Poland - Krakow

I counted three nuclear power plants on the way from Prague to Krakow, and there could have been more; those were just the ones visible from the bus window.  One of them was so close to the highway that I could see color variations in the thick clots of steam churning from the top of the reactor towers.  I know we have these power plants in the US, but they’re generally hidden for our convenience and peace of mind, and activists are less likely to protest in the middle of the woods.  At least in Poland, I now have the assurance that there should be plenty of power available to fire up the hot pot and keep our phones and laptops charged to capacity.  I also noted that there was a huge water treatment plant within a few miles of the power plant closest to Krakow, so I’ll be turning out the light every time I fetch some water from the tap to see if it glows.

Reaching the balcony level of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse requires climbing 257 steps. The top of the south tower in the Notre Dame cathedral takes 387.  To conquer the summit of the Montmartre hill and reach the basilica of Sacre Coeur, one must climb 270 steps; there is a funicular nearby for the cardiovascularly challenged.  Reaching our apartment in Krakow, which I’ve nicknamed The Eyrie, requires climbing an entire stairwell of exactly 100 steps, and so far, I can’t find a funicular anywhere.  Our host, Andre, assures us that Krakow is a walking city and that we can reach all major attractions on foot and save lots of money by foregoing public transport—by the time we leave Krakow, we should be able to give Usain Bolt a run for his money.

The sign on our front door...seriously

The studio-style apartment consists of one large room with a sofa on a platform that converts to a double bed, while a double trundle bed pulls out from under the platform.  There is a small kitchen along the edge of the platform, and a decent sized bathroom is located off the entry hall.  The space is a little tighter than the one we had in Prague, but there is still adequate room to spread out a bit.  Our one window opens to the courtyard below, which isn’t visible from our perch, but due to extensive building renovations, we’re able to watch construction workers performing their trades on scaffolding directly across from us, and occasionally a pigeon lights on our balcony to make sure we’re ok.

We arrived at our apartment about 7:00 on Friday night hungry and "stove up" from sitting in a bus all day; so we quickly tossed our gear and ventured out into the neighborhood in search of a grocery store.  We found one a short distance away and between the four of us, we were able to find enough food for dinner and breakfast by looking at the pictures on the packaging labels.  The Polish language is very similar to the Czech language in that it's just as unintelligible with a few extra characters and symbols thrown in to keep the tourists guessing.  A few blocks and 100 steps later, we were back in the apartment in good spirits, cooking dinner, and booking a walking tour for the next day—Krakow, here we come.

There is a large fan in our apartment, and the air circulation and sound it provided served as a sedative for the whole crew last night, and we slept hard for ten hours.  I got up first and wrote for a while before making a big breakfast of eggs-in-a-basket, bananas, and yogurt.  I’m sad to report that I’m back on instant coffee—pray for me.  Our walking tour was scheduled for 2:00, so the kids had plenty of time to do some schoolwork done while Deena and I continued our research on Krakow and booked bus tickets to Budapest for later next week.  After a quick trip to the grocery store, 100 steps, and lunch we were off to the Old Market Square to meet our guide for the afternoon.  We had only about a mile to walk, but it was warm and humid, and we were panting by the time we reached the square.

For 1,100 years the Market Square has been the center of the action in the Old Town section of Krakow and today was no exception.  Outdoor cafes, which line the edges of the square, were busy with customers enjoying heaping plates of food and tall glasses of beer.  Vendors were set up in the middle of the square selling everything from psychedelic lollipops to fur coats.  We arrived with a few minutes to spare before our tour, and we enjoyed checking out the merchants’ stalls while dodging other shoppers, some carrying plates of steaming sausages and roasted potatoes.  We met our guide on the steps of Saint Mary’s Cathedral and began our walking tour promptly at 2:00 with a fairly large group of about thirty people.  We spent the next two hours checking out the highlights of the Old Town, including the medieval walls, university campus, and the venerable Wawel Castle overlooking the Vistula River. Our guide was engaging as she told us many historic facts and entertaining legends from the long history of Krakow.  My favorite story was about Pope John Paul II, and our guide passionately shared her perspective of the rise of Poland’s most influential son. She called his election as Pope a “miracle” since the all Popes for the last 455 years were Italian.  John Paul lived in Krakow for many years, and after he was elected as the Pope he returned to the city in 1979, a visit most people in Poland regard as the catalyst for the downfall of the communist government in the country.  The citizens also feel like John Paul’s rise to the papacy ended Poland's isolation from the world and finally made their country relevant in the 20th century.

The Grounds of Wawel Castle

Old Town

The Pope slept here...

We covered a lot of ground during the tour and cupcakes were certainly in order after we bid our group farewell. We enjoyed the late afternoon snack before heading back to our neighborhood.  One mile and 100 steps later, we had burned off the cupcake calories and made it back to the eyrie where we cooked a supper of Polish sausages and pierogies and talked about everything we learned about Krakow during our excellent walking tour.  Poland is another place that I grew up thinking I would never visit; yet here I am with my family ready for another day of exploring.

They tasted as good as they look