After Auschwitz we had a bit of quiet time and then I headed out into Krakow with a friend to look for dinner. We ended up eating at a Christmas market in the center of Old Town:
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| Christmas Market |
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| Christmas Market |
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| Dinner! |
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| Pierogi - Polish Dumplings |
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| Gluehwein - heated, spiced wine |
Dinner was a Hunters Stew, following by some Polish dumplings (Pierogi) and a sausage from the grill.
We had a good walk and were taking it easy in one of the parks when it started pelt with rain. We managed to get to the Non Iron Pub to meet with the team, but we got soaked.
We were cold and uncomfortable so I decided I'd only stay for a single drink. Six hours later at 2pm, after singing Waltzing Matilda, La Marseillaise (for the French members of the team) and Sweet Caroline (the unofficial team song) I finally headed back to the hostel for a shower and bed.
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| Just a little wet |
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| Shots! |
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| At the Non Iron Pub |
The next day we had a free day before our trip to the airport at 8pm for our trip home. I ended up walking Krakow with a friend to see the sights.
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| Monument to the Battle of Grunwald |
Just outside our hostel was Matejko Squard with the impressive statue in memorial of the Battle of Grunwald. The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 as part of the Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War when the Poles and Lithuanians defeated the German-Prussian Tectonic Knights. The battle is considered one of the most important in the history of Poland as it began the ultimate defeat of the Teutonic Knights.
A memorial was built in Krakow in 1910 to mark the 500th anniversary of the battle but it was destroyed in the Second World War. The Germans used the defeat of the Knights (who they claimed were fighting for freedom and Christianity) as propaganda against Poland in both World Wars - it's a little sad when you need to use a battle that occurred 500 years ago as justification...
The monument was destroyed in the World War II by the Germans and later rebuilt in 1976.
The church in the background is St Florian's church, where Pope John Paul II started as a curate:
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| St Florian's Church |
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| The Barbican again - this time by day! |
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| The entrance to the Barbican |
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| St Florian's Gate |
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| The Barbican side of St Florian's Gate |
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| Looking down from the Gate to St Mary's Basilica |
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| Saint Mary's Basilica |
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| Horses lined up in Rynek Główny - Grand Square |
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| Horses |
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| Rynek Główny |
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Sukiennice - The Krakow Cloth Hall
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On the main square (
Rynek Główny) in front of St Mary's Basilica was the Krakow Cloth Hall. Inside were a large number of market stalls selling souvenirs and crafts. The hall was built when Krakow was a main hub for international trade (late 15th century) and was used for trade in textile, lead and salt (from the Wieliczka Salt Mine) and import of spice, silks, leathers and wax from the east.
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| Inside the Cloth Hall |
Next we came across the Church of St Francis of Assisi, built somewhere around 1269 and holding an exact and certified replica of the Shroud of Turin:
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| Church of St Francis of Assisi |
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| Stained Glass |
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| The room outside the church where Pope John Paul stayed and greeted the people |
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| City Walls |
Next stop was Wawel Castle, it was built in the 13th century on Wawel Hill in central Krakow:
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| At the base of the castle walls |
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| Part way up |
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| The side of the castle - viewed from below |
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| Entry to the castle square |
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| Wawel Castle |
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| Wawel Cathedral |
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| The side of the Cathedral facing the square. |
The golden dome is Sigismund's Chapel, with the Vasa Dynasty Chapel to the left.
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| View of Krakow from the castle. |
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| View |
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| Tower |
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| Wawel Chapel |
After a hot chocolate and piece of cake in the nice warm sun, we headed out to the city walls overlooking the Vistula River:
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| Walls |
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| Tower |
At the base of the castle was the Wawel Dragon (S
mok Wawelski) a famous dragon from Folklore.
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| Smok |
Every few minutes the statue breathed fire / unfortunately my photo didn't turn out too clear:
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| Where there's Smok there's fire |
If you're still with me after that awful joke, I do apologize.
Our next stop was the Jewish Quarter:
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| Bookshop in the Jewish Quarter |
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| Part of the Jewish Quarter |
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| Market in the Jewish Quarter |
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| Market |
We stopped at a tea house called Czajownia and tried a few different types of tea - I tasted Secrets of the Samurai a series of Japanese teas:
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| Tea |
After late lunch / early dinner at a restaurant, we headed back towards the hotel to meet up with the team and get ready.
Our flight ended up being delayed, so instead of leaving at 10:20pm we left at 11:30 and arrived in Sweden at 1:15am. By the time I got home it was almost 3am. It was great trip - some good fun with friends, great rugby, an amazing town and an interesting tour to Auschwitz.
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