Krakow is probably Poland's most beloved city. Whenever I ask a native Polish person what their favorite place in Poland is, they usually name Krakow. (Although they say it like 'Krakov,' and get annoyed at the English pronunciation of the city. According to one woman, pronouncing it as 'Kra-cow' makes you sound like a big crow). Krakow is several hours south of Elblag, so I was saving the journey for when I had plenty of time to travel there and see the sights. Krakow's Old Town Square is especially beautiful. The centerpiece of the square is the Cloth Hall, which dates from the Renaissance and used to be a center of trade for both Polish and exotic imports. Now you can mostly buy souvenirs there. Also in the main market square is St. Mary's Basilica, with it's two towers, and a rather interesting sculpture. Officially the sculpture's name is 'Eros Bendato,' but everyone just calls it 'The Head.' It's a giant, hollow, bronze head that was created by a Polish artist and placed in the square in the early 2000s. It's become somewhat iconic for the city now; any time I walked past it, there was always some tourist taking pictures with it, or some kids climbing all over it and sticking their limbs through the eye holes.
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| Old Town Square |
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| St. Mary's Basilica |
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| I feel like I'm being watched... |
The main street to the Old Town is called Floriańska Street or St. Florian's Street, and ends at Florian's Gate, famous old fortifications for the city. Also famous in Krakow are the Wawel castle and cathedral, though
unfortunately I didn't get a chance to visit these since my visit was
cut a little short and saw them only from a distance.
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| Here's Florian's street... |
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| ...and here's his gate. |
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| The barbican |
And finally, there's the old Baroque Church of St. Peter and Paul, which I came across at night on my way to the hostel. I walked in to look around because it was still open, and thought I had locked myself into the church on accident because the door was really tricky to get open again (thanks medieval locksmiths). Luckily I figured it out (right before I started to panic about it) and didn't end up spending a night locked in a church. As nice as it was, I think I'll stick with the hostel for my sleeping accommodations.
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| Saints guarding the church |
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| St. Peter and Paul's |
