Krakow

Sunday we explored the Wawel Castle (Zamek Królewski na Wawelu). Each venue has a separate ticket starting at 5 zloty (<$2). We prepurchased guided tours in English of the Royal Apartments, State Rooms, and Crown Treasury. Each tour was about an hour. In retrospect, we could have just done one guided tour and then toured the other areas on our own. The castle is on a hill,with some good views and ends with an exit down a steep staircase and through the “dragon’s dungeon” to the river. Some pics from Wawel:

We returned in the evening to hear a concert, which included music by Poland’s favourite son, Chopin, as well as other classical music. There were three sets. The first was Chopin piano pieces, then a quartet of 2 violins, a viola and a cello. The third set included both the quartet and the piano. Very nice. I enjoyed watching the cellist’s fingers move to create the different sounds. The venue was a small outside courtyard in Wawel, set up for about 150 people.

We’ve also wandered around Krakow old town and surrounding areas, including my climb up Krakus Mound and passing by Zakrzowek Lake, this morning and wandering around the Jewish area of Kazimierz.

Steve found the dark lemon Czech beer, Litove, to be surprisingly good. And I’ve had no trouble finding dark beer to enjoy, especially porters. Yum.

This afternoon, we listened to the audio guide of the Wawel Cathedral including areas dedicated to Jean Paul II, the Pope from Krakow.

Tomorrow, we’ll train to Wieliczka, about 30 minutes away, and spend time in Marvin’s “hood”.