Krakow

We got to Krakow at 6 am after very little sleep. The city was pretty still, not too many people out and moving. This was the quietest I ever saw the market square, normally a very lively place.
Breakfast was disturbed by these lovely men, ooooh my aching head! (and I didn't even really drink! I really felt for the other Prague kids)

There were a few other CESRI people hanging around, waiting till we could check into the hotel at 2. We banded together and took off to explore the town. Only slightly sleepy.

It is a city of something like 200 churches. This was one of my favorites.

I was amused by this sign

The hotel itself was amazingly nice. A 4 star modern extravaganza. They spoiled the hell out of us on this trip! This was the reception area. The entrance to our rooms was strait out of a Bond flick. Almost, almost, made me feel like a Bond girl lounging around there.

It was little strange to be there since we were such a wild group. I doubt they ever had people playing volleyball or Frisbee in the lobby before!Dinner with the CESRI crew, back together again. It was odd how little time seemed to have passed.Pyrogies for lunch the next dayWe went on a tour of the city, officially this time. Saw lots that I was too glazed to notice before.

This is part of the old city wall.
And this crazy thing sat in front of that gate. I thought this shadow was interesting. The road we took every time we walked towards Market Square. Which was a lot.

One of my favorite things about the city was how all the walls leaned out at the base. Like a Cyprus tree in a southern swamp only made of stone.

This is the big church in Market square, I guess two brothers were each put in charge of building one of the towers, and as boys will do, made it a contest to see who's 'tower' was bigger. When he found out his was shorter, the one brother got so mad that he stabbed the other, and the knife still hangs in the market. odd stuff.

There is also a story of how the Tartars came to conquer the city and were spotted on approach by the valiant watchman in the church tower (the tall one, of course). He raised the alarm on the trumpet but was sadly shot in the throat by an arrow. To this day, on the hour, they play the same tune, cutting it off just as the arrow did. It's a little hokey, but I loved hearing it as I wandered around. I guess this square used to be famous for the amazing flower market, even in Communist times. There wasn't so much when I was there, but it still...

I loved this stained glass, and I guess it is pretty famous.

Much of the tour was of religious stuff. Walked where the pope walked, all that sort of thing. This is a copy of the shroud (I'm so out of the loop on the Catholic thing, but that is supposed to be Jesus's face)

Oh, and since it was a city of churches, it also was quite a city of weddings on Sunday.

Every corner we turned, we ran into another one.This is just a small taste. And we ended at the oldest University in the area. The street life of Krakow was amazing. Every corner had someone playing music or dancing, and the squares were never empty of something crazy. These guys drove around in a flaming fire truck, ramming burning barrels towards the crowd, filling the cab (with them inside) with brilliant flames... it was pretty scary actually. Had my Kielbasa And where else in this world will you run into more monks and nuns on the streets than tourists?