Kraków

Wednesday May 24, 2017 Day 14

Somebody put a street car right next to our room. We can look right down on top of not just it but numerous and frequent electric streetcars. They run from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. Since this is a 4 star hotel they provided us with earplugs, not that they stop the physical rumbling through the building. Apparently the 4 stars is because of the buildings heritage designation. Other than the street cars it’s quite elegant, we have a huge room with a separate sitting area and spiffy bathroom. Altho, I will have to say that European toilet paper needs improving. Our next door neighbour is a big old church. I can see Jesus hanging out from where I’m sitting as our windows looks down on the street and across to the church.

It was raining this morning when we set off on our Old Town tour. Kraków is Poland’s 2nd biggest city with close to 1 million people. It dates back to the 7th century and was not destroyed during WWII however, it has been invaded, burn, and sacked many times in the last 1400 years. It was the capital of Poland until the 1500’s when the king decided to move to Warsaw. Our first stop this morning was the Coronation Cathedral the burial place of Polish kings and then on to the Royal Castle which now houses several museums. After being ‘renovated’ during several occupations, part of it have been restored to medieval times in recent years. Probably most impressive were the huge tapestries of Biblical scenes, thick with gold and silver. They have survived partly due to being stored in Canada during WWII. After the war, when Poland was in the hands of Russia, the tapestries were hidden in museums, churches and hospitals until after Stalin’s death. Photos are not allowed inside so all the pics are exterior shots.

From here we went over to the Jagiellonian University that was founded in 1364 and still operating today. Onward to Market Square, one of the largest town squares in Europe dating back to the 13th century. Like so many places we’ve visited it was very busy with school groups of all ages as well as tourists in general. On the square is the 14th century St. Mary’s Church. Having been to many elaborately decorated churches in the past week, we were not prepared for the incredible Baroque décor in this cathedral. Every surface seemed to been adorned by a carved figure or gold or both. We just stood and stared, there was far too much to take in and that was before being told some of the stories behind the works.

Time for a little shopping and quiet time before dinner. It’s our last night with some of our group so we will be saying ‘good-bye and happy trails’ to them.