Matthew Engel

Jazz Theatre - Krakow, Poland

Krakow, Poland January 17-20, 2008 The story of my visit to Krakow with father, Bruce. Staying right outside the old city, we experienced the heart of Krakow while also visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mines, Zakopane, and the Auschwitz death camp in surrounding Poland.

 

Day 1: January 17, 2008

Krakow, Poland . January 17-20 - This was the shortest trip I have ever take outside the country. For all of 4 days, we were treated to warm Polish hospitality. I was based in Krakow, but traveled to several surrounding sites including Zakopane, the premeir skiiing resort, and Auschwitz, the infamous Nazi death camp.

I traveled with my father, who invited me to come along…not sure why, I must be a good travel buddy! Our hotel was located directly outside the old city walls which is technically ‘outside’ of the original Krakow, if only by a few feet. Krakow, proper, the original construction is located within original medieval walls. These walls are surrounded by a moat, which was removed during the 19-20th century when they realized that moats were no longer fashionable (or necessary). Filled in with dirt, it was replaced by a beautiful circular walkway, which is a popular public park, in its place. Krakow has 16 universities and hosts a large college aged population. With many Euopean women. It seemed the general population was between 18-22 and the local cafes were filled every night.The hotel’s information is as follows, and I would highly recommend it:

 

Andel’s Hotel Cracow
ul. Pawia 3
Krakow
31-143 Poland
Tele. 011-48-12-660 01 00
Coordinates

 

Historically, Krakow was one of the few cities in Poland not destroyed by the Nazis nor the Allies. Unlike Warsaw, which was turned to rubble. Instead, Krakow was taken as residence by many Nazi leaders due to its scenery and ornate palaces. The Poles harbor quite alot of resentment towards both the Nazi and Communist parties for their actions during the 20th century. With good reason.

One story our guide shared about Stalin, was that when he took over PL following WW2, the Reds made the entire Polish military general staff disappear. All the upper brass just completely vanished. No one on the Soviet side ever admitted to what happened (the Iron Curtain…), though it was always supposed that the soldiers were kidnapped and killed. Their families were left waiting for decades. Wasn’t until the USSR fell in 1998 that the soviets admitted, yes it was they who kidnapped the Poles and killed them. There was proof provided with Stalin’s signature on the death warrants on it and the grave discovered with uniforms. Very sad story.

 

Krakow, Poland - Wawel Castle. Medieval Architecture masked in modern brick. Taken over by the Nazi’s as a palace during their regime.

 

The Communist architecture of the time period is also quite unsightly. Our local guide bragged about how ugly and poorly designed it was. This is compared to the original and authentic PL architecture which is still surviving to this day, very ornate and beautiful. Their castles are outstanding and the churches are breathtaking. Very picturesque city and would highly recommend viewing. The prices are extremely reasonable.

Out hotel was situated an a central artery connecting a brand new shopping mall, the major train station connecting to an airport, and the entrance to the old city. There were approximately 647 people walking buy per minute. This was from 7:30am until 9pm when the rate of pedestrians slowed to only 329 people per minute. Also there was an ice skating rink right outside where lots of kids hung out during the day. Bruce and I never partook.

The train on the way there was quite interesting. The ticket vending machine was broken so the conductor was forced to manually issue the tickets on the train. This is not unlike the Long Island Rail Road which also will stamp your ticket if you buy on the train. In this case, our train must have had an unusually large crowd, and the conductor was overwhelmed. The real hitch was, each ticket required a hand written signature by the conductor which took him an eternity, and the train wasn’t moving until he was done writing the 50 or so tickets. After ten minutes of resting there, another conductor appeared and he started driving while the first guy finished ticketing.

 

Polish Currency - 10 Zloty (US $4.40)

 

 Our hotel was quite modern and beautiful. The bar had excellent decor, minimalist designs and live music. There were ceiling high windows looking over the passing crowds in the morning so it was a good place for coffees in the afternoon as well (when everyone else was walking to work or class..haha!).

The first day after landing Dad and I walked directly into the old city past a few shops, checked out several menus and sat down to eat at one of the many small local restaurants. He ordered a soup called the Zurich, which we found to be a traditional polish dish served at almost every establishment. It is a broth soup, with potatoes, sauerkraut, pepper, and ham/sausage very hot and light spicing. I ordered pierogis there, and subsequently every restaurant thereafter. They were just cooked to order, piping hot off the stove. Very light skin, but extremely greasy. There seemed to be fat dripping out of everything, the food is very rich (and delicious!). The meats are usually pork. Very little beef or chicken.

Our Lufthansa overnight flight was excellent, not a single luggage problem. By the time we got unpacked at the hotel, we had a few hours free to look around Krakow and so whatever we wanted. We got a map (I wish I had kept) and went off to the main square. On the way we stopped and got aforementioned peroiges and the Zurich.

 

Town Square - Krakow, Poland

 

 The Old City of Krakow is an elegantly designed system, with very grid like streets that are easy to navigate. In the center of the old city is the square, which contains some of the most fantastic architecture I have ever seen. St. Mary’s Bascillica is located here, as well as a marketplace, shown above. This building is essentially hollow, and the ground floor is a large passageway with vendors crowding each other out on either wall. There were many beautiful, and unique items here for sale, including furs, leather garments, amber jewelry, puppets, and all sorts of hand crafted wood carvings. There are also many religious items, being as that Poland has such a high population of observant Roman Catholics.

 

Beautiful panorama of the main square focusing on St. Mary’s Bascillica

 

The square itself is lined with many restaurants, art dealers, and cafe’s and fantatic shops of all sorts. It is an extremely popular tourist destination, and one of the largest squares in all Europe.

 

Krawkow Square

 

The main event for the day was a reception waiting for us in the hotel restaurant. After finally decompressing, Dad and I headed downstairs to see what this event was all about. Now, to tell you the truth, I was not compltely up to socializing - I can be quite timid at times, and thought I would just make a brief appearence, and go to bed. But alas, I was to be mistaken.

We were greeted with a tall glass of very, very hot mulled wine, which is red wine filled with spices. The style of the glass was my perfect vision of the wine glass: a wide mouth and belly, yet tall and tapering as to give it a finished and stately appearence. I may be the only person who notices these things, but not only do I really love and analzye wine, but the glass it comes in can make an impression too.

Now, I have no pictures of this, and cannot prove anything, but this event turned into one of the highlights of the trip which I still remeber now very clearly. First - the food. Wow, this was good. The polish waitstaff was attentive, yet unobtrusive. These were plates of many different kinds of appetizers, and delicacies waiting to be tested. Waitresses were bringing plates over to our tables and serving. At first, I look around by myself for awhile kind of taking it all in, seeing who else was there on the trip, who would be my friends and colleauges for the following weekend in the heart of Poland. There were some people who looked interesting and I wanted to talk to, but didn’t really get the nerve up to do it.

Thats when Dad came in, who is so good at these types of things. We sat by ourselves for a few minutes, just chatting to the people who came up to us, doing some introductions or for Bruce, catching up with a few old friends. I felt kind of out of the loop, but was still enjoying myself. After being separated for a few minutes, I notice Dad has sat down at a table in the back of the room with another family are are eating together. I decide to sit with them, and lo and behold, they are a couple of music teachers with two children my age. We quickly get to talking, and soon I have made a whole bunch of new friends!! Thanks Dad!

This leads to some great food, and quickly some excellent drinks. After the wine, the tour group is faced with a spectacular table hosted by some very nice younger Polish women who are handing out vodkas like water and glasses of champagne to anyone who wants. I find this amazing and extraordinary, the hospitality and generosity of the hotel, the tour providers, and Polish people is both breathtaking and overwhelming. Soon, the sponsor of the trip beings a short and sweet talk about how great it is to have such an assembly of international travelers, and that we should all feel welcome and very much enjoy our stay. He explained this one large mystery to all of us, which explained what this odd shaped thing was that every vendor on every corner seemed to be selling. It is a log of smoked cheese, that is shaped and compressed into various cylindrical designs. He was sort of making fun of it, but also explained what it was, unravelling my previous confusion.

Being the first night, I was not used to carrying my camera withme everywhere and therefore have no pictures! That is quite sad, but the rest of the evening lives on in my memory, shrouded in a small alcoholic mist. I proceeded to make alot of new friends, hung out with the tour guides, and reveled in the sweet polish vodka. These people really know how to make vodka, it is so smooth like crystal going down in a flash with no after thought. Ice cold. Soon, Byron starts smoking cigarettes inside the hotel lounge, most people are leaving and just a few of use are left. Margot has become highly intoxicated and is already leaning on everyone, as she proclaims her absoloute faith to her boyfriend, Byron is smoking and we’re standing outside the hotel in the cold moon light. I can see we are in for an adventure and that these people will be fun.

 

Day 2: January 18, 2008

 

The following morning, we wake up at a leisurely hour and head to a solid breakfast downstairs. Our first day was met with a friendly and knowledgable local Polish guide, Anna. She had a great loud voice and I could always hear her clearly when I moved near the front of the group. During the tour I found out all about the moat/park, Wawel castle, and several churches which I found incredibly beautiful. Our first stop was at Wawel castle, which can be seen above from the outside. However, the interior courtyard had even more to offer and I show it off below.

Before reaching the castle itself, we approach the grounds via large inclining hill which obviously would keep invading armies at the disadvantage. From this climb, we have several views of the city which are quite interesting and full of modern history. The first entrance to the castle requires us to cross the portcullis, which is my favourite part of all castles. The postcullis is the steel gate which can be raised or lowered at the end of a drawbridge, for example. Whenever I enter castles for now on, I like to make sure to spend some time here if possible and inspect this area thoroughly as it contains so many interesting things. The massive gates themselves are beautiful and come in many different styles. This was my favorite portcullis so far, as it has the jagged and spiked steal beams that come to the floor as it is closed. 

Entrance to Wawel Castle showing Portcullis

 

I wish I had a much clearer picture of this to show you, and hopefully learned my lesson the hard way and for now on will take my time and concentrate when I really want to get a clear shot for now on. I tried to do so on my recent trip to Prague, where we saw St. Vitrus Cathedral in the Prague Castle. I made sure to capture much clearer (hopefully) pictures there, however the gate was not quite as ‘nasty’ looking and featured a smooth bottom instead without the menacing spikes coming down. However, I was able to find a much nicer photo of this gate online taken my a professional photopgrapher here. 

Archaelologists found that this site was originally settled 100 BC and that settlements have been present ever since, ranging from the seat of the Polish Dynasty during the middle-age to the Gothic period (13-14th centuries) during which King Wladyslaw I reigned. His incredible sandstone sarcophagus is found inside Wawel Cathedral. Besides being surrounded by an enormous wall with large guard towers, Wawel Castle features an expansive courtard and an elaborate church used by the country’s royalty. The church’s exterior itself looks like a composite of different buildings designed by different achitects merged into one beautifully diverse subject. The entire complex was the location of Poland’s royalty and heads of state for many hundreds of years. The castle and cathedral’s exteriors are shown below.

 

Bruce at Wawel Castle	Entrance to Wawel Cathedral

The cathedral itself is carefully gaurded by the castle’s massive exterior which flanks the church in every way. One must walk completely around its circumference to arrive at the entranceway. This path is surrounded by heavy gaurd towers with many slits for arrows and other ancient weapons. Wawel Cathedral is one of the most amazing piece of architecture I have ever witnessed.

 

Entered Wawel Castle - Approaching Wawel Cathedral

 

The castle and surrounding grounds itself are a testament to modern architecture. Further reading upon my return to the U.S. revealed so much amazing ancient history about these grounds, explaining how ancient Krakow’s inhabitants go back thousands of years. This was the original sites of modern human civilization in Eastern Europe, which explains its deep and rich cultural heritage.

Walking into Wawel Cathedral (Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Stanisaw and Vaclav) was a stunning experience. The art is marvelous and breathtaking, the reliefs beautiful. Unfornately, since this was my very first trip with a camera, I had little experience taking photos while travelling. I also packed a tiny memory card with very limited space. Also, once inside I became so engrossed in the sculptures, the history and our guide’s retelling of it, I gave little thought to snapping photos of everything I saw. Also, the idea of journaling my adventures had not yet struck me, and did not think I would be posting my pictures of stories on the internet. It was a good learning experience, so now when I travel I am constantly keeping notes, diaries, drawings and photographs. It is important to write down these notes as the journey is taking place, or at worst immediatly following or else one forgets all the cool little details about the place. 

Anyhow, while I cannot show you pictures of the inside of Wawel Cathedral I can tell you a little about it. Inside after touring the beautiful alter and sculptures above ground, we travel underground to see the crypt, where the Kings and rulers of anceint Krakow dating from the 16th centruy are buried. The adventurous members of our tour group were allowed to go below ground and witness a dizzying array of garganuatan stone monliths - each a massive tomb kept in the most immaculate condition. The coffins are spaced apart from each other, several to a room often surrounding the perimeter of the burial chamber with one tomb for each wall of the chamber, except for the entrance. Many sarcophagi were carved out of perfect granite, black obsidian or guilded in gold. The entire underground crypt was almost impossible to fathom while inside and incredible to behold as we walked gingerly  through its eternal markers. The sculptures and reliefs behind Wawel Cathedral’s main alter above ground were breath taking and one could spend hours just looking at these. Dad was not nearly as impressed as I with the releifs behind the alter; and not being an artist maybe he did not apppreciated the craftmanship and time involved in forming the ornate details of the cherubim and their facial expressions. Bruce automatically compares all artistry to the work displayed at the Vatican in Rome, which while it is special in its own right, does not trump all other art in the world. It is certainly worth another trip to really see the appreciate the details of Wawel Cathedral. The stories of these ancient kings were flowing faster than one could comprehend from our guides mouth - tales of bravery and deeds done for the Polish Kingdom throughout the ages. One can read the list of kings, queens and monarchs buried at this place and read about their legendary accomplishments. One particular grave, or really a monument, particularly struck me. The crown on his face was shaped in the form of a bright and prosperous city. I beleive it was King Wenceslas. Throughout the 1300-1400’s Poland was repeatedly attacked by the Teutonic Knights and it was only through warfare that their empire was able to remain intact (Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War).                                             One of the highlights of this excursion was climbing the ancient clock tower. Dad was most amazed at the size and quality of the wooden beams which supported the internal scaffolding of this monumental structure. CLimbing up the stairs was an unforgettable experience - not only were we climbing higher and higher into the air in a dark and ancient bell tower, but the original construction was still completely in place and consisted of timber which had been harvested from the surrounding forests of centuries past.

Top of the Wawel Cathedral Bell Tower - the Sigismund bell

These beams were wider and longer than anything one could find today in a modern structure, made of solid wood stretching over 100 ft straight into the air, layered against one another with cross beams adding support in every direction. We climbed and climbed up this dark, unlit stairway ducking beneath timbers and side-stepping the wooden pillars in our way. It was not easy to access, and required some agility; I was suprised with the youthful vigor of which m party was able to complete the ascent, though with some grumbling. In all, the climb was very dark, a little harrowing, and very fun! Nearing the top, we witnessed an awesome sight: the largest and heavist bell I had ever seen, which is not many bells, but trust me - this was huge! It is hard to envision the enormity of such a structure, and one could almost feel the intensity of the vibrations that the great Zygmunt bell posseses. I was imagining teams of men armed with thick, heavy ropes heaving on their ends to begin swinging their enormous sonic idiophone. Its sound must have been deafening to the care takers charged with iniating its ring. Now, this solid bronze instrument is only used on the most special ocassion such as the marriage of a king or president or the election of a pope. 

Sigismund Bell clapper

Zygmunt Tower - notice the solid wooden beams

Luckily, at the top of the Zygmunt tower I had time to take pictures as Anna was giving us a nice talk. I was able to sneak the lense of my camera between the large pores of the fence which covers the windows and snap some spectacular photos. The fence is unobtrusive and just serves to stop people from climbing out, but also allowed me to rest the camera on it acting as a makeshift tripod stabilizing my images. 

Panoramic View of Krakow, Poland taken from top of the Zygmunt Bell Tower in Wawel Cathedral

 

This photo is brighter with more details, I actually really enjoy the tree on the lower left corner even though at first it really bothered me and I thought it ruined the shot. Now I appreciate it more. 

 

Panning to the right I was able to capture a picture of another beautiful and ancient church off in the distance. I enjoy the image of the double crosses nearly over layed on top of each other