revenge of the killer tomatoes 13

Cracow, Poland.  25 to 26 May 2008 -  I was thrilled to see the famous Old Town Square almost as soon as I arrived in Cracow. 

So excited was I that I spent less than 30 minutes unpacking and settling into my cozy hotel room.  I stayed at Hotel Wawel on Poselska Street, across a church that marked the hours with a soothing pealing of ancient bells.

 

I dashed to the Old Town Square, bursting with tourists, lively street performers, hungry pigeons, dolled-up horses and peddlers of food, stuffed dragons, amber jewelry and countless other crafts.

                

Regardless of your faith (or agnosticism or atheism), you will be amazed by St. Mary’s Cathedral - the altar made by Veit Stoss is breathtaking!  It was a spiritual experience for me. I visited that cathedral thrice while in Cracow.

                     

  

At Kazimierz, there were grim reminders of the Holocaust but also of the resilient culture of the Jewish community in Cracow. 

 

Charming marionettes on a display window outside the Alef restaurant.  Old Jewish cafes.   

     

A scene in Schindler’s List was shot in this al fresco cafe.  Schindler was able to save hundreds of Cracovian Jews.

 

And all these add to Cracow’s charms…

Horse-drawn carriages and the modern tram circling the town -

         

 Hand-hewn and earth-grown wonders -

              

Poland has so many famous scientists. This statue is in honor of Copernicus.

 

Sitting inconspicuously around the bend of one of the streets surrounding the Old Town square is the Czartoryski Museum.  There is only one reason to visit it… 

 

…Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” - one of only three portraits of women by da Vinci  and said to be the most beautiful of all those paintings.  It is also touted as the world’s first modern-age portrait.  Out of reverence for The Master, I refused to take a photo (I think it was allowed) and just stared at it as long as I could manage.

  

Steps leading to the top of the tower with Wenceslas’ bell, and the panoramic view of Cracow as reward for the trouble of climbing up.

    

Legend has it that a dragon once lurked inside Wawel Castle and terrorized the townspeople.  A huge bone hangs outside the entrance to the Cathedral of Wawel Castle, said to have belonged to the dragon that was slain by the King’s sons.  The bone looks like it actually belonged to a dinosaur. 

                    

While visiting Wawel Castle I heard Chopin’s piano music wafting from a stone wall.  There was a music store inside the castle, selling only classical music.  They were out of Chopin CDs, unfortunately. 

     

Here’s my favorite view of the Wawel castle -

On my second and last night in Cracow, I savored my dinner at an al fresco Greek cafe.  I waited for the lights to dim, the music to die down at the square, while I shivered in the May breeze.  But that moment never came.  I walked back to my hotel then woke up to the sound of church bells the following morning. 

This entry was posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 at 5:45 pm and is filed under travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.