Tag Archives: Krakow Poland

Poland

Our Gastronomy Adventures in Poland

We enjoyed traditional Polish food throughout our visit to Poland. Each day was a gastronomic adventure, we tried to go to different Polish restaurants and try different Polish foods.

We enjoyed trying the lard which was served with bread as an appetizer before the main meal. The lard was mixed with some spices and was tasty.

Lard mixed with spices and served with bread as an appetizer.

We ordered a mixed platter of Polish foods, which included numerous different traditional Polish foods.

Ray, Michel, Barbara and Shelley at a Polish Restaurant in Krakow
Platter of mixed Polish foods including Polish sausage, cabbage rolls, potato pancakes,, ham hock, perogies, Polish kiszona kapusta (A form of Polish Sauerkraut) and beet salad.

It was a very tasty selection and more food than the four of us could eat. Throughout the week we enjoyed the different soups, including Borscht and bean soups.

Borscht Soup in Krakow, Poland

There was a Polish goulash stew which was quite tasty and enjoyable. It came in a homemade breaded bowl which added to the meal. We even tried different Polish beers, which were very tasty and rival any beer.

Polish beer served in Krakow

They had a major selection of different infused Vodkas. It is a popular drink in Poland.

Liquor display with numerous infused Vodkas

We couldn’t resist trying at least one of the infused vodkas. There was a honey vodka which was quite tasty. Shelley tried a lemon infused Vodka which was also very good.

Shelley trying one of the infused Vodkas in Poland

Over the week we encountered different foods and desserts that were unique to us.

Vicki, Shelley, Ray and Mark enjoying the gastronomy of Poland

There were Bagel stands throughout Krakow that sold fresh bagels and pretzels. These bagels were very good and we even tried some “pączki,” which is similar to a centre filled donut.

Barbara buying a pretzel for everyone to try.

The gastronomic taste and adventures were very enjoyable. Below are a few examples of the food.

Lentil and bean soup
Potato pancakes with goulash

One of the joys of visiting Krakow and Poland was the Polish restaurants and traditional foods.

“Do widzenia i dobry dzień”

Poland

Tour of the Oskar Schindler’s Factory Museum

We went to the Schindler Factory museum, which is located in the former administrative building of the Schindler factory.

Entrance into the Oskar Schindler Factory Museum

We entered through the main entrance and began walking through the museum. The exhibit began about the initial invasion of Poland by the Germans.

Map of the invasion forces progress of Germany into Poland

As we went through the museum there was more information about Krakow and how the occupation impacted the Polish and Jewish people.

Photo of the Nazi occupation in Krakow, Poland

The exhibit was more about the occupation of the Nazis in Krakow and how the people were treated. As we went through the exhibit we saw different exhibits about the life in Krakow and how the people were persecuted and forced into labour camps or worse.

The band forced to be worn by Jews in Krakow
The Nazis rename the square to Adolf Hitler Platz
One of the many exhibits of WW2

We came across some of the exhibits of Oskar Schindler Factory.

Office desk from the Oskar Schindler Factory
Pots and pans from Oskar Schindler Factory

The Schindler museum was interesting but also disappointing. There were very little information and exhibits directly concerning  Oskar Schindler and the events that took place at the factory.

“Do widzenia i dobry dzień”

Poland

Saint Mary’s Basilica

St Mary’s Basilica is located on the corner of the large main square in Krakow. We decided to take a self-guided tour of the Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven also known as Saint Mary’s Basilica.

St Mary Basilica with twin towers in Krakow

The basilica was built-in the 14th century and unique with a very interesting past.  There are two towers in the church and the northern tower was designed to serve as the watch tower for the entire city.

Northern tower of St Mary Basilica in Krakow

The northern watchtower has a trumpeter who plays a tune at the top of every hour.

This tune is called the Hejnał mariacki and is played every hour of every day of the year. The tune stops in mid note, to commemorate the famous 13th century trumpeter, who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before the Mongol attack on the city.

Hejnał player in Kraków, photo from guide “Ulicami Krakowa”, 1968 Source: Polish wikipedia (upload by Topory)

We went inside the church and we were amazed at the brightness of the ornate designs of the walls and ceiling.

View of the walls and ceiling in St Mary’s Church.

It was very colourful and bright in the church and everywhere we looked there were ornate features.

Ceiling and columns in St Mary’s Basilica

We came across an interesting head in an arch framing a doorway.

Life like head carved in arch in St Mary’s Basilica

We went through the church looking at the feature of the different areas.

One of the many ornate feautes of St Mary’s Basilica
Interior Pulpit in St Mary’s Basilica

The Gothic main altar piece of the church was very stunning and interesting. It was carved in wood by Veit Stoss a German sculptor in 1489, and was the largest triptych (3 wooden panels hinged together) at the time.

The high altar in St Mary’s Basilica

The details of the altar were incredible but what was more incredible was the history of the altar.

The wooden carved Alter in St Mary’s Basilica created by Veit Stoss

In 1941, during the German occupation, the dismantled altarpiece was shipped to the Third Reich. It was recovered after the war in 1946 in Bavaria, hidden in the basement of the heavily bombed Nuremberg Castle. The altar was put back in its place at the Basilica 10 years later.

The tour of St Mary’s Basilica was quite enjoyable and interesting.  We discovered that the Main square in the Krakow was a former cemetery. At the beginning of the 19th century, the cemetery was shut down and replaced with the main square.

“Do widzenia i dobry dzień”

Poland

A tour of the Jewish ghettos in Krakow

We took a tour of the former jewish Ghetto in Krakow, which was established by the Nazis during WW2. The tour began with a walk from the main square to the Jewish quarter which took us approximately 15 minutes. We cross the Wisla River on a modern foot bridge called “Father Bernatek Footbridge” which had some unique features. It is a twin design leaf-shaped, 130 meters long structure made for pedestrians and cyclists.

Shelley and Ray in front of the Father Bernatek Footbridge in Krakow
hanging statues on the Father Bernatek Footbridge

We crossed over the bridge and then went into the former Jewish Ghetto.  There were several buildings that has remained basically untouched since WW2.

Buildings in the former Jewish Ghetto of Krakow.

We went to the Jewish synagogue which was a pivotal location in the Ghetto. Nazi’s executed Jews in front of the Synagogue on a regular basis. It is hard to imagine the atrocities that occurred here.

Jewish Synagogue where Jews were routinely Executed by the Nazi’s IN the Krakow Jewish Ghetto.

A monument was erected in the front of the Synagogue to honour the Jews murdered by the Nazi’s.

Monument in front of the Jewish Synagogue in Krakow

We then walked through the streets of the former jewish ghetto and came across another monument. This monument was erected and remembered all the victims during the German occupation in the jewish ghetto.

Monument erected in the Jewish quarter of Krakow

The plaque on the monument was very moving. The thoughts of how many Jewish people were killed and prosecuted here is truly heartbreaking. The plaque reads “Place of Meditation upon the martyrdom of 65 thousand Polish citizens of Jewish nationality from cracow and its environs killed by the nazis during world war II”

We walked along a narrow roadway and came to a small alleyway. Down the alleyway was an area which was used as a scene in the movie from “Schindler’s list”

Area in the Jewish ghetto used in the movie Schindler’s list
Scene from the movie “Schindler’s list”

We walked up a cobble stone street called ulica Szeroka and along side the street is a large brick and stone wall.

A narrow cobble street called  ulica Szeroka in the former Jewish ghetto

This wall separates the Jewish cemetery from the street. The wall is considered a “wailing wall”. During the war the cemetery was destroyed by the Nazis and apparently the tombstones were removed and used as paving stones in one of the labour camps.

The wailing wall separating the cemetery from the ulica Szeroka street

After the war the tombstones were brought back to the cemetery and some of them which were not identifiable were used in the wailing wall.

One of the tombstones used in the wailing wall in Krakow

On the same street was a bronze statue in memory of Jan Karski.

Bronze statue of Jan Karski in the Jewish quarter of Krakow.                                                                         In 1942 he was selected to perform a secret mission to prime minister Władysław Sikorski in London. Karski was to contact Sikorski as well as various other Polish politicians and inform them about Nazi atrocities in occupied Poland. In order to gather evidence, Karski was twice smuggled by Jewish underground leaders into the Warsaw Ghetto for the purpose of directly observing what was happening to Polish Jews.

We walked through the former ghetto looking at the different areas. It was hard to imagine the horror that the Jewish people endured there. We eventually came to the ghetto heroes square. In the square are 33 memorial chairs. Each chair is made of cast iron and bronze.

Bronze chairs mounted throughout the area.

Each bronze chair represents 2000 murdered Jewish people from Krakow and the area.

 

Ray and Shelley in the ghetto heroes square.

We spend the afternoon walking through the former ghetto. It was an interesting and emotional time. We enjoyed the tour and learning the history of the Polish people.

“Do widzenia i dobry dzień”

Poland

Krakow Poland

We went to Poland to visit the city of Krakow with friends. We walked through the old quarter of the city admiring the architecture and buildings.

There is a large medieval main square in the central of the old quarter. It contains several unique buildings and several statues and monuments. The square is very large and covers nearly 10 acres. It dates back to the 13th century and is one of the largest in Europe. In the centre of the square is the cloth hall, which was built-in the renaissance period in 1555.

Cloth Hall in Krakow Main square

Vendors stalls are located inside the cloth hall. We walked through and checked the different vendors.

Many vendors were selling amber jewelery, which is common in Poland.

On one side of the main square is the beautiful Town Hall Tower.

Town Hall Tower in the main square in Krakow

On the other side of the square are the monument of Adam Mickiewicz made in 1898 and St. Mary’s Basilica.

Monument of Adam Mickiewicz made in 1898
Shelley and Ray in the main square of Krakow
St Mary’s Basilica with twin towers.

In the main square on this particular weekend there was a traditional Polish food and crafts event. We walked through the different stalls admiring the crafts and enjoying the smells of the market. We even stopped to enjoy a Polish sausage.

Shelley in front of some of the local craft stalls

All along the outside area of the main square are different restaurants. We stopped to relax and enjoy the scenery and bustling square with a beverage. There was even a pride parade going by while we were there.

Pride parade in the main square of Krakow

In the evening the square is lite up with beautiful lights and has a different feel. There are horse-drawn carriages that are decorated with ornate features and lights.

Main Square in Krakow in the evening
One of the horse-drawn carriages ornate with design and lights

The Medieval main square in Krakow is an amazing feature of the old town. It is bustling with people and activities, with bras and restaurants surrounding it. It was a very enjoyable spot and one we visited many times over our stay in Krakow.

“Do widzenia i dobry dzień”