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