Planning a 5-night stay made an apartment rental an economical choice. Using Booking.com, I found the Bed&Bath Novum Apartments, a short walk from the central train station. We arrived on a cool cloudy afternoon and settled in to our two-bedroom digs. It was a clean, comfortable if somewhat soulless space--the way apartments are when no one really lives there. The next morning we walked back through the train station and found our way to the Stare Miastro, Krakow's Old Town.
The area is surrounded by a beautiful park, filled with trees in shades of green. This photo, taken on another day, shows one of the decorated horse-drawn carriages that are ubiquitous in Old Town. The drivers are always smartly-attired young women.
The Stare Miastro, the walled-in social center of the city, was an easy mile-plus walk from our apartment on this cool Saturday morning. We walked through this portal, past a small shrine to the Black Madonna.
Walking past rows of shops and cafes, we arrived in Krakow's Rynek Glowny or Main Square--just in time to see a military parade. A national holiday, Constitution Day, was celebrated that weekend, in honor of Poland's first written constitution in 1791. Notice the hands and feet in this photo.
Poland's most celebrated poet and patriot, Adam Mickiewicz, was the honored historical figure in this square, but as is the fate of monument figures at popular meeting and photo spots, he didn't get much attention from this group of visitors. Behind them is one of the main attractions of the square, The Sukiennice (see more on that below).
As usual, Renate and I looked for a place to have coffee that morning--and we had many choices among cafes around the square. Apple pie a la mode was my choice that morning. Commemorating the moment rather than the food in this photo.
Later we enjoyed one of my favorite features of Krakow cafes, fruit-filled lemonade.
Poland has a long tradition of folk art, and for a modern spin-off on it, we enjoyed browsing in Old Town shops. On another day we visited The Ethnographic Museum, enjoying varied exhibits around many themes--religion, home life, holidays and the like. You can take a tour online by clicking the link above.
The Sukiennice, a vast cloth hall built in the 14th century and remodeled in the 16th is a major feature of the Rynek Glowny. Inside is a covered market that Renate and I strolled through, enjoying the trinkets and expensive goods. Traveling light, we curbed our buying impulses. This photo is from a talented photographer who posted it on Trip Advisor.
Newest attraction in the Rynek Glowny is the Rynek Underground, a subterranean museum, highlighting the ruins of the medieval city of Krakow, discovered when the Rynek was being repaved a decade ago. It was a reminder how we all live on top of ruins, what remains of earlier times and people. I had been thinking of my maternal grandparents on this trip, Barbara and Leon, who emigrated from Poland more than a century ago. Today we know the names of their parents and grandparents, but I thought of all the nameless ones who preceded them, names and faces we'll never know. My iPad camera was inadequate for the lighting underground, so I've borrowed here from other photographers posting on Trip Advisor. First, the city below the city.
Here's what it looks like inside--exhibits, along with multimedia presentations. Most striking was this skeleton, shadowboxed below. Could this be one of my ancestors? I wondered.
It was a late, cool and rainy day when we left the underground museum, me feeling vaguely out of sorts from the pervasive smell of mold and thoughts about the passage of time. My most-recalled memory of Krakow's Old Town was one that came about on another day. We were passing a church when we noticed some musicians waiting outside. A wedding was ending inside, and soon we saw the charming bride and groom come outside and the guests line up to hug them and give them presents. I caught these moments on camera, and I still enjoy looking at them.
Next: Polish churches
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