We spent a long weekend visiting Krakow, Poland. My brother's comment on hearing that we were headed to Krakow was, "Poland in March? What, did you run out of sunny desert countries to visit in winter?" Well, no. But why Krakow? We had never visited Poland, we got a great deal on airfare, and we were eager to explore this city with a reputation of being one of the most beautiful in Europe. And although it had snowed and was very cold on Thursday when we arrived...brrr...
...the weather got progressively milder as the days passed, and by Saturday afternoon we had clear skies and sun.
This is the city's main market square, with beautiful Renaissance and Gothic buildings holding shops, cafes, restaurants, and museums. There were loads of street performers and carriage ride operators, too. I bought some handmade glass Christmas ornaments for my collection from a shop on the square.
The city's churches and synagogues were beautiful:
I was inspired by the stained glass we saw all over town; I have plenty of fresh ideas for new pieces to begin.
We toured the Wawel Royal Castle complex, on a hill overlooking the city and the Vistula River below.
The Renaissance palace was built in 1536 and beautifully restored in 1936.
We visited the State Rooms of the Palace with their painted wall friezes, wood carvings, and coffered ceilings. The rooms rival those you'd see at the great British palaces. (Unfortunately, we couldn't take photographs indoors.) The adjacent Wawel cathedral was completed in 1364 and featured some cool exterior adornments:
The food in Krakow was amazing. Delicious hearty food, full of flavor, and very inexpensive relative to dining out in the UK. At the risk of being accused of being just like my mother -- with photos of food from every vacation (Hi Mom!) -- here's a small sampling of the great food we tried, from beet soup and Polish salads...
...to delicious pierogies from a little neighborhood stand (yum!):
Pope John Paul II spent much of his life in Krakow, and there were tributes to him all over town. (Even the airport is named after him.)
This statue of Pope John Paul II was carved entirely from salt:
We saw it when we toured the Wieliczka Salt Mine, just a short train ride outside of Krakow.
The mine was opened 700 years ago and is still in use today. We saw underground chambers, salt lakes, and chapels. This large chapel deep underground features altars, sculptures, friezes, and chandeliers carved entirely from salt:
On our final full day in Poland we toured the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Birkenau, about 70 miles outside of Krakow. In a word -- chilling. The camps have been preserved as memorials, in keeping with George Santanaya's quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Of course, Auschwitz was extremely difficult to see. But the weekend overall was delightful. Loved it.
We spent a long weekend visiting Krakow, Poland. My brother's comment on hearing that we were headed to Krakow was, "Poland in March? What, did you run out of sunny desert countries to visit in winter?" Well, no. But why Krakow? We had never visited Poland, we got a great deal on airfare, and we were eager to explore this city with a reputation of being one of the most beautiful in Europe. And although it had snowed and was very cold on Thursday when we arrived...brrr...
This is the city's main market square, with beautiful Renaissance and Gothic buildings holding shops, cafes, restaurants, and museums. There were loads of street performers and carriage ride operators, too. I bought some handmade glass Christmas ornaments for my collection from a shop on the square.
The city's churches and synagogues were beautiful:
I was inspired by the stained glass we saw all over town; I have plenty of fresh ideas for new pieces to begin.
We toured the Wawel Royal Castle complex, on a hill overlooking the city and the Vistula River below.
The food in Krakow was amazing. Delicious hearty food, full of flavor, and very inexpensive relative to dining out in the UK. At the risk of being accused of being just like my mother -- with photos of food from every vacation (Hi Mom!) -- here's a small sampling of the great food we tried, from beet soup and Polish salads...
...to delicious pierogies from a little neighborhood stand (yum!):
Pope John Paul II spent much of his life in Krakow, and there were tributes to him all over town. (Even the airport is named after him.)
This statue of Pope John Paul II was carved entirely from salt:
1 comments:
We love the food pictures. Please don't hesitate to use them. And don't fret about being just like your mom. D has already pointed out that the circle is complete.
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