Krakow: A Welcome Surprise

During the last few days of my spring break, I traveled with the rest of my study abroad program to Krakow, Poland. I didn’t have very many expectations for the trip, and was surprised by how much I liked Krakow. It had the beauty of an old European capital without being filled with tourists like Prague or too focused on being pretty, which is a feeling I sometimes get from Vienna. It was simply pretty without needing to make a huge effort or fuss about it.

One of the prettiest parts of Krakow is the strip of park that surrounds the central inner city. It was really enjoyable to walk through and added appreciated open space to the city.

Our first day, we had a day long guided tour through the city that covered the main sites and museums of the city, which was a particularly packed day. We started out at the Wawel castle. Although Poland has been ruled by other empires for much of its history and its capital today is Warsaw, Krakow was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569. The castle was filled with a huge collection of gorgeous tapestries. Next to the castle, is Wawel Cathedral, which includes a large canopy with a coffin underneath of Poland’s patron saint Stanislaus.

We then visited the Collegium Maius Museum, the University of Krakow’s oldest building, which outlines the history of the university and displays a variety of artifacts from the university’s collection. One of the University’s most famous students is Nicolas Copernicus.

We took a lunch break at the Main Market Square. On the square is a large sculpture entitled Eros Bendato by Igor Mitoraj, the same sculptor who made the sculpture in The Hague. You can actually climb in the head as well.

After lunch, we went to St. Mary’s Basilica which makes quite a presence on the central square, in part because a trumpeter plays a signal every hour from the church’s tower. 

We were not allowed to take photos inside the church (or the castle-hence the above lack of internal photos), but the interior of the church is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The Gothic style altar was impressive, but the most beautiful part of the church was the awe-inspiring colorfully decorated ceiling. Here’s a photo from the Internet, although I don’t think it does the church justice.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cross_inside_St_Mary%27s_church_Krakow.JPG

We finished up the tour by visiting Kazimierz, Krakow’s Jewish quarter. It’s well known as being the filming site for many Holocaust films, including Schindler’s List, although the Krakow ghetto was located elsewhere. Although there are several synagogues in the district, there are very few Jewish people living in Krakow today. To give a sense of the dramatic change, Jews made up 25% of the city’s population, about 60,000 people in 1938, but Krakow’s Jewish population numbers only 600 people today. In an uncomfortable and yet revealing incident, we were yelled at by a Polish man in front of the Holocaust memorial. Although I couldn’t understand what he was saying, from what I gathered, the source of his hostility was the fact that our tour was taking place in German. It certainly brought to the forefront the deep emotions that remain in Europe today regarding the events of World War II. We also ate at a Jewish restaurant in the district as a group. Although I’m not sure how truly authentic the food was, it was certainly delicious and the accompanying Kazimierz music was enjoyable.

After our tour, we were free to explore the city. We wandered some along the Vistula River and explored Krakow, which in addition to being historically beautiful, is also a quirky, hip city with lots of young people.

The dragon statue refers to the story of the Wawel Dragon. According to legend, a dragon lived on the foot of the hill where the castle is located along the river. A variety of stories are told about the dragon, who has since become one of the main city symbols of Krakow.

Another great aspect of visiting Krakow: the prices. In comparison to the countries I’ve visited in Western Europe, most things in Krakow seemed remarkably affordable. Thanks to the great exchange rate, we spent much of our free day shopping at “pay by the kilo” second hand clothing stores. Additionally, the number of affordable restaurants with delicious, healthy food was impressive. Highlights included pirogues and a vegetarian restaurant right by our hotel. Overall, my time in Krakow was wonderfully enjoyable and although it’s certainly premature, I’m already hoping to return to travel more in Poland.