It was my turn...

So, as many of you may have read in an earlier post from Spring, the Hub's dream vacation pick was Thailand. We went in the spring and had a great time.  A week or so ago it was my turn...and I picked.....

Krakow!  It is one of those place that I have always wanted to visit...I really don't know why, beyond the fact that it is a city steeped in history, my Grandmother on my father's side was of Polish descent...and my dishes are from Poland and look something like these that were displayed in a market stall on the main square:

Poland isn't a place that I would have traveled to from the States as a primary destination.  Now that I have been there, I definitely see the error in my thinking and want to go back!  The country has such rich, interesting history-it has always remained a democracy, even with royalty...but Poland has suffered invasion from Sweden, Prussia, Russia and Germany to name a few, and was once a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  The people are proud and lovely and do a pretty good job of speaking English to the tourists.  This is not a must for our travel planning, but when you arrive somewhere, it certainly helps.

(As I am writing and editing this post, I am finding that there is so much to share, more than one post can bear the weight of...so I will post some sights here....and then the food of Krakow (!) on the next post.... )

Rynek Glow'ny is the name of the main square in Krakow.  It houses the Old Cloth market which is  filled with souvenir booths, and other important landmarks including the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady as pictured above, the tower of the old city hall and some pieces of art.  The picture above was taken just outside our hotel, looking down Florianska Street toward the square.

Looking the opposite way down Florianska Street lead us to the remaining portion of the old city wall, and the Florian Gate.

During our long weekend, we had very hot weather the first 2 days and basically walked all over the city.  On the Sunday it rained~a lot, which was a perfect day to go down into the depths over 300 steps and take a tour of the Wielczka Salt Mine where you walk through the tunnels the miners used and see wonderful sculptures...all carved out of salt.  This mine was in operation until 1996-it has 9 levels...we only saw part of the top 3.

The Cathedral where Pope John Paul II was to have given a mass.

In our time in Krakow, we took  a few tours on these, the only way to really see the city.

 You can catch a tour to the Wawel Castle which the Nazi party members claimed for themselves to live in during their occupation...

 To the Jewish Quarter and Schindler Factory, which is now a museum...

 

But we spent most of our time walking around the city seeing a lot of old churches and beautiful buildings, stopping along the way for some refreshment...

Slices of watermelon in ice water....nice!

 

Here is the statue of Copernicus, with one of the many city birds on his head...

St Peter and Paul's Church with the statues of the 12 apostles to the left

And discovering that all roads lead back to the main square...

Church of St. Adalbert

The Old Cloth Hall

Limonade/Lemonade

With the 4th of July upon us, I went in search for some good old fashioned lemonade the other day...in Germany, not an easy task...Since moving here, I have noticed an unfortunate shortage of lemonade made in the way I am used to from home in the US.  You know, a bit cloudy, a little pulpy, with a perfect mixture of the tart and the sweet?

(I know lemonade is one of the easiest things in the world to make...but having someone else make it for you just increases the enjoyment factor don't you agree?)
  
Lemonade here in Germany, is, well, Sprite.  Yep, clear soda. There are no lemons harmed in the making of this drink.  Not exactly what I was hankerin' for on a hot July day.  Now the German variety does have it's pluses-it gets along very well inside a beer glass to make a Radler (with Helles) or a Russ'n (with Weissbier). And on trips to Italy I have sampled some of their lemon soda-often times had Schweppes Bitter Lemon which we can get here and is yummy. But again, not what I was craving.

I found myself sitting outside at one of my favorite neighborhood places...and saw "Hausgemacht Limonade" on the menu...hmmm...housemade lemonade?  Worth a try.  It was delicious and very refreshing!!!

It was the closest to the lemonade I was looking for...it actually had lemons squeezed into it!  Okay, the recipe was a little different, but I found myself enjoying it.  Real lemon juice, simple syrup, and sparkling water = YUM!  And ice cubes!  Real ice cubes!  (That is another blog post in and of itself-we Americans have a love-affair with ice that the Germans do not...)

I think that I will find myself at that local cafe a lot this summer...but for now, here is more information than you ever wanted to know about lemonade, thanks to the nice people at Wikipedia, with their help my work here is complete:

Lemonade is a lemon-flavored drink, typically made from lemons, water and sugar.

The term can refer to three different types of beverage:

• "Clear" lemonade: In many western European countries, the term limonade, from which the term "lemonade" is derived, originally applied to unsweetened water or carbonated soda water with lemon juice added, although several versions of sugar sweetened limonade have arrived on store shelves.
• "Cloudy" lemonade: In the U.S., Canada, India and Pakistan (Nimbu Paani), and Iran lemonade refers to a mixture of lemon juice, sugar, and uncarbonated water, although there are many versions which contain artificial flavors instead of actual lemon juice. In Pakistan and India, Nimbu Paani is a common household preparation, made using freshly squeezed lemons, granular sugar, salt, pepper (and other spices as per preferred taste) and is invariably consumed fresh.
• "Fizzy" lemonade: In France, the modern use of the term limonade refers to sweet carbonated lemon soft drinks (the uncarbonated version would be called citronade). In Germany the term Limonade is used for sweet carbonated citrus soft drinks. Likewise, in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand the term mainly refers to a colourless, carbonated, sweet soft drink containing either natural or artificial lemon flavor, such as Schweppes Lemonade.

The Powerful Herbal Liquor

The tag line on this billboard says something to the effect of "The powerful herbal liquor for the Football World Cup".  I am not sure why you would need a Bloodroot liquor that looks like a sausage to cheer the team on, especially with all of the good German beer around here...but here you go.  Everyone has caught World Cup mania!

A lot of fuss about the Fussball!

This was the scene the other day when the German soccer team defeated England 4-1 in the World Cup match that pitted the two teams against one another, thankfully, and saved us from having to split our loyalties, which would have happened if Germany and the US had played.  The picture above was taken whilst I was attempting to get home via my normal route-Ubahn and then the usually convenient city bus 154.

This day, though, no deal.  The street that all of the revelry was taking place upon is one of the busiest streets in the Schwabing neighborhood: Leopoldstrasse.  There was no way that I was going to be able to get home on the bus-so I decided to make my way through the cheering. celebrating masses of happy German peeps.

Let me just say that the German population has gone Fussball crazy!  Stores in the city square have dedicated window space to the black, red and gold...Siemans corporation set up a public viewing stage in a square, and as you can see here, the line was a long one out the entrance way, just to get a look at the screen.

People have pulled out every bit of black, red and gold that they have in their wardrobes, and have added some interesting accessories:

And packed the local biergartens, bars, ice cream stores, restaurants...anywhere, really, that there is a tv in order to be with all of your closest friends to watch the game...

And then to fill the streets cheering the victories:

So tomorrow, we are going to meet friends at an old German gasthaus...to drink some beers, eat some fulfilling German food and cheer on the good guys...Deutschland!  But for now, take a look at how the Germans are celebrating...with flags of many nations...(no US-I think that maybe they didn't take us seriously in this World Cup-but the boys in the red, white and blue did great!)...

And, the best and most common way, as seen below, with your best buddy, your flag colors waving proudly, and a case of the good stuff!  Go 'Schland!