Polish Trip 2023 - PART 3
Visiting historic Krakow, "Rollercoaster Capital of Europe" Energylandia
and exploring the hidden depths of the Old Town!
Old Town & Boat Trip down the Vistula
A more leisurely start to Day 4 after previous adrenalin-filled escapades. I was located around a 20-minute walk from the Medieval Old Town, venturing through the thoroughfare around the station to its perimeter. The main square is surrounded by the ring of Planty Park, where previously part of the City Walls once stood.
Its labyrinth of windy streets and passages all lead to the huge main square, once the largest in Europe and still one of the largest (I’d figure that Copenhagen and Prague that I’ve recently visited also figure highly).
You can discover the original gateway to the city with Florian Gate, admire the amazing church facades, and grab a drink in the various old-fashioned cafes, all the while keeping cool with the stone buildings providing much shade.
Before you know it, the area opens up into the huge square, with a market hall down the centre, people riding on horse-drawn carriages, an ancient church under its cobbled streets, a Clock Hall Tower, and a striking church featuring 2 towers built by brothers, the older keen to outdo the other by building a slightly larger tower! Relatable!
It is a lot to take in an instant, a veritable hive of activity and picture postcard of a bygone era. There’s also an elaborate monument in the centre and the classic mix of restaurants adding to the overall hubbub and atmosphere.
You can’t really get lost round these parts, and to get a better context of the place I decided to tag along with a walking tour, led by Polish-born Ania, who spoke excellent English, and delivered an encyclopaedic, personable and at times harrowing history of Krakow with verve and humour.
I learnt that the current square is actually vastly above its original level, as the medieval streets were over time built up with dirt and debris, cobbled roads worn by transport, and some buildings destroyed in fires or demolished for reconstruction (I would later see this in person with the amazing Underground Museum).
I learnt about the importance of Kraków’s universities (while having a coffee in its original grounds), founded in 1364 by King Casimir III The Great (who had a colossal 100 children!), the oldest in Poland. Pope John Paul II was one of its scholars (we saw the pictorial Pope’s Window), and how deeply rooted (and divisive) religion was to the city.
Revolutionary Nicolas Copernicus also studied here, at the prestigious Astronomical-Mathematical school, with his manuscript “De Revolutionibus” contained in the library to this day.
I heard a harrowing account of Ania’s ancestors being persecuted at the hands of Nazi Germany, and how many professors at the University were barred from teaching and often sentenced to death at Auschwitz for their beliefs. Sobering and incomprehensible.
We ended this fabulous extensive tour on ancient fortification Wawel Hill, site of 14-century Wavel Castle, an unusual mix of local gothic and Italian 16th-century architecture. A gold dome shone against the sunlight (not too dissimilar from one all-too-prominent in the news lately), and there were spectacular views of the Vistula River far into the distance.
After grabbing a refreshment and snack in a cafe, I ventured down a spiral tunnel staircase (which is always challenging with my height) deep into the caves underground, where folklore has it that the City’s momental symbol, the dragon, resides!
This was a fun little trip, if only to admire the inner foundations and escape the heat for a bit! The main event though, as mentioned by Ania earlier, was seeing the dragon outside this cave breathe fire! It was all quite nonsensical (sorry… legend), but it did go some way to explaining the two dragon-themed coasters at Energylandia if it was some kind of City Symbol!
The next highlight was exploring the Underground Museum back in the main square, a cavernous labyrinth of old shops (rich stalls), house foundations and cobbled roads where the street once stood. A mind-boggling piece of archaeology conducted fairly recently in 2010 unearthed this astonishing hidden city, which is brought vibrantly back to life with a vast collection of artefacts.
Afterwards, I climbed the Clock Tower, as is my tradition with these places, and the views didn’t disappoint.
So, into the early evening, and a leisurely stroll along the banks of the Vistula River, with a considerably wide estuary. I took a lovely little boat trip taking in the castle and downstream more picturesque buildings and a handful of rowers training for a future Olympics no doubt!
The weather was gorgeous again and it was an idyllic breezy 30 minutes in good company. There was a lovely sunset to cap it off (I have been blessed with some terrific ones on trips), ending the trip on a dreamy note!
Just time for one last meal against the illuminated backdrop of the main square, a very reasonably priced Carbonara, Lubelski Polish Apple Cider and a 2-piece Cheesecake desert!
What another great trip it had been! There’s always more to discover in the world and this had surprised in intriguing ways. Where will the next adventure be? Well, I have a few ideas…
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