We had an early start for breakfast and then a short bus ride to the Wavel Castle. There we toured a number of rooms and chambers. The wars have created a major problem with protecting a lot of their cultural items, paintings and other pieces of art. Some of their art items were actually housed in Canada for safe keeping. Not all items were housed safely and many disappeared. There have also been fires and other disasters. They have claimed only a small portion of what they had during their wealthier days. The artworks that have been preserved are mostly Flemish tapestries and a large amount of Italian works. The Lady with the Ermine by Leonardo Divinci is also there for the time being while the museum is being refurbished. From the castle we went to the Wavel Cathedral where there are several tombs of Polish kings along with the one female king of Poland who is now a saint (St. Jadwiga). The black Madonna painting is also housed there.
Wavel Castle
The river down below from the castle.
Wavel Cathedral
Notice all the different types of architecture of the cathedral.
We then headed to the Old Square area where we walked around town last night. We went to the St. Mary's church where the wooden altar is covered and the covering is removed at certain times so visitors can see it. Then we watched the bugler. Two firemen stay for 48 hours in an apartment at the top of the tower. One will play his bugle on the hour but not finish the song. This is a tradition from when a bugler served as town watchman from atop the tower. Once he started playing the bugle to warn of an approaching army but was killed by an enemy arrow before completing the song. Since then, the bugler always ends the song at that point incomplete. Every noon, it is broadcast live over Polish radio.
The tower where the bugler plays each day.
Notice the bugle out the window.
These Jewish/Polish bagels are actually pretty good. They even have sweet ones.
This is the shopping area of only Items made in Poland.
We had time to spend around the old square to grab a bite to eat and shop. There is a nice covered shopping area that only carries items made in Poland. They have some nice crystal glassware and amber jewelry, but we don't need either one.
We also went out of town a bit to see the Schindler Factory Museum. This was quite interesting since Oskar Schlindler, a German factory owner in Krakow, was able to save a number of Jews since he needed the labor force in making pans at his factory. We will now have to watch the movie "Schindlers List."
Here is a photo of it looking down.
We did go back to the hotel for a little while before our symphony. We changed into a little better outfits and headed down to the hotel bar for a beverage. We relaxed before the bus came. Some folks did not go back to the hotel and wanted more time in the old town area and would meet ua at the symphony. The bus picked us up but we were stuck in traffic and ended walking farther than if we had just walked from the hotel to begin with. Luckily, the symphony group was having technical problems and were 10 minutes late in getting started. We did get in before the symphony began. We were out a little after 8 pm and walked a few blocks to a typical Polish restaurant. So far I am not impressed with how the food looks. Last night everything was whitish and tonight everything was grayish. It tastes just fine but really blah looking. The green beans were even gray. Maybe they grow gray beans and I am not aware of it. :-)
View from our hotel window.
We then headed back to catch the bus and onward to the hotel. The time changes here this evening, so we need to move our clocks one hour ahead.
A nice refreshing beverage. Zvwiec a Polish beer.
No comments:
Post a Comment