B[ZU] spent St. Nicholas weekend in Krakow, the city of legends of kings and dragons. It was an ideal choice as the large town square, the largest medieval example in Europe, was already gearing up to the Christmas season and its holiday market was in full swing. Krakow was striving towards a record for the number of "Santa Clauses" in one city, so you'll be seeing a lot of Santa hats in the pictures from Saturday.
The sounds, sights, and most significantly, smells were like nothing that we had experienced before. The smoke from the grilling meats blended the line between the Old Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) and the blue sky and the tall poles scattered between the market stalls had huge red, wooden beads hanging from them, reminiscent of the area's folk outfits. Interested visitors could purchase anything from potpourri to ceramics, silverware and evergreen wreaths. If you were hungry, you could be satiated with huge slices of bread, slathered with lard and topped with fried sausage, pierogi, candied nuts, traditional soups, or freshly made waffles. To drink you either had a beer or a mulled wine, served with orange slices, cloves, nuts and cinnamon.
We joined a walking tour where we received a guided introduction to the Old Town of Krakow, the rich history of the city further embellished with fantastic folk legends. We can't possibly tell you everything since that would leave you no reason to go, …ok, other than the food. What we can do is just say that that St. Mary's Church, the Old Cloth Hall, Jagiellonian University, the Barbakan, and Wawel Castle were all included in the long list of interesting stops that we made.
We stayed the night in an Airbnb apartment in a neighborhood at the foot of the Wawel Castle called Kazimierz. It was the former Jewish Quarter, back in the times when approximately a quarter of the city's population was of Jewish descent. Much of the heritage remains there, with numerous synagogues sprinkled throughout the district, sadly with only one of them currently being used as a place of worship.
On Sunday, B[ZU] further investigated Kazimierz and the part of Krakow across the Vistula River (same river that runs through Warsaw!). We traced the daily journey of Jews that lived in the ghetto during the 2nd World War, visited MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art Krakow, and had a super Polish Sunday dinner at a small restaurant near the Old Square in Kazimierz.
As the sun started setting, we walked through the Old Town again, and this time I found something interesting in a shop window. The perfect Boleslawiec tea pot! And the store was having a St. Nick's weekend discount! I walked in, grabbed my little beauty and made it straight for the cash. Those that know me will know that this is really a bit of a miracle since I am the most particular shopper that likes to mull things over and hold onto it for 10 minutes before finally deciding to make the plunge.
Once the precious piece of pottery was safely stowed away in B's backpack, we were off to find a place for a hot beverage and something sweet. After stumbling through more than half of the Old Town and almost ready to submit to a few hours spent in Costa Coffee, we discovered Magia Café. Warm, cozy, and with an incredibly comforting atmosphere, I ordered mulled wine and a baked apple stuffed with marzipan and B chose an americano and a chocolate mousse with warm raspberry sauce. Both of us were incredibly happy with our choices and we reflected on how lucky we are to have each other and to be able to experience such amazing things in such beautiful places.
The perfect ending was going to mass in St. Mary's Church in the Old Market Square. Its elaborately painted walls and generous gold coating was just so "Krakowian" to me. There's no other way to describe it. I felt so sanctified, so peaceful, yet energised by the fervour of the multitude of faithful parishioners and visitors. All of those going to World Youth Day 2016 will know exactly what I mean when they get here this summer. Lucky ducks.
We boarded our train to Krakow, impressed by the new train station and the comfort of our journey via rail. Also wiped out from all the walking and sightseeing, we were lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the train and the warmth of our wagon. Waking up near our final destination, we gathered our things, got off the train, out of the station and enjoyed the fresh air during our 10 minute walk to our apartment.
Krakow made quite the impression on us, but Warsaw is home.
Bisouxx,
B[ZU]
The sounds, sights, and most significantly, smells were like nothing that we had experienced before. The smoke from the grilling meats blended the line between the Old Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) and the blue sky and the tall poles scattered between the market stalls had huge red, wooden beads hanging from them, reminiscent of the area's folk outfits. Interested visitors could purchase anything from potpourri to ceramics, silverware and evergreen wreaths. If you were hungry, you could be satiated with huge slices of bread, slathered with lard and topped with fried sausage, pierogi, candied nuts, traditional soups, or freshly made waffles. To drink you either had a beer or a mulled wine, served with orange slices, cloves, nuts and cinnamon.
We joined a walking tour where we received a guided introduction to the Old Town of Krakow, the rich history of the city further embellished with fantastic folk legends. We can't possibly tell you everything since that would leave you no reason to go, …ok, other than the food. What we can do is just say that that St. Mary's Church, the Old Cloth Hall, Jagiellonian University, the Barbakan, and Wawel Castle were all included in the long list of interesting stops that we made.
We stayed the night in an Airbnb apartment in a neighborhood at the foot of the Wawel Castle called Kazimierz. It was the former Jewish Quarter, back in the times when approximately a quarter of the city's population was of Jewish descent. Much of the heritage remains there, with numerous synagogues sprinkled throughout the district, sadly with only one of them currently being used as a place of worship.
On Sunday, B[ZU] further investigated Kazimierz and the part of Krakow across the Vistula River (same river that runs through Warsaw!). We traced the daily journey of Jews that lived in the ghetto during the 2nd World War, visited MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art Krakow, and had a super Polish Sunday dinner at a small restaurant near the Old Square in Kazimierz.
As the sun started setting, we walked through the Old Town again, and this time I found something interesting in a shop window. The perfect Boleslawiec tea pot! And the store was having a St. Nick's weekend discount! I walked in, grabbed my little beauty and made it straight for the cash. Those that know me will know that this is really a bit of a miracle since I am the most particular shopper that likes to mull things over and hold onto it for 10 minutes before finally deciding to make the plunge.
Once the precious piece of pottery was safely stowed away in B's backpack, we were off to find a place for a hot beverage and something sweet. After stumbling through more than half of the Old Town and almost ready to submit to a few hours spent in Costa Coffee, we discovered Magia Café. Warm, cozy, and with an incredibly comforting atmosphere, I ordered mulled wine and a baked apple stuffed with marzipan and B chose an americano and a chocolate mousse with warm raspberry sauce. Both of us were incredibly happy with our choices and we reflected on how lucky we are to have each other and to be able to experience such amazing things in such beautiful places.
The perfect ending was going to mass in St. Mary's Church in the Old Market Square. Its elaborately painted walls and generous gold coating was just so "Krakowian" to me. There's no other way to describe it. I felt so sanctified, so peaceful, yet energised by the fervour of the multitude of faithful parishioners and visitors. All of those going to World Youth Day 2016 will know exactly what I mean when they get here this summer. Lucky ducks.
We boarded our train to Krakow, impressed by the new train station and the comfort of our journey via rail. Also wiped out from all the walking and sightseeing, we were lulled to sleep by the gentle rocking of the train and the warmth of our wagon. Waking up near our final destination, we gathered our things, got off the train, out of the station and enjoyed the fresh air during our 10 minute walk to our apartment.
Krakow made quite the impression on us, but Warsaw is home.
Bisouxx,
B[ZU]