Leaving the little town of Oświęcim, we only had about an hour and a half drive to Krakow. This is another city that does not allow driving within the interior unless a resident. Our Airbnb is located inside the interior and has onsite parking. We arrived earlier than check-in, so we found ourselves at the closest mall, easy parking and plenty to be entertained with. Coffee, tiny Christmas market outside, bit of brunch inside and in no time our place was ready. Our host was very easy to communicate with and met us to let us into the courtyard where we parked the car. This place was a small one, more like a studio apartment. The photos online let our minds create a larger space. This wasn’t really an issue, it was more important to have parking for the car than space inside.
We did a bit of exploring on our own for a bit. Yes, another Christmas market in full swing! Great for a dinner option. We headed back to the room for a rest. One of the downsides to this room is the lack of a coffee maker. There was an electric kettle and instant grounds, but we have found that we have become a bit of coffee snobs since we started trucking. So, this prompted Kelly to venture to the mall, which was just over a mile walk, in search of a simple coffee press. Not quite the Bond feel to this adventure, rather more like walking in a quiet city.
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- Outside the Galeria Krakowska, an incomplete St. Louis Arch.
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- Yummy eats while we wait for our place to be ready.
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- A very large tree in a very small Christmas market.
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- Out exploring on our first evening we reached the edge of the main market square in Krakow, Rynek Glowny.
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- Excited for another Christmas market to explore!
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- Love the lights of the street decorations throughout Old Town!
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- Parking in Krakow is a premium. Only allowed with a special permit for residents within the interior. Choosing a place with onsite parking was a priority for us. This is the gated courtyard where we parked for our time in Krakow. With everything within easy walking distance we did not need to use the car the entire time.
As we do with each new city, our first full day we book a Segway tour. Today was chilly, overcast and a bit drizzly. Easy to find, short walk, quick orientation on the Segway and we set off on our grand tour. Unlike Prague, Krakow was heavily destroyed during the wars and most has been rebuilt. There were parts from long ago that were preserved, but most are more modern. The tour we selected covered both Old Town Krakow and the Jewish Ghetto. Yet again, we were the only ones on this tour, so spoiled by having the guide all to ourselves! Halfway through our tour we discovered we had not bundled up well enough, so we swung by our place and grabbed our 2nd layer coat and heavy-duty gloves. Thank goodness, because within a few minutes it started raining and the wind picked up. Not the most ideal for a Segway tour, but there wasn’t much choice.
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- Juliusz Slowacki Theater
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- Amazing carved faces on the building.
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- The outside wall.
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- One of the remaining towers at the end of the preserved section of wall.
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- This is the Krakow Barbican, a fortified outpost that was once connected to the city walls. Built in 1498, it is one of only three remaining in Europe.
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- St. Florian’s Gate, first mentioned in 1307, was the main entryway to the Old Town.
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- The city over time has been built up. This was once ground level.
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- The Map of Krakow.
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- Just inside St. Florian’s Gate checking out the map of Krakow.
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- St. Mary’s Church
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- St. Mary’s Church and Cloth Hall
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- Wawel Castle
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- Quick and easy getting around the castle on a segway.
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- Finally it was time to sacrifice the King’s only daughter, Wanda. Unable to comply, the King decided to put an end to the menace but none of his knights could vanquish the dragon. However, a young shoemaker, Dratewka, skilfully outsmarted the creature by offering it a ram stuffed with sulphur. On devouring the ram, the dragon instantly felt thirsty and went to the river to quench his thirst but no amount of water could satisfy his parched throat. Bloated from all the excess water, the dragon finally exploded and the town breathed a sigh of relief from the monster.
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- Legend has it that during the reign of King Krak (after whom the city is named), there once lived a monstrous dragon on the foot hills of Wawel. The town folk were tired of appeasing the dragon with a regular supply of cattle and their livestock. The dragon was also known to feast on young maidens of the city.
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- Crossing the bridge into the Ghetto, the figurines move with the wind.
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- Just random artwork on the side of one of the buidlings in the Ghetto.
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- Just run down, old Ghetto town.
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- Ghetto buildings are not kept up. This is the area where the Jews were forced to live in unbelievable conditions.
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- A tribute to the Jews killed. This is the square where the Nazis rounded up the Jews in the Ghetto to count them and sometimes make examples of the unruly ones, the ones who tried to escape, or just because by executing them here.
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- Each chair represents 1000 Jews killed. There are 68 chairs in the square.
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- The smaller chairs represent the children.
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- This is the wall erected by the Nazis around the Ghetto. Arched like headstones as a reminder to the Jews.
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- More interesting wall art in the Ghetto.
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- The hiding place stairwell from the movie Shindler’s List.
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- We always made sure we had an idea of the US Consulate location….just in case. 🙂
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- Yummmy Trdelnik with ice cream!!
Krakow is in southern Poland near the Czech Republic border. It is the second largest city in Poland and dates to the seventh century. At the start of World War II, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and Krakow became the capital of Germany’s Central Government. The Jewish population, which numbered in the 300,000 were forced and moved into a walled area known as the Krakow Ghetto. From there they were sent to the concentration camps, never to return. Today, there are less than 500 Jews living in the Krakow area.
Krakow is also known for having the largest medievil market square in Europe, Rynek Główny. There you will find Cloth Hall, Town Hall Tower, St. Mary’s Basilica, as well as many historic townhouses and shops. Krakow is also home to one of the world’s oldest universities, Jagiellonian University. Along with hosting Poland’s most reputable institution, Krakow is known for its role as an artistic centre.
Krakow’s history begins with a Stone Age settlement on Wawel Hill with building over a cave occupied by a dragon. (More on the myth of the dragon in the photos.) Present day sits Wawel Cathedral and the Royal Castle along the banks of Vistula. There are over 120 places of worship in Krakow, which is also the home of the first Slavic pope ever, Pope John Paul II.
Old Town is encircled by beautiful Planty Park where the medieval walls used to stand which is still visible in spots. It covers 5.2 acres and is 2.5 miles in length sprinkled with benches and sculptures. If only we had warmer temps without the moisture! It just begs for a run….ok, our speed now, a walk!
Another adventure took Kelly back outside the inner ring to Stary Kleparz, the oldest continuously working Krakow market. Like an outdoor, one stop shop! Fruits, veges, meats, cheeses, clothing, household goods…a place for the locals to shop and support small business. What an awesome place!
We enjoyed our time adventuring in Krakow, immersing ourselves in the food and drink of Poland. Time to head back, anxious to be with Roman and Mikayla again. On our way we planned to stop back through Prague for a short break and to see how they completed the Christmas Market.
Oh what a surprise we had after we parked and made our way through the familiar streets of Prague to the Christmas Market. The crowd was substantially larger with many more kids running amuck. Some were wearing headbands with what looked like devil’s horns. ??? It is Christmas, not Halloween…right? Just entering the corner of the main market square, what in our eyes do appear…. a horrific half goat, half man creature?!?! After a few minutes of staring, a little voice pops up…. December 5th, the eve of December 6th. Oh yes, that’s what’s happening! Krampus!!
December 6th is St. Nicholas Day. Saint Nicholas was a real person, who became a priest, and later a Bishop. True to the Christian concept of giving up belongings and following Christ, St. Nicholas gave up all his belongings. He was well known for giving to needy people, especially children. As one legend goes, St. Nicholas was known to throw small bags of gold coins into open windows of poor homes. One bag happened to land into the stocking of the child living at the home. News got around and the practice of hanging up stockings took hold. December 5th is known as Mikulas Day. Age old traditions has Krampus roaming the streets carrying a birch stick looking on the lookout for naughty children and unruly adults. This unique holiday custom and right of passage for the little ones in Prague was a site to see. However, we were definitely not fond of the overwhelming crowds and had decided to complete the journey back to the kids in without an overnight stop. Of course we could not pass up one last treat in Prague, a trdelnik with ice cream! Oh yum!