most of the square in a high tech labyrinth of exhibitions that made it the best archaeological/history museum that we've ever visited.
We ate mouthwatering meals and cakes and coffees, a highlight being the massive plates of potato pancakes with goulash sauce for me and the traditional Polish dumplings, pierogi, for Cass at a local backstreet cafe. Our final morning before we were whisked off to yet another airport was to wander around doing a self guided tour of the synagogues in our area before visiting a weekend market where Cass bought some "vintage" local silver earrings and pin.
Krakow is really the forgotten jewel in the crown of Europe. This university city is alive with young, intelligent, vibrant people (many of whom look like super-models: Cassy's words, not mine!) and older folk who have witnessed wartime atrocities, survived, then prospered. Krakow's Kazimierz is comparable to Berlin's Kreuzberg in its slow metamorphosis and all three cities we visited are still coming to terms with various aspects of their political and social pasts. What a trip we had: we'll be recalling many moments for countless years to come and would love to get the chance to revisit any or all of these destinations. This is the album link.
I'll be back to "Taipei Life" next week, and by the way, we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in style this week staying in a five star hotel and eating at an Italian, Michelin starred restaurant! More later....