Krakow wandering

Another free walking tour. This one started at 1015 so I had a few hours to kill before hand. Wandering up into the central square ( largest in Eastern Europe 200sq meters) I was amazed by the number of food trucks. They were going in every direction, preparing all the local restaurants ready for the days trade ahead. I guess they need to get in early before all the foot traffic arrives.

After wandering around the back streets I find a cafe where I enjoy a wonderful baked cheesecake and freshly squeezed juice. Yum, the food in this town is amazing.

The free walking tour starts under the cathedral, I’m to look for a green umbrella. Lucky I knew it was green as there are about 5 different people offering free walking tours, each with different coloured umbrella’s. Eugene is our guide, there are about 25 people, he is extremely knowledgeable half polish and half Ukraine. He is passionate about Poland, as we wander around the old city, he explains the history of Poland. All my history lessons so many years ago come flooding back - Prussia, Kengis Khan, Germany invasions, the soviet occupation. Poland has had it all. Then Eugene speaks so highly of John Paul II, he was a saviour for this country, giving them the guidance to stand up to communism. It was a very enlightening tour.
Then he spoke about Maximilian Maria Kolbe who traded his life for another in Auschwitz. This country has such an incredible history, and today it is a thriving cosmopolitan city.

We started at the cathedral, visit the opera house, wander through the main entry gate to the city and followed the path the the kings and queens for time gone by made their way to Wawel Castle.

After the tour I headed to the Jewish area for lunch. Another amazing meal, cottage cheese, potato, salami, egg, zucchini and cheese. That certainly filled me up. I catch the tram home for a nana nap before heading out again in the evening.

My air bnb is about 7 minutes walk from the old town, so I’m certainly getting my steps up today. I wander back into town for dinner, there are buskers everywhere, it is like a carnival atmosphere. I’m just happy to have a light dinner and few reds and people watch for a few hours.

I can hear a trumpet and violin playing “hallelujah”. Once they finish another group of a trumpet, trombone and drums starts another tune. What a chilled night.Read more