After the heaviness of Auschwitz, it was nice to have a free day to unwind a bit. Our next stop was Krakow, Poland's cultural capital. Having passed on the optional excursions, our only commitment for the day was an afternoon bike tour. After another hefty breakfast, we made our way to the old town to explore a bit before our tour began. The old town's medieval architecture is stunning (fortunately, Krakow survived WWII in pretty good shape). Eventually we made our way to the market square, which is where much of the main gatherings and commerce have happened historically. It was quite impressive, and very lively. Aromas of grilled sausages and roasted vegetables filled the air, while two big keg-shaped kiosks sold beer. Everyone was happy.
The Market Square
A street vendor's cool paintings.
A clock tower in Old Town -- I don't remember the name of it, and Googling "pointy copper clock tower in Krakow" was a fail.
A typical walkway in Old Town.
Freshly baked bread... Looked good, smelled great.
Roasted pork knuckles!
Not gonna let the WHO rain on this parade.
Great beer comes out of this thing. I walked past it a couple times thinking it was only a decoration... It's so much more.
This guy was really good at making huge bubbles.
The bike tour was great, covering about twelve kilometers. We rode around the castle, along the water, and past Schindler's factory in the Jewish district (technically outside the ghetto walls). As you can see, we got really lucky again with gorgeous weather.
A professional bike tourist.
In ancient times, this was the main entrance to the Old Town. The left part, the main gate, is slightly off-center so that guards high above on the right side could see you and, if you were a bad guy, shoot arrows at you.
In 1410, King of Poland Władysław Jagiełło led the joint armies of Poland and Lithuania to victory against the encroaching Teutonic Knights at the Battle of Grunwald. Too bad he didn't live long enough to see this badass statue, built 500 years later to honor him in 1910.
Tsk tsk... he's old and she's super young.
Wawel Castle
Legend has it that a dragon lived in a cave beneath the castle... The King didn't like that, so he offered to give his daughter in marriage to the first knight who could defeat it (if I ever have a daughter, I hope this exact situation happens). Many knights tried and failed. Then one day, a shoemaker wanted a try, and the King, fed up with the knights, reluctantly agreed. The shoemaker filled a lambskin with sulphur and mustard seed and set it outside the dragon's cave while it was sleeping... When the dragon woke up, it wanted breakfast, saw the lamb and ate it... The sulphur made the dragon really thirsty, so it went to the river and started drinking water, and couldn't stop... It drank so much water, it exploded! Now there's a statue of it with an eternal flame (maybe indigestion?).
Some other favorite pics of mine, including a couple from the Jewish Quarter...
After the tour, we had a nice happy hour at a place serving a solid selection of IPAs and other local brews. For dinner, we couldn't resist going back to the food stalls in the main square! Along the way Alexandra got distracted by some Amber jewelry, one of Poland's specialties.
P.S. I won't go into detail, but somehow lemon drop shots then a 'Pub Krawl' also came into play that night... Chicken soup and ginger tea for lunch the next day were pretty clutch.
The roasted trout we had with our ginger tea and chicken soup in Slovakia the next day.
On the ride through Slovakia, we saw Dracula's castle in Transylvania, at which point our tour guide imitated in her thickest Hungarian-Transylvanian accent, "I vant to sak your blaaad...."