Southern Poland - Damona and Suzanna Drive Around 

         

We considered chocolate for dinner, but then we found a nice restaurant on the Rynek Glowny, the Main Square.  Many people and things to look at!

   

We did NOT have dinner at McDonald's but here is their menu. A Happy Meal is 10.50 PLN or 3.20 USD.

    

 

Krakow Main Square "Rynek Głowny" 

This is main market square of the Old Town in Krakow, Poland located at the center of the city. It dates back to 1257, the 13th century, and œ at roughly 40,000 m (430,000 ft2) œ it is "the largest medieval town square in Europe." (per wikipedia and 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz.)

The Rynek Glowny square was renamed "Alter Markt", then between 1939 and 1945, the square was named Adolf Hitler Platz.

Krakow was spared destruction during WWII - it's grand history and remarkable concentration of architecture are everywhere. Unlike Warsaw - 85% of that city bombed by Hitler because of the Jew uprising.

After 44 years of communism, the Krakow Rynek Glony square had a new vitality.  Rynek Głowny is surrounded by historical townhouses, palaces and churches. The center is dominated by the Sukiennice (the Cloth Hall or Drapers' Hall), rebuilt in 1555 in the Renaissance style, topped by a beautiful attic  decorated with carved masks. On one side of the square is the Town Hall Tower, on the other the 10th century Church of St. Adalbert's) and there is the1898 Adam Mickiewicz Monument. Rising above the square are the Gothic towers of St. Mary's Basilica.

Cloth hall - It was a clearing house and market place for textiles. It is located in the centre of the square.  It contained trading stalls, particularly for the selling of cloth as well as leather, wax and salt, including exotic imports such as spices and silk. They were built from mediaeval times until the 17th century.  Krakow has the most famous example of an existing cloth hall building.  It was rebuilt in 1555 in the Renaissance style.

Building on the left is Cloth Hall:

Damona perusing the shops in Cloth HALL - selling kitsch items relating to Pop John Paul II (once archbishop of Krakow), folk art, and Eastern European crafts.

 

 

SHOPS in Cloth HALL

 

St. Mary's Basilica    http://www.mariacki.com/

Masses on Sundays and holidays 6.00, 7.00, 8.00, 9.00, 10.00 (po łacinie), 11.15, 12.00, 13.00, 18.30 6.00, 7.00, 8.00, 9.00, 10.00 (in Latin), 11.15, 12.00, 13.00, 18.30 on weekdays 6.00, 6.30, 7.00, 7.30, 8.00, 8.30, 9.00, 9.30, 10.00 (po łacinie), 10.30, 11.00, 18.30 6.00, 6.30, 7.00, 7.30, 8.00, 8.30, 9.00, 9.30, 10.00 (in Latin), 10.30, 11.00, 18.30 From Wikipedia Architectural type Gothic-style. "Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven" is a brick Gothic church. Originally built in 1221 (early 13th century), destroyed, then completely re-built in 1355-1395, the 14th century. 1666- gilded crown added, and it's famous wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz). Stands 80 m (262 ft) tall On every hour, a trumpet signal is played from the top of the taller of St. Mary's two towers. The tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city. The church is familiar to many English-speaking readers from the 1929 book The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly. On 18 April 2010, in St. Mary's Basilica, a funeral ceremony of tragically killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria was held. The coffins were later transported and buried in one of the crypts of Wawel Cathedral.

  

On every hour, a trumpet signal is played from the top of the taller of St. Mary's two towers. The tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city.  This is Damona's photo of the bugler.-They weren't kidding every hour - I heard it at 11 pm, Damona said she heard it a 2 am, 4 am....

 

    

Inside St. Mary's - This is the famous wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz)

Inside St. Mary's - look up to stars!

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Day 2 Sunday July 7 2013 - Krakow sightseeing - Wawel Hill

Breakfast at the hotel, then the next priority is Mass.  It's about 8:45 and we could have gone to St. Mary's, very near our hotel.  In the map below, our hotel is just above the red "1".  St. Mary's is in between the red "1" and "2".  But our plan was to tour Wawel Hill today, so we walked all the way to the yellow "1" to the Wawel Cathedral.  After mass we go directly to buy tickets at 10 am when the ticket booth opens.

 

  

It was longer walk than expected and we were a little late for mass at Wawel cathedral. Mass had already started.  We were lucky to find a portion of an empty bench in the back of the church to sit on.  You gotta admire these worshippers. If you are lucky enough to be seated in a pew, there was a kneeling board, but everyone else was kneeling on the hard marble floor.  Damona said that in the winter, you learned to put you gloves on the floor first and kneel on those.

 

 

After mass, we walked to the ticket booth and the line was already about 30 minutes long! There are daily limits to the number of visitors (they say "for conservation reasons") and the last entry is 1 hour before closing time.  We bought Audio guides and tickets to see EVERYTHING. There are 8 ticket (entrance fee in PLN and USD listed). The first three tickets had definite entrance hours:

Royal Private Apartments          25 PLN ~$8.5  (10:30 entrance)
State Rooms                          18              (11:30 entrance)
Crown Treasury and Amoury      18             (12:30 entrance)
Oriental Art                              3 
Lost Wawel                              1 
Dragon's Den                          10 
Sandomierska Tower                 4  
Leonardo da Vinci                   10  

Total 89 PLN. ~ $27 USD

 

WAWEL www.wawel.krakow.pl

Wawel. The Polish language does not contain the letter "V", so "W" is pronounced as a "V". So this the Polish pronunciation is "VaVel".
From Wikipedia, Eyewitness Travel book, and 1,000 Places to See Before You Die book

This is a fortified architectural complex, a citadel, erected over many centuries atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula river in Krakow, Poland
The complex has many buildings and fortifications; largest and best known is the Royal Castle and Wawel Cathedral
Oldest is Rotunda of the Virgin Mary dating to 970 AD.
Some wooden parts date to about the 9th century.

This was the Polish royal residence for more than 500 years.
The Wawel became a political power centre at the end of the first millennium AD and in the 9th century.

The first historical ruler Mieszko I of Poland (c.965-992) and his successors: Boleslaw I the Brave (rule 992-1025) and Mieszko II (rule 1025-1034) chose Wawel to be one of their residences.

At the same time Wawel became one of the principal Polish centres of Christianity. The first early Romanesque buildings were erected there including a stone cathedral serving the bishopric of Krakow in the year 1000.

From the reign of Casimir the Restorer (1034-œ1058) Wawel became the  royal residence and the capital of Poland.

Until 1611, the Wawel was the formal seat of the Polish monarchy; this was because Krakow was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569 and of the Polish-œLithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596. Later, it became the Free City of KrakÃw from 1815 to 1846; the Grand Duchy of Cracow from 1846 to 1918; and KrakÃw Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1999. It is now the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Therefore the fortress-like Wawel complex which visually dominates the city has often been viewed as seat of power.

Wawel Cathedral was not only a place of coronation for the Kings of Poland, but also their mausoleum.

During the 20th century, the Wawel was the residence of the President of Poland; after the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, Krakow became the seat of Germany's General Government, and the Wawel subsequently became the residence of the detested Nazi Governor General Hans Frank and Nazi headquarters during WWII.

Following the cessation of hostilities, the Wawel was restored and once again become a national museum, place of worship and centre depicting Poland's complex history.

Wawel - on the hill

 

Royal Castle and Private Apartments and State Rooms

 

Once home to kings. It was built for Zygmunt I, the ruler of the Jagiellonian dynasty in 1502-1536.  It serves as a barracks at one time. And now it is restored recreation of how the royal residences appears in the 16th century. Some ground floor room have retained their Renaissance wooden ceilings. The second floor apartments have preserved large fragments of original wall friezes The Envoys Room, Deputies Hall - Sessions of the Lower House (Seym) were held in the presence of the king. The astonishing ceiling coffer, reconstructed in the first half of the 20th century, shows 30 woodcarvings of human heads created in 1540. The original ceiling consisted of 194 of heads  was damaged at the beginning of the 19th century). Tapestries commissioned by Sigismund Augustus are the most valuable treasure, and the only art object preserved from the original interior decoration. Woven in Brussels in the third quarter of the 16th century, they depict  biblical and grotesque scenes, entitled God speaking to Noah:  -The story of human life, and the coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania. There are also valuable paintings, Italian furniture, predominantly from 16th century Tuscany, and Polish royal portraits. Renaissance portraits of King Sigismund the Old and of his daughter Anna Jagiello were painted by Marcin Kober. There is also an 18th century stove from the palace in Wiśniowiec.

The Senatorial Room is the largest in the Castle and has tapestries that were untouched by the fire.

In other interiors among the objects that survived are marble portals and a magnificent early Roman Baroque fireplace,  as well as stucco ceilings, wall friezes, tapestries, paintings and funishings in The Governors Parlour, The Tournament Hall, The Planet Room, The Bird Room, The Royal Chapel  (built around 1602), The Eagle Room - original carved eagle ceiling was replaced inter-war period.

The Senators Hall -  The largest room in the castle for sessions of the Senate, important state and court ceremonies, royal weddings, theatre performances and balls. The first royal wedding, that of Sigismund I to Bona Sworza, took place here in 1518. The walls are decorated with large figural tapestries with biblical themes from Sigismund Augustus collection. A Classicist armchair has replaced the throne. 

 

We also toured:

Oriental Art Exhibit - Priceless trophies, Turkish carpets and prayer rugs; banners Persian the Turkish arms, Japanese and Chinese ceramics.

The Last Wawel Exhibit- You descend into an archaeological-architectural reserve.  It includes 10th century Rotunda of the Bless Virgin Mary, the remains of the royal stables from 16th century, and royal kitchens.

Wawel Hill - former buildings and fortifications - Bathory Courtyard (between the castle and the cathedral) in the middle.  Gates and towers protect the heavily fortified castle - Vasa Gate, Herbowa Gate, northern defensive wall of the lower castle. And 3 towers:"on  the Wawel": The Senatorial Tower, Theives Tower, and Sandomierska Tower 

Sandomierska Tower

We climbed the 137 steps to the top.

It was built around 1460 to defend the southern side of  Wawel Castle and royal apartments.

The tower was adapted to accommodate firearms and artillery. It has glazed windows, and a large chimney shaft that was connected to a tile stove on the third floor chamber.  The room may have served either as guards- quarters or as a prison for persons of high social standing.

In peacetime, the tower was used as prison. Confinement in the higher stories in the tower was regarded as "honourable punishment" and was reserved for the nobility. Common criminals were held in dungeons; one such dungeon survives in another of Wawel's towers are the aptly named Thieves's Tower. 

From the top of the tower - The Wisla  River - you can see the sports stadium

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From the top of the tower - Krakow city view

 

Krakow 

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Crown Treasury and Armoury

Priceless objects from Crown Treasury

From the 14th century the insignia of royal power were stored here (crowns, sceptres, orbs, a sword, the Book of Gospels and a tray used in the ceremony of anointing a ruler), as well as a variety of valuables which were official state property.

Single objects were only removed on special occasions, primarily for coronation ceremonies. Lists were made of the Crown Treasury's content during regular audits. The first special public presentation of royal insignia took place in 1792. Three years later the Prussians broke into the Treasury and almost completely destroyed its contents.

Following the destruction of the royal insignia by the Prussians and the loss of almost all the treasures, the new collection, systematically augmented since 1930, only gives an inkling of the old magnificence of the place. Yet, it does include significant works of art, among them some historic artefacts, at the head of which is the Szczerbiec coronation sword - the most significant Polish historic artefact.

Casimir the Great's Room

The only remaining example of a formal apartment from the time of the last kings (the first half of the 14th century), with relics of a fresco bearing the monogram of Queen Jadwiga (the end of the 14th century).

A massive pillar that runs through the centre of all three levels of the Gothic tower residence is the inspiration for the name it was given: the Hen's Foot.

Today, the first room of the Treasury houses precious stones (dating from 2nd C. BC  to 18th C. AD)

Ceremonial Weapons room contains the spoils of war from 17th-century Polish military campaigns. Among these are trophies and equipment made in the most noted Turkish, Persian and Polish workshops of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Armoury

Shaft weapons, two-handed swords from the 16th and early 17th centuries, along with the sword used by Julius II of Brunswick's guardsmen is also very valuable.

Suits of armour - The complete German plated suits of armour from the 16th century's are examples of the medieval tradition.  A tournament suit of armour from the Court of Artus in Gdańsk made by the Nurembergian armourer Konrad Poler c. 1490.  Scaled suits of armour used in Poland in the late 17th and in the first half of the 18th centuries are real rarities.

Western European weapons from the late 15th to the early 19th centuries. There are medieval and modern swords, rapiers, and sabres, curved swords, hussar sabres, and a unique czeczuga (an Armenian sabre).

Hand and projectile weapons - rifles, arquebuses, patrinals and pistols, ivory-incrusted and with etched decoration, from German, Silesian, French, Spanish and Polish factories (16th to the early 19th centuries). Cross-bows used for hunting and sports

14th C. Gothic basement rooms (with a vault supported by a central pillar) has cannons, howitzers and mortars  and copies of banners captured from the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald in 1410 hang under the vault in the first basement, reflecting the tradition of bringing trophies captured from an enemy to Wawel Castle. These banners were recreated in the 20th C. from very detailed descriptions by Jan Dlugosz and miniatures by Stanisław Durinek in his work entitled Banderia Prutenorum.  

The Czartoryski art museum http://www.czartoryski.org/   is famous for the Leonado da Vinci painting, but the painting was located in special exhibition at Wawel,

LADY WITH AN ERMINE  - Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani

 

Artist: Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

circa 1490

oil on wood panel

Cecilia Gallerani was the Duke's mistress; only 15 years old.

Leonardo represented her holding an Ermine either because her name, Galle, means Ermine in Greek or because Ludovico Sforza's emblem was "L'Ermellino"

         

And at the same time in Atlanta (where I live): 

    

Dragons Den -After 3, or 4, or maybe almost 5 hours of touring Wawel Hill and all the state rooms and exhibits,
this is the last thing to see.  We turned in our audio guides and entered the "cave". 

 

You start at the top of the Hill. This picture is the side of Wawel Hill that we descended - they had installed a very very long, tall spiral staircase that went down, down, down, around and down, around and down.  As I went down into the depths, I  imagined that they used a rope, or some kind of rope ladder before the nice, sturdy, steel staircase was installed.  There were lots of people - no stopping on the stairs to rest.  Constant Polish chatter from kids loving the experience. At the bottom we paraded through the caves.  Vast rooms with dripping, damp water. We exited through this gate at the bottom.

From the caves was told the story of The Wawel Dragon A popular and enduring Polish myth from the 12th century of the Wawel dragon is brought to life on the lower slope of the Wawel Hill by the river, by a modern fire-breathing metal statue of the dragon. The statue is situated in front of Smocza Jama, one of the limestone caves scattered over the hill. He is named "Smok Wawelski". He was a mystical beast which supposedly terrorized the local community, eating their sheep and local virgins, before (according to one version) being heroically slain by Krakus, a Polish prince, who legend relates founded the city of KrakÃw and built his palace above the slain dragon's lair.

 

I was so tired, and I was hungry, so I was walking slow.  We found this wonderful looking restaurant with a great menu of traditional Polish food. But they had run out of food so they had to temporarily close for an hour to buy more food. We kept walking and found a decent buffet place. 

The next night we went back to the Polish restaurant and got a great meal.

 

Polish FOOD

Now seems like a good place to mention the food. Damona was really looking forward to eating some good Polish food again.  

Polish cuisine is rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef, and winter vegetables (cabbage in the dish bigos), and spices.

Cherry drink - with fruit on the bottom. And the nettle soup

Soups

 

Żurek Zupa pomidorowa - Tomato soup usually served with noodle or rice.

żurek - sour rye soup

Zupa grzybowa - mushroom soup - quite different from the North American cream of mushroom

Kartoflanka - Potato soup.

barszcz - beet borscht - had lots of this. Very good.

Chłodnik - Cold beet soup made of soured milk, young beet leaves, beets, cucumbers and chopped fresh dill.

flaki - tripe soup ( we did not have this)

Kapuśniak - Cabbage soup with chicken, carrot.

Zupa jarzynowa - Chicken with vegetables boullion base vegetable soup.

The Polish national dishes are

Pierogi - Boiled dough pockets filled with stuff

Pierogi Ruskie - filled with cheese, potatoes
Pierogi Tradycyjne - filled with port meat
Pierogi Wigilijne - filled with cabbage and mushroom

Kielbasa - sausage, many varieties
Kotlet schabowy - type of breaded pork cutlet
Gulasz - stew of meat, noodles and vegetables (especially potato), seasoned with paprika and other spices usually eaten with buckwheat kasza.

Kotlet schabowy - breaded pork cutlet

 

The side dishes are

Kartofle Gotowane - Simple boiled potatoes sparkled with parsley or dill.

Shredded root vegetables with lemon and sugar (carrot, celeriac, seared beetroot). A Cole Slaw blend of freshly shredded cabbage, carrots, mayonnaise and spices.

Sałatka Warzywana or Jarzynowa - Polish Vegetable Salad is a traditional Polish side dish with cooked root vegetables, tomato, potato carrot, parsley root, celery root, combined with cucumbers.
Sałatka Burakowa/Buraczki - Finely chopped warm beet root salad.

Kasza gryczana - Cooked buckwheat groats.

Desserts

Sernik Makowiec - Sweet poppy seed-swirl cake, with raisins walnut.
Sernik - Sernik (cheesecake) is one of the most popular desserts in Poland. It is a cake made primarily of twarÃg, a type of fresh cheese, eggs, vanilla, raisins and orange peel, served cold.
Budyń - Pudding, usually comes in many different flavors, such as sweet cream, chocolate, and even cherry.

Szarlotka - apple dessert

 

Lodi (ice cream

 

 

 

After dinner we went for a walk.

We found the train station - You had to enter the shopping mall, beautiful, modern, hundreds of stores and eateries shopping mall - take the escalator down to the train station.  What a modern system!  Kiosks for buying your ticket in English!  Well marked signage for the platforms. 

This was NOT THE CASE in 1992 when Damona lived here.  She told me about frustrating stories try to buy a ticket, and you hope the ticket if the for the correct train.

Then you hope you can find the correct platform and the right train to board. 

Damona said one time, she did not figure that out in time. The train was starting to pull away from the station and she realized that was the train she was supposed to be aboard.

She told Claudia that we visited the train station - and Claudia had similar frustrations with the language, signage, and getting help with the whole transportation process. 

I imagine you really did need to know the Polish language.

 

On our walk, we also found the Grunwald monument.  

The Battle of Grunwald was part of the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. Occurred 15 July 1410 (603 years ago) It was a Decisive Polish–Lithuanian victory - They defeated the German–Prussian Teutonic Knights It was one of the largest battles in Medieval Europe and is regarded as the most important victory in the history of Poland, Belarus and Lithuania. The battle shifted the balance of power in Eastern Europe and marked the rise of the Polish–Lithuanian union as the dominant political and military force in the region. On December 11, 1939, the Nazi's build a wooden fence around this monument.  They began to demolish it. The metal parts were sent to foundries. Despite the German guards, Polish were decorating the fence with flowers. The demolishing was finished on March 6, 1940. Before that, 4 Polish workers bribed the Germans guards and took away metal shields featuring the Polish eagle emblem and the Czech lion emblem, and King Jagiello's sword, and concealed them. This is my photo from our walk that night in Krakow.

This my photo of an exhibit in the Schindler Factory museum. These are the original elements of the demolished monument.  1410.

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This head laying in the middle of Rynek Glowny square commemorates the importance of the Grunwald monument (I think...)

Sunday night we moved our room in the hotel to an internal room that is not on the main street. 

It was a much quieter night - because it was Sunday night

 

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Day 3 Monday July 8 2013 -  Krakow sightseeing: Wawel Cathedral, Jewish Quarter,Schindler Factory

At the end of touring yesterday, we checked into going to the Cathedral Museum.

We decided NOT to do it yesterday and to start out with this museum today. 

Here is the Cathedral.

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That statue in front is who I affectionately kept referring to as "The guy"  as in THE POPE from Poland. 

He was archbishop Karol Wojtyla from 1963 until his election as Pope John Paul II in 1978.

 

Tour The Wawel Cathedral museum

www.katedra-wawelska.pl www.wirtual.katedra-wawelska.pl The Wawel Cathedral aka "The Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus" A Roman Catholic church More than 900 years old The current, Gothic cathedral, is the third building on this site: the first was constructed in the year 1000 and destroyed in the 11th century; the second one, constructed in 1142,was destroyed by a fire in 1305. construction of the current one begun in 1320, the 14th century and complete 1364. The Cathedral comprises a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles, a choir with double aisles, and an apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. The main altar, was founded about 1650. The high altar was the coronation altar of Polish kings for 400 years. The crypt beneath the Wawel Cathedral holds the tombs of Polish kings, bishops, national heroes, generals and revolutionaries. Graves date from 1118. Pope John Paul II considered being buried there also at one point in time, while some of the people of Poland had hoped that, following ancient custom, his heart would be brought there and kept alongside the remains of the great Polish rulers. (John Paul II was buried under St. Peter's Basilica, a papal burial site since antiquity, instead.) Pope John Paul II offered his first Mass as a priest in the Crypt of the Cathedral on 2 November 1946. There are 8 bells in 2 bell towers. The most famous is the Zygmunt (Sigismund) Bell in the Sigismund Tower.

The crypt beneath the Wawel Cathedral holds the tombs of Polish kings, bishops, national heroes, generals and revolutionaries. Graves date from 1118. We entered the Royal Tombs at #20 on the map.  You descend the stairs and there is a wonderful aroma of flowers. There are many, many flowers piled on the tomb in the corner of room #21. The photo below is #29 on the map is The Sarcophagus of Maria and President Lech Kaczynski. The Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria were tragically killed in an airplane crash. The funeral was held in St. Mary's on 18 April 2010. The coffins are buried here in one of the crypts of Wawel Cathedral.

Permanent Exhibitions in the Wawel Cathedral Museum

Wawel Cathedral Royal Room	Wawel Cathedral Treasury Room (11th - 16 Century)
Wawel Cathedral Treasury Room (17th - 20 Century)	Wawel Cathedral Papal room memorabilia related to pop John Paul II - his cardinal and papal clothes (cassocks, birettas, zucchetti and saches.

 

Sigismund Bell at Wawel Cathedral

Named for King Sigismund I of Poland Diameter 2.42 m (8 ft) Total height (incl. yoke) 4.60 m (15 ft) Weight 12,600 kg (~28,000 lb) - body 9,650 kg (~21,000 lb) - clapper (with belt) 365 kg (800 lb) - yoke 2,160 kg (4,762 lb) - other parts 425 kg (~1000 lb) Caster: Hans Behem Materials:  Bronze (80% copper, 20% tin), iron (clapper), leather (clapper belt), oak (yoke) Cast in 1520. Installed 1521. New clapper in 2001. The original iron clapper made about 12 million strokes during the 479 years of its history. It broke and underwent repairs in 1859, 1865, and 1876. After it broke again on 25 December 2000, it was replaced by a new one -œ paid for and cast by Krakow metallurgic companies on 14 April 2001. Musical note F# Earshot 30 km (19 mi) Number of ringers 12 bell-ringers The Royal Sigismund Bell (Polish: Dzwon Zygmunt or Dzwon Zygmunta) is the largest of the 5 bells hanging in the Sigismund Tower of the Wawel Cathedral. It tolls on special occasions, mostly religious and national holidays, and is regarded as one of Poland's national symbols.

 

Left hand over your heart, and right hand on the clapper,

or was that right hand over your heart, and left hand on the clapper?

 Make a wish and it will come true.

 

 

View from the top of the tower

 

 

Damona descending the steps in the tower - one of the "smaller" bells hovering over-head....

 

After a couple hours at the Wawel Cathedral and museum, we got a sandwich at the cafe.  I also got some coffee.  That was relaxing - then came our big walk.   There is a wonderful "Cracow Sightseeing Tour" with a double-decker bus that you can hop-on and hop-off. Price is 55 PLN (16.66 USD) for one adult.  email: crasowsightseeing@gmail.com tel: +48 795 003 231. The bus stops at Wawel Castle, Koscuiszki's Mound, Jewish Quarter, Schindler's Factory, and City Center -where our hotel is located.  Perfect. Except that the bus runs every day of the week EXCEPT MONDAY. And today is MONDAY.  Ughh..  There are also many, many "tour guides" offering rides on their golf carts.  We didn't really want to do that, so we started walking.  South to Kazimiera - The Jewish district.  On the way, we saw this:  Church of SS Peter and Paul

The first Baroque building in Krakow. Erected 1580s. Figures of the 12 Apostles are copies of the 18th century statues.	This the bralle version of the church.  No kidding. Almost every place we visited had these "please touch this" model of the building.  A bralle explanation is included.  The Wawel model was about 6 feet square (huge). This is the model for the 12 Apostles church:
The front	The organ at the back of the church

Jewish District - The Kazimierz district

The Kazimierz district in Krakow was home to a significant Jewish community from the 14th century on until the Holocaust in the Second World War. Founded in 1135 by King Kazimierz Wielki.  It had its own town hall, market square, and churches.  Religious persecution of Jews in Europe brought many here in 1330's.  In 1494 the king expelled Jews from Krakow and the defensive walls were built.   In 1820's Kazimierz was incorporated into Krakow and the wall were pulled down. In 1939, about 70,000 Jews lived in Krakow. During the Second World War, the Jews of Krakow, including those in Kazimierz, were forced by the Nazis into a crowded ghetto in Podgarze, across the river.   Sign in the museum: The reasons given by the occupying authorities to justify the establishment of a 'Jewish residential district" were police supervision and health care. in the German propaganda, the Jews were presented as carriers of diseases. Isolating them was claimed to protect both the Germans and the Poles; in fact the ghetto was a labour camp, while its residents were a slave workforce exploited to the benefit of the economy of the Third Reich.   The area of the ghetto covered several streets, lined with 320 houses, usually one- or two-storey ones. Before the establishment of the ghetto, the houses were inhabited by some 3 thousand people, now they had to accommodate 17 thousand residents. In April 1841, during the Pesach, a holiday celebrated to commemorate the Exodus of Jews freed from slavery in Egypt, bricklayers began to build a wall surrounding the ghetto. The windows and entrances facing the Aryan side were walled in.

 

Most of the Jews were later killed during the liquidation of the ghetto or in death camps.

Only a few hundred survived the war. 

In 1993, Steven Spielberg shot his film Schindler's List largely in Kazimierz (in spite of the fact that very little of the action historically took place there) and this drew international attention to Kazimierz. Since 1993, there have been parallel developments in the restoration of important historic sites in Kazimierz and a booming growth in Jewish-themed restaurants, bars, bookstores and souvenir shops. Not only that, there are also Jews returning to Kazimierz from Israel and America. Kazimierz with Krakow, is having a "booming growth in Jewish population recently".

The current Jewish population in the city is around 200. They live in an "area about 300 by 300 meters in a some-what run-down suburb" (Lonely Planet). Only 2 synagogues continue to function.

 

The Old Synagogue, dates back to end of 15 century.  It now contains a Jewish History museum. 

We got there about 1:40 and they would not let us in because the museum closed at 2 pm.

 

Text on the sign in front of the synagogue:

 

The Oldest Synagogue - Stara Synagoga Szeroka 24 www.mhk.pl   email: statsynagoga@mhk.pl

Dear Visitor, The oldest synagogue in Poland, one of Europe's oldest synagogues, will attract your attention with the beauty of its Gothic-Renaissance interior. In its former prayer rooms for men and women, you will see various interesting exhibits which will provide a complete explanation of Jewish holidays and rituals as well as the home and family life of the Polish Jewry. This legend-surrounded site was where the "Jewish Town" began centuries ago. It is a must-see for all those who want to understand why tourists from all over the world begin their visit to Kazimierz a the Old Synagogue.

The Tempel Synagogue, still active. There is also an Old Jewish Cemetery.

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We walked to the other Jewish museum: The Galicia Jewish Museum

This is the text on the sign in front of the Galicia Jewish Museum's mural:

The mural was selected in an open contest. The winning project was designated by Krakow-based graphic designer Marcin Wierzchowski.

The project is inspired by a Jewish paper cut. I wanted to show the Israel that existed for centuries in Krakow during the Diaspora (on the right) and the Israel today that returned to the homeland and developed the modern state. Both worlds originate from the same roots, and their fate is guarded by Providence - the Hamse hands.
- Marcin Wierzchowski

The mural was completed in May 2013.

The museum was "in your face" pictures of the truth be told,

you CANNOT deny that it happened. Real experiences presented to educate. 

There was a large class of young students being educated. 

The teacher spent time in each area of the museum to tell them about The Holocaust: Site of Massacre and Destruction.

 

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Entrance to the main Auschwitz camp

Entrance to the main Auschwitz camp

The first prisoners arriving at Auschwitz were greeted with the following words by its commander:

 'You have not come to a sanatorium here but to a German concentration camp.

The entrance is through the main gate with the inscription Arbeit Macht Frei [work makes you free].

 

There is only one exit: through the chimney of the crematorium.

If there's anybody who doesn't like that, he can walk into the [electrified] wire [fence of the camp] right away.

If there are any Jews in the transport, they have no right to live longer than 2 weeks, priests for 1 month, and the rest for 3 months.

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Interior of a barrack in Auschwitz-Birkenau

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Interior of a barrack in Auschwitz-Birkenau

No one who was not present during those terrible times can say what Auschwitz was actually like.

Even though so much of the physical fixtures has been left behind

 - watchtowers, barbed wire, and the ruins of the gas chambers

 - none of it can adequately convey the reality of the horrors enacted there daily.

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Barracks like this (in the photo above and below)  were the 'living quarters' for the prisoners in the labour camp; through the use of three-tier bunks, as many as 800 people

 - starving, exhausted, and battling with lice -

were crammed into a building that was originally designed as military stables suitable for 53 horses.

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Auschwitz-Birkenau: the vast expanse of the labor camp

Auschwitz-Birkenau: the vast expanse of the labor camp

Prisoners who were set to work as slave labourers suffered and died in the most appalling conditions

 - overwork, starvation, sadistic beatings and other punishments, exhaustion after prolonged roll-calls in all weathers,

torture, shocking sanitary conditions, being used for so-called medical experiments, or arbitrary execution.

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Following regular inspections, those considered to be too weak to work were sent to their death in the gas chambers.

The unimaginably vast number of victims, the depths of the depravity of the perpetrators, the sheer scale of the operation

 - these things and more, are what has made Auschwitz synonymous with the evil of the Holocaust.

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Interior of the gas chamber still standing in the main Auschwitz camp

 

"Mummy, when they kill us, will it hurt?"

"No, my dearest, it will not hurt. It will only take a minute."

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It may have taken only a minute - but it is enough to keep us awake till the end of time.

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Whew. what a somber experience. It can't get worse than that was.

We ask the guy at the desk in the museum about the Schindler Factory.

He checked online and he told us that it was open until 6 pm (I think that is what he said). 

So off to the next sight to see.  So we are walking, walking, we cross the river over the bridge and we end up here

 - in the middle of this square with these chairs.  This is the Heroes of the Ghetto Square "Plac Bohaterwo Getta"

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Heroes of the Ghetto Square

 

The message on the sign says:

Auschwitz, Memory, World

Auchwitz goes beyond geographical, political, or social boarders (sic). It goes beyond imagination. Today we contribute the tomorrow's world whose principles and values are created in a total opposition to that that a human had experiences in Auschwitz. To understand this world and indispensable mechanisms to protect a man it is necessary to become away of the plausibility of threats. The responsibility of tomorrow can only be born within memory and awareness. And exactly this purpose serves today every single individual at the Memorial Site.

- Piotr M. Am Cywiriski
Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

In the first line on the sign, I hesitated when I read "boarders" and I knew it should actually read "borders". I have to say that, it really used to bother me when I saw incorrect use of English words or grammar. But I have come to really appreciate the fact that they have made the effort and tried to provide an English translation. It helps me appreciate what I am looking at. The fact that an improper word or apostrophe was applied is not a problem. I think it adds character and a uniqueness to the translation. Thank you for the most appreciated effort of providing an English translation.

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Around this Jewish area, there are lots of people around, and tourist golf carts.

We follow the crowds, through a neighborhood, through a "tunnel" connecting neighborhoods. 

I'm guessing that was the controlled through-way from the walled Jewish district to the Schindler factory.

So we find the factory.  Take picture of the outside of the building, go inside.

There is no line becuase all of the tickets for the rest of the day until closing time are GONE! 

It is Monday Entrance if FREE on Monday, so many, many people visit on Monday.  Crud!

Now what.  We could not see the museum today.  Damona mentioned coming back tomorrow.

I said I was OK with just saying that we had seen the factory.  I didn't need to actually do the tour. 

I did not particularly want to walk all the way back here tomorrow, and if we got the car, it would be tricky trying to drive here. 

So a decision was made on Monday to just walk back to the hotel - but stopping at the Polish restaurant on the way. 

 

I think that is where I got the fried Zander (a white flaky fish) yum, yum and yum.

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Back to top

 

Day 4 Tuesday July 9 2013 - Drive Krakow to Zakopane

Coffee and breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  I wanted to change some more USD into zloties (PLN), so Damona got directions (in Polish!) from the door man.

We walked a brisk 200 meters to the bank.  I had travelers checks, but I also US dollars. I figured travelers checks were safer to carry, so I exchanged the US dollars. 

The rate was OK, 3.238. I got 3.30 in Zakopane, but I only got 2.80 in Atlanta.

 

Walk back to the hotel, then we took a taxi to the airport to pick up our Budget rental car. 

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Damona did all the rental car and hotel arrangements (Thank you!).  We got all the insurance and a GPS that spoke English. 

That was super great to have because there is no way that I could have helped navigate in that language on those streets.

 

Rental Location:  Krakow, Krakow Balice Airport  Telephone ( 48-12-2855025 )

Return Location:  Warsaw, Warsaw Okecie F Chopin Airport  Telephone ( 48-22-6504062 )

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR RENTAL

Travel to Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania or Albania is forbidden.

 

This was interesting in the fine print of the rental agreement: 

Please be aware that with effect from 01 July 2012, a law will be brought into force, requiring every car in France to carry a single use breathalyzer kits. A fine of EUR 11.00 will be charged to anyone not carrying a breathalyzer kit in their vehicle from 01 November 2012. Therefore, if you wish to take your Budget vehicle into France you will need to ensure that you have a breathalyzer kit to avoid this fine.

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So we exit the airport and start to follow the directions from the GPS. 

Oops, a little stall in the intersection with traffic in both directions. 

Damona handled it great and we were on our way.  before we knew it, we were driving in the country back to the airport. 

Another little oops detour to find the correct road out of town. 

Before I left, I had done some research on Google maps and I brought those directions with me:

 

About a 2 hour drive to Zakopane  http://www.promocja.zakopane.pl/

From Google maps  Driving from Krakow to Zakopane 106 km, 1 hour 38 mins E77 and Route 47

 

  

Driving directions from Krakow to Zakopane
Suggested routes
106 km, 1 hour 38 mins E77 and Route 47
135 km, 2 hours 25 mins Route 47

1. Head south on Westerplatte toward Doktor Ludwika Zamenhofa 600 m
2. Turn left onto Starowiślna 400 m
3. Take the 3rd right onto Józefa Dietla 600 m
4. Turn left onto Krakowska 700 m
5. Continue onto most Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego 170 m
6. Continue onto Legionów Józefa Piłsudskiego 150 m
7. Turn right onto Kalwaryjska 1.0 km
8. Continue onto Wadowicka 850 m
9. Continue onto Zakopiańska (road South out of town) 5.7 km
10. Continue onto Góra Libertowska 1.7 km
11. Continue onto Myślenicka 5.3 km
12. Continue onto Route 7/E77 Continue to follow E77 47.8 km
13. Continue onto Route 47 Go through 2 roundabouts 40.8 km
to Zakopane

fuel cost: PLN54.62

I thought the fuel cost was a nice touch for Google maps. 

It seemed like Google maps were good directions, but I found out quickly that there is no way that I could have navigated us using those Google directions

 - the traffic and language was just too foreign.  I couldn't pronounce anything correctly.  So I am so glad that we had the GPS. 

We finally found our way to the highway (they call it a "motorway"), then it was a nice drive after that. 

Of course, I was just a passenger.  Damona had to deal with the fast drivers, honking behind us, so we change lanes and they speed by. 

Does anyone in this country really obey what we think we figured out was the speed limit?

The sign says 97, as in 97 km per hour.

On the highways there are electronic signs that display 2 temperatures - the air temp and the asphalt temperature . Why would you need to know the road temp?  Email me is you know the answer. Maybe so you know if you can cook eggs on the road?  Or the quality of the road is worse at certain temps so you have drive slower?  I don't know.

Ha! Maybe to know the condition of the road. Anyway, the top temperature says 26.4 C. 

Here are some signs we saw on the road.

Gas price is 5.38 to 5.59 (per liter) for grade 95 (is that octane?)

 

Check out these signs:

Deer crossing for the next 1.5 km

Speed limit is 70 and it is photo enforced.

?No blue vehicles allowed?

?A tractor, a horse-drawn carriage, and a bicycle may use this road.

 

Look out! Don't hit a pedestrian!

    

 

Little girl with a balloon crossing the road:

 

You are entering a town

You are in the town, and the speed limit is 70

You are leaving the town

Late afternoon, we got to the hotel.  GPS took us right to the parking lot.

Damona reserved all our hotels on Booking.COM. In Zakopane, for 2 nights we stayed at:

Hotel Sabala
Address : Krupawki 11 Zakopane, 34-500 Poland
Phone: +48182015092   Email: recepcja@sabala.zakopane.pl

Cost was  PLN 686.11 + 54.89 VAT (8%) = PLN 741 + PLN 80 for 2 days in their parking lot

So cost for 2 nights was $254 (or $127 each).

It was a very nice hotel in a perfect location - right on the main tourist walking street "Krupowski"  We could look out our window and see the pedestrian street below.

 

 

 

On this "central promanade", there were many shops, restaurants.

here must have been a hundred places selling ice cream, which is "Lody" in Polish.

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We walked down the street and found a wonderful place for a late lunch.  Gazdowo Kuznia   http://www.gazdowokuznia.pl/index.php/gazdowo-kuznia-en

Damona got the best meal.  I tasted one of her Pierogi ruskie.  Yum.  

Here is the restaurant and the receipt with Pierogi ruskie. At another restaurant, I got "Pierogi z niesen". That wasn't as good at the ruskie.

 

   

 

 

After eating, we walked to the Mt. Gubalowka funicular. 

Lonely planet says it is a "favourite destination for those tourists who don't feel like giving their legs too much exercise."

 

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Once you are at the top, this sign indicates that you can take a cable car, a 2-person chair lift, a 4-person chairlift, ski down, or ski jump. 

None of those options are available in the summer time.

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This bear and wagon with 2 (very hot) dogs is the first thing we saw at the top.
This sign indicates there is a chair lift here, and a half hour hike to the left.

 

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Talk about an obstructed view - ZORBING balls on the side of the mountain.

 

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So maybe you just asked "What is Zorbing"?.  Here is a picture of me zorbing down a mountain Tennessee. 

I got INSIDE this ball, and bounced down the hill. What a blast!

The two balls on the left have people inside.  The track on the right side of the picture is returning the empty balls to the top of the mountain.

 

 

Now back to Poland, and now we're talking. THIS IS A VIEW!

 

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1	2
Rough (not smooth) trail, beautiful scenery	Nuns hiking! 4

Here was the final destination: Czarny Staw Gasienicowy - The Lake.

Damona at The Lake