Krakow…

Today Stuart and headed south from the capital to visit Poland’s southern gem - Krakow. Wow! What difference to Warsaw. It was beautiful.     

We started our visit in the Old Town. 

Rynek Główny   

Krakow’s main square, Rynek Główny, dates back to the 13th century and is one of, if not the, largest medieval squares in Europe. It has 40 townhouses and palaces that are exceptionally well preserved despite mostly dating back to the Middle Ages. It’s quite touristy, but that adds to its liveliness with lots of market stalls. It was fab.  

St Mary’s Basilica  

I’ve been to so many churches in European cities but this one was a corker. It has a beautiful baroque interior, intricate stain glass windows and the most stunning roof I’ve seen in a long time: sky blue covered in gold stars. Oh, and a glitzy gold altar that opens up, to much delight. 

The Cloth Hall  

Smack bang in the centre of the main square The Cloth Hall is an undercover market that dates back to the 13th century. Touristy but cool. 

Royal Wawel Castle  

A short walk on from the square was the Wawel Castle - pronounced ‘Vavel’, this gorgeous castle, built in the 11th century, sits on a limestone hill above the Vistula River, which sweeps down its western side. Entry to the grounds was free so we just wandered around and took pictures.   

Kazimierz  

They say no trip to Krakow is complete without a trip to its Jewish Quarter and trendiest suburb Kazimierz: I’d have to agree. Kazimierz was once it’s own independent city before later merging with Krakow. Thanks to WWII this area has seen its fair share of misery but recently it has emerged full of hipsters, cool bars, cafes and restaurants.  

Zapiekanki  

And while at Kazimierz we sought out Plac Nowy (New Square) to track down Zapiekanki, the famous traditional dish - a Polish open face sandwich topped with melted cheese, sautéed button mushrooms and ketchup and mayo. Sounds okay right? But what if I told you, you can then bastardise it by adding an array of other toppings such as various meats, onions, chives and garlic. Starting to sound pretty delicious huh? We loved it. And had a beer to top it off. 

Planty Park  

One of the loveliest parts of Krakow is the park that encircles the Old Town where its medieval walls once were.  

St Florian’s Gate  

St. Florian’s Gate is the city’s last remaining tower of eight originals built along the medieval walls in the 14th century to protect against Turkish attack.

The Barbican 

The Barbican sits across from the Gate outside the walls and is one of the best-preserved examples of defensive architecture in Europe. It was originally connected to St Florian’s Gate and acted as a checkpoint for anybody entering the city walls.

And with that, we headed back to the station for our long journey back to Warsaw. 

A lovely day. Krakow is a beaut.